Category: Coffee

Introduction

Caffeine is a chemical stimulant that naturally happens in beverages including coffee beans and cocoa among others. This substance, which is chemically referred to as trimethylxanthine, is not only present in beverages, but it is also found in both prescribed and non-prescribed drugs. Chemically, this substance is represented as: C₈H₁₀N₄O₂. Its corresponding molecular formula is as shown below:

The literature in this paper is biased towards beverage coffee and its health impacts on consumption. The health impacts arising from the consumption of coffee continue to elicit mixed reactions among consumers. Initially, ten decades and beyond, the consumption of coffee had been tainted for it was believed to be associated with negative health impacts. As such, studies revealed that the health risks associated with its consumption include among others “severe blood sugar swings, acid imbalance, exhausted adrenaline glands, and essential mineral depletion” (Superko 599). In the year 2004/5, pundits’ findings suggested that coffee was associated to health beneficial factors. To this, their studies revealed that consumption of coffee is responsible for reducing ones vulnerability to cancer, diabetes, gallstones, and Parkinson’s disease in men.

Coffee is consumed far and wide around the world and it has the potential of attaining addiction levels if excessively consumed. This presents a budding problem among people with hypertension. Consequently, these people are advised by the doctors to use decaffeinated coffee so as to avoid putting themselves at risk. This is the alternative used by coffee addicts who are perhaps cautious about their health. However, studies have revealed that this beverage is not 100% caffeine-free thus; the big question that lingers at the back of the people’s minds is: what is the minimum level beyond which caffeine concentration present a significant health effect? To complicate matters further, it is argued that decaffeinated coffee is associated with other health risks that include increasing the levels of fatty acids and enhancing the chances of miscarry among pregnant women. This prompts the question: what could be the risk factors associated decaffeinated coffee? These two questions present the skeletal through which the hypothesis of this research paper is coined from.

Hypothesis

This paper is framed around two null hypotheses: first is, decaffeinated coffee is not caffeine-free, and second is decaffeinated coffee is associated with health risks.

Decaffeinated coffee is not caffeine-free

As Professor Bruce Goldbeger puts it, the normal brands that are present in the market contain some traces of caffeine. As such, he compares the quantities of caffeine present in decaffeinated coffee to those in caffeinated brands and reveals that: a cup of caffeinated coffee is equivalent to five cups of its antonym. This study was a shocker to those advised by the doctors to embrace caffeine-free diets by consuming decaffeinated coffee. This group includes those with kidney problems as well as those with anxiety disorders among others. The Professor noted that even minute quantities have the potential of adversely affecting some sensitive individuals. This is what triggered the research fronted by the Professor to determine the degree of caffeine in decaffeinated coffee brands, in the market. Under his tutelage, University of Florida (UF) researchers performed a two-phase study on the same.

In the first phase, “10 16-ounce decaffeinated drip-brewed coffee beverages from nine national chains or local coffee houses were purchased and then tested for caffeine content” (Decaffeinated Coffee Is Not Caffeine-free, Experts Say 1). From these, the substance caffeine was separated from the samples after which it was quantified using gas chromatography. The results revealed that all the brands with an exception of one contained this substance at concentrations that ranged between 8.6 and 13.9 milligrams. On comparison with a drip-brewed coffee, this quantity accounts for 16% of an 8-ounce cup of the same.

On the second phase, samples of “Starbucks decaffeinated espresso and brewed decaffeinated coffee” (Decaffeinated Coffee Is Not Caffeine-free, Experts Say 2) were sampled from a common source. From these, caffeine concentrations were determined, and the former revealed the presence of caffeine at degrees that ranged between 3-15.8 milligrams for a 16-ounce cup. The later revealed these concentrations at a range of between 12-13.4 milligrams for the same quantity.

Even with these low concentrations, Professor Gold notes that some people are likely to develop an addiction on the same. At the backdrop of these findings, some people tend to wonder whatever quantities are present in decaf that may render one an addict. In essence, when consumed in large quantities and more frequently, this would develop to addiction hence; this ought to be contraindicated on the people that are advised to embrace caffeine-free diets. It is worth noting that, caffeine concentrations as low as 10 milligrams present a threshold enough to cause subjective/behavioral change in sensitive individuals. For many people, concentrations of below 18 milligrams can hardly be noticed in terms of subjective or behavioral change. Nonetheless, the decaf beverages that are present in the market have caffeine concentrations above this level. With these findings, it is in the best interest of public knowledge to note that decaffeinated coffee is chemically dissimilar to caffeine-free coffee.

Decaffeinated coffee is associated with health risks

To many people who have nurtured a physical reliance on coffee, and are cautious about the health risks associated with caffeine, decaffeinated coffee presents an excellent source of solace. Nevertheless, few have the knowledge about the health risks associated with it. At the back of these people’s mind is the ignorance that decaffeinated coffee is caffeine-free coffee. In effect, according to a US-based research, these people present themselves to the high risks that are associated with decaffeinated coffee.

National Institute of Health, a US-based institution, revealed that consumption of decaffeinated coffee could trigger proliferation of ‘bad’ cholesterol levels in our bodies. Concomitantly, a Danish-based research team revealed that excessive consumption of the same could lead to an increase in the risk to miscarry (Xiaoping 27).

The former study was carried out on a sample size of 187 people. The research design was such that a third “of these people had to drink three to six cups of caffeinated coffee a day while a second group had to drink the same amount of decaffeinated coffee” (Superko 600). The control was a group of people who never took coffee in their diet. The findings of the study revealed that the group that had consumed decaffeinated coffee recorded an 18% increase in plasma fatty acids. This sparked the proliferation of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol, a recipe for heart diseases, diabetes notwithstanding. Also, apolipoprotein B, a protein that occurs concurrently with ‘bad’ cholesterol in the body, shot up by 8% among this group. Ideally, whatever happens is that decaffeinated coffee catalyzes the process of lipolysis, an action that disintegrates triglycerides stored as adipose layer on the body. Consequently, this would lead to increased free fatty acids (FFA) in the blood that trigger a chain reaction leading to the production of ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol ultimately. The differences in other groups were immaterial. In a nutshell, the finding of this study revealed, contrary to a public opinion, that decaffeinated coffee is the one responsible for heart diseases.

The later study, which was looking into the effect caffeine on the degree of miscarry among pregnant women, sampled a total of 88,000 people. The approach in this study was such that a questionnaire was developed with an aim of capturing women’s responses on potential risk factors believed to jeopardize their pregnancies. Moreover, the same people were asked about their coffee eating habits. Of this group, 3,018 women were reported to be consuming over 8 cups of coffee per day. The level of infant mortality was reported among 1,102 women, with a total of 67 deaths emanating from excessive consumption of coffee. Furthermore, the study showed that, as opposed to a public mindset, tea and cola do not expose one to the risks for miscarriage, instead; substances in coffee other than caffeine are the ones responsible for the risk factors. In a synopsis, the findings in this study reveal that one way to curtail the risk factors responsible for miscarriage is by reducing consumption of coffee (Quinlin 5).

Conclusion

In a conclusion, the hypotheses framed in this research paper have been approved. From the first hypothesis, studies that were performed by Doctor Goldberg revealed that; indeed, decaffeinated coffee contains traces of caffeine that present potential health risk factors. On the second hypothesis, researches proved that other substances present in decaf beverages are responsible for miscarriage among expectant women.

Works Cited

“Decaffeinated Coffee Is Not Caffeine-free, Experts Say.” ScienceDaily 2006: 1-2. Print.

Superko, Robert. “Caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee effects on plasma lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoproteins, and lipase activity: a controlled, randomized trial.” Am J Clin Nutr 54.3 (1991): 599-605. Print.

Quinlin, Jeffrey. “American Family Physician.” Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy 41.3 (2003): 3-5. Print.

Xiaoping, Weng. “American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology”; Maternal Caffeine Consumption During Pregnancy and the Risk of Miscarriage 32.1 (2008): 26-30. Print.

Summary

Look at the overall distribution of Net Sales in the survey.

Table: Distribution of net sales in the survey

From the chart we can see that sales are almost equally distributed, with a difference of 13% between sales lower than 50£ and sales over 100£.

What is the proportion of Male/Female customers and their marital status?

Table: Distribution by gender and marital status of survey’s respondents.

Women represent 93% of total customers, while men represent only 7% of total customers.

Married women represent the majority (80%) of the pull. Segmentation between married and single men is not very obvious, as both groups are almost equally represented (4% of total vs. 3% of total).

Which is the most frequently used method of payment by the customers?

Table: Distribution of payment methods used by the customers

From the pie chart diagram we can see that the most frequently used payment method by customers is a proprietary card.

Is there a link between the age of the customer and his/her method of Payment?

Table: distribution of customer’s age and payment method

From the table we can see that the most common method of payment of customers is a proprietary card, yet we can see that among customers of 30-50 years old, the master card is a more popular method of payment than among customers older than 60 and younger than 30 (~18% vs. ~10%).

Visa card was mainly used in two age groups: 20-30 years old (20%) and 40-50 years old (21%).

Investigate whether Quality Rating is related to customer’s age

Table: Distribution of quality rating by customer’s age

From the diagram we can see that customers in the age category younger than 40 years old rated quality higher than customers in the age category from 40 to 60 years old. Only 20% of customers in the age category 20-40 years old gave 1 point to quality vs. >30% of customers in the age category from 40 to 60 years old. The highest quality rating was given by customers in the age category from 60 to 80 years old and the lost in the age category from 40 to 60 years old.

Is there a link between the Net Sales and Quality Rating or Price and Quality Rating?

Table: Distribution of quality ration by net sales

From the table above we can see that higher amount of sale implies the higher percentage of customers who gave 3 points to quality, as the percentage of people rated quality with 3 points grows from 18% for customers who purchased for the amount less than 50 GBP to 38% for customers who purchased for the amount higher than 100GBP.

Table: Distribution of quality ration by price

From the table above we can see that customer quality rating increases with the price of product. Customers who made purchases in the price range of 40£-50£ gave the highest quality rating: 80% gave 3 points to quality.

