Lebanon's coffee culture under threat of lower quality beans
- Unfiltered
- Mar 3, 2019
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 11, 2019
By Zeinab Makki
Coffee and climate change, three words and two ideas that are increasingly playing an important role in people’s lives. When paired together, they can have significant and harmful consequences for the coffee industry, affecting both producers and consumers. The rise in carbon emissions around the world is proving to be the problem for coffee farmers and communities that rely on this primary industry.
In Lebanon, coffee is not just a stimulant drank to wake you up in the morning, but also a part of the country’s culture. With each street corner turned you are likely to find an outdated coffee machine serving espressos and black coffees for less than £1 to neighbourhood locals and passers-by. National coffee companies import approximately 80-9 per cent of green coffee beans from Brazil and then export Lebanese Coffee (also known as Turkish Coffee) to over 40 countries in the world, according to figures from Blom Invest Bank’s market research.
The question persists: what will happen to the market once the impact of global warming on the coffee farms supplying Lebanon and other non-coffee producing nations grows even more?
A report by the Climate Institute on the risks posed by climate change on the coffee industry stated that by 2050, “climate change is projected to cut the global area suitable for coffee production by as much as 50 per cent”, this is if carbon emissions are not significantly reduced.
Brazil is a chief coffee producer and part of the ‘Bean Belt’ comprising of 70 countries globally that are part of the horizontal strip where most of the world’s coffee plants are grown.
Aside from being the world’s largest coffee producing country, the data from Blom Invest Bank states that it is also Lebanon’s main supplier of coffee beans. The report also revealed that according to the Lebanese Customs, a total of 2,601 tons of Lebanese coffee was exported in 2016.
Although negative changes to the quality and quantity of coffee beans in Brazil and other Bean Belt regions are expected to continue, Rouba Chbeir and Marwan Mikhael are unconcerned of the impact this will have on the Lebanese coffee market.
The two analysts from Blom Invest Bank compiled a market research report on the Lebanese national coffee industry which Mikhael describes to be “niche and not very sophisticated.” Despite being an essential part of the Lebanese culture, he emphasises that local coffee drinkers do not care much for the quality of the beans in their brew.
Turkish Coffee (made of Arabica beans sourced from Brazil) accounts for 65 per cent of coffee consumed according to their research, then the typical go-to would be an espresso or an instant coffee which is popular amongst the younger demographic.
Mikhael puts things into perspective. He notes that a 10 per cent global increase in the price of coffee may only impact Lebanon’s consumption by 3 per cent at most. He insists that the population’s need to drink coffee will always continue and that consumers can gradually adjust their taste buds to the lower quality coffee that will be the result of climate change in the years to come.
“If people develop a liking for the taste of higher quality coffee in the next 40 years, the impact of climate change will be bigger. Lebanese companies may have to shift from importing Brazilian coffee beans to Ethiopian coffee beans. The roasteries may also have to source their beans from elsewhere,” Mikhael says.
Café Najjar is one of the largest coffee brands in the country. They account for the largest coffee factory in Lebanon and claim to produce 12,000 metric tons of coffee a year which is not only sold locally but to another 46 countries as well.
“Big market players like Café Najjar are equipped for the change that will come from global warming,” Chbeir adds. “The owners of such big coffee companies are continually monitoring the quality and technique of the farms they source from.”
She also adds that the end product is not completely reliant on the sourcing. Such companies have the capital to adjust their production process to the results of climate change with whatever quality beans available.
“Lebanon receives the secondary effect from its importers,” she says. “The prime challenge is pricing the coffee. The change in price is reliant on the impact on Brazil. Arabica beans are more sensitive to changes in temperature, which will certainly occur with climate change hence, the change in quality.”
Arabica grows best at 18-21°C, according to the Climate Institute. They even insist that “half a degree at the wrong time can make a big difference in coffee yield, flavour, and aroma”.
According to the two researchers, Lebanese consumers will be willing to find substitutes for their coffee which don’t qualify in the high-quality category in the future.
The Climate Institute reports that the damages to crop, roads, and shipping that will come with the changes in temperature will also have a negative financial effect on consumers.
Located in the suburban neighbourhood of Furn Al Chebak in what was a market during the 1975 Lebanese War, Hook is one of Beirut’s unconventional coffee shops.
Clara Atallah opened this speciality independent café in 2017, during the start of the growth of such concepts in the capital.
Unlike Café Najjar, Hook does not serve a supposed three million cups of coffee a day. It also lacks the tools that the larger players are equipped with to adapt to climate change.
“People’s interest in high quality and ethically sourced coffee has only recently started to develop,” Atallah notes.
Hook is one of the few coffee shops appealing to the more “sophisticated coffee taste bud” hence, appealing to an even smaller market.
She agrees that the Lebanese are uneducated on coffee quality and taste.
Atallah’s concerns are on the possible price increase of the beans she imports from All Press Espresso in London, which she describes as “already very expensive”. Customers can buy a “high-quality” cup of coffee at Hook for less than £2.
With the world’s coffee farms expecting to see a reduction in bean quality she worries what may happen with her clientele who specifically seek out the higher standard but are accustomed to her reasonable prices.
The Climate Institute report shows that in 2014 the country lost one-third of its crop to drought, a figure certain to increase by 2050.
Walid Bahsoon is a Lebanese entrepreneur whose company has roasted and packed local coffee in Sierra Leone.
Although Bahsoon Foods Company Ltd stopped its coffee production for a few years, it is due to restart that line later in 2019. He still works with farmers who are directly facing the consequences of climate change.
“The local farmers are experiencing lower yields and a dip in quality. Demand cannot meet supply,” Bahsoon says. “This will lead to a rise in prices. The fear is that the coffee produced may become too expensive and consumers will look for cheaper alternatives.”
Unlike in Brazil, Bahsoon worked with Robusta coffee beans.
“The effects of climate change will not only have an impact on the coffee farmers and producers but also on the economy,” he says. “Less coffee will be produced, hence less will be exported which will decrease the foreign exchange earnings.”
This experience correlates with the majority of coffee producing companies and the evidence in the Climate Institute’s report.
The negative outcomes of climate change for the coffee industry and the rest of the world are unavoidable without drastic changes. As evidence shows, coffee farms are already experiencing drops in their crop production due to changes in rainfall patterns and temperature rises.
With the situation able to get worse if global emissions are not reduced, hope isn’t lost for consumers. Coffee drinkers may be willing to adjust their taste buds for the lower quality brew and some may be willing to pay the extra pound for the same quality coffee they are used to. The real challenge appears to be for the coffee farmers and companies who rely on the industry to make a living.
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