Coffee Commodity Chain Essay Example

Coffee Commodity Chain Essay Example Coffee Commodity Chain Paper Coffee Commodity Chain Paper Name: Course: Instructor: Date: Coffee Commodity Chain A commodity chain is a sequential procedure utilized by a business organization to congregate resources, transform the resources into products and finally distribute them as finished commodities to the consumers. It involves linking the numerous places of production and distribution of the commodity. The process, in turn, leads to the commodity being exchanged on the global market. In a much simpler sense, the commodity chain illustrates the connection of different stages from which a good passes from the producers to the consumers. A fine example of such a structured process is the coffee commodity chain. However, interaction of the global economy with the chain only obscures the connections. Origin of Coffee A coffee commodity chain illustrates the series of paths that coffee travels to reach the consumer. However, to understand the connections, it is essential to understand the origins of coffee as a commodity. Coffee, as a commodity, can be linked back to Ethiopia in 1000 AD. The commodity was mainly grown by the Arabs since it was a reserve of the Muslim culture. As an Islamic beverage, coffee was located outside the European global economy. Additionally, coffee drinking was popular in Yemen by the fifteenth century. From there, the practice spread to the north reaching the Arabian Peninsula and Cairo in Egypt. Moreover, at around the same time, coffee was popular in North Africa because of the growth of the Arabica variant in Ethiopia. As demand for the commodity increased, farmers in Yemen commenced with cultivation of the crop in the mid sixteenth century (Topik and Smith, 52). At this time, coffee was a commodity that circulated mostly in the Arab system separate from global economies. The early coffee trade was mainly established on the Port of Mocha in the Red Sea. This was because the main area for the cultivation of the crop was near the port. From the port, the Indian merchants were able to carry the commodity to the east, Egyptian merchants were able to carry it north through the Red Sea while the Arab and Turkish merchants carried it overland through Turkey. Long distance traders from Europe were motivated by considerable profits that could be created by carrying coffee from the port to distant cities that possessed high demand for the commodity. However, the merchants in Mocha also created substantial profits since they benefited from a monopoly on the coffee supply (Topik and Smith, 54). Additionally, the inland merchants achieved monopoly over the supply of the crop by heavy and jealous protection. The spread of coffee, especially in the Islamic cities, led to the change in the material aspects of the citizens, which was evidenced by the creation and rise of the coffeehouse. According to Hattox (90), the coffeehouse was a social venue that characterized the Islamic culture at that time. However, the social aspect of coffee led to the creation of rules and regulations by rulers that deemed the beverage as unacceptable under Islamic law. Once the commodity was established in cities such as Istanbul and Cairo, it was encountered by European travelers who marketed the beverage by word of mouth to their respective countries. The merchants of Venice, who supervised the Mediterranean trade, were the first to transport coffee to Western Europe, around 1600, from Istanbul. The Dutch first imported coffee from Mocha into Amsterdam in 1616. Towards the beginning of the seventeenth century, the Dutch initiated importation of coffee on a grand scale. This was inspired by the growing demand for the commodity as well as opportunities to gain from the trade. The first valid commercial coffee plantings outside Yemen were made by the Dutch in Java and Ceylon (Ukers, 43). Java quickly took over Mocha and became a major source of supply for coffee in the Amsterdam market, the most important in Europe. However, France commenced globalizing coffee cultivation in Paris and Java by the Dutch leading to the spread of the crop in other regions such as North America. The British also introduced coffee in Jamaica in 1730, later becoming a significant producer in the 19th century. The French, on the other hand, introduced the crop to Brazil in the 1720s spreading to other Caribbean, Central and South American countries. After achieving independence in the 1820s, the Latin American countries, led by Brazil, would later become the largest producers of coffee in the world (Ukers, 70). Transformations of Coffee Coffee undergoes various processes of transformation before it becomes the familiar roasted beverage. The first stage is processing. Traditionally, berries have been selectively picked using labor-intensive methods such as handpicking. Usually, handpicking involves selecting the coffee berries that are at the climax of ripeness. After picking, either of two methods are utilized to process the coffee. The first method, dry process, involves strip picking of the coffee berries. The second method, wet process, includes fermentation and produces placid coffee. After sorting the berries by ripeness and color, the flesh is removed by machinery, and fermentation is done to eliminate mucilage in the beans. After completion of fermentation, the beans are cleansed with considerable amounts of fresh water in order to eradicate the