The Voyage of the Bean

By Linda Meyers

October 3, 2019

Last Updated: June 9, 2012

 

Once a week we will be featuring a fun and/or educational activity you can try at home or in the classroom. This week’s activity is written by Kim Machnik, Senior Coordinator of School Programs at Heifer International.

Growing CoffeeWe’ve talked a lot about coffee around the office lately, and the conversation has been focused mostly on coffee growers and their families. Pierre Ferarri, president and CEO at Heifer International, also shared a little bit about Fair Trade and other alternatives to the conventional coffee market. But have you ever stopped to think about what happens in that conventional market -- and how many people and resources it takes to get your coffee to you? As it turns out, it takes a lot of human effort, as well as fuel, packaging materials, and time, to get coffee from bean to brew.

To learn more, try this activity from Heifer’s Get It! curriculum to discover the trail of the coffee trade. Print and cut out these steps in the coffee trade. Can you put them in order from beginning to end?

 

Coffee Flowchart

 

Why is it important to know how our coffee gets to us? Do you notice anything interesting, alarming, or exciting in the trail of the coffee trade? Do you think it should stay as it is, or change? Tell us in the comments!

This activity and more can be found in Heifer International's flexible GET IT! curriculum for middle school. The program engages middle school students as investigative journalists to research, write about and act on issues surrounding consumer choices and international trade.