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BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biters buy a pound of organic, shade-grown, fair-trade coffee instead of conventional, we'll avert the weight of 556 espresso machines in toxic chems, and really help wildlife and workers.
COCKTAIL FACT
Beethoven was so particular about his coffee that he counted out exactly 60 beans for each cup.
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home › tip library › Green Coffee
Do you count on your coffee beans for more than just taste?
The Bite
We mean besides giving you the ability to function normally. Check your coffee label for the perfecta trifecta before you jumpstart your day: fair-trade, organic, and shade grown.The Benefits
- Fab flavor. We bet you'll like these blends as much as your fave specialty roasts.
- Fair-trade means fair wages for workers and guarantees foreign producers a fair price for their beans.
- Safer sippin'. At an average of 3.1 cups of coffee per day, coffee drinkers who sip organic avoid the risk of consuming pesticides.
- Saving birds. Shade-grown coffee means farmers let trees grow on their farms, giving migrating birds a place to stop and smell the coffee.
Personally Speaking
Jen gave up coffee on New Years and has stuck to it. But with the likes of Equal Exchange and other great finds around, the rest of us just don't have it in us to say goodbye...Wanna Try?
- Equal Exchange French Roast - flavorful classic blends. We also love the Decaf blend, which cuts the caf but not the taste ($9/10 oz).
- Beantrees Classic Espresso - a tasty, rich espresso ($11/12 oz).
- Jim's Happy House Blend - has a smooth, robust flavor that's anything but bitter, even if you take your coffee black ($10/12 oz).
- Café Humana Peruvian Swiss Water Decaf - a great dark decaf ($11/12 oz).
- Jonesin' for some coffee talk? Head over to a participating Starbucks today and join in on its National Day of Discussion: Solutions to Climate Change event.
Aug 15,2007
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All editorial suggestions in this tip are the result of testing and a preference for the tip topic. No advertiser has paid to have its company referenced in the tip. For more information, please read our Editorial Policy.
Jitter and Jive
It's no wonder that coffee didn't appeal to me until I met with a highly unusual bout of insomnia. My dad always blended together the lowest-grade (read: cheapest) variety available with some kind of clove-infused holiday blend we'd received as a - dare I say it? - obligatory gift, or some exotic vanilla blend a coffee shop happened to send for free. He preferred it cold. Um, yuck.
And while I still usually go the way of tea (we'll do a tea roundup soon!), sometimes the java jive is worth a jitter or two. It's also central to grandpa's migraine quick-fix - two aspirin and a stiff cup actually works sometimes. In addition to the blends in today's tip, I like Allegro (esp. Organic French Roast) - at home, instead of a plastic drip contraption we use a ceramic drip one (these can be hard to find but last forever), which allows you to masterfully control coffee strength and is a snap to clean.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to move in Allegro tempo...
And while I still usually go the way of tea (we'll do a tea roundup soon!), sometimes the java jive is worth a jitter or two. It's also central to grandpa's migraine quick-fix - two aspirin and a stiff cup actually works sometimes. In addition to the blends in today's tip, I like Allegro (esp. Organic French Roast) - at home, instead of a plastic drip contraption we use a ceramic drip one (these can be hard to find but last forever), which allows you to masterfully control coffee strength and is a snap to clean.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to move in Allegro tempo...
Biter Comments...
I am happy to see that you posted about buying the right kind of coffee but was very disapointed to see that in your "Wanna Try" you suggest that we all go to Starbucks to participate in their National Day of Discussion: Solutions to Climate Change event. Why would I want to patronize a coffee cafe that only serves 3.7% of its coffees as fair trade, shade grown, organic? While participaing in a climate change event is good don't you think that promoting a coffee cafe that actually is working to help that solution be promoted instead?
How could you not mention Dean's Beans(www.deansbeans.com)? They are IT for fairtrade, organic coffees, teas!
Another GREAT company to get certified organic shade grown fair trade coffee from is Grounds for Change (www.groundsforchange.com). Wonderful family company out of the northwest - very committed!!
I'm also a bit of a coffee addict, and although I'm not sure if it's available in the US, I HIGHLY recommend Kicking Horse organic fair trade coffee http://www.kickinghorsecoffee.com/ The Kick Ass blend is coffee perfection.
Another fantastic source for fair trade, organics, and partnership (ie Habitat for Humanity, Heifer International, Jane Goodall) coffees is Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.
I primarily drink Trader Joe's Fairtrade Ethiopian blend. It is $7.99 for 13 ounces of whole organic shadegrown beans.
Our favorite coffee place is Alterra. (http://alterracoffee.com) favorite coffee is trifecta winning Kulantik. Their buildings are built green, they use wind power, they compost all their used coffee grounds and encourage their employees to bike to work.
Just want to add a plug for Green Mountain Coffee-- not only do they have great coffee and products and philanthropic partnerships, but they have a well designed website a an automatic order program-- I get my fair trade coffee delievered monthly.(National Wildlife blend, and I'll be trying the Jane Goodall Gombee next order)
I prefer Cafe Madre Isla from the community environmental coop "Casa Pueblo" in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. You might not find it at stores in the states, but it is not an "import," it is shade grown, organic, fair trade and the proceeds go to keeping and maintaining El Bosque del Pueblo (The people's forest) in Adjuntas: The only community managed state forest on the island. Other Casa Pueblo programs include environmental education, hydroponic gardening, and a butterfly research center. You can find out more about it at www.casapueblo.org
I don't drink coffee because I don't like it. Believe me I tried to learn to like it but I just don't like it. So I'm delighted that you will be reviewing tea soon and I'm so looking forward to it.
