Dear Mission Ground Customer,

"Fair Trade" is a certification that is given primarily to a company that can prove, together with a specific coffee farm, that fair prices are being given to the independent farm. These are certifications that are primarily being marketed in the USA by a firm in California. For example, StarBucks may promote a certain type of coffee that is being sold as Fair Trade coffee. Not all their coffee can be sold as such because this only applies to a very few farms that hold these certifications together with the buyer. This needs to be proven to the agencies in the United States that govern this certification. Even though StarBucks sells one type of coffee that is certified Fair Trade this does not mean that all their coffee is certified. This would be an impossible task. The biggest problem is most US companies only pay the roaster Fair Trade and then they have to trust that the roaster is passing this extra money to the farmer. However is does not ensure that children are not used to pick coffee or that the children are given a fair price. Neither does it ensure that the migrate farm laborers are paid fair prices. Fair Trade has been great in elevating people's awareness of the coffee industry and has ensured that the coffee roaster is getting a fair price and to a lesser extend some farmers but it has not always helped the people actually picking the coffee and completing the other coffee labor.

Costa Rica on the other hand has a different system than most coffee producing countries. The coffee you purchased is from one of the best regions of coffee in the world, known as Tarrazu Costa Rica. There is a cooperative in Tarrazu known as CoopeTarrazu. StarBucks is a large buyer of CoopeTarrazu's coffee. CoopeTarrazu in turn is owned by approximately 1500 small to medium sized independent farms. The function of CoopeTarrazu is to get the best price for the coffees that these 1500 plus farms turn into this processing plant as a group. The profits are then divided and paid to each farmer based on his percentage interest or the amount of product supplied to CoopeTarrazu by him. The entire process is governed by the Government of Costa Rica. The overseeing body is known as ICAFE. It regulates all coffee that is processed and exported from Costa Rica. ICAFE's watchful eye makes sure that the independent farms are receiving fair market prices for the coffee they turn into CoopeTarrazu. Not only does Costa Rica have some of the best coffee in the world it also is some of the most expensive coffee in the world. The reason for this is directly linked to ICAFE's involvement in the coffee industry within Costa Rica. It makes sure that the farmers are receiving fair prices for their coffee. Our plant is registered with ICAFE for this reason. This proves that we are part of the system that makes sure our coffee is truly Fair Trade coffee even though we are not certified by the USA body known as Fair Trade. We are also owned by 3 other cooperatives in Costa Rica - CoopeVictoria, CoopePalmares, and CoopeSabalito. In other words we work with more than 8000 small farmers. Each cooperative has a significant % share in our roasting plant and these are the sources from which we draw upon for our raw product, our green bean.

There are some other functions of ICAFE, which works very closely with the Minister of Health, the Minister of Children, and the Minister of Labor. For example, ICAFE also makes sure that the Indians that come in from the jungles of Panama and Nicaragua to pick coffee during the harvest season are paid fair wages, given health insurance, and proper housing accommodations during the harvest season. They also work closely to make sure there is no exploitation of children and adult workers. Costa Rica is very much into protecting the less fortunate and overseeing their rights. This is another reason why we are proud members of ICAFE.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Boake Moore

The Coffee Bean and Helping Others

From the Coffee Tree, to Your Coffee Cup, Back to the Coffee Growers

Coffee beans are quite the world travelers. They arrive
in our stores from different countries all across the globe. Cultivating
coffee is a process which dates back to the 10th century, possibly earlier
according to some sources. But the truth is no one knows for sure and
it has been difficult to definitively pinpoint an exact date.

As a result there are many legends about the origins
of coffee, however the word “coffee” was first introduced
into the English vocabulary in 1598. In 1654 the first noted coffeehouse
in England opened in St. Micheal’s Alley in Cornhill. The Americas
were first introduced to coffee in 1720 thanks to Gabriel de Clieu.
Today coffee is the second most traded commodity worldwide.

