Coffee

Fair trade coffee sometimes is misunderstood, but it is quite simple. Fair trade coffee is coffee that is produced differently. They still use the finest quality of coffees, but there is something special and unique about it. Fair trade coffee ensures that the people who are working in the coffee industry are treated fairly. The United States consumes an extremely large amount of coffee. It is important to think about the people around the world who are harvesting and producing the coffee. The coffee drinkers of the United States often only think about the price and place of their coffee and do not think about the production, harvest, and shipment of this fine product.

Many of the people who work within the coffee plantations are treated very poorly. The coffee that is labeled as Fair Trade has standards for the workers. There are very specific rights of the workers. The criteria and requirements of the workers are held to this standard and that the workers receive appropriate compensation. This organization has the objective of helping the coffee drinkers in the world to purchase and brew coffee where the working conditions are sufficient for the employees. The focus on the organization is to ensure that socially and economically, the coffee field employees are not being exploited.

Many coffee fields have long work days involving unfair conditions and for very little pay. Companies who treat their workers in this fashion should not be compensated by people buying their product. Fair Trade has a definite certification process and through the labeling of the products lets the rest of the world know that this coffee was harvested under the best conditions for the workers. It is the same as not purchasing clothing that was produced under sweatshop conditions.

Some of these coffee fields should be considered “sweat shops in the field.” There are farmers who own small coffee plantations that are not treated fairly either. The companies tend to offer them little compensation for their coffee. This leaves the farmer being exploited. The farmers often end up in poverty. This is unfair to the farmers who have the desired product.

The people who love coffee should think twice before buying coffee that is not Fair Trade certified. Many people who find that they are looking into Fair Trade coffee have found that there are many suppliers with very reasonable prices. There are several Fair Trade coffee websites and one brand that is common is Dean’s Bean which is a morning brew. The cost difference between ordering online and buying from the grocery store is minimal. It is a great feeling for the people who do purchase off of the websites that each is doing their part to support the Fair Trade coffee industry. It makes every cup of espresso or cappuccino more enjoyable knowing that you are doing something special for the workers in the world.

Vince Paxton’s articles are found on lots of web pages related to brewmaster coffee maker. You might see his comments on grind and brew coffee machines over at http://www.coffee-espresso-maker-tips.com/grind-and-brew-coffee-makers.html and different sources for grind and brew coffee machines knowledge.

Author: Vince L. Paxton
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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We all love drinking coffee. More than 1400 million cups are consumed per day. That’s a lot of coffee and also a lot of waste. But we don’t need to stop drinking coffee. We just need to be more conscientious in how we drink it. By drinking coffee the eco friendly way, we can reduce the negative impact on the environment while still enjoying our coffee. Here are some easy idea’s to reduce the negative influences from coffee.

Buy Organic Coffee
Not only is Organic Coffee better for the environment but it is also healthier for the coffee drinker. Organic coffee is grown without the pesticides standard coffee growers use. Lots of Organically grown Coffee is shade grown which means the farmers aren’t cutting down all the trees to grow the coffee. This is better for the forest and the wildlife in the forest. It is also better for the coffee as the beans form slower and therefore produces a denser, higher quality bean.

Use Ecotainer’s
There are biodegradable coffee cups around now such as ecotainer. Find out which café’s are using these compostable cups and start buying your coffee from these coffee shops. Or if you run a café start using ecotainer’s instead of normal non-biodegradable cups.

Use Your Own Mug
If you like going to a café to get your coffee and they don’t use environmentally friendly cups then get in the habit of taking your own thermal mug. It will keep your coffee warm for longer and it reduces the waste from the standard takeaway cups. If you have one coffee a day that will be 365 less paper/plastic coffee cups in the waste each year.

Recycle Your Coffee Grinds
There are many ways to use your coffee grinds. You can use them on your garden or if you don’t have a garden collect them and give them away to people that do. The coffee grinds release nutrients that increase the acidity of the soil. Thus you get a richer soil which will obviously produce healthier plants. You can also use coffee grinds on your indoor plants.

Coffee grinds can also be used to repel insects and to keep cats of your garden!
Try using coffee grounds as an exfoliater as it removes all the dead skin cells making your skin lovely and soft again.

