What goes through your mind when you crave a cup of coffee? Do you have a daily ritual, or are you the zombie-like/get-out-of-my-way, kind of coffee consumer? Have you taken time to really consider the thoughts that make your decision to brew a cup at home or pop into your local coffee shop on the way to work? Perhaps you are fueling up your car at the filling station and the ad for a steamy cup of coffee warms you enough to run inside to snag a cup.

For me, as a business owner that, at the surface, is in the business for roasting and selling coffee in many forms, it seems damned important to know what makes people tick when it comes to their cup of coffee. As of 2022, coffee is consumed daily for about two-thirds of Americans, a trend that is tracked annually by the National Coffee Association. Coffee is an important part of the daily lives of people worldwide, and it's a growing trend right here in our backyard.

So, when economic factors, such as the commodity price in coffee suddenly takes a sharp turn up, people start to notice. Coffee bean and drink prices begin to rise, conversations start to take place in the news and social media, and assumptions begin to be made for what could cause this thing we LOVE and depend on to start to cost so much. Maybe too much, for some (which is a shame!). And it’s a real problem depending on where you stand in the coffee value chain.

Before moving forward, I wanted to make a few assumptions to establish a baseline understanding for every stakeholder involved in the conversation.

- Most people reading this will likely come from The Consumer side of the value chain. If you are a business owner selling or serving coffee, you are also The Consumer.

- Reverie (and every other coffee roaster and cafe operator) is who I consider The Middle People.

- Our support systems, including the green coffee importers and suppliers that transport coffee to us, are also The Middle People.

- Farmers that grow the coffee we purchase are just that…The Farmers.