ORGANIC FAIR TRADE
What, exactly, is “Fair Trade” coffee? Basically, Fair Trade is exactly that, fair to the farmers who grow the crop, in this case, coffee. It guarantees that the farmers and workers recieve a fair price for their coffee beans. The intent of Fair Trade practices is to deliberately work with marginalized farmers and their workers in order to help them become economically self-sufficient. What this means is that the farmers can feed their families and their children can go to school rather than work in the fields.
Fair Trade also includes giving the farmers access to capital and training which then enables the farmer to improve his equipment and techniques. When the farmer is paid fairly for his crop, he can avoid cost cutting practices and he can produce an exceptional product.
So just how does this affect the taste? When paid fairly, the farmer is able to take his time to ensure a good quality coffee bean. Many of the farmers hand pick their beans so you know you are getting the ripest coffee beans (or cherries) unlike the mechanically picked coffee beans which pick everything whether ripe or not. Compare the coffee cherry to the wine grape. When tended carefully and picked at just he right time, the coffee cherry, like the wine grape, will have a wonderful and fresh flavor.
All of our Fair Trade coffee is also organic which simply means it was grown without the use of pesticides and fertilizers.
