Did you know Nestlé is known for relying on slave and child labor? Did you know a shockingly large number of people in developing countries rely on coffee as a cash crop?

Unfortunately, a lot of people are just used to not really thinking about the bitter cup they get in the morning for that caffeine kick. But coffee comes from far away and has a very broad variety of flavors that are just crunched down by big roasters in favor of a more consistent albeit bitter product. I think it's just sad that we think of it as an everyday thing when it's legitimately an incredible luxury to have access to every day just like that.

Specialty coffee usually has shorter logistics line and is more profitable for the farmers, who in turn don't necessarily need to expand their exploitations through deforestation — they can instead focus on quality. It's also placing the coffee front and center instead of the caffeine kick, using much lighter roasts with a lot of different aromas you wouldn't expect from coffee with a barely bitter cup.

Like most other things, coffee is affected by global warming and unsustainable but unquestioned practices. So you better start drinking better quality, fair trade coffee now so we keep that luxury for as long as we can!