I Love Fair Trade - Part 1 (Coffee)

I first learned about Fair Trade products when I read an article by Katherine Ellison called “Can Great Coffee Save The Jungle?” in Smithsonian magazine (June 2004).  Before this article, I had no idea that billions of pounds of over-produced coffee go to waste each year.  This means that big coffee producing companies are driving the prices of coffee down - giving us cheaper coffee that lacks quality - and putting small coffee farmers out of business.

I’m not a coffee fanatic, but I can tell you some of the best coffee I’ve ever had has come from small, independent businesses here in the United States.  One of them is worth driving two hours out of the way in eastern Kentucky, and I know for a fact they serve and sell Fair Trade Coffee.  And if you think you drink gourmet coffee, consider the fact that dark roasts sometimes mask the original taste - hints of flavors reminiscent of caramel, various nuts, chocolate and other flavors.

Apparently, the secret to the quality of coffee is both in quality control such as hand-sorting the beans, the right mixture of compost, etc., and in making it from the shade-loving Arabica bean as opposed to the easily-grown Robusta.  Where is there a lot of shade?  The jungle.

Not only does Fair Trade coffee save our environment, it also saves people.  Large coffee companies produce too much coffee, making the cost of coffee lower than the production cost, driving small farmers out of business and pocketing the profit by keeping consumer prices the same.

Fair Trade coffee comes from smaller farms, where more care is put into the product, keeping those who produce good coffee in rural areas in business.  Most Fair Trade coffee is also organic, if you care about your health but still drink coffee.

Basically, it is nice to sit down with a cup of coffee and really feel good about it.  To taste all the subtle flavors of a truly gourmet coffee, while knowing you’ve got a quality product that has helped otherwise impoverished farmers and the environment.  Not only is it delicious, it is also heart-warming!

So how do you get some Fair Trade coffee??  If you are a Starbucks fanatic, you apparently have to specifically ask for it, and probably wait for it to brew.  If you are a Folgers drinker, producer Proctor and Gamble has committed that they will sell Fair Trade coffee to consumers through their Millstone brand (although I’ve yet to see a Millstone package that says so).  If like to roast your own coffee beans, there are green coffee bean suppliers out there who offer Fair Trade beans, including Seven Bridges Cooperative, which can be easily found with a Google search.  You can also buy Fair Trade coffee, in bean or cup form, from all kinds of independently-owned coffee shops, or at Fair Trade’s online store.

There you’ll also find more information about the coffee, where to buy coffee, Fair Trade, and the other Fair Trade products that help people all over the world.

(Read more about Fair Trade and its opponents in Part 2.)

Cup of Coffee was taken by Vojko Kalan.