The Life of the Coffee Bean

The process of making coffee does not begin with the
coffee bean. It begins with a coffee seed which grows into a coffee
tree. The tree will produce white blossoms as it grows, and once the
tree is ready, the blossoms will begin to produce fruit. These fruits
are called coffee cherries (for their red color) or coffee berries.
The fruit will first appear yellow in color and will eventually turn
into a beautiful red as it ripens. It is inside these coffee berries
that the coffee beans are found. Because the leaves on the coffee plant
remain green throughout the year, it is considered an evergreen. It
can take anywhere from 3 to 5 years for a coffee tree to begin producing
any yield. Each berry is handpicked from each coffee tree and is very
labor intensive.

Inside each coffee berry are two beans with their flat
sides facing towards each other. When a berry has only a single coffee
bean inside, it is considered a peaberry. Peaberries were once regarded
as abnormal or faulted, therefore were commonly discarded until more
recently. Peaberries only make up approximately 5 to 10 percent of the
entire crop. They are found to be more robust in their flavor and are
smaller in size.

The coffee beans are surrounded by protective layers
of the berry, which have to be removed. The first step is to remove
the pulp, which is the outer layer, within 24 hours of picking. A machine
is used to remove the pulp which is a process called depulping. Once
removed, the beans are still left with a thin layer of endocarp, also
called parchment. This layer has a slimy texture which is removed through
a fermentation process. The beans are then washed, rinsed and then dried,
typically on patios or tables in the sun. The beans have to be raked
frequently to allow for even drying.

Once the beans are dried they are ready to be packaged
and sold for roasting. The beans at this stage are called green coffee
beans due to their green color. They are then shipped to various roasters
around the globe who will then roast the beans at various temperatures
and timeframes. The temperature and roasting time determines the flavor
and strength of each roast. Coffee beans which are roasted for longer
periods of time are called dark roasts while shorter roasting periods
produce light roasts. As the coffee beans are roasting fiber is naturally
removed from the beans. As greater amounts of fiber are removed from
the beans the smoother the coffee beans will taste. Espresso beans are
roasted for very long periods of time, thus creating a very smooth yet
bitter flavor. Straight espresso is an acquired taste for some; however
it is common for many Italians to use a stove
and espresso maker to produce pure espresso anytime of day. Many
Americans prefer regular roasted coffee beans.

How Coffee Beans Improve Lives

Thanks to Fair Trade organizations around the world, it is now possible to literally
help improve the lives of many workers and their families in impoverished
areas simply by buying Fair Trade coffees. When a coffee plantation meets
the guidelines set by the Fair Trade organization, the growers are guaranteed
a fair price for their goods. These guidelines typically require these
companies to maintain proper safety and working conditions; along with
proper wages for their workers. Since the companies are receiving fair
prices, they are able to improve the quality of their products as well
as making it possible for the workers to maintain healthy living standards.

Understanding the process of how coffee is made and
where it comes from will be sure to enhance your own appreciation for
this famous beverage. But also knowing the benefits of ordering Fair
Trade products help all of us to know we can help others less fortunate…
even if it is one cup at a time.

About the Author:
Elizabeth Krause was first introduced to coffee as an early teen thanks
to her Italian coffee drinking family. She now owns and operates her
own Italian cooking website where she features various family recipes
such as old fashioned lasagna to more modern varieties such as vegetarian
pasta recipes. When in need of comfort food she takes out her pasta
bowls set and makes a big batch of angel hair pasta for her and
her husband. She spends most of her free time in the kitchen experimenting
always trying to find a new twist to family recipes.

The Poverty of Fair Trade:

“Fairtrade purports to work within the market economy but its rise has been largely based on marketing subsidies and public-sector procurement,” says Tom Clougherty, policy director of the Adam Smith Institute. Despite huge pressures on the public purse, local councils are squandering large sums becoming Fairtrade towns and cities, distributing posters and leaflets to nanny people into only buying Fairtrade. Meanwhile, the Fairtrade Foundation has received over Â£1.5m from the Department for International Development. It wants more. In December, reminiscent of 1970s-style industrial policy, it called for development aid to be spent as “strategic investment” on Fairtrade.

