Between the years 2004 and 2005, the world saw an extra 10,000 metric tons of fair-trade coffee being produced. The UK alone consumes around 150,000 metric tons per year.

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Since the inception of fair-trade coffee, less farmland was cultivated for illicit drugs, fewer children were put to work, and more kids were sent to college.

The benefits of fair-trade are unmistakable. The biggest mindset change for a consumer is to recognize the effects of fair-trade are indeed positive with each purchase that they make.

Main Points:

  1. Fair-trade coffee raises standards
  2. The special fair-trade blends and their respective regions
  3. Impact of fair-trade

Setting the Standards

When consumers are consuming a cup of coffee, they aren’t just raising their energy levels. They are also raising the standards for quality of life in more ways than one can count. Let’s take a look at two:

Fair Labor

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Coffee growers on fair-trade farms are guaranteed through the cooperatives that they become a part of safe working conditions, wages above the minimum, as well as the removal of the need for child labour through prohibition.

Community Development

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The extra revenue coffee growers earn through the fair-trade initiative is invested into their communities to develop schools, scholarship programs, and healthcare services.

Notable blends and regions

Fair-trade coffees will differ in quality. Since growers are paid higher wages and are given premiums in line with rising market demands, there is a higher incentive to produce better coffee. In this article, we’ll take a look at three different fair-trade coffees grown from three different regions.

The Grumpy Mule (Ethiopia) 

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The Grumpy Mule is an organic blend that is fair-trade and Ethiopian. It is deliciously delicate, light, and refreshing. This is a blend that will work great in filters and percolators. The coffee is produced by the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (OCFCU), which stretches across the southern and southwestern parts of Ethiopia.

Percol (Colombia)

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Described as “unmistakably Columbian”, this certified fair-trade coffee has a tantalizing aroma with a hint of nuts. Its flavours are smooth, full-bodied, and attractive with citrus notes on the finish.

Central Perc Coffee (Costa Rica) 

Central Perc is a Canadian company based in British Columbia that specializes in door-to-door delivery of certified fair-trade coffees just days after roasting. They also only deal in certified organic coffees. Coffee is one of the most chemically treated crops in the world, and the case for organic coffee is therefore ever so more important.

Each coffee-growing country or region has a distinctive flavor that can be used to discern its origin. Much like describing wine, there are many words used to describe coffee flavors. These include full bodied, herbal, spicy, mellow, and snappy are just the tip of the iceberg.

For Central Perc’s Costa Rica coffee, the flavor can be described as light, snappy with soft nutty tones.

Impact Case Studies

There are several well-documented research that exemplifies the positive effect fair-trade has had compared to conventional coffee-growing markets.

In 2002, University of Sussex researcher Loraine Ronchi observed that fair-trade strengthened producer organizations and had accomplished the goal of improving producer returns.

In 2006, researchers Beccheti and Constantino compared a control group of fair-trade farmers and Meru herbs farmers. They observed that over the same time period, fair-trade farmers were better able to diversify production, reduce child mortality, greater crop prices, as well as improve the monthly household food consumption.

At its core, fair-trade coffee represents a strategy for eliminating poverty and encouraging sustainable development. When consumption measures at 100,000 metric tons, the potential for social impact that fair-trade represents is awesome.

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