Examine whether the distribution of Net Sales varies by the gender and marital status of the customer

Table : Distribution of Net Sales varies by the marital status

We can see from the table above that distribution of net sales doesn’t vary much by marital status. Shares of sales to single and married customers an amount higher than 100 GBP are nearly equal: 25% vs. 26%. Shares of sales to single and married customers in amounts less than 100 GBP differ only by 9% which is relatively insignificant for the whole picture of sales’ distribution.

Table: Distribution of Net Sales varies by the gender

If we make a distribution by gender we will see the difference in the distribution of sales.

Men were mainly making purchases for the amount less than 50 GBP, those who purchase for the amount higher than 50 GBP and lower than 100 GBP are equally represented, forming 14% of a total number of respondents each. Sales made to women customers are nearly equally distributed between 3 “total amount” categories.

Investigate the relationship between the number of Employees and Revenue

In order to investigate and visualize the relationship of the number of employees of coffee companies and their revenues, we can use linear regression. Linear regression will allow us to approximate the data dependency provided in the task.

The linear regression equation is y= mx+b, where m is the slope and b is the interception point of the line with the y-axis.

In excel we can find the slope by applying the slope formula (=slope (dataset1; dataset2) to the sets of revenues of coffee shops and their employees. We can find interception points by applying the interception formula (=intercept (dataset1; dataset2) to the sets of revenues of coffee shops and their employees.

y=0.316516*x+1292.66

Using this equation of linear regression we can approximate revenue on the base of a number of employees in the coffee shops.

Table on base of linear regression data

We can see from the table and from the chart (purple dots) that revenue increases with an increase on a number of employees.

Assume LCS want to increase their revenue to that of Company S how many employees should they have? Use the model to estimate this value

Also, consider the benefits/limitation of this type of analysis

We can find the number of employees LCS should have in order to achieve the revenue level of Company S from the linear regression equation for the set of data which represents how revenue varies upon the number of employees: y=0,316516*x+1292,66

We can say that linear regression can give a pretty reliable approximation, especially for the range of values which are situated close to the curve; otherwise the error of approximated value will grow. For the given set of values, we can say that for the range 4200-60000 employees’ regression analysis will be relatively accurate.

• Find some recent data on Coffee Shops in UK and present the data using a suitable table and diagram and comment.
• Discuss changes in the coffee shops in UK in this time period and your prediction of future sales of specialty coffees and/or similar products for the next 5 years

Coffee and tea are considered to be one of the most popular hot drinks in the world. It’s a well-known fact that the UK is of the biggest tea consumers per person in the world. Coffee drinking habit was always less spread in the UK, as tea is considered to be the “number one” hot drink in the country. Yet, due to marketing strategies and marketing campaigns more and more coffee supplies are entering the potential market of the UK during the last decade.

The coffee market in the UK has had a strong growing tendency over the last 10 years. There are a lot of reasons for this stable growth: the aging of the population, changes in the work environment and changes in popular culture. First of all it’s important to note that coffee consumption in UK is not relatively high, compared to consumption in other developed countries. According to the diagram from the article Coffee Statistics from E-imports, “Consumption of coffee per person in UK in the year of 2000 was 4 times smaller than in Scandinavian countries and nearly 2.5-3 times smaller than in such countries as France or Germany”.

In the research UK Coffee Sales Full Of Beans (Mitel, 2010) it is stated that people who drink coffee are mainly over 55’s and coffee drinking habit appears mainly among people who are 35 and older. This means that in the future if market tendencies do not change the number of coffee drinkers will only grow as UK population has a tendency to become older in the future. Current dynamics of the demographic situation in UK according to the UK Office for National Statistics show that “during last 25 years the number of young people reduced by 2 % (from 21% in 1984 to 19% in 2009)”. This also means that the drinking habits of elder people will have more influence on those of younger people in the future. Web resource of the UK Office for National statistics gives the following information about the change in the median age of the UK population:

“Over the past 25 years the median age increased from 35 years in 1984 to 39 years in 2009. It is projected to continue to increase over the next 25 years rising to 42 by 2034.”

The main reason why people start drinking coffee is that “together with the good taste it gives the opportunity to relax” (Mitel, 2010). Current tendencies in the UK and in the world show that in the close future people will not experience a decrease of stress, which will also affect their coffee drinking habit.

According to the article UK Coffee Sales Full Of Beans from MarketResearchWorld.net

“Economic turbulence in the UK has contributed to a shift in the way that consumers drink their coffee, which has largely been to the benefit of the in-home coffee market. As coffee shops have felt the effects of consumer belt-tightening, the in-home market has witnessed a good deal of trading up, as consumers endeavor to replicate the coffee shop experience at an in-home price. While once Brits were happy to settle with a bog-standard cup of instant, today the traditional cup of coffee has become increasingly sophisticated as roast, ground, instant premium and super-premium are being sought after more frequently by core users than in previous years.”

Another reason for the growing popularity of coffee is that coffee producers have a wide range of products to offer to customers: instant coffee, decaffeinated coffee and traditional ground coffee. Mainly instant coffee is making it popular among young working people because it takes less time to make this hot drink than tea for example.

Below is a table and chart with data on the number of coffee shops in UK per year from 2000 till 2010 (from Project Cafe Brochure, Allegra Strategies).

From the data in the table and shape of the diagram we can conclude that in next five years market will save a firm tendency of growth with growth rate of 5-6%. Later there can be a slight decrease in the growth of the number of coffee shops as the market will experience higher saturation.

From the data provided in the chart, we can also conclude that the growth of the number of independent coffee operators was stable during the whole period of research and was equal to ~2% per year. The growth of branded coffee chains (e.g. Starbucks) was at the rate of 6% per year. The rapid growth of coffee shops ran by non-specialists in 2008-2010 is mainly explained by current economic conditions and market preferences, as this segment of the business is more flexible.

We can see from the diagram that in the period from 2008 to 2010 non-specialist coffee outlets grew by 242% (4041 outlets in 2010 vs. 1668 outlets in 2008)

Making conclusion it’s important to say that the coffee market in the UK still has a big potential. The constant growth of coffee consumption starting from the year of 2000 will continue in the next 5 years, due to the changing drinking habits of UK customers. The popularization of coffee and the marketing strategy of the most well-known coffee brands will stimulate this growth.

References

Ageing: Fastest increase in the ‘oldest old’. Office for national statistics. n.d. Web.

Butterworth, Myra. Coffee sales rise amid economic downturn.The Telegraph. 2008. Web.

Coffee Statistics. E-imports. n.d. Web.

Euromonitor International. Coffee Shops in the UK.MarketResearchWorld. n.d. Web.

Mitel.UK Coffee Sales Full Of Beans. MarketResearchWorld. 2010. Web.

Project Café Brochure. Allegra Strategies website. 2010. Web.

Samus, Maxim. UK may face coffee sales increase.Market Leader. 2011. Web.

For this study, I stopped drinking coffee for two weeks and tried to drink half a gallon of water every day, which is considered normal for the human body. As a general rule, I usually drink two cups of coffee a day and have recently noticed that I am starting to become addicted to coffee. It seems to me that I cannot be productive and vigorous enough without drinking coffee, so I decided to try to give up this addiction. In addition, I do not drink enough plain water, so I am interested to know how these behavioral changes will affect my physical and mental health.

I have been drinking coffee for a long time; sometimes, I prefer espresso or latte. As you know, tea, coffee, and carbonated drinks dehydrate the body, as they contain caffeine. According to the prescriptions of many doctors, it is necessary to accompany each cup of coffee with a glass of water on top of the daily requirement. However, I did not drink even half a gallon of water while drinking two and sometimes three cups of coffee a day. I never compensated for the fluid in my body after coffee with a glass of water.

It is tough to give up coffee in the early days, and this fact suggests that I started an addiction. The first two days, I felt exhausted; the temptation to give up was potent due to habit. Water was not a substitute for coffee, but I kept thinking that I was doing a great job that would bear fruit for the future. In the first two days, I also had to take Advil due to severe pain in my head. As you know, the most challenging thing is to start, so after spending two days without coffee, I physically did not feel well, but psychologically I strove for success.

The obstacle to positive behavior in the early days was assessing my actions by my colleagues at work. They said I was crazy, and I can understand them. Coffee in the workplace has become part of the culture in many countries; even the term “coffee break” has appeared. A person who does not drink coffee in classic offices stands out from others. His behavior can be considered deviant, which does not carry any lousy connotation in this word (Goode, 2012). However, my family helped me to cope with this, which in every possible way supported me in my endeavor.

On the fourth day, my husband offered me a cup of decaffeinated coffee, but I restrained myself. My daughter’s remark about soda also came in handy; I didn’t know or instead didn’t remember that it contained caffeine, but I also eliminated it from my diet, replacing it with water. I replenished my energy with fruits, and thanks to a sunny day and a walk for the whole day, I drank even more than the required amount of water per day. The next day off, I was helped by a dream and the thought that I didn’t want hot coffee on a warm day. By the way, this was the first day when I did not feel any lack of energy due to the lack of coffee. On this day, I also did not follow the norm of the water I drank, but I turned out to be close and slightly desperate, which was not enough.

Triggers for negative behavior were encountered in my workplace when colleagues offered me coffee, candy, and snacks. The difficulty was explaining why I refuse since my refusal could be taken to heart. In addition, I am a new employee and found a way out to hide the snacks, which I then give to the children. Escape and hide and seek from the problem cannot solve it, but at that moment, I could not overcome myself. When my colleagues and I had to meet in the break room, where everyone got their coffee and donut, I was on the brink. Fortunately, I did not have to drink this coffee, but there was a need to do something about public opinion and approval.

For the first time, I felt highly energetic in the next two days, having more time and energy for work and personal affairs, never leaving the race. For the first time, after a week, I felt a surge of strength from the change in my behavior, which had a perfect effect on my psychological state. I even began to notice that my clothes became a better fit. I was not offered coffee at work, so there were no triggers for negative behavior, and I didn’t have to make excuses or hide in front of anyone. However, there was still a week ahead, but I was already much better tuned in to it than at the beginning of this experiment.

