Coffee Economics with Karl: Supply, Demand and the Price of Coffee

Coffee Economics with Karl is back with a video that explores some fundamental concepts of economics, including supply and demand and price theory — i.e. the notion that supply and demand determine price.

This can be considered a new chapter in the Coffee Economics with Karl series, following a strong run of videos exploring some important concepts about transparency, coffee prices and the relationship between the two. That first chapter ended last month with a video on farm profit — i.e. where transparency ends.

Now Karl Wienhold, of the green coffee trading collective Cedro Alto, heads back to the white board with a kind of Econ 101 for coffee pros, establishing some bedrock for future discussions on coffee prices, which have remained cripplingly low in recent years for many of the world’s coffee farmers.

Here’s more from Karl:

What does “because of supply and demand” really mean? How and why do supply and demand determine prices? If you have ever been unsatisfied by this answer and been embarrassed to request further explanation, this video should clear it right up. Or it might open up pandora’s box and generate many further questions. Send them our way.

The full Coffee Economics with Karl playlist is available here. And here’s the latest: