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The life cycle of a cup of coffee - A.J. Jacobs

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How many people does it take to make a cup of coffee? For many of us, all it takes is a short walk and a quick pour. But this simple staple is the result of a globe-spanning process whose cost and complexity are far greater than you might imagine. AJ Jacobs traces the journey of this caffeinated elixir from seed to cup.

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Meet The Creators

  • Educator A.J. Jacobs
  • Director Biljana Labovic
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Storyboard Artist Biljana Labovic
  • Animator Daniella Schnitzer
  • Art Director Daniella Schnitzer
  • Sound Designer Weston Fonger
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Editorial Producer Dan Kwartler
  • Script Editor Alex Gendler
  • Fact-Checker Eden Girma
  • See more
Additional Resources for you to Explore
One of the world’s most popular beverages, coffee originated in Ethiopia around the 10th century. The first coffee shop opened in modern-day Istanbul in 1475. The drink arrived in the Americas in the early 1700s, but was popularized after 1773’s Boston Tea Party, which helped demonize that beverage among the colonists.

The key component in coffee is caffeine, a legal stimulant. Caffeine can make people feel more awake, energized, and focused, but also exhibits addictive properties. Although some drink decaffeinated coffee for the taste, most drink the caffeinated version. A high enough dosage of caffeine could actually kill, though it would take about 80 to 100 cups.

According to the most recent annual survey from the National Coffee Association, 62% of Americans drink coffee daily, with the average coffee drinker consuming 3.1 cups per day. Coffee consumption is particularly growing among the young, with an estimated 37% of people aged 13-18 drinking coffee daily in 2017, up from 23% in 2014.

The U.S. imports the most coffee of any country, followed by Japan, Russia, and Canada. In 2019, coffee chain Starbucks ranked as the second-biggest food or drink chain in the U.S. by revenue, behind only McDonald’s.

Brazil exports the most coffee of any country, followed by Vietnam, Columbia, and Indonesia. The two main types of coffee beans are Arabica and Robusta, which comprise about 60% and 40% of global coffee exports, respectively.

TED-Ed
Lesson Creator
New York, NY
Many involved in coffee are low-paid. Would you be willing to pay more for coffee if it would increase those wages? Why or why not? And if you’d be willing to pay more, how much more?
06/01/2020
Avatar for Burak Aslan
Burak Aslan • LESSON IN PROGRESS

I dont know the value of the coffee but people harvest those coffee in dangerous. All matter is people live. Just need to be worth this price it's enough.

01/04/2021
Avatar for Revenger 123
Revenger 123 • LESSON IN PROGRESS

People who harvest coffee should be paid more. They work in dangerous conditions and they work for a lot of time. It takes around 3 to 4 years for a tree to bear coffee beans. I would be willing to pay more to increase their wages.

01/05/2021
Avatar for Jacob Gobbee
Jacob Gobbee • COMPLETED LESSON

Yes . I would be willing to pay more then minimum wage, so they can earn more money for doing a really hard and dangerous job .

01/06/2021
Avatar for Terri Hansen
Terri Hansen • COMPLETED LESSON

I would be willing to pay more for coffee now that I understand all the work that goes into manufacturing coffee and coffee beans. I really enjoy coffee a lot. It would be worth it to pay the workers a fair and reasonable wage. I would be willing to pa above minimum wage.

01/06/2021
Avatar for Gauge Jacob
Gauge Jacob • COMPLETED LESSON

I would willingly pay more since its a very dangerous job
written by: swaggod69

01/06/2021
Avatar for Jacob McKearney
Jacob McKearney • LESSON IN PROGRESS

I would be willing to pay more because of how dangerous the job is

01/06/2021
Avatar for kate cline
kate cline • LESSON IN PROGRESS

I would be willing to pay more for coffee because I feel like the workers work very hard to make it, so yes I would be willing to paid more for coffee even if it was just $2 dollars more.

01/06/2021
Avatar for Aliyah birkenhead
Aliyah birkenhead • LESSON IN PROGRESS

I would be willing to pay more because I feel like the people who work to make the coffee work hard enough that they should get a bigger pay check. I would pay about $2 dollars more.

01/06/2021
Avatar for jake cote
jake cote • LESSON IN PROGRESS

i would because that doing any thing with coffee is prollboly dangerous

01/06/2021
Avatar for Arvaan Bhatti
Arvaan Bhatti • COMPLETED LESSON

I would pay more if the coffee was from tim hortons. If the coffee was from starbucks i would not.

01/06/2021
Avatar for Brandon Dupuis
Brandon Dupuis • LESSON IN PROGRESS

I would be willing to pay for more coffee if it would raise the payments for the people that are involved in proccess. It is a very dangeours proccess they go through to make coffee for us. So after watching it I relized they should deserve more.

01/06/2021
Avatar for Rosie Coughtrey
Rosie Coughtrey • LESSON IN PROGRESS

I will not unless its from timmys which has a great coffee

01/06/2021
Avatar for Ridge Raymer
Ridge Raymer • LESSON IN PROGRESS

I would pay more money because I think they deserve more money for the dangerous job they are doing for low wadges

01/06/2021
Avatar for hridik chahal
hridik chahal • LESSON IN PROGRESS

i would pay more because there really poor and they work in very dangerous places

01/06/2021
Avatar for elliot caputo
elliot caputo • LESSON IN PROGRESS

I would pay a couple dollars more but only if it was a Tim Horton's coffee specifically a french vanilla

01/06/2021
Avatar for Hayden Anderson
Hayden Anderson • LESSON IN PROGRESS

yes I would because a lot of people work soooo long and hard and barley get money out of it

01/06/2021
Avatar for Nolan Turner
Nolan Turner • COMPLETED LESSON

I might be willing to pay more when i am older but not likely now because i don't drink coffee. I would probably now that i know all the work it takes when i am older.

01/06/2021
Avatar for Allison Rast
Allison Rast • LESSON IN PROGRESS

The people that harvest coffee work very hard and make very little money to live on, and some people have family´s too feed, and cars,tax, school and a home

01/06/2021
Avatar for claudia m
claudia m • LESSON IN PROGRESS

I would pay more for college to increase workers' wages. This is my belief because coffee is extremely important to me.

01/12/2021
Avatar for Raquel Villanueva
Raquel Villanueva • LESSON IN PROGRESS

yes, I would pay more because coffee has become very important to me.

01/12/2021
Avatar for Barbara Phillips
Barbara Phillips • LESSON IN PROGRESS

Maybe sometimes

01/13/2021
Avatar for Earl Myers
Earl Myers • LESSON IN PROGRESS

yes because coffee is important.

01/13/2021
Avatar for minseo kim
minseo kim • LESSON IN PROGRESS

I would be willing to pay for more coffee if it would raise the payments for the people that are involved in the process. It is a very dangerous process they go through to make coffee for us. So after watching it I realized they should deserve more.

01/17/2021
Avatar for 민욱 김
민욱 김 • LESSON IN PROGRESS

I would pay at least 5 dollars more because people work really hard to make coffee but if they don't get paid it would be waste of power and time for them.

01/22/2021
Avatar for Andy Wilson
Andy Wilson • LESSON IN PROGRESS

No doubt, as long as I was assured, beyond reasonable doubt, that any increase would translate directly in better pay for the harvesters.

02/06/2021
Avatar for Matthew Nakkan
Matthew Nakkan • COMPLETED LESSON

I believe coffee should be more expensive in order to ethically finance its production. I would gladly pay more for my coffee if that meant fair pay for all workers and ethical social and environmental practices across all areas of production.
Increasing wages empowers workers to practice greater autonomy, invest in their communities and contribute more to the economy.
Often wage increases don't even result in dramatically higher costs to the consumer that being said I would be willing to pay between $1 and $3 extra per coffee which is an increase of between 25% and 75% respectively in order to ensure the sustainability of my brew.

03/25/2021

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About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator A.J. Jacobs
  • Director Biljana Labovic
  • Narrator Addison Anderson
  • Storyboard Artist Biljana Labovic
  • Animator Daniella Schnitzer
  • Art Director Daniella Schnitzer
  • Sound Designer Weston Fonger
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Editorial Producer Dan Kwartler
  • Script Editor Alex Gendler
  • Fact-Checker Eden Girma
  • See more

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