How Do I Know If My Coffee Is Fair Trade?

Most companies that carry a fair trade certification will label their coffee with their fair trade logo,. Fair Trade classification is determined by the Fair Trade Labeling Organization International (FLO), their U.S. division is known as TransFair. Some companies have their own version of fair trade labeling because they want to offer different things to farmers, like higher prices (Direct Trade offers 25% more than Fair Trade prices) or allowing farmers to join in fair trade practices without joining a farmer coop. So, you might see a label that touts "Fair Trade", "Equal Exchange" or "Direct Trade" depending on which company is backing the standards.

Many companies will advertise upfront their personal relationship with farmers or that they offer a fair price. Starbucks claims on every bag that they support farmers. In their annual corporate social responsibility report they advertise that they paid $1.43/lb on average in 2007, but they only specify one country as an example where farmers retain most of that profit. There is no mention of how much of that price goes to farmers in other countries. They do have one coffee that is expressly labeled "Fair Trade" by TransFair. So, while it sounds mildly impressive that they 'support farmers' and pay '$1.43/lb', it's still not clear how much of that money goes back to the actual farmers. One company that advertises it's relationship with supplying farmers is 'Dean's Beans'. I like this company a lot. They're very transparent with their prices (no less than $1.41/lb going directly to the farmers), they pay an additional $.06/lb for "social equity" where they help build services in the communities and they submitted themselves to an external audit of their fair trade practices.

I just read last night in "Javatrekker", by Dean Cycon, the founder of Dean's Beans, that $.60 is the make or break. When a farmer makes less than $.60/lb he is no longer making any money on his crop. Often, in this situation the farmer won't even have the money to finish harvesting his crop and the berries are left to rot on the tree. At $.60 the banks don't want to offer the farmers any more assistance either because there is no guarantee that it could be repaid. The price for coffee is set on Wall Street and the buy and sell of coffee futures which vary depending on what the weather will be like in Brazil and whatnot.

If you want to know if your coffee is fair trade I would recommend checking out the web page of the company you get your coffee from or asking the roaster directly. Often a roaster will carry some fairly traded coffees and a majority that aren't. If they don't offer fair trade coffees ask them if they'd consider carrying some. There are less than a dozen 100% fair trade coffee companies in the U.S. according to the Dean's Beans web page, but this is the direction I want to go with my business. In time, as I grow, I would love to be able to travel to the coffeelands and foster relationships directly with the farmers. I already have people-who-know-people in El Salvador, Uganda and Rwanda and I'd like to see that list of countries grow. I'm so excited that I could be a part of this change.

Why FairTrade is Important

This is actually a new concept for me and I might stumble about on it, but, even with my limited knowledge I know it's important and I want you to get on board too.

See, farmers in third world countries are at the whim of what companies are willing to offer them. Many times farmers with the highest grade coffees aren't given their fair price because of improper grading methods because there isn't a universal standard for what determines a coffee's grade. A perfect example of this is in Paupa New Guinea where coffees grown by tribal people are automatically given a "Y" classification and given less for their beans regardless of the cupping quality. This means that a coffee bought for $.25/lb could be resold at the standard rate for green beans despite the original low grade it was given. This is where fair trade comes in, by guaranteeing the farmer a minimum of $1.26/lb.

Small farms form cooperatives and submit themselves to fair trade regulation and requirements. In return they are given a fair price for their labors according the regional costs for living and farming expenses. This isn't a charity, but simply a fair price for the product purchased. Because the farmers are exporting their product directly through the fair trade organization the cost to the consumer is cut because there isn't a middle man jacking up the price. Sure, it might be putting one middleman out of a job, but the goal is to protect the millions of third world farmers and labors working and working in substandard conditions. The fair trade organization that works with the farmers also use the money from the subsequent sale of green beans to build schools, medical facilities, clean water supplies, create micro-loans for women trying to start businesses, prohibit child labor, provide safe work environments for farmers, and teach farmers about sustainable agricultural practices. Not to mention, when coffee becomes profitable to farmers, fewer farmers will sow their fields with the previously more profitable coca, poppy and khat crops.

This isn't a matter of whether Wal-Mart employees get breaks, this is life or death, clean water, drug-free, family orientated, educating... it's hope, for millions of impoverished people, and we can help by purchasing fair trade coffee. It makes so much sense.

An Entirely Too Wordy Mission Statement

Since I don't have my roaster yet, I'm left to muck through all of the technicalities that will one day make my business successful, so I started work on a rough draft business plan. I can tell that this is going to take a lot of time, work, revision, and advice to complete. I feel like I'm in WAY over my head with all the little technicalities, but to me that's also just proof that I need to put in more hours! I'm playing around with my mission statement, I want it to include the following:

- Only purchase coffee where the farmer is given a fair price for his work and care is taken to keep his land sustainable. I'm still learning about the different classifications that coffee can fall under. I don't want to be too narrow to only purchase TransFair, but I need to come up with a standard for what the minimum price I'll need to know is guaranteed to the farmer and whether I'll limit myself to 'organic certified' farms or just farms that don't use pesticides but maybe haven't become 'certified' because of cost or years needed to make certification.

