Coffee Planet Offers Fair Trade Organic Coffee
What Is Fair Trade Organic Coffee All About?
Fair trade organic coffee is a revolutionary way to buy and sell
organic coffee. Much of the
world's organic coffee has been grown and processed by individual families or villages. Poor to begin with, these small farmers are
often forced by poverty into a decision to sell their crops to local middlemen
for cash, but at a fraction of the value that the crop is worth. The coffee can
change hands several times before it reaches the European or North American
market, with profits along the way for everyone - except the growers!
Read the history of Fair Trade coffees.
Fair Trade Organic Coffee Practices Include:
- Paying farming families a fair price for their harvests that provides
them with a decent, living wage.
- Helping small farmers gain access to needed loans for working capital,
increasing their self-sufficiency.
- Establishing direct, long-term trading relationships between buyers and
farmers.
- Working to protect the future availability of specialty coffees, by
strengthening the families and communities that produce it.
Why Do Consumers Buy Fair Trade Organic Coffee?
The Fair Trade organic coffee consumer is likely to be one of the growing number of
American consumers who make purchases based on socially responsible criteria.
According to the 1993 Cone/Roper benchmark study on cause-related marketing:
- 78% of consumers said they would be more likely to buy a product that
is associated with a cause about which they care.
- 66% of consumers said that they would switch brands to support a cause
about which they care.
- 54% of consumers said they would pay more for a product that supports a
cause about which they care.
- 20% of consumers (38 million Americans) said they had actually bought a
product in the past 12 months because it was associated with a cause.
Who Benefits from Fair Trade Organic Coffee?
Surprisingly, we all benefit from promoting Fair Trade coffees. The farmers'
families and communities obviously derive great benefit, receiving payment for
their carefully tended crops that is reflective of the work and investment put
into the coffee. The farmers - perhaps for the first time in their lives - are
paid at rates that can be substantially above the market price, driven low by
worldwide surpluses of poor-quality coffee.
Those of us that are in the business of roasting and retailing specialty coffees
also benefit. We are drawing closer to the sources of the coffees that we love,
sharing some of the success that we have enjoyed with others that are equally
deserving. Also, by fairly rewarding farmers that produce great coffees today,
we can hope to strengthen the families and communities that will grow our great
coffees in future generations.
Most importantly, the consumer benefits. Given that one coffee tree typically
produces only enough green coffee to make one pound of roasted coffee per year,
one average coffee consuming family in North America or Europe can truthfully
state that they are drinking the equivalent of the year's coffee crop produced
by one tropical family! Fair trade coffee assures today's consumers that they
can make a difference in the world, for only an extra few cents per serving!
Coffee is too special to most consumers to have an aftertaste of guilt.
Read more benefits of buying Fair Trade
coffee.
New Fair Trade Organic Coffee From Panache
Coffee Planet offers certified Fair Trade coffees from Panache brand specialty coffees. Our Fair Trade Dark Sumatran is organically-grown in the Gayo
Mountain region of Aceh in northern Sumatra, and brews a cup that is
exceptionally smooth, full-bodied and flavorful. The Fair Trade Dark Mexican
is likewise organically grown in the mountains of southern Mexico, and delivers
a mild cup with a balance of rich flavor and brightness. Our delicious organic
Fair Trade Campesino Blend™ and Decaf Campesino Blend combines fair trade
coffees, each separately roasted to its optimum flavor, then blended in
proprietary recipes. Our delicious EcoTrade Espresso™ offers a unique blend of
Latin American and Indonesian coffees, delicious straight up or in a latté.
See our complete list of Fair Trade coffee
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