Fairtrade coffee is not actually the most ethical form available

Monday sees the start of Fairtrade Fortnight, the time each year when we are hectored into paying more for a cup of coffee. Charities, politicians and primary school teachers will deliver the scheme as an undisputed good. With all this effort, it is a pity Fairtrade does not work.

Fairtrade’s supporters blame the plight of coffee farmers on world prices and ruthless multinational companies. But supporters ignore the real causes of poverty among growers. Farmers I interviewed in Kenya told me that the problems they face are not caused by global influences but their own government’s interference. They are forced to use milling companies granted regional monopolies, who fleece them. They want to boost productivity by using fertiliser, but they cannot afford the inflated prices demanded by the government fertiliser monopoly. Imported tools and machinery would transform their output but are subject to punitive tariffs. Police roadblocks slow their goods and involve money exchanging hands.

Brazil, conversely, pursued free-market reforms and the farmers have mechanised. This has enabled five people and a machine to enjoy the same output as 500 unaided farmers. Yet the Fairtrade Foundation, the lobby group behind the scheme in the UK, seems oblivious to this and admits it has no programmes to encourage the use of technology. Even worse, it is giving counterproductive advice to farmers, encouraging them mix different crops in the same field, thereby cutting productivity and making future mechanisation more difficult.

Despite Fairtrade’s moral halo, there are other, more ethical forms of coffee available. Most Fairtrade coffee on sale in UK supermarkets and on the high street is roasted and packaged in Europe, principally in Belgium and Germany. This is unnecessary and retards development. Farmers working for Costa Rica’s CafÃ© Britt have been climbing the economic ladder by not just growing beans but by also doing all of the processing, roasting and packaging and branding themselves. Shipping unroasted green beans to Europe causes them to deteriorate, so not only is CafÃ© Britt doing far more to promote economic development than Fairtrade rivals, it is also creating better tasting coffee.

But CafÃ© Britt is not welcome on the Fairtrade scheme. Most of CafÃ© Britt’s farmers are self-employed small businesspeople who own the land they farm. This is wholly unacceptable to the rigid ideologues at FLO International, Fairtrade’s international certifiers, who will only accredit the farmers if they give up their small business status and join together into a co-operative. “It’s like outlawing private enterprise,” says Dan Cox, former head of the Speciality Coffee Association of America. Many African farmers, organised along tribal lines, are similarly excluded from the scheme. Other producers complain that accreditation is needlessly bureaucratic and costs five times as much as organic certifications.

CafÃ© Britt accuses the Fairtrade scheme of failing to understand the cultural realities in countries like Costa Rica where many farmers simply do not want to become part of co-operatives. Unlike campaigners’ romantic vision of developing country co-ops, the overwhelming evidence is that they are breeding grounds for corruption and abuse of workers. Co-operative leaders, who routinely get re-elected in fiddled votes, rake money from ordinary farmers, keeping them in the dark about their output’s true worth.

While true that certification requires an annual inspection (for a fee) these can range from simple visits to requests for paperwork by post. The scheme does not verify wages paid to labourers. Those co-operatives who run free elections are little better, with leaders often unwilling to make tough but necessary choices for fear of losing popularity with their voters. Moreover, an independent investigation into Peruvian Fartraide farms found breaches of Fairtrade rules, with many workers being paid less that that country’s minimum wage and non-certified coffee being passed off as Fairtrade.

Meanwhile, Fairtrade has the effect of encouraging relatively affluent, but not very efficient, producers to stay in the market. Being more affluent, they find it easier to jump the bureaucratic hurdles the scheme imposes. Accordingly, Mexico is the largest single Fairtrade coffee producer, despite the country having free access to US markets and enjoying average wages eighteen times those of its coffee rival Ethiopia, which loses out as a result.

