Fair Trade Coffee News

Coffee as a force for social change in Rwanda

We all know how the country of Rwanda has been through some turbulent and tragic times. There is an interesting article on fair trade coffee in today's Carolina Newswire about how one group there is trying to use coffee as a means to improve the lives of local communities. It never ceases to astonish me how something as simple as drinking coffee can be such a powerful agent of positive change.

How to support small coffee farmers

We have just added a new page about coffee farmers to the Coffee Detective site. It takes a look at two ways to support small coffee farmers -- buy Fair Trade and buy quality beans.

The Politics and Commerce of Coffee

The world of coffee is profoundly complex. Coffee is grown by poor farmers in developing countries and purchased by affluent consumers in the West. But along with our consumption comes a growing social consciousness. Coffee has become more than just a beverage. It also stimulates talk and action on social and political issues.

As our awareness grows, so does the pressure on companies such as Starbucks to brew and sell fair trade coffee.

But coffee roasters and retailers can do more than just respond to consumer pressure, they can also stimulate it.

This is the case with Thanksgiving Coffee, under the stewardship of Paul Katzeff. He not only roasts and sells coffee, but is also an activist in support of coffee growers. His is a company with a deep political and social conviction.

If only other areas of business were so driven by social conscience...

Fair Trade is the Fastest Growing Specialty Coffee

If you have a little time on your hands, and some coffee on the stove, read this article from Reason magazine on the growth of both the specialty coffee market and the fair trade movement.

As you’ll see, nothing is simple. There are no easy answers. But we still contend fair trade is the best answer so far if we want any kind of equity between coffee drinkers and the farmers who grow the coffee beans.

Right now, outside of fair trade, people like us happily pay for specialty coffee drinks...while the farmers can barely feed their families.

Fair Trade - Does it Really Work?

When you buy a bag of fair trade coffee at your local store, how do you know where the money goes? You pay a big premium, in the expectation that the promised $1.26 will get into the hands of the small farmer who grew the beans. Is this always the case? It's a legitimate question, and an important one. If the system can't be trusted 100%, then it will fail. Buyers of Fair Trade coffee need to be able to know for certain that the extra money they pay will get into the right hands. The International Herald Tribune published an interesting article on this topic earlier in the week.

Fair Trade Coffee

This blog will explore new developments in the growth of Fair Trade coffee. There is a great deal of news out there on this topic, and we'll try to help make sense of where the movement is going, and how it is impacting coffee growers. We'll also be keeping an eye out for big companies doing bad things. You can find a primer on fair trade coffee here.

Disclaimer: We also write the Coffee Detective web site. We don't sell anything, so there is no conflict. On that site we write about all kinds of coffee, not just fair trade. But we believe small farmers have a right to earn a living wage. And right now, fair frade seems to be the best way to help them. So we'll be using this blog to tackle the part of the coffee business we care about most.