English Rewind - 6 Minute English: The story behind coffee ☕

Hello! The programme you're about to listen to was first broadcast in April 2015 on the BBC Learning English website. For more English language learning programmes and podcasts, search for BBC Learning English. 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. Hello, I'm Rob. Welcome to 6 Minute English. With me today is Neil. Hello, Neil. Hello, Rob! In this programme, we're going to be talking about coffee. Mm, coffee. I've actually got one here in front of me, Rob. Oh, right! What kind of coffee are you drinking? It's a skinny latte. And what's that that you've got? Well, I've gone for a flat white today. Mm, that tastes good. Mm, looks good too! The market for the world's most popular drink has come a long way since the days of instant coffee, when we just added boiling water to some brown powder. Yes, that's very true, Neil. After that came the giants like Starbucks and Costa Coffee who made coffee drinking trendy and a lifestyle statement. People are far more aware of what they're drinking these days. Mm, but, Rob, I don't think we should forget what lies behind the coffee we enjoy every day. It's a hugely complicated business. Yes, it's the second biggest commodity in the world, after oil. That means the price of coffee is changing every day, every hour even, as traders speculate about the price. And it means farmers in countries like Ethiopia, Costa Rica and Brazil are dependent on the deals that are made in commodity markets thousands of miles from their farms. It makes them extremely vulnerable. Let's listen to food journalist Sheila Dillon as she explains the impact of coffee markets on local growers.