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A few facts to set the scene - Coffee is the second-most traded commodity in the world economy, after oil.
- The global coffee industry is worth $60 billion annually.
- Some coffee farmers earn as little as 10
cents a kilo for the coffee they pick by hand.
- Most of the world's coffee is grown by small-scale coffee farming families.
- 25 million
families around the world work in the coffee-fields and totally depend on the coffee crop as their only source
of income.
All our coffees are high quality and eco
friendly. All (bar one)are single source and 100% arabica beans.
Each coffee is certified Fair Trade or endorsed by the Rainforest Alliance, or comes up to similar
ethical and environmental standards. A premium price is always paid to the farmers and the producer is
identified.
You can buy cheaper coffee elsewhere ...
... but if you do we doubt you will be told much about its origin
and quality - often cheaper alternatives will be a mix of cheapest beans available from time to time from wherever.
Nor will you have any sense of the social effects of your purchase on those who have produced it, and on the environment
and ecology of the growing region.
Not
that we hold ourselves out individually as paragons of virtue. But we do ONLY provide coffee that
has been put through the strictest ethical and eco tests around - and passed with flying colours.
Why? Well, we think that the principles of ethical and responsible
trading can be given more commitment and support than just as an offering as an optional extra.
Does it follow that a coffee not displaying
the various "green labels" is all bad? Well ... no actually. But as you have no way of
knowing, it helps to have some information so that you can make a conscious decision about who to benefit with your money.
All coffees are available as freshly roasted whole beans, or as roast and ground - omni-grind for all
types of coffee-makers, or finely ground specifically for espresso machines.
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