Researcher(s):
Rachel Jacobson Alex Groher-Jick Katie Kelly
ENVS course(s): 220 Initiated: November 2015 Completed: December 2015 Go to project site
|
Coffee has changed a lot since its discovery centuries ago. It is now the second most consumed beverage (not including water) in the world. Craft coffee, a relatively recent phenomena in coffee history, addresses coffee as an artisanal beverage made with care. Portland, OR is one of the foremost cities in the wave of craft coffee. As the home of Stumptown (one of the original craft cafes), Portlanders take pride in their coffee. Through this project, we examined Portland’s craft coffee industry, and what it might say about social, cultural and economic patterns in Portland. In order to explore these relationships, our lab team surveyed people in downtown Portland, asking about their coffee drinking habits. We also interviewed administrators at local cafes to find out more about their perceptions of the industry and their customers. Through this data and outside research, we found that craft coffee cafes may act as markers and perpetuators of gentrifications, an issue that is very prevalent in Portland. However, our survey yielded few significant figures, showing income has little to do with coffee consumption. According to one of our interviews, this may be because coffee, though a luxury beverage, is cheap in comparison to other luxury goods. Most people can afford a cup of coffee, and it has become a daily part of life for many people. Portland has an inordinate amount of craft coffee cafes for a city of its size, and its people truly seem to care about equitable, better tasting coffee, pushing the market to be better and better.