Fair Trade Coffee

I love coffee! I’m really serious about this. In some subjects I can be really picky (maybe even a snot), and coffee is one of them.

Good coffee is actually a real rarity. Here is the reason:

Most coffee is grown in Central and South America. These countries are by and large poorer than the USA and Europe. A majority of the population of these countries live on the kind of income levels that Americans would classify as below the poverty line. Farmers in these countries tend to live in a feudal type of society. Farmers don’t own the land they work on, so a portion of their income goes to pay for their use of the land. Coffee is a very popular crop. It is the second most traded product in the world behind crude oil.

What are the strategies that a farmer can use to maximize the quantity of product he puts on the market? 1) clear-cut every available inch of land to plant the crop 2) push as much growth hormones and fertilizer on the crops to press for fast development 3) harvest as early and often as possible.

What is the fall-out? Trees (read into this animal habitats like birds and such) and natural vegetation is eliminated. The land, water, and local population is polluted by overuse of chemicals. And premature coffee hits the market to be roasted into the common sludge we buy at the market.

Is there a way around this? You betcha’. Its called Fair Trade. It is not only applies to coffee, but it is the most common place you will see it. Farmers are paid a better wage for their crop, in return, they don’t use the "maximizing strategies" listed above. The farmers are winners, they have a decent wage and are not poisoning themselves to do it. The environment is a winner, trees can live, birds can have homes, the soil and water don’t get tons of chemicals dumped on them. The consumer is a winner, the coffee is fully matured when harvested making for a better cup and the uniqueness of the region where it was grown can come through. Soil in Nicaragua is different from that in Mexico, just as it is different in Columbia, so each place will have coffee that will absorb different naturally occurring elements. This makes for a real joy. Just as you may want a Sam Adams today and want a Guinness tomorrow, so you can have a Peruvian today and a Somalian tomorrow.

So do yourself a favor, go to Target (Archer Farms Organic Coffee), or go to www dot cafecanopy dot com and get some Fair Trade certified, organically-grown, single origin coffee and experience the difference. You may drop $11 or more bucks on a 12oz bag but just think, that 12oz bag is 80 cups of coffee. It works out to about 14 cents a cup. I know folks who regularly drop about $6 a day at Starbucks.