SOME FACTS ABOUT FAIR TRADE COFFEE
Almost all coffee beans grown for the gourmet-coffee purveyor (that would be us--an extremely tiny percentage of the coffee industry) are of such high quality that their growth and harvest demand great care and a nurturing, constant vigilance on the part of the farmer who grows them. This kind of high maintenance is not something that is normally found outside of family-owned and operated businesses and is definitely not required to grow mainstream coffee. It would be difficult to insure the kind of intense assiduousness required by this most precious of beans if the work was being done on the backs of slaves and/or children. Because gourmet coffee consumers expect such a high standard of product, the retailer and the broker tend to pay a much higher price to the farmer than is the mainstream industry norm. Our amazing broker recently told an estate owner that he would buy his entire crop and to name the price that would be fair. Hey, let me repeat that just in case you missed it the first time around. The. Coffee. Broker. Said. To. The. Coffee. Farmer, “We’ll buy your entire crop. Name your own price.” In addition, some of our coffee comes from farms and estates that are fair trade certified, so rest assured that their labor is well represented. Still with me? Okay, let’s talk about children. If the gourmet coffee bean farmer’s young children are in the fields at all, it is not as laborers, but as kids in their own back yard, under the watchful eye of working extended family. Kind of nice to be in a position to have family provide day care instead of strangers. I’m not saying that child labor in the harvest of mainstream coffee doesn’t exist, but in the production of gourmet coffee it is highly unlikely. To help ease the burdens of the mainstream coffee growers and their families, you might want to think about donating (as we do) to Coffee Kids, a non-profit organization set up precisely for that purpose. You can reach them online at coffeekids.org or Coffee Kids, 1305 Luisa St., Suite C, Santa Fe, new Mexico 87505 (505) 820-1443. Or, if you do purchase mainstream coffee in the grocery store, take care that it is certified Fair Trade.