residue after fermentation. Then, the beans are dried. Consequently, sorting of coffee is performed. The coffee, after sorting, is labeled as green coffee (Kummer, 37 ). The second stage involves the roasting. Roasting is an important determinant since it influences the beverage’s taste by physically and chemically changing the coffee bean. This is because the weight of the bean decreases as moisture is misplaced and the volume increases making it less dense. Moreover, the bean’s density manipulates the potency of coffee and the prerequisites for packaging. The process commences when the beans’ temperature reach approximately 200 degrees, though different bean varieties roast at special rates. During roasting, the extreme heat splits starches inside the bean altering them to sugars that start to brown hence changing the bean color. In the process, oils such as caffeol, which are liable for coffee’s fragrance and taste (Kummer, 65). The third stage involves brewing of the roasted coffee. In this stage, grounding and brewing of coffee beans occurs to generate a beverage. The specification for choosing a method incorporates flavor and economy. Most methods of coffee preparation require the grounding of beans mixed with hot water to extract the flavor. The roastery is the place where coffee is roasted, grounded and put up for sale in a packaged form. Grounding occurs in different ways. A burr grinder can be used to cut off the bean, a pestle and mortar to crush the beans and a blade grinder to cut the beans. However, most brewing methods utilize the burr grinder method. Coffee may also be brewed by various methods such as boiling, steeping or pressurizing. Boiling is done by pounding the beans to powder then putting it into water and boiling it in a pot. Steeping is done by a coffee press whereby both water and coffee are left to brew in a cylindrical vessel for few minutes. Then, a filter is pushed down to push do wn the coffee grounds. Pressurizing utilizes the espresso method to force water through the coffee grounds (Kummer, 160). The final stage, serving, involves serving the coffee in different ways. Mostly, coffee is provided as white coffee through the addition of milk. Coffee can also be availed as black coffee sweetened by incorporating sugar. Coffee can also be served cold, hence the term, iced coffee. Serving coffee also utilizes presentations. For instance, espresso is served solely with hot water. In other forms of espresso, milk is added, whereby steamed milk creates a caffe latte while equivalent parts of froth and steamed milk create cappuccino. Coffee can also be included with alcohol. For instance, Irish coffee is coalesced with whiskey and structures the pedestal of coffee liquors such as Tia Maria (Kummer, 176). Environmental Impacts of Coffee Historically, coffee was planted under the cover of trees. The shade of trees offered a natural habitat for many living organisms such as insects and animals, positively influencing the biodiversity of a natural forest. The conventional farming practices involved the use of coffee pulp compost. The use of the compost enabled for the exclusion of chemicals and fertilizers. Additionally, bananas and fruit bearing trees were cultivated to provide shade for coffee plants, which granted surplus income and food safety. However, such environmental friendly practices ceased when the United States Agency for International Development and other organizations availed eighty million dollars to shift from natural methods to technical agriculture in Latin America. Technical agriculture led to the creation of farming practices that have a negative impact on the environment. One such method is sun cultivation. Sun cultivation involves growing coffee in rows under direct sun with modest or absent for est shade. This method enables the coffee to ripen quickly, and the coffee bushes to generate higher yields. However, the method requires extensive deforestation and increased use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides (Palm, 78). Such practices only damage the environment and lead to problems associated to health. Sun cultivation causes destruction of habitats, pollution due to pesticides and soil degradation. Additionally, the quality of coffee produced under the shade system is superior compared to the crops farmed under sun cultivation. The coffee processes also have a detrimental effect on the environment. The processing and sorting stages of coffee, which involve separation and de-pulping, lead to the pollution of rivers. The separation of the beans from the pulp leads to the fermentation of the beans. After fermentation, drying ensues leading to the accumulation of pulp remnants that are dumped as waste into rivers. The pulp dumped into the rivers leads to the death of aquati c life because pulp has the negative effect of oxygen depletion, which is essential for aquatic life. Coffee is among the most traded beverages in the global economy. By learning about the commodity, the processes affecting the production and supply are understood. Coffee, despite facilitating the culture and relations of diverse communities, is also a facilitator of health. The beverage is associated with low risks of cancer and liver disease in adults, increased performance in terms of memory and physical characteristics and increased attention. By learning about the commodity, it becomes simple to decipher the relationship between the producer and the consumer.

