Friday, December 5, 2025

Cup of Coffee Made With Love

While you sip and enjoy your invigorating cup of coffee in Singapore, have you ever wondered its origin, supply chain of activities, costs and value?

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash

With the assistance of ChatGPT, below is a clear, grounded outline of how coffee beans move from South America to Singapore for large buyers like Starbucks or McDonald’s, along with indicative cost ranges (broad and illustrative), followed by a deeper reflection on why a cup of coffee holds value far beyond dollars.

1. SUPPLY FLOW — FROM FARM TO CUP IN SINGAPORE

Step 1 — Farming & Harvesting (South America)

Countries commonly involved: Brazil, Colombia, Peru.

  • Coffee grown by smallholders or large estates.

  • Cherries are picked (hand-picked in high-altitude regions; machine-harvested in flatter areas).

  • Depulped, fermented, washed, and dried (varies by processing style).

Indicative cost at this stage:

  • Farmgate price: US$1.30–$2.50 per lb for green arabica beans (fluctuates with global market).

Step 2 — Processing & Export Preparation

Farmers deliver beans to the beneficio (processing mill) or cooperatives.
Coffee is sorted, graded, bagged, and prepared for export.

Indicative cost additions:

  • Processing & grading: US$0.10–$0.25 per lb

  • Cooperative fees or margins: varies, often US$0.05–$0.10 per lb

Large companies like Starbucks often operate their own mills or work with long-term suppliers, improving traceability and stability.

Step 3 — Export Logistics (South America)

  • Beans transported by truck to port (e.g., Santos in Brazil; Cartagena in Colombia).

  • Beans loaded into 20- or 40-foot containers, often 250–300 bags per container (1 bag = 60 kg).

Indicative costs:

  • Inland transport: US$300–$1,200 per container, depending on distance

  • Export taxes, port fees, documentation: US$200–$500 per container

Step 4 — Ocean Freight to Singapore

Route: South America → Panama Canal → Pacific → Singapore.
Transit time: 25–45 days depending on origin and route.

Indicative freight cost:

  • Container shipping: US$2,000–$5,000 per 20-foot container
    (Highly variable depending on global shipping rates)

Large corporations negotiate long-term bulk contracts, often reducing cost volatility.

Step 5 — Import, Customs & Local Logistics (Singapore)

Upon arrival at PSA terminals:

  • Customs clearance

  • Food safety checks

  • Transport to roasting facilities or central warehouses

Indicative costs:

  • Import duties: 0% (Singapore typically has no import tariff on green coffee)

  • GST: 9%

  • Local transport: S$150–$300 per container

Step 6 — Roasting in Singapore or Regional Hubs

Both Starbucks and McDonald’s often roast in larger regional facilities, though some roasting may happen locally depending on freshness needs.

Roasting adds:

  • Energy costs

  • Labor

  • Packaging

  • Quality control systems

Indicative roasting & packing cost:

  • US$1.00–$1.50 per lb, depending on scale

Step 7 — Distribution to Stores

  • Companies maintain optimized distribution networks.

  • Beans are sent to outlets in Singapore (over 150 Starbucks; many McCafĂ©s).

Indicative distribution cost per store:

  • S$0.05–S$0.15 of logistics cost per cup, after aggregation

Step 8 — Making the Cup You Receive

This includes:

  • Labor

  • Equipment amortization

  • Rent (significant in Singapore)

  • Utilities

  • Milk, water, syrups

  • Wastage buffers

Indicative cost of raw ingredients per cup of brewed coffee:

  • Coffee beans: S$0.25–$0.40

  • Milk / water / other add-ons: S$0.20–$0.50

  • Total direct ingredient cost: ≈ S$0.45–S$0.90

Everything else in the final cup price goes to rental, labor, brand investment, and operations.

2. WHY THAT CUP OF COFFEE IS WORTH MORE THAN MONEY

Beyond production lines and shipping lanes, a cup of coffee carries invisible stories and human fingerprints. Here’s why its worth exceeds its price:

1 — It is the labour of hundreds of hands

Every bean has been:

  • Picked by someone who woke before sunrise,

  • Dried under someone’s careful eyes,

  • Sorted by people who know beans by touch,

  • Shipped by crews crossing oceans,

  • Roasted by specialists with an artist’s intuition,

  • Brewed by a barista who wants you to enjoy your day.

It is a small miracle of coordinated human effort.

2 — It is the triumph over climate, soil and seasons

Coffee trees are fragile.
They need:

  • The right altitude

  • The right rainfall

  • The right hours of sunlight

Every harvest is a gamble nature must approve.
When you’re sipping, you’re tasting months (sometimes years) of the Earth’s slow, patient work.

3 — It carries emotional and cultural meaning

Coffee is never truly about the drink.
It is about:

  • A pause in a noisy world

  • A moment to think, reflect, or breathe

  • A conversation that might not happen otherwise

  • A habit that anchors the rhythm of a day

It is a ritual, not a beverage.

4 — It creates connection

That cup might be:

  • The reason two friends meet

  • The comfort after a tiring morning

  • The warmth that starts a quiet moment

  • The companion to creativity, work, or solace

Its value grows not in your hand, but in your heart.

5 — Love is the quiet ingredient

The farmer tending the trees,
the roaster tuning the flavour,
the barista greeting you with a smile—
each contributes a small generosity.

A cup of coffee is made with love
not because it is romantic,
but because it is human.

And human care, repeated across thousands of miles and many steps, is priceless.


Thank you for reading Daily Refreshing.


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