CHAPTER 8
The Price of a Cup of Coffee
The 3 P.M. coffee trade is about to begin in Addis Ababa, and buyers and sellers are putting on their jackets as they take their places in the single pit of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX). The jackets come in two colors: Tan denotes a coffee buyer; green indicates a seller.
About 50 traders fill the floor of the terraced pit. A green, red, and yellow display flashes reference prices—coffee from New York; wheat and corn from Chicago; sesame from Nigeria, India, and Sudan. The tan jackets stand with their backs to the walls, waiting for the green jackets to make an offer. Most of the traders are men, though a sprinkling of women including two in hijab, are scribbling on their notepads and waiting for ...
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