Until Sunday, I felt great; there was so much energy that it seems I wasted it all on Saturday. On Sunday, I felt tired right in the morning, but I held out and did not drink coffee. I was proud of myself, and this feeling saved me. In the remaining days, my mood and physical condition improved, up to the point that I lost weight and felt that my skin improved. I was amazed that this experiment was much easier for me than I expected, and now I am in awe of what changes will await me a month or two after the behavior change.

Reflecting on the problem and the simplicity of its solution in the context of our course, I concluded that coffee is the same drug but available, famous, and not prohibited. First, the lack of coffee in the addicted person’s body causes aggression, cruelty, and anger, although not in such quantities as alcoholism (Goode, 2012). Second, coffee has become part of the culture, in the claim as unfounded as four theories of media bias towards drugs – the ruling elite, the money machine, the theory of the professional subculture, and the grassroots (Goode, 2012). Coffee is popularized by heroes of films and even cartoons, books, songs. There is an unspoken rule of coffee consumption in any office, which is difficult for new employees to refuse. It is believed that every person today should distinguish latte from cappuccino, which speaks of the beginnings of a professional subculture.

Although many doctors say that coffee is harmful to the body, affects the cardiovascular system, increases blood pressure, and promotes anxiety, many people continue to drink coffee. The harm from coffee is not spread in the news, nor is it covered at the state level compared to other drugs. Accordingly, among public opinion, an ardent supporter of a healthy lifestyle, who opposes the consumption of coffee, looks impressive. This fact suggests that coffee also responds to grassroots theory – when society itself contributes to media bias (Goode, 2012). In this regard, to give up coffee in modern society, a person must be ready for perplexed views, personal inquiries, and misunderstandings of colleagues at work. However, every person has at least heard a lot about the dangers of frequent coffee consumption, but the strength of habit and established traditions dictate their own rules.

Part of my success consists of defeating this bias. As a goal-setter and expectant results, I was thrilled when I felt improvements in a matter of days. I appreciate that my family supported me and kept me in good shape, distracting me from negative triggers in every possible way. Nevertheless, I am grateful to my colleagues who tested me for strength in this seemingly tricky experiment. The problem of behavior change has shown me that we can see how deeply rooted it is by making one small change (Gardner & Rebar, 2019). Refusal from coffee touched in me various social fears that I even had to hide snacks and quietly, far from prying eyes, pour out the coffee handed to me.

By giving up coffee, I lost a habit that had a particularly negative impact on my health. Instead of any caffeine-containing liquid, I switched to plain water. This experiment will allow me in the future to save both energy and money that used to be spent on coffee. However, the most important discovery that I made thanks to our course and experiment is that you cannot 100% trust public opinion or the majority’s opinion. If I had succumbed to other people’s persuasion to drink coffee, I would not have lasted even a week. By giving up bad habits, we bring up the strength of character, which has a positive effect on our health.

Reference

Gardner, B., & Rebar, A. L. (2019). Habit formation and behavior change. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology. doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.129

Goode, E. (2012). Drugs in American society (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill.

ZZ Packer’s “Drinking coffee elsewhere” is a story about a young African American girl named Dina who uses escapism and pretense as a survival tactic in a mostly white-dominated university. This story is a part of a collection with the same name that comprises eight short stories. As such, in the collection, there are such stories as “Brownies,” “Every Tongue Shall Confess,” “Our Lady of Peace,” “The Ant of the Self,” the title story, “Speaking in Tongues,” “Geese,” and “Doris Is Coming.” Though the main characters are different in these pieces of writing, Dina appears in several of them, linking Packer’s works with common theme. This particular paper shall provide an analysis of “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” short story.

Dina as an Icon for African American Girls

While at Yale, Dina uses an excuse to attract attention to herself and succeeds in getting the concern of the dean. Dina’s pretense, however, fails her in a way in that she does not realize that she is falling for her female lesbian friend. She uses the pretense, as she has perfected it, to suppress the feelings. Even though ZZ Packer ‘s Drinking Coffee Elsewhere’ presents her as one who uses white characters in her stories to address the concerns of other ethnicities, Birnbaum’s ‘Identity Theory,’ which is an interview, presents her as a ‘Black writer’ in that her works mainly target black audiences.

Most of ZZ Packer’s stories and mostly “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” are autobiographical. This follows the revelations of her background in the interview that ZZ Packer, just like the character Dina in the story, moved from a dominantly black neighborhood to a dominantly white university. As a black writer, Packer is, in a way, revealing her experiences in the university through the character’s voice and experiences at the university.

The vivid insight and humor used by the character Dina in her remarks and actions correlate to that of the author ZZ Packer as revealed in the interview with Birnbaum. The young female voice of the character can be equated with that of Packer during her days at Yale University. As is clear from “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” summary, Dina uses pretense to distance herself from the realities that the white neighborhood brings upon her. Considering the age of the character Dina, Packer was undoubtedly referring to her own experiences.

It inspires other Black girls who are following her example when they come into contact with the short story. This reveals that the intention she had in writing the story was to communicate with the African American teenagers who find themselves in similar situations.

The overt racial pride portrayed through the character Dina reveals that the story, as written by Packer, was for the Black readers who would better identify with the character. This acts as a way to get used to the racial stereotypes and prejudices held against African Americans by the other races (Collins 229). When Dina announces that she wants to impersonate a revolver during the orientation exercises, she is compelled to have a series of psychiatric counseling sessions.

This highlights the stereotype of the angry and dangerous black man. The whites are suspicious and, at the same time, afraid of Dina as they term her as a potential homicidal psychic. Packer is using this character to portray that the personalities that are adopted by some black men are, in most times, merely survival tactics in circumstances where they feel outnumbered and not because they are potentially dangerous to others.

Meaning of the Symbols in the Story

In ‘Drinking Coffee Elsewhere,’ ZZ Packer uses the skin color of her characters in addressing them. Dina says, “If I had not known the person was white from the peephole, I’d have known it from a display like this.

Black people did not knock on strangers’ doors, crying” (Packer 50). Black people also hold stereotypes against the other races, as revealed in the above Dina’s statement. These make them feel superior to others, especially in circumstances where they consider themselves surrounded by different ethnicities.

As the interview reveals, it suffices to classify ZZ Packer in the category of Black writers in that her stories are interested in the private lives of African Americans (Birnbaum Para. 3). Most African American readers can identify with Dina’s experiences with ease, as opposed to how a white readership can identify with the work. This does not necessarily mean that Packer does not have white characters in her stories, such as ‘Drinking Coffee Elsewhere.’

It means that the white characters or others from other ethnicities are there to help readers understand the African American characters in the story by evaluating their relationships. In this case, even white writers who write specifically for a black readership can be classified as Black writers. This is by considering how the works address the issues that are most felt by the African Americans as opposed to the whites (Collins 227).

In the story “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere,” Heidi is a white girl who happens to be the only friend that Dina has at Yale. Heidi is a lesbian, and Dina is trying to suppress the affection that she has towards her. The character Heidi is merely in the story to help the Black reader understand the actions of Dina about Heidi.

In the climax of the story, the character Dina is struggling with mistrust that surrounds her as a Black girl in a dominantly white environment. In most cases, this reality occurs most African Americans who find themselves in similar situations. However, they do not suffer direct discrimination. Nevertheless, their actions and simple gestures attract the keen attention of the other ethnicities (Collins 235).

Dina is struggling to define for herself who she is and seeks acceptance in the society through pretending as a survival mechanism. The only person who eventually notices this defense mechanism is the psychotherapist, Dr. Raeburn. He is the only person who certainly understands Dina but after numerous futile attempts.

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere”: Theme Analysis

Packer tries to pass a message across to her few readers of other ethnicities that if they seek to understand the black people and coexist peacefully with them, they should not give up at all. The character’s struggle and eventual success are what attract the African American to prefer the works of Packer compared to the white readership. African Americans consider themselves as continuously involved in a struggle to fight a system that oppressed them once directly and now indirectly(Collins 235).

In Packer’s interview with Birnbaum, she, however, disregards these claims that she is a Black writer in that sense. However, through a keen analysis of the themes that dominate her stories such as ‘Drinking Coffee Elsewhere,’ it is apparent that she fits the category (Birnbaum Para. 20). Such characters as Dina are involved in a constant struggle to prove their humanity and demand for an end of some discrimination.

ZZ Packer’s words in the interview acknowledge the rich emotional content in her stories. The kind of language that she uses in the stories can be identified with the African Americans more than it can with other races. In fact, in the interview, Birnbaum attributes this to the unresolved and troublesome issues related to race.

Emotional content is a significant characteristic of African American literature. By addressing this issue in most of the stories in her collection, Packer automatically qualifies as a black writer. Another defining characteristic of African American literature or Black literature noticeable in Packer’s work is the use of poetic language in between prose.

Packer uses Frank O’Hara’s poem, “When I was a child,” the person said, “I played by myself in the corner of the schoolyard all alone. I hated dolls and games, animals were not friendly, and birds flew away. If anyone was looking for me, I hid behind a tree and cried out, ‘I am an orphan” (Packer 49). The use of explicit language in the text also qualifies Packer to fit in the category of the Black writers.

The Short Story Review

“Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” analysis essay shows that ZZ Packer may not consider herself as a Black writer from the perspective that her works target the Black audience. However, by considering her background and relating it to her works, such as “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere,” there are evident pointers that she targets such audiences.

The themes that dominate her stories, the style of writing, and the nature of the characters collectively point to this fact. Writers, however, tend to deny facts such as these for fear of being regarded as racist or even losing the favor of the other ethnic groups, which can influence negatively on them financially (Collins, 224).

Whether consciously or unconsciously, the fact that the product assists in coming up with such classifications is inevitable. One might not be intending to write for a particular audience, but then the product addresses the issues of a particular group prompting them to favor the work more than the other groups. ZZ Packer’s short story, in this regard, addresses the most felt issues of African Americans and, therefore, this automatically qualifies her as a Black writer and even a Black feminist writer.