Complete Guide to the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship

Complete Guide to the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The Bright Futures scholarship programs are great resources for Florida students who plan on staying in-state for college. Aswith any scholarship program, though, there's a lot of information to processabout the awards. Just sifting through all the eligibility requirements and award limitations can be overwhelming, never mindfiguring out how to actually submit an application. In this guide, I've compiled all the information you need about the Bright Futures scholarships. I'll talk about the different award programs, their eligibility requirements, the application process, and strategies to help you win your own. What Is the Bright Futures Scholarship Program? The Bright Futures program offers merit-based scholarships to Florida residents who stay in Florida for college or vocational school (unfortunately, you won't be eligible for an award if you attend college out of state). If you qualify for a scholarship, you’ll receive funds to attend any public or private college in Florida. Financial need is not considered in awarding Bright Futures scholarships. There are three different scholarship programs, all with different eligibility requirements and award amounts. All of these scholarshipsare renewable - as long as you continue to meet eligibility requirements, you can get these awards year after year until you’ve finished your program of study: Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) - This is the most competitive scholarship and most generous scholarship. It's geared towards â€Å"A students." FAS winners canreceive funding for the entire duration of their course of study. Florida Merit Scholars (FMS) - This scholarship is less competitive than the FAS, but it still has relatively high minimum test score and GPA requirements. It's geared towards "B students." FMS winners canreceive funding for the entire duration of their course of study. Gold Seal Vocational Scholars (GSV) - This scholarship helps students pursuepost-high school vocational and certificate degrees. It's the least competitive award and provides the least amount of funding. GSV winners can receive scholarship funding for up to 72 credit hours of a technical degree program or career certificate program OR up to 60 credit hours of an applied technology degree program. Award Amounts Like I mentioned above, scholarship funds are awarded per credit hour. Scholarship recipients receive a fixed amount based on scholarship type, school type, and credit type: SCHOLARSHIP TYPE PROGRAM TYPE CREDIT HOUR AWARD - SEMESTER CREDIT HOUR AWARD - QUARTER CLOCK HOUR AWARD FAS 4 year $103 $69 2 year $63 $42 $2.10 FL Public Colleges - BA programs $71 Technical programs $52 $35 $1.73 FMS 4 year $77 $51 2 year $63 $42 $2.10 FL Public Colleges - BA programs $53 Technical programs $39 $26 $1.30 GSV (20-2012 high school grads and later) Career certificate program $39 $26 $1.30 Applied technology degree program $39 $26 $1.30 Technical degree education program $48 $32 $1.60 Want to calculatehow much scholarship money you could potentially receive? Just multiply the award amount (per credit hour) for the scholarship you're gunning for by the number of credit hours you'd need to complete a particular program. For example, a standard bachelor's degree requires 120 credit hours to complete. If I won the FAS scholarship, I could potentially receive $12,360 over the course of 4 years (120 credit hours x $103). Award Limits As flexible as the awards are, there are some ways in which you can't use Bright Futures funding. In addition to eligibility limits (which we'll get to shortly), there are some restrictions on how and where you can use Bright Futures scholarship money. You can only use the fundsat Florida schools - for more information, you can check this full list of eligible or participating institutions. You also can't use Bright Futures money to fund remedial coursework or (except in special circumstances) summer term work. How Do You Know If You're Eligible? Now that you know all about the sort of funding you can get with a Bright Futures award, I imagine you're interested in figuring out if you're eligible. First, you should determine if you meet the general Bright Futures requirements (these apply to all three scholarships): You must be a Florida resident and US citizen or eligible noncitizen (this is determined by your college). You mustcomplete the Florida Financial Aid Application by 8/31 of the year of your high school graduation. You must earn a standard Florida high school diploma or its equivalent from a Florida public high school or a registered Florida Department of Education private school. You can’t have been convicted of (or pleaded no contest to) a felony charge. You must be