Guest Lecture on Gastrodiplomacy: Coffee & Climate Change

The International Relations Department of the University of Jember held another guest lecture on Thursday (9/3/2023). This time, it invited Dr. Fitrio Ashardiono, a researcher and Assistant Professor of Policy Science at Ritsumeikan University, Osaka Campus, Japan, to talk about "Coffee and Climate Change".

At the beginning of his talk, Dr. Ashardiono mentioned his previous research on "Japanese Tea and its Branding: The Case of Uji Tea", which has a rather similar angle to his current research. He explained that the delicious taste of both tea and coffee has developed according to people's tastes. Society is the one who defines which taste is good. For tea, Japanese people like Uji tea which has "umami" (savory). The price is indeed very expensive, but this type of tea is considered not bitter but delicious like soup. Regarding coffee, he explained that Indonesians consider bitter coffee to be delicious. Therefore, Robusta coffee which is considered bitter, sour and contains a lot of caffeine is preferred over the Arabica type. Robusta coffee is considered "kick" when drunk. In this study, Dr. Ashardiono collaborated with Gastrodiplomacy expert of University of Jember, Dr. Agus Trihartono.

The main focus of their research, apart from looking at the taste and quality of coffee, is also researching how climate change that gets hotter can affect the taste of coffee. It is important to discuss this to inform coffee farmers about the possibility of changes in weather that can interfere with coffee quality. This knowledge is important for them to adapt and anticipate future challenges. Their research is also interesting because so far there are about 30 coffee flavors that are unique in Indonesia and vary depending on the region. The higher up the coffee growing location, the better the coffee will taste. This distinctive taste must be preserved, among others, by anticipating climate changes.

In the context of international relations, coffee and climate change can be seen from the study of human security and gastrodiplomacy. In terms of human security, the decreasing coffee production can cause coffee farmers to start losing their jobs. Meanwhile, in terms of gastrodiplomacy, coffee can be used as a country's branding such as Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia have done.

Author : Annisa Rizkyta, Gilang Ariantama

Editor : Nur Zahrun, Pelangi Sinatrya