Works Cited

Birnbaum, Robert. Identity theory: Interview by Robert Birnbaum, 2009. Web.

Collins, Patricia. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness and the Politics of Empowerment and Black Sexual Politics: African Americans, Gender, and the New Racism. New York: Routledge, 2005. Print.

Packer, ZZ. Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction: Fifty North American stories since 1970. New York: Touchstone Books, 2000. Print.

Those who commit offenses and those whose rights are violated have inherent differences between them. At all times, an offender should take responsibility for their wrongdoing. However, when corporations offend individuals, they tend to bully them, especially because individuals lack the financial power and influence that corporations have. The only way to arrive at a neutral solution when corporations can negotiate with individuals they have wronged is through litigation. Therefore, people should be encouraged to sue corporations to ensure that they do the right thing, and Mrs. Liebeck should be commended for bringing the lawsuit against McDonalds.

Without litigation, society will never hold large corporations responsible for their misdeeds – something that they never cease to do. From Saladoff’s documentary, this is the only position that a rational, neutral, and law-abiding individual will arrive at. At the very core of the film is Mrs. Liebeck’s case. Tort reform lobbyists and propagandists belittled the case and misdirected public opinion by distorting the facts of the case (Goodman). What Saladoff does in her film is set the facts of Liebeck v. McDonald’s case right. For instance, one of the magazine and newspaper cutouts in the film has the headline “Rich Coffee-Burn Victim Finding no McSympathy.” The corporation had misled the public into believing that the burns were trivial, and that Mrs. Liebeck was actually driving when she got burned. The opposite was true; it was Mrs. Liebeck’s grandson behind the wheel and she had suffered third degree burns to 16% of her body – nobody should call that trivial.

Saladoff documents Mrs. Betty Farahan, a juror during the hearing of Liebeck v. McDonald’s case, who asserts that McDonald’s was 80% to blame for the damages that Mrs. Liebeck suffered. According to Farahan, it was damning for McDonalds that they had documented over 700 cases that involved customers’ complaints about burns. McDonalds was adamant that the cases were trivial and this shows the firm’s disregard of customer safety. The presiding judge described McDonalds actions as “willful, wanton, and reckless” as he reduced the jury’s punitive damages award from $2.7 million to $480,000. What stood out in this case is that McDonald’s coffee was about 30^oF higher than coffee from other sellers or coffee made out of home coffeemakers. Such temperatures exposed customers to the danger of suffering third degree burns in about 2 seconds, compared to 20 seconds if the coffee was 30^oF less hot.

In the Caps on Damages with Connor Gourley scenario, Saladoff reveals how enforcing tort reform caps shifts the responsibility of a corporation’s wrongdoing to the taxpayers. After seven years of waiting and three weeks of trial, the jury awarded Gourley $5.6 million without a knowledge that the State of Nebraska caps damages. Eventually, Colin was awarded $1.25 million but his entire treatment plan required money close to $12 million. Colin ended up in Medicaid as no other insurance could cover him with his preexisting conditions – the doctor’s wrongdoing was the taxpayer’s burden now. The proponents of capping damages contend that regulating the amount of losses doctors and insurance companies incur through suits will reduce healthcare costs (Born et al. 1047). However, as shown in the documentary using the state of Texas as an example, with an instituted cap on total damages – both punitive and non-economic – one would have expected healthcare cost in Texas to fall. Nonetheless, by the time of filming, healthcare cost in Texas was rising at a higher rate than the national average.

In summary, the judiciary is the only place where individuals can battle out with corporations on a fair level and expect positive outcomes. Mrs. Liebeck did the right thing by suing McDonalds – it was the only way to hold them accountable for their mistake. However, corporations and politicians in the legislature and executive branches still intend to limit people’s access to justice through tort reform laws, which makes it hard for customers to sue corporations.

Works Cited

Born, Patricia H. et al. “The Effect of Damage Cap Reforms on Medical Malpractice Insurance Market Conditions during Periods of Crises”. Journal of Risk and Insurance, vol. 86, no. 4, 2018, pp. 1045-1071. Wiley. Web.

Goodman, Amy. Interview with the Gourleys, Lisa and Mike Gourley, Parents of Twin Sons, Colin and Connor. Democracy Now, 2011. Web.

Saladoff, Susan, director. Hot Coffee. HBO Documentaries, 2011. Web.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether feeling physically warm or cold could influence how one could evaluate a fictitious person. The first study question aimed to establish whether or not people who had briefly held a hot coffee drink rate, someone, significantly higher on warmth-related traits than those who had briefly held an iced coffee drink. The final study question aimed to demonstrate whether or not there would be no significant difference in the ratings of non-warmth related traits between those who had briefly held a hot coffee drink and those who had briefly held an iced coffee drink. The study methodology involved conducting an interview with 100 participants, who were randomly placed in two groups (50 participants per group) of hot coffee and cold coffee drinks. Experimenters recruited participants to describe the personality of a fictitious person while holding either a hot coffee drink or a cold coffee drink. The study results indicated that warmth was associated with a high rating of warmth-related traits while there were no significant differences in the rating of non-warmth-related traits among participants. The researcher concluded that physical warmth had effects on the use of warmth-related words, which could enhance interpersonal relationships.

Introduction

The aim of this study was to investigate whether feeling physically warm or cold could influence how one could evaluate a fictitious person. According to Asch, one can look at a person and instantly create character traits (Asch, 2007). However, Asch observed that one could only realize a trait of another within a particular quality, and every trait had its own impression. Different impressions contributed to making a complete impression of an individual.

Zhong and Leonardelli noted that social exclusion led to a literal feeling of coldness (Zhong and Leonardelli, 2008). In the first experiment, they noted that participants who were subjected to social exclusion recorded lower room temperature relative to participants who had inclusion experiences. In the second experiment, they noted that participants who were socially excluded by directly induced online virtual interaction had a high affinity for warm food and drink relative to participants who were included. As a result, they concluded that social perception entailed both physical and perceptual contents. Hence, the psychology of social perception is critical for understanding social interactions and social exclusion.

An experiment by Williams and Bargh concluded that physical temperatures had significant effects on an individual’s impression and prosocial behaviors toward others, but people were not aware of such influences (Williams & Bargh, 2008). Past studies by John Bowlby noted that early childhood experiences of warmth from their caregivers had significant influences on the child’s normal interpersonal developments of warmth and later behaviors in adulthood (Bowlby, 1969). In addition, Meyer-Lindenberg observed that physiological state sensations like body temperature and trustworthiness for other people supported the study Williams and Bargh (Meyer-Lindenberg, 2008). Thus, concepts of warm and cold relationships have significant influences on interpersonal behaviors and perceptions.

Harlow provided an effective method of measuring neonatal and infant affection responses to surrogate mothers. He noted that such responses were strong and persistent because of the warmth that existed as the monkey preferred a cloth surrogate mother instead of a wire mother (Harlow, 1958). On the same note, Lorenz noted that physical closeness was critical for survival during infancy among animals because of their helpless status (Lorenz, 1966). Critics noted that Asch (2007) did not provide any solid support for his study on warm and cold concepts in determining the impression on people (Williams & Bargh, 2008). However, later studies showed that warm and cold attributes could produce different feelings. For instance, people who had a hot cup of coffee or had a warm bath were associated with feelings associated with warmth like comfort (Niedenthal, Halberstadt & Innes-Ker, 1999).

The first study question aimed to establish whether or not people who had briefly held a hot coffee drink rated someone significantly higher on warmth-related traits than those who had briefly held an iced coffee drink. The final study question aimed to demonstrate whether or not there would be no significant difference in the ratings of non-warmth related traits between those who had briefly held a hot coffee drink and those who had briefly held an iced coffee drink.

The study evaluated participants on their rating of fictitious persons after holding either hot or cold coffee drinks. The researcher filled out questionnaires while they had cold or hot coffee drinks in their hands.

Hypotheses

• H1: Participants who had briefly held a hot coffee drink rate someone significantly higher on warmth related traits than those who had briefly held an iced coffee drink
• H2: There would be no significant difference in the ratings of non-warmth related traits between those who had briefly held a hot coffee drink and those who had briefly held an iced coffee drink

Method

Participants

At the start of the trimester at Deakin University Australia, students were experimenters in a psychology course to investigate whether feeling physically warm or cold could influence how one evaluated a fictitious person. Participants were 100 volunteers.

Materials

The study materials were questionnaires, hot coffee drinks, and cold coffee drinks. Participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire while describing a fictitious person. While doing this, they held either a hot coffee drink or a cold coffee drink. They rated a fictitious person on different traits, such as generosity, sociability, happiness, popularity, persistence, importance, seriousness, and reliability.

Procedure

All 100 participants were randomly selected and allocated into two groups. The first group consisted of 50 people in a hot coffee condition experiment while the other 50 people participated in a cold coffee experiment. These experimenters recruited a friend or a family member who would be a participant in the experiment. Participants were not aware of the other group. Prior to filling out the questionnaire, experimenters asked participants nonchalantly if they could hold their coffee drinks.

Results

Table 1:Summary statistics for Hot Coffee and Iced Coffee in regards to Generosity

There was a difference between the Hot Coffee group mean scores and the Iced Coffee group mean scores in regards to Generosity. An independent measures t-test showed that the difference between the data in Table 1 was significant t(98) = 3.35, p<.05.

Table 2:Summary statistics for Hot Coffee and Iced Coffee in regards to Sociability

There was a difference between the Hot Coffee group mean scores and the Iced Coffee group mean scores in regards to Sociability. An independent measures t-test showed that the difference between the data in Table 2 was significant t(98) = 2.73, p<.05.

Table 3: Summary statistics for Hot Coffee and Iced Coffee in regards to Happiness

There was a difference between the Hot Coffee group mean scores and the Iced Coffee group mean scores in regards to Happiness. An independent measures t-test showed that the difference between the data in Table 3 was significant t(98) = 3.08, p<.05.

Table 4: Summary statistics for Hot Coffee and Iced Coffee in regards to Popularity

There was a difference between the Hot Coffee group mean scores and the Iced Coffee group mean scores in regards to Popularity. An independent measures t-test showed that the difference between the data in Table 4 was significant t(98) = 2.66, p<.05.