accepted by and enroll in a degree or certificate program at an eligible Florida public or independent postsecondary institution (postsecondary institution = college, university, vocational school). There are additional academic criteria for the FAS, FMS, and GSV scholarships.The FAS and FMS scholarships have pretty demanding criteria for GPA, ACT/SAT scores, and service hours, whereas the GSV program isn’t quite as demanding: FAS Requirements 3.50 minimum GPA (weighted) 29 minimum ACT scoreor 1290 minimum SAT score 100 minimum community service hours FMS Requirements 3.00 minimum GPA (weighted) 26 minimum ACT scoreor 70 minimum SAT score 75 minimum community service hours GSV Requirements 3.00 minimum GPA (weighted) in non-elective high school courses ACT score minimums = 17 in English subsection, 19 in Reading subsection, and 19 in Math subsection SAT score minimums = 440 in Critical Reading, 440 in Math 30 minimum community service hours There’s quite a bit of fine print when it comes to eligibility requirements. If you want to learn more (and you should), check out our complete guideto Bright Futures requirements. What Information Do You Need to Apply? Thankfully, there isn't too much of this involved in submitting a Bright Futures application. You'll be able to streamline the whole application process if you have all the necessary paperwork and materials in orderbefore you begin. Here's everything you'll need to prepare if you want to apply for a Bright Futures scholarship: Florida Financial Aid Application You'll need to submit the Florida Financial Aid Application, or FFAA, no later than August 31 of the year of your high school graduation.If you don’t submit the FFAA, you won’t be able to get any Bright Futures funding.The applicationtypicallyopens December 1. Official Transcripts Fortunately, Florida public high schools automatically submit official transcripts to the Florida Department of Education for Bright Futures evaluation. Ifyour high school doesn’t automatically send transcripts, you can ask them to submit yours via email toOFSA.transcripts@fldoe.org. SAT or ACT Scores You can take the SAT or ACT for the purpose of submitting your scores to the Bright Futures scholarship program through June 30 of your graduation year - this is obviously much later than you would take the tests for college applications. This long window gives you some extra time to meet score requirements if needed. You can submit your ACT/SAT scores for Bright Futures consideration when you register for the exams. Request, at registration, that your scores be sent to one of Florida’s 12 state universities, public community colleges, or public high schools. The scores will automatically be forwarded to the Florida Department of Education repository. The application process should run as smoothly (and as automatically) as a well-oiled machine. How Do You Submit an Application? Much of this process is automated - you won’t have to do much extra work outside of submitting the FFAA and keeping an eye on your application to make sure everything is processed correctly. Here are all the steps you should take to make sure you submit a complete and successful Bright Futures application: Step 1: Submit the Florida Financial Aid Application Remember, this must be submitted by 8/31 the year of your high school graduation. YourFlorida Bright Futures account login information will be sent to you after you submit the FFAA. Step 2: Take the ACT or SAT and Submit Your Test Scores You’ll have to take either the ACT or SAT for college applications anyway, so this shouldn't require extra work on your part. Send your scores to a Florida public school (like I mentioned earlier in this post) to ensure that the Florida Department of Education receives them. Step 3: Check on the Submission of Your Official Transcripts If you attend a Florida public high school, your transcript willbeautomatically submitted for Bright Futures consideration. It’s a good idea to check with your guidance counselor to confirm submission, especially if you don't attend a public school. Step 4: Keep the Information in Your Bright Futures Application Account Updated Again, you'll get account login information for your Bright Futures application account once you submit your FFAA. Once you have access to this account, you can use it to manage and monitor different parts of your application. To make sure that your scholarship application is on track, you should: Monitor your number of reported service hours. Update your postsecondary institution. Once you’ve enrolledat a FL college or vocational school, you shouldmake a note of this in your account. Update any demographic information. View your eligibility determination - check your account once everything’s been submitted to see if you’re eligible for the scholarship. When Do You Find Out Whether You've Been