Tea and coffee are the most popular beverages in the UK today. Coffee however, has dramatically increased in popularity; its production has doubled in the last three decades [1]. Coffee usually originates in hot climates, as it is difficult to cultivate in cooler environments. There are always a lot of coffee shops in Cities because people enjoy a good cup of coffee or a pastry on the way to/from work. Big coffee corporations such as Costa and Starbucks are the most popular in the world.
Production and waste
There are three main methods of processing coffee: dry, wet and honey. The oldest of which is the dry method, it requires no technology as the beans are sun dried until the pulp can be separated from the beans [2].
The beans are then dried again until the desirable moisture level is reached. The wet method is the one used mainly today. This method involves the pulp, and the coffee skin are separated mechanically by machine then the beans are placed in fermentation pools [2]. The honey method is a combination of the dry and wet methods separating the pulp and the skin by machine then drying them in the sun.
The wet method has gained popularity in recent years as it can produce significantly more processed coffee than the other methods. The wet method can meet the increasing demand for more coffee. However, the wet method creates significantly more by-products and waste in the form of coffee pulp, cherry husk, silver skin and spent coffee. It is estimated that in wet production, every two tons of coffee made creates one ton coffee pulp alone [2].
The production of coffee takes place largely in developing countries. The largest producer of coffee in the world is Brazil. In these countries the production of coffee creates a significant environmental problem because of the by-products and large amounts of waste. Often the waste is disposed of in environmentally irresponsible ways causing more problems for the environment [3].
Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee is one of the most popular coffee shops today, but why is it so popular? From having experience working in Costa Coffee, I can say that there are a lot of different uses of technology there which help to satisfy the demand for coffee and lunch.
All the coffee beans are fresh from different parts of the world, but Costa Coffee only use coffee beans from 100% ‘Rainforest Alliance Farms’ [4]. The Rainforest Alliance Farms ensure that the products they provide are better for the farmers and the planet (a lot like ‘Fairtrade’ programme) [5].
Available at: https://images.ctfassets.net/royi30b2qd26/3cLga8jxWjbBCOXRih3cUC/b039940de693d9e3c5f54f9d843a0ef5/at-home-colombian-R_G_1-696x512.jpg?w=696&h=512&q=100&fm=webp
With large chain coffee shops like Costa and Starbucks, they use smartphone applications in their marketing. These apps allow customers to pre-order and pay for their orders allowing a quicker and easier way of getting served. Starbucks even experimented with an Apple software called ‘IBeacon’. This software sends out a notification to the smartphones of customers who have the Starbucks app when they come within proximity to the shop. These notifications are tailored to the customer and offer their previous order to entice them.
Costa Coffee uses the ‘Too good to go’ programme to minimise food waste. Too good to go is an app that lets companies like costa advertise their almost out of date food at a cheaper price.
Costa cards are used to mostly save money, every £1 you spend you get five points which is 5p. If you spend a lot in costa, you get a lot of points and that is a great way to gain customers.
Technology is also used in coffee shops with instruments to regulate the water/milk temperature, volume, brew time etc. They do this to ensure consistent results in making the perfect cup of coffee in a fast-paced environment. This makes the coffee more consistent as in the past a coffee made by one barista could have been made differently by another barista potentially affecting the taste. For instance, coffee shots change to much bitter taste after 10 seconds of it being poured unless mixed with milk or another liquid. These instruments regulate the temperatures and weigh the beans to make the procedure the same and not go against safety regulations like the drinks being too hot. The small ovens in Costa are incredibly hot when cooking; heating up a toasty in Costa takes two minutes whereas a home oven would take fifteen minutes.
Costa Coffee uses technology to attract more customers. They have Wi-Fi in every shop they have because of the convenience it has for working people who may want to do work in a relaxing environment.
References
[1] Conway, J (2021) Global Coffee Consumption 2012/13 – 2020/21. [Online] Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/292595/global-coffee-consumption/ Access date:
02/03/2021
[2] Henja, A. (2021) Potential applications of by-products from the coffee industry in polymer technology – Current state and perspectives. [Online] Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956053X20307078#b1755 Access date: 03/03/2021
[3] Murthy, P. and Madhava Naidu, M. (2012) "Sustainable management of coffee industry by-products and value addition—A review", Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 66, pp. 45-58. [Online] Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344912000894 Access date 09/03/2021 Access date: 08/03/2021
[4] Costa Coffee website (2013-2021) [Online] Available from:
https://www.costa.co.uk/behind-the-beans/our-story/the-history-ocoffee#:~:text=At%20Costa%2C%20we%20responsibly%20source,it%20reaches%20our%20own%20Roastery Access date: 08/03/2021
[5] Rainforest Alliance website [Online] Available from: https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/faqs/what-does-rainforest-alliance-certified-mean
Access date: 08/03/2021
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