Table 5: Summary statistics for Hot Coffee and Iced Coffee in regards to Persistence

There was a slight difference between the Hot Coffee group mean scores and the Iced Coffee group mean scores in regards to Persistence. However an independent measures t-test showed that the difference between the data in Table 5 was not significant t(98) = -1.11, p>.05.

Table 6: Summary statistics for Hot Coffee and Iced Coffee in regards to Importance

There was a slight difference between the Hot Coffee group mean scores and the Iced Coffee group mean scores in regards to Importance. However an independent measures t-test showed that the difference between the data in Table 6 was not significant t(98) = 1.32, p>.05.

Table 7: Summary statistics for Hot Coffee and Iced Coffee in regards to Seriousness

There was a slight difference between the Hot Coffee group mean scores and the Iced Coffee group mean scores in regards to Seriousness. However an independent measures t-test showed that the difference between the data in Table 7 was not significant t(98) = -0.82, p>.05.

Table 8: Summary statistics for Hot Coffee and Iced Coffee in regards to Reliability

There was a slight difference between the Hot Coffee group mean scores and the Iced Coffee group mean scores in regards to Reliability. However, an independent measures t-test showed that the difference between the data in Table 8 was not significant t(98) = -0.74, p>.05.

The results indicated that there were statistically significant differences between the rating of participants who had briefly held a hot coffee drink and those who had briefly held an iced coffee drink. Therefore, we accept the experimental hypothesis (H1). On the second hypothesis, the study results indicated that there were no significant differences in the ratings of non-warmth related traits of those who had briefly held a hot coffee drink and those who had briefly held an iced coffee drink. Therefore, we accept the experimental hypothesis (H2).

Discussion

A study was conducted to investigate whether feeling physically warm or cold could influence how one would evaluate a fictitious person. The result showed that there were statistically significant differences between the ratings of people who had hot coffee drinks and those who had cold coffee drinks. Participants who had hot coffee drinks described fictitious persons with words associated with warmth. This study supports previous studies, which established that physical warmth had impacts on the use of warmth-related words when describing a person (Williams & Bargh, 2008; Harlow, 1958; Zhong and Leonardelli, 2008; Bowlby, 1969).

People tend to analyze and describe their social interactions by the use of metaphors (Zhong and Leonardelli, 2008). They also tend to attach different meanings to interpersonal circumstances based on the prevailing temperature, which may occur incidentally. This study has shown that holding a hot coffee drink changed the way participants responded or rated other people. In other words, the change in temperature changed the responses of participants. People who had contact with a hot coffee drink subsequently used warm-related terms to describe a fictitious person. Conversely, participants who used cold coffee drinks did not use warm and friendly words when describing fictitious persons.

The study outcomes show support for previous research in the experiment (Williams & Bargh, 2008). Researchers have used such studies to explore “the relationship between physical temperatures and individual personality” (Zhong and Leonardelli, 2008). This study has similar findings to those conducted by Williams and Bargh (2008). Thus, the study was credible. On the other hand, some scholars have noted that rejection of people leads to the generation of cold feelings (Zhong and Leonardelli, 2008). From a psychological perspective, such physical experiences normally affect the psychological expectations of individuals (Williams & Bargh, 2008). In this regard, the use of words like cold and warm metaphorically depicts social exclusion and social inclusion respectively. Some studies have demonstrated the use of metaphor has been effective in reflecting the psychological attributes of people (Zhong and Leonardelli, 2008). One can conclude that the term coldness, when used to refer to social interaction, could reflect an abstract concept of social rejection (Zhong and Leonardelli, 2008; Williams, & Bargh, 2008).

This study finding has presented opportunities for further studies, which could explore the interaction between people and their physical environments. It would be interesting to “study whether or not a warm experience from the environment or an object could avert negative feelings, social exclusion, and coldness” (Zhong and Leonardelli, 2008). Although the researcher used random sampling for generalization, participants’ interpretation of a fictitious person could have influenced their ratings. This interpretation of participants could have affected the final study outcomes. Most people have associated physical coldness with social exclusion or rejection. On this note, psychologists could explore how changes in favorable temperatures could transform feelings of coldness, loneliness, social exclusion, and rejection among people.

Some studies have linked coldness to depression during winter weather conditions. This is a form of affective disorder, which may affect healthy persons. Studies should determine how physical coldness affects such individuals who experience affective disorders associated with winter seasons. Zhong and Leonardelli concluded that “perhaps cold temperatures in the winter served as a catalyst to the psychological experience of social exclusion” (Zhong and Leonardelli, 2008).

The researcher concluded that physical warmth had effects on the use of warmth-related words. Consuming a warm cup of coffee could be a means of managing and coping with severe weather and social exclusion and rejection. Thus, physical warmth can generate positive and warm feelings among people and enhance interpersonal relationships.

References

Asch, S. E. (2007). Forming Impressions of Personality. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 41(1946), 258-290.

Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and Loss. London: Hogarth Press.

Harlow, H. (1958). The nature of love. The American Psychologist, 13, 673-685.

Lorenz, K. (1966). On Aggression. New York: Harcourt, Brace, and World.

Meyer-Lindenberg, A. (2008). Trust Me on This. Science, 321(5890), 778-80.

Niedenthal, P.M., Halberstadt, J.B., & Innes-Ker, A.H. (1999). Emotional response categorization. Psychological Review, 106, 337-361.

Williams, L.E., & Bargh, J.A. (2008). Experiencing physical warmth promotes interpersonal warmth. Science, 322(5901), 606-607.

Zhong, C-B., and Leonardelli, G. J. (2008). Cold and Lonely: Does Social Exclusion Literally Feel Cold? Association for Psychological Science, 19(9), 838-842.

Introduction

Tort reform remains a widely contested issue in the United States and across the globe. According to Schmerler (2011), this reform refers to the new changes proposed to reduce tort damages, lawsuits, and laws. The documentary “Hot Coffee” offers a critical analysis and discussion about tort reform in the country.

The film discusses how different cases have been misused (or used) to promote this issue of tort reform in the United States (Saladoff, 2011). The documentary offers useful highlights to describe how giant companies such as McDonald’s have presented new laws to replace the current jury system.

Hot Coffee Reflection

From a personal perspective, this documentary presents a clear insight into the problem with McDonald’s and other companies’ contracts. To begin with, the movie presents a unique insight into the infamous Liebeck v. MacDonald’s Restaurants case. Many politicians and legal practitioners have misused (or used) this case to support or defeat tort reform in the country.

The film “Hot Coffee” informs the viewer about the facts surrounding the case (Saladoff, 2011). The film also features other cases such as Jamie Leigh Jones v. Halliburton Company. These court cases explain how “corporations and agencies have spent billions in an attempt to support tort reforms in the United States” (Okrent, 2014, p. 58).

Many corporations and their insurers have always been on the frontline to attack civil juries in the past three decades. Such contracts have lobbied for legal frameworks that can take reimbursement decisions away from the justice system (Goldberg & Zipursky, 2010). The film explains how the idea to cap damages for the injured will always be a major concern. The film goes further to explain how most of these powerful corporations and contracts can have enormous control over the jury systems (Goldberg & Zipursky, 2010).

The testimonies and evidence presented in the movie explain why many citizens in American have remained silent over this issue. This documentary maintains that many giant companies have designed new contracts and structures that can strip away the rights of the people (Ruschmann & Marzilli, 2009).

These efforts and practices behind the reform have undermined the citizens’ rights to a jury. The corporate world presents “new contracts to fund a new public relationship drive” (Schmerler, 2011, p. 2). The pioneers want to change our thoughts and perceptions about the Civil Jury System.

The most amazing thing is that the public is not aware of the implications of this tort reform. The documentary examines the issue from all dimensions using a number of case studies, personal testimonies, and court cases (Helland & Tabarrok, 2006). This film does a commendable job. This is true because it informs more people about the consequences of tort reform policies and laws. The corporate world has tried to deceive the people about the appropriateness of tort reform (Saladoff, 2011).

However, the documentary tackles the subject squarely in order to convince the people about the dangers of this reform. Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants case explains how giant companies use uncouth behaviors in order to succeed. The film informs the reader about the facts of the case (Schmerler, 2011). It also encourages citizens to protect their rights.

This documentary reminds the viewer about the controversial McDonald’s Coffee case. Many scholars and analysts have identified this case as the best example of how corporations and tycoons have taken advantage of the country’s legal system. The film offers an unbiased response to the Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants case.

It also explores how the case gained much attention (Saladoff, 2011). The viewer also understands how the company profited. The documentary is a revelation because it teaches the people how big companies continue to spin the media in order to succeed (Goldberg & Zipursky, 2010). This scenario explains why every citizen should be aware of this reform.

The film has informed me how the judicial and legal systems thrive on cash. Most of these giant corporations have succeeded because they have money. The citizens have continued to suffer because they lack the required cash. This movie indicates why business corporations will always win unless the government offers an immediate solution.

These corporations will fund and sponsor every evidence or testimony in the courtroom. More documentaries and journal entries will inform more people about this looming problem (Goldberg & Zipursky, 2010). The outstanding fact is that the court system should always be ready to protect the rights and liberties of the people.

Conclusion

In conclusion, every person should be ready to analyze this problem before making his or her final decision. I am happy because this documentary has widened my eyes about the ongoing tort reform debate. It informs the citizens why many corporations have continued to support this reform.

The film explains why we should support the traditional Civil Jury System in order to safeguard the needs and rights of American citizens. I am encouraging every person to watch this documentary because it offers something special and meaningful towards a free nation.

Reference List

Goldberg, J., & Zipursky, B. (2010). The Oxford Introductions to U.S. Law: Torts. New York: Oxford University Press.

Helland, E., & Tabarrok, A. (2006). Judge and Jury: American Tort Law on Trial. New York: Independent Institute.

Okrent, C. (2014). Torts and Personal Injury Law. Cengage: Cengage Learning.

