What’s the Drip? The Deal with Ethically Sourced Coffee
I was at Wicked Café a few weeks ago and since they seemed like a conscious-type spot I found myself looking for the familiar Fair Trade logo; it was nowhere to be seen! I was about to say something to the nice peeps behind the counter when a pamphlet caught my eye. What was this Direct Trade business all about? Here I was thinking Fair Trade was the way to go, could it be true there was something even more fair than Fair Trade? As it turns out, yes, actually there is. I was glad I held my tongue - it would have been another foot-in-mouth moment.
If you have seen the eye-opening documentary Black Gold, and I suggest you do, you can most likely understand my all-consuming guilt when drinking generic mystery-sourced coffee with no hint of its origin or how the farmers were compensated for their globally traded commodity. I also can’t stand those little plastic disposable creamers and straw-like stir sticks but that’s another blog post altogether – literally. According to the film’s website, just four multinational corporations dominate the world coffee market: Kraft General Foods, who also have a licensing deal with Starbucks, produce such brands as Maxwell House, Nabob, Brim, Chase and Sanborn, General Foods International Coffee, Gevalia, Kenco, Maxim, and Sanka. Nescafé and Taster’s Choice belong to Nestlé. Proctor & Gamble owns Folgers and Millstone. Sara Lee owns the Senseo brand, roasting under the Doewe Egberts division and also boasts a foodservice division called Java Coast; Sara Lee formerly owned MJB, Chock Full O’Nuts and Hills Brothers. I know that’s some bitter corporate brew to swallow, but there’s hope!
I found a very good explanation of the differences between Fair Trade vs. Direct Trade on Coffee Tao. Basically, Fair Trade is an official certification system established by TransFair, paid for by the grower, which serves to ensure certain labour and environmental standards are being met in the coffee production process. Remember, Fair Trade is not automatically synonymous with organic! On the other hand, Direct Trade seems to be a handy self-explanatory term. On top of also ensuring socially responsible practices, Direct Trade means importing coffee directly from the growers, sans middleman or corporate interference. Just the way I like it! Oh, and did I mention Direct Trade pays growers 25% more than Fair Trade? Now that’s a morning pick-me-up we can all feel good about.
There is a great list of Fair and Direct Trade coffee cafés at the Vancouver Indy Coffee Scene site that you can consult for your next java-fuelled engagement. As you can see, every drop counts!
Tags: Coffee, Direct Trade, fair trade, Vancouver
