This Week at Map It Forward: Week 30, 2025
Coffee INDUSTRY & MARKET: Will Coffee Price Volatility Kill Specialty Coffee at Origin?
As volatility in the global coffee market persists, an uncomfortable question is quietly emerging: Is this the beginning of the end for specialty coffee as we know it, especially at the producer level?
With futures prices rising sharply again, many producers are opting for commercial and commodity markets, not because they’ve stopped caring about quality, but because they can’t afford to take the risk anymore. Specialty is expensive to produce, labor-intensive, and increasingly unsustainable when cash flow is tight and buyers are hesitant.
On the other side of the value chain, roasters are stretched thin. Energy, logistics, rent, labor, insurance, tariffs, and materials are all more expensive. Green coffee, especially at specialty premiums, is becoming harder to afford.
Add to that the long payment timelines, tightening credit, and defaulting contracts, and it becomes clearer each week that our current model isn’t supporting the survival of specialty coffee in a time of crisis.
If we want to ensure the future of specialty, we need to rethink how value is priced, shared, and guaranteed, especially in unstable markets.
Until then, producers will continue to move where the money is. And that may not be in specialty anymore, especially as the promise of specialty hasn’t converted to income stability for more than a small number of producers globally.
THIS WEEK ON OUR PODCASTS….
p.s. if you want to support our work, please consider joining our Patreon or becoming a premium subscriber on our YouTube Channel. If you’re looking for ways to support us for free, please share this email with your colleagues in coffee. It really does help us get this information out to more people.
The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast (GLOBAL)
Mark Dundon from 7 Seeds Coffee is an icon of the Australian specialty coffee scene. In this 5-part series, he sits down with Lee Safar to reflect on how the coffee industry has changed, especially when it comes to opening and scaling businesses pre- and post-2020. The conversation explores innovation, sustainability, technology, and the evolving definition of specialty coffee.
Watch the full series on YouTube:
Map It Forward Middle East podcast
Isabela Raposeiras from Coffee Lab, one of Brazil’s most respected specialty coffee pioneers, joins us for a bold and insightful 5-part conversation originally aired on the global podcast. Together, they uncover the misunderstood realities of Brazil’s coffee sector, from local consumption to historical legacies, and the country’s untapped potential in the specialty market.
Watch the full series on YouTube here:
Map It Forward Japan
Vietnam’s specialty coffee movement is still emerging, and Thai Dang from 96B Cafe and Roastery is at the forefront. In this 5-part series, Thai shares what it’s like to build a specialty business in a historically commercial coffee market, and how Vietnam is slowly carving out its identity in the global coffee value chain.
Watch the full series on YouTube:
Access “Introduction to Regenerative Coffee Farming” On-Demand for as little as $10 at the new Map It Forward On-Demand Learning Hub here: www.ondemand.mapitforward.coffee
Diversify your revenue by becoming a consultant to the coffee industry or home brewers/roasters. It's time to make sure you’re taking care of your future. Click here