Selected? There are two different evaluation timelines: Early Evaluation and Final Evaluation. For the Early Evaluation timeline, you can get an eligibility determination posted to your online account as early as March. Your transcriptsand test scores mustbe submitted by January 31. For the Final Evaluation timeline, you can get an eligibility determination posted to your online account as early as July. Your transcripts and test scores canbe submitted following your last high school term. You actually don't get much of a say in how this cashis used (which may be a good thing if money tends to burn a hole in your pocket). How Can You Use Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Money? Now that you're up to speed on the application process, you'll probably want to know what actually happens with the Bright Futures funding once you get it. You won’t receive the money directly. The financial aid office at your school will calculate your award and then disburse funds (i.e. apply the funds to your account) after the end of the add/drop period each term. Like I've mentioned before, you have to use the funds at an eligible Florida school. Interested in studying abroad? Your school decides ifany Bright Futures funding can be applied to study abroad programs. Strategies: How to Increase Your Chances of Winning a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Winning a Bright Futures scholarship could mean that the bulk of your tuition expenses (and maybe even some room and board costs) would be covered for up to four years. If you're going to submit a Bright Futures application, you'll want to make it count. There are four main eligibility requirements that you have control over (aside from state residency): coursework, GPA, ACT/SAT scores, and service hours. Here are some strategies to make sure you meet all of those requirements. Coursework If you attend any school in Florida, you're likely on track to meet all the coursework requirements. If you're in any way concerned,schedule a meeting with a guidance counselor ASAP to see if your schedule needs to be adjusted. For more information on coursework requirements, see our Bright Futures eligibility guide. GPA If you're concerned that your GPA isn't high enough to win the FAS scholarship - the most competitive of the awards - set a more reasonable goalby aiming for the FMS or GSV GPA requirement. Also, keep in mind that all the GPA requirements listed are weighted. If your GPA is currently unweighted, your weighted GPA may be higher if you've taken any advanced or honors classes. See your guidance counselor for more help in calculating your weighted GPA. ACT or SAT Scores You'll be doing yourself a favor in a couple of ways if you work on bringing up your ACT or SAT scores. Higher scores will open up more scholarship opportunities in addition to better-ranking school options. To give yourself time to bring up your scores, start preparing for and taking the tests earlier rather than later. The end of your sophomore year through the beginning of your junior year is a good time to start working on prep. Optimize your scores by choosing one exam to work on, rather than splitting your energies between the ACTand SAT.If you're unsure which test to take, check out our guide to figure out which test is best for you. If you're an upperclassman and don't have much time to prepare for thetests, check out our fast prep guides for the ACTand SAT. Service Hours The best way to meet theservice hours minimum is through consistency. Try to set a schedule (e.g. go at the same time every week) so that it feels like more of a serious commitment. The more consistent you are and the earlier you start chipping away at your community service hours, the fewer hours you have to volunteer per week. If you start as a freshman, you'd need to volunteer for 1 hour every 2-3 weeks to meet your minimum. If you start as a senior; however, you'd need to volunteer 1.5-2 hours every week. It'll be easier to stick with your volunteer commitment over the long run if you work with an established, legitimate agency thatwill consistently track your hours (although it's a good idea to keepyour own records as backup). If you need community service ideas, read up on the nine best places to volunteer. What's Next? Now that you know exactly what to focus on in order to get a Bright Futures scholarship, you can start working on making sure you meet all the eligibility requirements. Concerned about meeting those minimum testscores? Check out our prep guides for the ACT and SAT. Want to bring up your GPA? Read about four ways to bring up your high school grades fast. Interested in more community service ideas? Check out our guide to 129 great community service projects. You may alsobe interested in other community service-based scholarships. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: