It’s time to dispel specialty coffee’s greatest myth

The specialty coffee industry has built a narrative that ethical sourcing, quality and direct trade relationships are decoupled from the commodity market – and many brands do not realise how closely their supply chains are intertwined with futures prices, says Nick Mabey, co-founder of Assembly Coffee

The New York Arabica Futures price – often called the ‘C market’ – serves as the global benchmark for coffee supply and demand dynamics. While it is articulated in terms of price, it is fundamentally a price signal rather than a true reflection of coffee’s value. Despite its central role in coffee economics, a significant knowledge gap persists in the specialty sector regarding how the futures market functions and influences price discovery. This gap manifests in several ways: