Issue 128: March | April 2025
From the Publisher
The founder and publisher of Roast magazine, Connie Blumhardt has spent 25 years in magazine publishing and has worked in the coffee industry for the last 20 years. Connie brings the same passion and commitment to this industry journal that is present within the roasting community.
With each issue, Connie brings insight and inspiration to the pages of Roast with this column.
Connie Blumhardt, Publisher
My job title is “publisher,” which originates from the Latin “to make public.” In this day and age, it is an easily self-appointed title for anyone with a social media login and a dramatic enough opinion. I’ve been publishing for long enough to learn that an effective publisher is someone who listens first and “makes public” second. I am fortunate enough to be able to participate in (and occasionally host) a variety of events across the globe. Instead of going on a publicity tour, I am planning this spring to go on a “listening tour.”
What am I listening for this year? The coffee commodity carousel is spinning at warp speed, with prices coming close to doubling from the previous year at the time of this writing. This historically happens every 10 to 20 years, with the last peak around 2011. I am listening for reaction. Are significant price increases running through the supply chain, and are farmers benefiting from these higher prices? Is the answer a significant increase in prices to consumers, or are hedges and stocks stable enough in the short term to allow the industry to absorb higher coffee prices without passing them on to consumers? Is this a normal part of the coffee commodity cycle, or is there a new floor in pricing that represents the realization of long-anticipated climate change impacts and rising consumer demand? What effect might global political changes have on trade and subsequently prices? Will contractual obligations and trust between producers, importers and roasters hold?
Many a speculator has gone bankrupt placing bets on commodities futures, proving over and over that, in the words of economist John Maynard Keynes, “markets can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent.” I know that this is our business; however, I am curious how we will all react to the reality of such a rapid change in prices.
On a final note, related to making things public, I am happy to announce a new employee at Roast, Joon White. She will be taking on product and subscription fulfillment and comes to us with years of experience in the coffee industry. If you see her at any futures events, please welcome her to the team.
Warmest Wishes,
Connie
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