- Educate consumers about coffee origins, flavor profiles, roasts and production (including the importance of fair wages and working conditions and the benefits brought back to the countries through efforts like Fair Trade and Rain Forest Alliance). Of course, currently, I'm stronger in knowing origins and profiles, and weaker in knowing the ins and outs of coffee roasting and production.

- Return 10% of profits back to social ventures within coffee producing countries. I have some inkling of what I want this to look like. I have a friend in Rwanda who is working to help translate educational material for children in Kigali, she is so much of my inspiration for wanting to give back, but as I learn more about the living and working conditions of so many farmers living in poverty, I know that I need to spread money out to the rural regions too. I realized just the other day what an absolute blessing it is that whenever I thirst, I have clean water, and whenever my 2 year old asks for a cup, I know I'm giving her a good thing. I can't imagine what it must be like knowing that your children are drinking water that could kill them. So, clean water sources are at the forefront of my mind right now.

I'm so excited just thinking about how this could become something bigger than a hobby or a passion, but a means for changing lives the world over.

Beyond that, I also spent time looking into the requirements for roasting and selling at the Tacoma farmer's market. I think the biggest trouble will be with making sure I'm properly licensed, and then the expense of buying a tent, table, sign and whatnot. Otherwise, the market takes 5% of sales after the $20 application fee.

Clarification

I realized after my first post that I could be a little more specific as to what my direction is. I'm starting on a home roaster (my Behmor) to get a feel for things. I want to learn the nuances associated with different roast times and temps for different origins and I want to better understand everything that goes into a finished product. I know it would be silly for me to just decide that I'm a competent enough roaster to grab a commercial machine and go to town selling crappy coffee willy-nilly. I recognize that I have so much to learn.

Earlier today I stumbled upon Daniel Humphries' blog. He's the founder of the New York Coffee Society and apparently an elbow-rubbing coffee guru with an obsession for El Salvadorian coffees. I love his picturesque writing and all of the things he gave me to Google from his blog. I think I'll be referring back to him more often.

Tonight, I called my mother-in-law, who was in El Salvador last month to visit a former exchange student. While there she had an opportunity to tour a coffee plantation, take part in a cupping, and meet the woman who owns the Monte Sion coffee plantations. I, of course, was extremely jealous! I can't wait for the day when I can travel to plantations and hob-nob with the people who have put their sweat into the beans I taste (not exactly the best word picture for flavor, hmm). I want to see their lifestyle and hear the stories of how getting fair market prices for their coffee has improved the quality of life in their communities.

I get so excited about all of this. My road will be long, I know, but I guess that's why it's such a good idea to start on it today.

Coffeepreneur

You always hear people say, "Do what you love.". Well, I love coffee. I started drinking when I was I was 10 and 15 years later it remains my passion. My first cup was laden with milk and sugar, hardly coffee at all, and from there, I went to three lattes a week on my way to jazz band rehearsal. It was expected that I would show up a few minutes late with my daily special in hand.

From there though, I moved to Portland, and truly, what better playground for coffee. With Stumptown roasting and the little cafes wielding their portafilters; Bi-Partisan, Rimsky-Korsakoffee and Pied Cow, late night study sessions at Java Vivache, and the relative new comer, Albina Press, with their award winning baristas.

It was there that I touched the surface to realizing the depth of coffee. Coffee has over 800 discernible flavor components, that's twice the amount of wine! And so much of it is missed by the common coffee drinker because they can only access stale flat coffee beans beaten to death by a blade grinder. I had no idea how flavorful a coffee could be until I had my first cup of Ethiopian Harrar fresh from a french press. And I learned how much more amazing a latte could be with creamy, dense foam and just a hint of Monin syrup.

And so, it began.

Now, at 25, married, staying at home with two kids, I hope to realize my dream of bringing all of this to a town of 60,000 in the mid-west. I want to provide the most amazing experience, like you only could in a west coast city, and gift it to the people of this college town. Now, not to decieve, I currently live in Tacoma, Washington, but we're planning to move in about nine more months, so now is the time to prepare. Beyond just giving an incredible experience, I also want to educate consumers about why fair trade is important and give 10% of all profits back to charities working in coffee producing countries.

I ordered my first roaster just days ago, a small Behmor 1600 1 lb. home roaster that I hope to use to find my favorite origins, suppliers and roasts on. I guess you could call this research and development. My hope is to get things in order in time to sell at my local farmer's market in the spring. So, I'm here to invite you along on my journey. I want to share with you my trial and error, my successes and my failures, and I want to grow with your advice, suggestions and accountability.

Currently Reading: "The Idiot's Guide to Starting and Running a Coffee Bar" by Susan Gilbert and "Javatrekker: Dispatches from the World of Fair Trade Coffee" by Dean Cycon