Ruschmann, P., & Marzilli, A. (2009). Tort Reform. London: Chelsea House Publishers.

Saladoff, S. (Executive Producer). (2011). Hot Coffee [DVD]. New York, USA: HBO.

Schmerler, J. (2011). Frivolous Lawsuits and How We Perceive Them. Yale Journal of Medicine and Law, 8(1), 1-4.

The game BizCafe is valuable for any student who wants to understand how to become an effective manager, deal with arising management issues, and ensure that all investments are as effective as possible. My specific areas of responsibilities were marketing and miscellaneous issues. For example, other members of the group asked my advice about the marketing strategies we could use, and I had to provide reasons such as why we sold a cup for $3.75 during the first periods or what exact number of radio spots the cafe paid for during various periods. To ensure that our marketing decisions were efficient and did not influence the start-up negatively, I had to examine major players in the field and evaluate their marketing experiences, decisions, and strategies.

During the first five periods, we relied on radio advertisement more heavily than during the fifth to ninth periods. As customer awareness of the cafe rose significantly, we could invest less in the radio advertisement.

As to miscellaneous investments and decisions, I convinced the members of the group that a purchase of a $4.000 oven was an effective long-term investment during the fourth period. Although such a decision was disputed at first, I successfully argued that this purchase would not have been useful during the first three periods, or the later ones, for various reasons. These reasons, along with other explanations about the decisions made, are discussed in the following sections.

Group Dynamics

I would evaluate the group dynamics as mostly positive, with a flexible group structure (the roles of the members changed depending on the current aim or group’s needs) and strong cohesion that was rarely disrupted by group conflicts. The flexibility of the roles in our group helped me to critically evaluate the decisions of others (and my own) because we never played the same roles during the project. For example, during the first periods, I was responsible for management decisions, but my role changed during the later periods where I was more focused on the operations, and another member of the group was responsible for management. Nevertheless, group conflicts did happen, although not as often as one could expect. Therefore, I think our group should have reconsidered the group influence on individual decisions. For example, during one of the periods, the group insisted that a particular decision (the lbs. of coffee purchased) was more favorable than the one presented by one member of the group. However, this decision ultimately resulted in wasted coffee, suggesting that the group’s decision about this particular investment was misjudged. Thus, our group needs to be more open to personal suggestions as well, even if they contradict with the opinion of the group majority.

Period 1: Report

During the first period, the management decisions were as follows: we hired two managers whose wage would be $800 per week. We had eight servers; their hourly wages were $12.75 per hour. We decided not to hire more managers since the cafe did not work weekend hours. At the same time, since the cafe had just been opened, we needed effective managers who could ensure the cafe and servers worked productively. It is for this reason that we decided to pay $800 per week, a wage that is slightly above the median minimum wage for cafe managers. The aim was to increase motivation but not exhaust the investment capitals, since we also had to pay the servers, purchase coffee, furniture, advertising, and obtain a high capacity machine. Since we just opened, we did not assume we would need many servers due to low customer awareness.

Nevertheless, by the end of the first period, the servers were overworked. I believe we should have hired more servers (at least 10 or 11) to support the core team. We sold medium cups for $3.75; a medium price in the coffee market that might appear to be too high for a newly opened café. However, since we purchased high-quality coffee, it was decided that such a price would not repel potential customers and would ensure the cafe did not sell underpriced products. The cafe bought 45 lbs. of coffee to cover the anticipated demand but wasted 20 lbs. by the end of the period due to the lack of orders, as well as high customer volume, resulting in some customers leaving the cafe before purchasing any products. The group realized the amount of coffee should have been smaller (approx. 35 or 45 lbs.) to avoid product waste. Shop hours were from 8 am to 8 pm, to service the working customers and those preferring to visit cafes after work or spend their leisure time in the evening. A prolonged evening shift would require more servers, so it was not supported.

The cafe was advertised online and on the radio; we decided to ensure general awareness since no or little presence in social media would decrease the potential number of customers and negatively influence competitive advantage while excessive awareness required a serious financial investment that was not possible in the first period.

The group purchased 5000 medium cups and high-quality coffee. The decision to purchase this number of coffee cups was supported by the assumption that no emergency purchases would be necessary in the case of increased capacity and a high flow of customers. High-quality coffee was purchased to ensure customer satisfaction but 45 lbs. was too excessive. New modern furniture was purchased for $4.000 to engender a creative, ready-to-work atmosphere for clients. The AutoFour High capacity machine is more expensive but also faster, and more productive, than the Duo machine, thus reducing service time. Overall, 770 cups were sold during the period, the revenue was $2.887.50, and the total expenses were $6.776.50 (net income $4.228.30). As can be seen, other decisions should have been made to decrease the costs.

Period 2: Report

The previous period resulted in stressed managers and overworked servers, as well as 20 lbs. of coffee wasted. Since the managers had to cope with stressful situations, and subsequently lacked motivation, the group decided to raise their wage to $840 per week. More servers were hired to avoid burnout: 17 servers now received $13.25 hourly. The increase in wages led to a rise in coffee prices: a medium cup was priced at $4.15, a medium price for quality services and organic coffee. 35 lbs. of organic coffee were purchased. Due to previous product waste, the group decided to decrease the amount of purchased coffee. However, this decision led to a 25 lbs. emergency purchase from local sellers that was more expensive compared to coffee purchased in bulk. Nevertheless, this was necessary to cover demands and the rapid flow of customers’ orders. The price of organic coffee is also quite expensive; this is why overall expenditures rose during this period.

No medium cups with logos were purchased because the remaining cups could be easily used. The group also decided that the shop hours needed to be extended: the cafe was open from 7 am to 11 pm. The decision was supported by the fact that many customers prefer visiting the cafe not strictly after the work (at 7-8 pm) but together with their friends or partners closer to 9-10 pm.

The group also decided to purchase insurance ($600) since more servers were hired, expensive equipment was used every day at the highest capacity, and emergencies that can frequently happen in the food industry (burns, cuts, slips on wet floors, etc.) needed to be covered.

Online advertisement generally remained at the same levels as the first period since it was working effectively and attracting new customers. However, it was decided to increase the number of spots on the radio to ten to increase brand awareness among those customers who rarely use social media (middle-aged parents, senior citizens, and people who consciously avoid social media).

We were able to calculate customer satisfaction was 51.4% and brand awareness 22.7% (compared to 41.1% and 5% during the first period).

This time, 1876 medium cups were sold. The managers were reported to be unhappy, and we decided to review our wage decisions during the next period. The YoY growth rate was 31.92%, whereas revenues increased to $7.691.6, but total expenses were $8.427.44 (net income $1.349.68). The overall increase in expenses was linked to increasing wages, newly hired staff, the purchase of expensive products, and additional investments in radio advertisement.

Period 3: Report

It was decided to open the cafe during weekend hours to increase customer flow, since families and some of the customers who have specific working schedules were mostly able to visit the cafe only during weekends. Although the customer flow was expected to decrease during lunch hours, there were more customers in the evening. Managers’ wages were increased by 10% ($930 per week); a third manager was hired as well. Since the customer flow increased, we had to hire three servers to cover emergencies such as sick leave or stress. The hourly wages remained the same ($13.25). We spent $2.999.25 on management and $2.848.75 on staff.

The group decided to decrease the price of coffee by $0.10 (a medium cup was $4.00). Moreover, 20000 medium cups were purchased to ensure that the coffee would be sold in cups with the brand logo only to enhance brand awareness.

Overall, $4.200 was spent on advertising. Online advertisement maintained a general awareness of the brand, while ten radio spots were seen as the best option because brand awareness was still not deemed sufficient.

80 lbs. of organic coffee were purchased; still, the cafe had 28 lbs. of emergency purchases due to the increased number of customers who placed multiple orders, thus increasing product expenditures.

Additional expenditures included a customer survey ($50): we agreed that this step was necessary for our understanding of possible existing issues in service and product quality. The survey consisted of 20 questions about service, ambiance and pricing, and required approx. 5-7 minutes to complete. We decided not to overload the survey with questions since many of our customers had a short time-frame in which to get back to work after their lunch break or business meetings. The customers’ ratings were the following: 4/5 price, 4/5 ambiance, and 3/5 service. Following these results, the management realized that needed to pay more attention to employee training and service quality.

In summary, customer satisfaction was 62.1%, brand awareness 40.1%, and 3365 medium cups were sold during this period. The YoY growth rate was higher compared to the previous year: 57.60%. Net income was $2.127.03.

Period 4: Report

There were no significant changes in management and staff during the fourth period since the managers were motivated to perform at the expected level and servers did not experience burnout and stress because we hired three new employees. The wages for servers remained the same; labor compensation was above the average wage level for employees in the food industry because the group wanted to motivate employees to provide higher quality services. Overall, $2.999.25 was spent on management and $3.276.06 on staff. Since the customer survey had shown that services in the cafe were not the quality we expected, it was decided to hire new employees to increase the cafe’s rating.

At the same time, we also decided to purchase 150 lbs. of organic coffee since we were introducing a new bakery to customers; from this, we expected that coffee sales would increase. Nevertheless, by the end of the period, 45 lbs. of coffee were wasted. Therefore, we should have possibly purchased fewer lbs. of coffee since the number of medium cups sold also decreased (3278).

There were positive changes as well. Buying an oven was a long-term investment that potentially could increase future sales of both coffee and baked goods because many customers, especially those who visited the cafe with children, often purchased bakery items together with their drinks. The oven cost $4.000; 968 units from the bakery were sold during this period.

Customer satisfaction was 68.4% and brand awareness 64.5%. Customers rated the cafe as following: 4/5 price, 5/5 ambiance, 4/4 service. As can be seen, we were able to increase customer satisfaction for service by hiring new employees. Revenues were $15048 and expenditures were $10475.31 (net income $2802.33). The YoY growth rate was 31.75%, which is a lower rate compared to the previous year.

Period 5: Report

During the fifth period, it was decided to decrease the working time on Sunday to 9 am – 9 pm. Therefore, managers’ wages were also cut, although only slightly ($910 per week). Overall, $2.934.75 was spent on management and $3.799.69 on staff. The increase in expenditure on staff was due to the newly hired employees (26 servers overall). Servers’ wage also increased to $13.70 per hour to improve service quality.

