RULE 5

Coffee growers are artisans.

When a winemaker carefully grows, vinifies, and bottles an extraordinary wine, we call him or her an artisan.

When we talk about crop variation, processing choices, harvest methods, and all the details that go into coffee production, it’s important to remember that human beings in coffee-producing countries make these decisions. When a winemaker carefully grows, vinifies, and bottles an extraordinary wine, we call him or her an artisan. The same distinction should be made for coffee producers.

The distinction of recognizing these growers as artisans has never been more important. As coffee prices rise, and high-end coffee becomes more and more in demand, coffee’s status among farming families and communities is starting to change too. What was once thought of as a crop of agricultural necessity among some of the world’s poorest communities is now rightly seen as an artisan product capable of wondrous beauty and worthy of commanding a high price per cup.

Whatever else you get from reading this book, we feel strongly that you should actively think and learn more about the people who grow your coffee. The same as any winemaker, farmers’ market produce grower, or bread baker, these people are artisans, and their work brings our lives delicious joy.