These are simple ideas but they can have a huge positive impact on the environment if lots of people start doing them. Even 365 less coffee cups a year is an improvement. So if a few people start drinking coffee the eco way they will make a positive change for the better.

For more Coffee Ideas visit: http://www.gourmetcoffeemakeronline.com

Author: Laurel Whiting
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Dear Coffee Drinker,

“Fair Trade” is a certification that is given primarily to a company that can prove, together with a specific coffee farm, that fair prices are being given to the independent farm. These are certifications that are primarily being marketed in the USA by a firm in California. For example, StarBucks may promote a certain type of coffee that is being sold as Fair Trade coffee. Not all their coffee can be sold as such because this only applies to a very few farms that hold these certifications together with the buyer. This needs to be proven to the agencies in the United States that govern this certification. Even though StarBucks sells one type of coffee that is certified Fair Trade this does not mean that all their coffee is certified. This would be an impossible task. The biggest problem is most US companies only pay the farmer or roaster Fair Trade and then they have to trust that the roaster is passing this extra money to the laborers. So the farmer gets a fair price but the laborers, many times children work for pennies a day.AND FAIR TRADE – However does not ensure that children are not used to pick coffee or that the children are given a fair price. Neither does it ensure that the migrate farm laborers are paid fair prices. Fair Trade has been great in elevating people’s awareness of the coffee industry and has ensured that the coffee farmer and or roaster is getting a fair price and to a lesser extend some farmers but it has not always helped the people actually picking the coffee and completing the other coffee labor. Worse it has allowed the bigger farmers to make more money buying up the smaller farmers and making more money while the labor pool suffers. The going rate for labor has not increased in five years while Fair Trade Coffee prices have doubled. So whats fair about the owner making more while the laborers still suffer.

Worse Fair Trade has become so popular that it elevated many “bad or poor” coffees into popoluar brands – not because they taste good but because they have become Fair Trade – as that has any correlation to taste. Sadlty Fair Trade only means the large land owner gets more money.

Costa Rica on the other hand has a different system than most coffee producing countries. The coffee you purchased is from one of the best regions of coffee in the world, known as Tarrazu Costa Rica. There is a cooperative in Tarrazu known as CoopeTarrazu. StarBucks is a large buyer of CoopeTarrazu’s coffee. CoopeTarrazu owns 25% of our company. CoopeTarrazu in turn is owned by approximately 1500 small to medium sized independent farms. The function of CoopeTarrazu is to get the best price for the coffees that these 1500 plus farms turn into this processing plant as a group. The profits are then divided and paid to each farmer based on his percentage interest or the amount of product supplied to CoopeTarrazu by him. The entire process is governed by the Government of Costa Rica. The overseeing body is known as ICAFE. It regulates all coffee that is processed and exported from Costa Rica. ICAFE’s watchful eye makes sure that the independent farms are receiving fair market prices for the coffee they turn into CoopeTarrazu. Not only does Costa Rica have some of the best coffee in the world it also is some of the most expensive coffee in the world. The reason for this is directly linked to ICAFE’s involvement in the coffee industry within Costa Rica. It makes sure that the farmers are receiving fair prices for their coffee. Our plant is registered with ICAFE for this reason. This proves that we are part of the system that makes sure our coffee is truly Fair Trade coffee even though we are not certified by the USA body known as Fair Trade. We are also owned by 3 other cooperatives in Costa Rica – CoopeVictoria, CoopePalmares, and CoopeSabalito. In other words we work with more than 8000 small farmers. Each cooperative has a significant % share in our roasting plant and these are the sources from which we draw upon for our raw product, our green bean.

There are some other functions of ICAFE, which works very closely with the Minister of Health, the Minister of Children, and the Minister of Labor. For example, ICAFE also makes sure that the Indians that come in from the jungles of Panama and Nicaragua to pick coffee during the harvest season are paid fair wages, given health insurance, and proper housing accommodations during the harvest season. They also work closely to make sure there is no exploitation of children and adult workers. Costa Rica is very much into protecting the less fortunate and overseeing their rights. This is another reason why we are proud members of ICAFE.

So if you want to make a statement and buy a coffee really making a difference – buy a Costa Rica coffee.

Sincerely,

George Boake Moore
CEO
Mission Grounds
http://www.missiongrounds.com

Author: Boake Moore
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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