There were significant changes in marketing. Since the cafe attracted various types of customers (students, business workers, families, employees from other shops), it was agreed that a choice of small or large cups were necessary. Thus, a small cup was priced at $3.15, a medium cup at $4.00, and a large cup $4.30. Since the difference in pricing between a medium and large cup was not very significant, it was expected that customers would prefer buying a large cup, whereby increasing the sales of large cups and the revenues related to them. The logo is also more visible on a large cup, which slightly increases brand awareness. We ordered 10,000 small and large cups to cover expected customers’ demand for the various cup sizes. We also slightly decreased the amount of purchased coffee; 145 lbs. were purchased and 36 lbs. wasted. Nonetheless, cost cutting positively influenced customer satisfaction. Pricing was rated 5/5, ambiance 5/5, and service 3/5. To improve customer experience, satisfaction, and ambiance, we decided to hire a free HS jazz band that was positively received by customers.

Customer satisfaction was 70% and brand awareness increased to 80.7%. The revenues were $16.607.10, and the expenses were $13.217.77 (net income $1452.88). The YoY growth rate was -48.15%.

Period 6: Report

We decided to motivate the managers and servers by increasing wages: $920 per week (managers) and $14.00 hourly (servers). The aim of this decision was to see whether customer satisfaction and service could improve. Three new servers were hired to decrease workload.

The pricing policy was also reviewed to cover the expenses produced by staffing and other purchases: the cost of a small cup rose to $3.28, a medium cup to $4.16, and a large cup to $4.47. To avoid product waste, we purchased 115 lbs. of organic coffee. Nevertheless, an emergency purchase of 13 lbs. was still needed to cover placed orders.

Since customer flow continued to increase, we expanded the cafe ($1.000 rent) and purchased a Duo espresso maker ($3.000) to ensure quick service delivery and decrease the rate of possible customer complaints. 2114 small cups, 1649 medium cups, 865 large cups, and 1402 baked goods were sold during this period.

Customer satisfaction decreased slightly (69.9%), whereas brand awareness grew (86.2%). We decided to decrease the number of radio spots to five since brand awareness had been growing steadily for the past several periods.

Overall, the price ratings fell (4/5), but satisfaction with service grew (4/5). Our main focus was to maintain perfect ambiance, which was successful during this period (5/5). The net income was $6.613.48; the YoY growth was 355.20%.

Period 7: Report

The decisions in management during the seventh period related to human capital; two more servers were hired to increase customer satisfaction with the service (a total of 31 servers). Their wage was also increased to motivate them to improve their performance at work ($14.20 hourly).

Referring to the surveys made during the previous period, we decided to decrease product prices to increase customer satisfaction: $3.23 for a small cup, $4.10 for a medium cup, and $4.40 for a large cup. Furthermore, the amount of coffee we purchased (135 lbs.) was just right to meet demand; no coffee was wasted, and we experienced no related expenses as well.

It was decided that employees needed on-going training. We assumed that staff training would positively influence customer satisfaction. Thus, $1,200 was spent on a training program. The customer rating of service improved (5/5); therefore, the training program was deemed an effective solution to the issue of service quality. The ambiance was rated 5/5 as well, but pricing remained at 4/5.

Customer satisfaction and brand awareness grew to 75.1% and 90.6% respectively. Net income increased as well ($7.926.12), whereas the YoY growth was 19.85%.

Period 8: Report

We decided to increase wages to support and enhance motivation to deliver quality services, both by managers and servers: $925/week and $14.25/hour respectively. We also hired one new server to maintain equal distribution of orders and services. At the same time, we decided to decrease prices again to evaluate whether this would influence customer ratings and strengthen our competitive advantage with our rivals: $3.19/small cup, $4.05/medium cup, and $4.35/large cup. While this decision did not increase customer ratings of the pricing policy, it did help us to remain a strong competitive force in the area.

We purchased 142 lbs. of organic coffee but still had to make an emergency purchase (1 lb.). As can be seen, it is difficult to calculate the right amount of product to be purchased since demands vary from period to period.

One of the major expenditures during this period was the introduction of Internet access in the cafe. We spent $1.000 to provide controlled internet access that significantly facilitated the working process of employees and increased customer satisfaction, as well as the length of stay since some of the students could use our Internet access to prepare for lectures and eat/drink at the same time.

Despite the decision to decrease prices, customer satisfaction slightly dropped to 74.2%. Still, brand awareness continued to grow and was 91.2%. We maintained a general awareness of the brand in social media and paid for five radio spots to promote the cafe to potential customers who do not use social media. The price was rated 4/5, while both ambiance and service received 5/5.

The net income of this period was $9.720.24, and the YoY growth rate was 22.64%.

Period 9: Report

The management decision made during this period was to fire one of the servers to slightly decrease staff expenses; the services were not negatively affected by this decision as customer satisfaction grew as well. We also increased servers’ wages to $14.40 per hour since we observed that their motivation and the quality of delivered services were directly linked to financial decisions about their salaries.

In the marketing section, we decided to decrease the cost of a medium size cup to $3.95 since it was the most popular size among customers. This was done to increase competitive advantage and customer satisfaction with pricing, which had been rated 4/5 during previous periods.

We purchased 155 lbs. of organic coffee but wasted 17 lbs. Additional investment was necessary to purchase a coffee roaster since the trend to drink freshest roasted coffee was growing gradually and could help us attract more customers.

Price, ambiance, and service were rated 5/5. Customer satisfaction increased to 85.2% and brand awareness to 96.4%. Net income was $6.323.88, and the YoY growth rate was -82%.

Skills Learned

This simulation game has shown me how theory and practice can differ when one is implementing even the smallest project. I realized that negative net income should not be feared, particularly in the beginning of a business project since businesses were very rarely capable of generating revenue right from the start.

I was also able to see clearly how efficient decision-making is the key to any successful business because all operations, across all areas, are influenced by the initial decisions made. At the same time, it is also essential to continually monitor results of each area during every period to evaluate how efficient the decision-making process was, and what issues needed to be considered in the future. Using forecast models can help facilitate the decision-making process and successfully prepare for any potential management, marketing, and operational issues.

Human capital should not be overlooked as well. Employee satisfaction directly related to sales efficiency and maximization of employee value. In any business, human capital needs to be motivated enough (per different tools, including financial ones) to maintain the sustainability of efficient sales and the highest levels of customer service satisfaction.

Introduction

Marketing refers to the process of conducting market research, selling goods or services to clients and promoting them through advertisement to increase the sales volume. It is a complex process by which organizations and industries develop strong relationships with the customers.

In order to conduct effective marketing of products, it is important for the marketing managers to have a sound understanding of the origin of the products they are dealing with in order to device proper marketing strategies. This paper seeks to shade light on the origins of coffee and gold, challenges in their production, why they are popular and also their advertisement.

Coffee

Origin of Coffee

The use of coffee can be traced back to the thirteenth century (Schreckmann, 2004). However, its origin has not yet been established. It is commonly understood that the ancient Ethiopians who were the ancestors of the current Oromo community were among the first people who discovered that coffee has a stimulating effect on the mind (Schreckmann, 2004). However, there is no specific evidence that can explain where coffee was grown and used in Africa before seventeenth century (Pendergrast, 2010).

By sixteenth century the knowledge of coffee had spread in the Middle East, some sections of Persia and Turkey. “The use of coffee as a beverage later reached Italy from Asia” (Schreckmann, 2004). From Italy its use was extended to Europe and since that time coffee production reached America (Pendergrast, 2010). Although the origin of coffee had its roots in Ethiopia, the country only produced a little amount for exportation until the second half of the 20^th century.

Reasons for the Popularity of Coffee

The popularity of coffee can be attributed to several factors. First, it has stimulating effect in the mind of the user and continuous use of it can lead to addiction hence such consumers are likely to continue using it (Schreckmann, 2004). Secondly, the manufacturers of coffee products have also managed to design several mechanisms to elevate its popularity.

For example coffee products come in various flavors that appeal to the customers taste and preferences. Apart from this the players in the coffee market have always been keen to maintain its reputation in the market (Paul, 1947). They have achieved this through regular thrilling advertisements (Schreckmann, 2004).

Problems Encountered in Coffee Production

The level of coffee production has been affected by fluctuations in its market prices (Paul, 1947). For example the international market price for coffee has not been stable and they keep on changing. This has always lowered the enthusiasm of farmers to continue producing coffee.

Organizations that Deal with Problems of Coffee Production

Coffee Marketing Boards in various countries have been instrumental in addressing problems related to coffee production. For example they always bargain for better international coffee prices. They also offer advisory services to the farmers (Schreckmann, 2004). The advice relates to better production methods.

Gold

Origin of Gold

Gold was the first metal known by mankind. The beautiful nature of gold and its brilliance attracted the ancient people and it became part of their culture (Paul, 1947). Since gold is found in different parts of the world, it was discovered by different races in many places. Almost any body who encountered gold got amused with it (Paul, 1947).

The easiest metal to work on is gold. “It appears in a pure workable state as compared to other metals that exist inform of ore-bodies which cause some difficulties in smelting” (Paul, 1947). Gold has been a noble commodity and the early civilizations associated it with prominent rulers like kings and queens (Paul, 1947). Gold was of great value to human beings even before they started using it as a currency.

This has been demonstrated by a tireless effort to get it. Prospecting activities for gold has its origins in 700 B.C (Paul, 1947). During the search for gold by Egyptians and Phoenicians, prisoners were often sent to work in the gold mines. Gold was used as currency in the ancient Greece (Paul, 1947). “The Greeks conducted gold mining activities in the Mediterranean region around 500 B.C. and scholars like Plato wrote about the theories of its origins” (Paul, 1947).

Problems Encountered in Gold Production

The mining of gold has been affected by several challenges that can be briefly explained as follows. In South Africa where we have one of the world’s largest gold mines, electricity hitches have always crippled mining activities (Paul, 1947). For examples some mines have had to be closed for a long time due to perennial power black-outs (Paul, 1947).

