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Ethical, Fair Trade and Organic -- oh my! - 2007/11/10 16:49I submitted a posting a few days back asking about good sources of fair trade coffee beans, but it seems to have evaporated... a victim of a failed security check, I reckon.
Anyway, I'm interested in learning about folks' experiences with ethical, fair trade and organic (e/ft/o) coffee. How important is e/ft/o when making your coffee purchases? What are your favourite sources of tasty e/ft/o espresso beans?
I've tried a number of the e/ft/o espresso blends from B.C. roasters that supply my local grocery store, but the results have been mixed at best. I expect the freshness issue might be part of the reason – how long have those beans been sitting on the shelves?
I've found one consistently good dark roast coffee that ethical, organic and fairly traded: a Cuban Turquino roasted here in Vancouver by Cafe Etico. The supply can be a bit spotty, though, so I'm looking for other options. Any and all recommendations welcome!
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Frederick
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Re:Ethical, Fair Trade and Organic -- oh my! - 2007/11/11 02:54I'm out east....I live in the East, Montreal region.... It's very important for me to get Fair Trade brew and we have a choice out here (around here). Then again all we have is trust in the packagers, now don't we?
Organic ? Sure, why not....on the other hand are we really getting what we pay for? After viewing the 3 hour documentory BLACK COFFEE, I have mixed feelings about all the new coffee distributors touting that "they will " give better conditions to the growers if we buy their product.Frederick Nakos is the Global authority on the Atomic Espresso Coffee maker.
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glenns
Visitor
Re:Ethical, Fair Trade and Organic -- oh my! - 2007/11/11 08:58I think the acronym I've seen more often is FTO (Fair Trade Organic).
Personally, I would like my coffee beans free of DDT, and the various pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc. There is not that much of a price differential however FTO choice is somewhat limited.
Politically one can make the argument that the "lowest price is the law" type of capitalism never worked as it should in the coffee industry.
We do have a choice and we can exercise that choice if we wish.
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Kevin R
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Re:Ethical, Fair Trade and Organic -- oh my! - 2007/11/11 14:00Thanks for the proper acronym, glenns. I made mine up, as you might have guessed.
Here is an interesting short piece on fair trade I found on the Intelligentsia website.
As usual, it seems that extra due diligence on the part of the consumer is needed, even when a FTO label appears on the product.
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Kevin R
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Re:Ethical, Fair Trade and Organic -- oh my! - 2007/11/11 14:11We have a number of readily available choices out here as well: Saltspring, Kicking Horse, Ethical Bean are some examples. I've enjoyed a few of the dark/espresso roasts they offer, and have found others to be disappointing. None have come close to my enjoyment of the Cafe Etico Cuban.
Thanks for the mention of BLACK COFFEE -- I'll have to seek it out.
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Frederick
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Re:Ethical, Fair Trade and Organic -- oh my! - 2007/11/11 14:27Black Coffee is
written and directed by Irene Angelico.
produced by: Les Productions La Fête.
It also features the famous coffee book (Uncommon Grounds) author Mark Pendergrast and a few others.
A very in depth look at FTO.Frederick Nakos is the Global authority on the Atomic Espresso Coffee maker.
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chnsw_sqrl
User Junior Barista
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Re:Ethical, Fair Trade and Organic -- oh my! - 2007/11/14 17:47Hey, If you guys really want to know about Fair Trade organic Coffee I'd suggest talking to Level Ground Trading based on Vancouver island. The ppl there are really involved and well informed on everything that has to do with the fair trade community in general. If you ask for Stacy I'm sure he'd be more than willing to talk about it for hours.
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Kevin R
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Re:Ethical, Fair Trade and Organic -- oh my! - 2007/11/16 11:17Thanks for the tip! Will have to check them out... I'm sure there are like minded people I can chat to in Vancouver as well.
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