Why Fair Trade Organic Coffee

For a moment, give the coffee you're drinking right now (or today) some thought? Or perhaps you're a tea drinker? Soda? In one way or another they are relevant to Fair Trade.

Fair Trade means just that 'Fair Trade', a fair transaction between a buyer and a seller. It also has a deeper impact on 'us all' both socially and through the environment. The Fair Trade Movement was created to bring you a quality product while offering the creator fair compensation for their efforts or craft. While offering fair compensation it also contributes to their families and the communties which they live.

"Coffee is a very good crop for us. We are members of the coffee cooperative, and they give us a good price. Because they buy our coffee fruit, we don’t have to process it. We expanded our coffee farm two years ago, and we will plant more seedlings this year." - Maria Soares - and Family grow coffee in East Timor.

Fair Trade is spreading its grassroots from coffee and artistic crafts to fruit and sweetners. These are products that are mostly from third world counties, like Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, Ethiopia, Kenya, East Timor and others.

Genuine Fair Trade traders deal directly with small farmers and cooperatives in these countries. They help and assure that their growing practices adhere to certain Fair Trade stanards, both socially and environmentally, as dopted by Fair Trade advocates and organizations. They assure Fair Trade practices are followed from the farms or estates all the way to the roasters and coffeehouses. Even the workers of these coffeehouses share the idealogy of Fair Trade.

Two coffee workers in Nicaragua seperate coffee beans from the cherry with a wooden press.

For more detailed information about Fair Trade click TransFair Canada or TransFairUSA.

Fair Trade Coffee is not just about social justice or environment conciousness, its also about global networking, good will, sharing lives and views. Its is also a way of life - perhaps a way to understanding each other and bringing about global peace. You may laugh but maybe what America (or the world) needs is a political party called The FairTrade Party :-) or at the least a Department of Fair Trade, to assure that humanity transforms into a responsible and 'just' planet of neighbors.

Now back to that coffee or beverage you're drinking. Is it commercial profit oriented or Fair Trade organic coffee, humanity aligned?

"Big name brands mean bigger profits for your foodservice establishment. That's especially true of coffee." Proctor Gambles-Folgers Coffee.

Next we will look at the quality of Fair Trade Shade Grown Organic Coffee. How, like fine wine, fresh roasted Fair Trade organic coffee taste much better than commercial coffee. We will also touch on what's called cupping and how Fair Trade organic coffee can also, like wine, be identified by region and method of processing.

click on 'Cool Coffee Beans' for past articles on Fair Trade Organic Coffee.