When you do a review of tea, please check out Wu Yi Tea and see how it compares to just oolong tea. Wu Yi has some weight loss claims and I'd like to see a reputable analysis on the validity of those claims. Plus I'd love any other info on teas that can help with weight loss and still have great flavor.
Thanks for hightlighting an every day beverage to make an impact. And just to correct Elizabeth's post. The National Day of Discussion is lead by environmentalists and NGO to discuss the issues of gobal warming and climate change. Starbucks is just the location. Also, Starbucks purchased 18 million pounds of fair trade certified coffee which is 6% of their coffee and is the largest purchaser of FT in North America. I suggest you reseach their CAFE Practices. It is third-party verified and focuses on economic transparency, social and environmental responsibility on coffee farms of all sizes. Also, check out Intelligensia Coffee. They chose not to use fair trade certification and instead uses Direct Trade. There are many sustainability programs happening in the coffee industry and they ALL should be applauded and supported. Where every you choose to buy your coffee always ask questions.
Don't forget Taylor Maid Farms- a local Sonoma County company!! Check them out athttp://www.taylormaidfarms.com. Taylor Maid promises to: To source the finest certified-organic products from the most bio-intense, responsible and sustainable farms in the world; To pay every farmer a fair price for his/her goods; To offer you our products in packages that are recyclable, reusable, biodegradable or compostable whenever possible; To operate our roasting operations in a manner that is sensitive to the environment.
Plus, if you re-use your coffee can and bring it into the store in Sebastopol, 1 lb. of coffee is only $5!
Thanx for the tips on other fair trade coffee... we go through tons of it here at our bed and breakfast. Our guests love that we do that!
GP in Montana
http://fishcreekhouse.blogspot.com
When you do your feature on tea, please include some tips on how to keep from staining our teeth! This is the only reason I have cut back on my favorite beverage.
So.. I wanted to come back to this older tip and follow up. I personally do not like Starbucks due to their products. It has nothing to do with fairtrade or organics. It is just that their coffee always seems "burnt" or over roasted to me. Also they build like virus. Two years ago, we didn't have a single Starbucks in town. Now we have eight and about ten more being built/planned. I do however shop at "The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf" on occasion. Their stores are certified green restaurants and their products have a much better flavor and prices. Normally I get Iced Coffee or Chai. Though I have only been to them 3 times in the last year. Anyway, I wanted to check out their fair trade coffees and noticed that they didn't have any. So I contacted them and asked about that. Here is their reply:
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I can greatly appreciate your concerns, as a socially conscientious consumer, about the treatment of the men and women who have helped us to become who we are today. While I am not the resident expert, I will do my best to relay to you what The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf does to promote fairly traded product. We currently do not provide any Fair Trade coffee; rather, we choose to foster long-term relationships with coffee growers directly. In other words, there are no brokerage houses, auction houses, millers, etc. that come between us and the coffee farmer. Because we have eliminated this from our process, we are able to pay a higher price for our coffee, far exceeding the current coffee prices. Without providing exact numbers (because I don't have them available), we typically pay twice per pound as the average coffee company.
Aside from paying prices that are higher than the norm, we also enter into long term contracts and relationships to ensure that we are always purchasing the highest quality product and paying a fair price for the coffee we purchase. In addition to promoting this type of relationship, we also build relationships with those companies who support their community and help out in whatever way we can (i.e. by building schools and community centers, etc.). Most of our employees here at the Home Office have had the opportunity to visit one of the coffee plantations personally, and can attest to the condition in which the pickers and other estate workers live and work.
This is just a little bit of what we are doing, and we hope that we can continue to improve our web site to make sure that all of our customers know what we are doing and our commitment to the growers of our product. If you are interested in any other information or having any specific questions, our Green Coffee Buyer, Jay Isais, welcomes direct communications from our customers. He is more than happy to speak with you personally or answer any questions via telephone. He can be reached at <>.
I hope this information helps! Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or comments.
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So while they don't have the fairtrade certification (which costs money and involved regulatory issues), I am satisfied with the answer. Here is a link to some of their projects as well:
http://coffeebean.com/International-Programs-W189C125.aspx
El Salvador coffee is much better than people know. A good deal for 5 LBS shade grown El Salvador I tried at http://www.zecuppa.com/servlet/the-56/Gourmet-El-Salvador-Coffee/Detail
It is good to see El Salvador coffee being promoted finally.
Gourmet Coffee Room Spray.
I fyou love the aroma of great coffee, but can't drink it, i highly recommend the coffee room sprays from Airs. I smelled for the first time at a Chicago restaurant (they sprayed the restaurant when you walk in!) and now I have a coffee spray in the car because I drive long distances. I have to hide it because people want to take my precious can away. I think Airs in is Seattle, would make sense since they also make coffee incense.
Coffee sprays:
i forgot to put the link to the coffee sprays http://www.airsworld.com . sorry
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Emily | August 15, 2007 at 05:06 AM