Workers have always had serious accidents in the mines with some ending in deaths (Paul, 1947). Secondly, the cost of mining has risen considerably over the past few years. Thirdly, the initial cost of setting up and running a gold mine is relatively high (Paul, 1947). There is also the challenge of increasing labor shortages in the mines. Besides, workers in the mines always demand for high wages (Paul, 1947).

Reasons for Popularity of Gold

Today the price of gold is still rising and this can be explained as follows. One of the reasons for the popularity of gold is its high quality as a metal (Paul, 1947). Another factor for the increased popularity of this metal is its ability to provide protection against potential financial risks (Paul, 1947). For example when the value of currency goes down, it gives the investors the chance to protect their investments. In addition to this, gold also offers a wide range of investment opportunities to investors (Paul, 1947).

Description of a Print Advertisement

There are many ways of advertising and print advertisement is one of them. This type of advertisement is printed in a piece of paper for example in a newspaper. The effectiveness of this advertisement depends on the ability of people to see it. In this study a print advertisement for gold was used.

Design of the Advertisement

The advertisement featured gold writing printed on leather. The leather is having a soft texture and it is black in color. The words are written in yellow to bring a sharp contrast and this makes the advertisement look very attractive. The words in the gold advertisement are: “Money makes the world go round. Gold stops the world from getting dizzy when the ride’s is over’’.

Language of the Advertisement

The language used in the advertisement was carefully selected because it is simple and can be easily understood. The use of simple language in advertisements helps the marketer to pass clear messages to the targeted population.

Purpose of the Advertisement

This advertisement was aimed at encouraging people to invest in gold trade. The advert aimed at highlighting the main features and functions of gold in order to increase its demand.

Conclusion

From the above discussion we can conclude that marketing is very important in business. Marketing can be enhanced through proper research on the products or services to be sold. Before a person settles on a given mode of advertisement it is important to analyze the effectiveness of the various methods of advertisement.

References

Paul, R. (1947). California gold: the beginning of mining in the far west. Cambridge: Havard University Press.

Pendergrast, M. (2010). Uncommon grounds: the history of coffee and how it transformed our world. New York: Basic Books.

Schreckmann, D. (2004). The coffee house grounds for change. Java Ranch Journal, vol.3 (i) , 34-36.

Introduction

Currently, Brazil is the leading coffee producer in the world (Santos). Furthermore, it is the second largest consumer of coffee after the United States, and has more than 300,000 coffee farms.

This implies that Brazil enjoys over five million jobs which are generated by coffee production. Brazil is the only coffee producing country where coffee is no longer grown primarily for export as a major source of income, as in all the other coffee producing countries, but rather for internal consumption. While almost 70% of Americans drink coffee regularly, in Brazil, this rate is above 90% increasing.

Brazil offers all the types and qualities of coffee desired by consumers: Arabica and Robusta, natural, pulped naturals and washed coffee, single – origin coffee, an immense number of varietals, custom – made blends, volumes both large and small, and niche products (specialty, organic and certified coffee). This great diversity is the result of cultivation at varying latitudes and in different attitudes, soils, and climates.

Brazilians consume locally many of the best coffees in the world. The Brazilian Coffee Association (ABIC) undertakes many unique and successful campaigns to provide Brazilians with coffee of all kinds, varieties, blends, and types, always with a rigorous control of coffee purity and quality, as well as with the most appropriate and healthy roasting.

ABIC has set up the Coffee Quality Program where consumers have the freedom to choose from three major coffee options: traditional, superior, or gourmet. The PQC is also a program for the education of consumers with regard to coffee consumption; when consumers are better informed, they consume more and seek products with higher added value and a good cost benefit ration.

A major focus is given to the healthy properties of coffee by having medically qualified properties of coffee by having medically qualified professionals to advise the Brazilian coffee industry, something unique and pioneering in the world, making this one important factor for the increasing coffee consumption observed in Brazil over the past fifteen years (Santos).

There is some Brazilian coffee in almost every espresso you drink and in most canned coffee and major roasters’ blends (Talbot). Coffee from Brazil has delighted the world for many years, bringing with it the contagious joy of its people, their colorfulness, their tastes and their smells.

Anyone who experiences the pronounced aroma and characteristics of Brazilian coffee cannot help but fall in love. Brazilian coffee requires a lower initial roasting temperature, since this far healthier than over roasted or very dark roasted coffee. Lots of people prefer a really good natural dry process – more cream, more chocolate, more body, and some fruit note.

Quality of the Brazilian Coffee

There is a great effort being made on behalf of Brazilian coffee as exquisite and distinctive specialty – level coffee. For more than a century, coffee was the country’s most significant export crop, and its image and perception are intimately related. In all parts of Brazil, coffee growing creates jobs, homes and income for around ten million people.

Brazilian coffee is appreciated not just for the aroma and pleasant taste, sweetness and body, but also for the natural processing method employed during the harvesting, which helps preserve the environment. Brazilian coffee is produced in the most appropriate regions and undergoes current drying, processing, and selection procedures, which enables local companies to produce high quality roasted and ground coffee, comparable to the nest in the world (OECD).

Brazil: The supplier

Brazil is the world’s biggest supplier of coffee, accounting for around a quarter of the global market (Bacon, Ernesto and Stephen). Tariffs on coffee are generally low, but there is a significant amount of tariff escalation, with higher rates on roasted coffee than on beans, and some countries applying high rates on instant coffee.

The three main markets are the European Union, the United States and Japan. Unroasted beans enter these markets duty free but roasted coffee pays a 7.5% tariff into the European Union – which contrasts with 0% for ACP counties and 2% for GSP countries – and 10% into Japan. Exports into the United States are exempt from tariffs, but their volume is nevertheless reduced by the benefits provided to farmers in Ecuador, Colombia and Peru under the United States’ anti – drug initiative.

The Rise of Specialty Coffee

The North American specialty coffee market grows 5 – 10 percent each years, and it reached an estimated retail value of $ 7.8 billion by 2001. This rapid growth contrasts to slow demand growth for bulk commercial – grade coffees. Unheard of 30 years ago, the specialty or gourmet market represents 17 percent of US coffee imports by volume and 40% of the retail market by value.

The US purchases 25% of the internationally traded coffee in the world. In 1982, a small number of small scale coffee roasting companies joined together to form the Specialty Coffee association of America (SCAA). The mission of the SCAA is to promote high quality gourmet coffee and sustainability.

Commercial – grade coffees do not have equally strict quality requirements, are commonly sold in tin, cans, and often cost the consumer half the price (Topik and Allen).

In addition to claims to superior taste, specialty coffee companies celebrate the craftsmanship of coffee roasting and preparations; they employ more specialized roasting processes, focus on product freshness and use large marketing expenditures to differentiate their product from bulk commercial grade coffees. The specialty roasters depend on a higher quality coffee bean and are generally willing to pay producers price premiums for better beans (Bacon, Ernesto and Stephen).

Coffee prices are subject to upward spikes in June, July and August due to possible freezes scares in brazil during the winter months in the southern hemisphere (Commodity Research Bureau). The Brazilian coffee crop is harvested in May and extending for several weeks into what are the winter moths in Brazil. A major freeze in Brazil occurs every five years on average.

Demand – the US coffee consumption rose slightly by +3.9% to 22.649 million bags in 2006, mildly below the 4 decade high of 22.8 million bags seen in 2000.

Trade – world coffee exports in 2006 – 07 rose +9.8% bags, which was a 4 decade high. The all time high of 24.549 million bags was posted in 1962. They key counties from which the US imported coffee in 2006 were Brazil which accounted for 28% of US imports, Columbia 12%, Mexico 4% and Guatemala 4% (Commodity Research Bureau).

Economic Relations

It is worth noting the economic relationship between the United States of America and Brazil. What stands out is the fact that United States is ranked as among the top Brazil investors. This has been orchestrated by the signing of the trade agreement by the president of United States and the Brazilian president in 2011. Through this agreement, a framework which will ensure that there is direct trade between the two countries will be enhanced.

For instance, Brazil was ranked as the 18^th largest supplier of goods to the United States of America. According to records from the department of trade, in 2010, US imported goods from Brazil which were totaling to $23.9 billion. This was a 19.2% increase as compared to the previous year. Essentially, with this kind of record, polices which have been put in place with regard to trade between these two countries stands out.

From the coffee perspective, the growing demand of coffee from the US has escalated this relationship. Essentially, polices which have been put in place have ensured that the trade relations are enhanced. In addition, the gradual resurgence of the US economy has also increased the demand.

At this point it is worth noting that Brazil was ranked as the 5^th largest exporter of agricultural good to the United States. And in this case, coffee was ranked as the top most commodities which were exported to the US. Unroasted coffee which was exported to the United States in 2010 amounted to $1.1 billion. This ensures that the current market by the US is top priority by the Brazilian agricultural sector.

Conclusion

In conclusion, based on the fact that all factors considered, the trade relations between the United States and Brazil are bound to be enhanced, there is a high likelihood that the market of coffee from Brazil is going to increase. In addition, this will be orchestrated by the enhanced production strategies which the Brazilian agricultural sector has put in place to ensure that quality is achieved and maintained.

Works Cited

Bacon, Christopher, Méndez, Ernesto and Stephen Gliessman. Confronting the Coffee Crisis: Fair Trade, Sustainable Livelihoods and Ecosystems in Mexico and Central America. Massacheussets: MIT Press, 2008. Print.

Commodity Research Bureau. The CRB Commodity Yearbook 2007. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2007. Print.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). OECD Review of Agricultural Policies Brazil. New York: OECD Publishing, 2005. Print.

Santos, Roseane M. An Unashamed Defense of Coffee. New York: Xlibris Corporation, 2009. Print.

Talbot, John. Grounds for Agreement: The Political Economy of the Coffee Commodity Chain. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004. Print.

Topik, Steven and Allen Wells. The Second Conquest of Latin America: Coffee, Henequen, and Oil during the Export Boom, 1850-1930. Texas: University of Texas Press, 1998. Print.