[비즈한국] "How much longer can we drink coffee?" Seo Pil-hoon, CEO of Coffee Libre, who took the stage as the fourth speaker at the ‘Brand Biz Conference 2025’, spoke about the sustainability of coffee. Having spent the last 16 years traveling to coffee-producing regions around the world to think about the future of coffee, he opened his lecture with the surprising statement, "I don't think we will be able to drink coffee for much longer."
'405 cups'. This is the amount of coffee an average South Korean drinks in a year. South Korea has the world's highest coffee consumption rate, and the domestic coffee market continues to grow accordingly. The ‘specialty coffee’ market, which was unfamiliar just over a decade ago, has also become mainstream. CEO Seo Pil-hoon said, "I believe this is the ‘In the Mood for Love (the flower-like era)’ for coffee. Since humanity began drinking coffee, there has never been a time when we enjoyed such high-quality coffee from such diverse origins as we do now."
CEO Seo is considered a pioneer who opened up the domestic specialty coffee market. In 2007, he became the first Korean to obtain the Q-Grader certification from the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America), and in 2012 and 2013, he won the ‘World Roasters Cup’, a global coffee roasting competition. In 2009, he established ‘Coffee Libre’, considered a first-generation specialty coffee brand, and opened its first store in an alley of Dongjin Market in Yeonnam-dong in 2012.
CEO Seo pointed out that the sense of crisis regarding coffee has recently intensified. Coffee is a crop highly sensitive to temperature and rainfall patterns. It can only be cultivated in high-altitude areas within the ‘Coffee Belt’, which lies between 25 degrees north and 25 degrees south latitude. Recently, production in these regions has been decreasing significantly due to climate change.
As international coffee prices have remained largely unchanged over the past 50 years, the economic difficulties of coffee farmers are worsening. Farmers are trapped in a cycle of poverty, making it difficult to secure a young labor force. Many farms are struggling due to labor shortages during the coffee harvesting season. CEO Seo said, "The demand for coffee is rising every year. However, it is predicted that by 2050, 50% of the current coffee cultivation area may become unsuitable for farming, and coffee production in Central and South America could decrease by up to 88%."
CEO Seo emphasized that in order to continue enjoying good coffee for a long time, we must begin to think about ‘sustainable coffee’. He stated, "In specialty coffee, quality is paramount. The entire process of coffee production is connected like a chain; if sustainability is not guaranteed at each stage, high-quality coffee cannot be produced."
Social interest in coffee sustainability is also rising. Typically, specialty coffee referred to coffee rated 80 points or higher (out of 100) by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) based on consistency, harmony, aroma, and flavor. However, recently, ‘sustainability’ has also been added as an important evaluation criterion.
Coffee Libre is making various efforts for sustainable coffee. They supply the leftover coffee chaff (bean husks) after roasting to chicken farms for use as flooring material, and provide green coffee bean bags to nearby military units as sandbag substitutes or distribute them for free as floor covering for local farms.
CEO Seo said, "Coffee Libre uses about 200 to 300 rolls of plastic tape a month for shipping. We use over 20,000 coffee bean bags a month. Previously, we simply chose whatever had a pretty design, but since last year, we have replaced all tape and bean bags with eco-friendly materials."
For a circular economy, the ‘Geisha Project’ is also underway. It is a project where Coffee Libre receives high-quality Geisha coffee seeds—which can yield significant income when cultivated—and distributes them for free to local smallholder farmers. Small farmers struggling to make a living can participate in the Geisha project to harvest high-quality coffee and earn a stable income. Efforts are also being made to promote local coffee in places like Honduras by hosting local auctions and purchasing coffee beans at prices approximately 50% higher than the fair trade price to increase farmers' income.
In recognition of these efforts, Coffee Libre received B Corp certification, a global sustainability evaluation system, last March. B Corp is awarded to companies that practice social responsibility at the highest level among companies worldwide. Evaluations are conducted based on perspectives such as governance, workers, the local community, customers, and the environment.
CEO Seo emphasized that to enjoy coffee for a long time, we must continue efforts to reduce carbon emissions in our daily lives. As specific methods, he mentioned ‘flying less’, ‘refraining from beef and lattes’, ‘walking a little more even if it’s inconvenient’, ‘buying less of everything’, and ‘reducing waste and disposable products’. He concluded by saying, "I have presented a bleak outlook for the future of coffee, but I hope my prediction is wonderfully proven wrong. The realization that we are all connected will make the world a better place and allow us to pass it on to the next generation."