New terrains of taste: spatial analysis of price premiums for single origin coffees in Central America.

摘要

Coffee retailers often court discriminate consumers through the marketing of single origin coffees with distinct flavor attributes. The Cup of Excellence has become a key mechanism for locating and certifying single origin coffees. In this paper use hedonic regression analysis to examine the price premiums for farmers generated by the origin attributes of 607 Cup of Excellence certified coffees from Central America. We find that while the greatest impact on the price premiums for a pound of coffee is the jury score awarded by coffee cuppers, several geographic factors, including the altitude of the farm, coffee farm size, country of origin and even sub-region of origin have significant effects on price premiums. While the price premiums conferred represent opportunities for farmers who have access to such markets, we argue that the appetite for single origin coffees may also contribute to uneven development.