Unfortunately, the juggernaut of Fairtrade marketing has been extremely damaging by crowding out other ethical approaches. While CafÃ© Britt’s products are sold globally, its products have found competing in the UK very difficult. Its UK distributor, 100% Arabica, was recently forced out of business. Good African Coffee, a non-Fairtrade Ugandan firm that packages and brands its coffee in Uganda, has done better but has still only gained a very small part Britain’s ethical coffee market.

While high-street chains like Starbucks and Caffe Nero have encouraged consumers to favour higher-quality, speciality coffee, there is growing evidence that Fairtrade is damaging quality, too. Fairtrade farmers typically sell in both Fairtrade and open markets. Because the price in the open market is solely determined by quality, they sell their better quality beans in that market, and then dump their poorer beans into the Fairtrade market, where they are guaranteed a good price regardless. Moreover, because co-operatives mix every farmer’s beans together, farmers who improve quality receive the same payment as those who do not, which discourages improvements. That’s worth considering next time you pop out for a double espresso.

Who benefits from fair trade?
...conservative commentator Philip Oppenheim...argued recently that in Britain, it's supermarkets that profit most from fair trade sales. They charge a premium for fair trade bananas, for example, while a "minuscule sliver ends up with the people the movement is designed to help"...

Here is more. In case you don't know, fair trade sells a product at a premium price, under the promise that the workers are treated better and paid more. But will that improve living standards? Hmm...this sounds like a problem in tax incidence theory. To make the best possible case for fair trade, I will assume the promise of good treatment is credible.

Let's say the supermarket has some market power and would have liked to price discriminate on coffee sales. Now you can buy either normal coffee or fair trade coffee, and the richer, more conscientious people are willing to pay more for the latter. Some people can be charged lower prices, while others pay higher prices. Fair trade will likely increase coffee output, relative to a world with no fair trade. Profits will go up. But what happens to input prices? Will wages of Rwandan coffee producers rise?

It depends on the alternative to market segregation. It is possible that if only a single kind of coffee can be sold, the market would opt for the more expensive coffee, involving better treatment of all workers. Even if you don't expect this today, it might happen in a few years' time. If McDonald's can improve the treatment of all the chickens it buys, maybe Starbucks or some other force will force the coffee sector to clean up its act. So development optimists should be suspicious of fair trade. It could diminish long-run general progress by giving the conscientious an outlet for their charity. By splitting up the market, we are institutionalizing especially poor treatment for one class of workers. Furthermore the high profits from price discrimination imply that producers will be keen to continue such segregation rather than end it.

How about a genre called "Exploitation Coffee"? You pay less, and they promise to treat the workers especially poorly. That wording is a less effective marketing ploy, but that is what quality differentiation and indeed "fair trade" boils down to.

It is well known that price discrimination can either raise or lower the average level of prices, but it does increase price dispersion. We can expect it to increase wage dispersion as well. It is harder to predict whether price discrimination will raise or lower wages at the bottom level of the scale.

By increasing output, fair trade can bid up wages for coffee producers. But fair trade also diverts some drinkers from Exploitation Coffee. If the switching effect is large, wages for producers of Exploitation Coffee can fall. Just as we have created two classes of market prices, so have we created two classes of market wages. If you believe that coffee producing firms have some degree of monopsony power, this is sustainable and again will increase profits but possibly worsen human misery for the poorest.

These are all "existence theorems." I would not be surprised to learn that current benefits from fair trade are positive. But since I am a development optimist, I have reservations about the institution in the longer run.

Coffee and the
Decaffeination Process

Decaf or regular,
they both originate from the same bean.

There are various health conditions for which medical experts advise
their patients to eliminate the consummation of coffee from their daily
diet. These conditions may include high blood pressure, anxiety, tremors
and heart arrhythmia. Being advised to eliminate coffee from everyday
consumption will definitely come as a hard pill to swallow for any coffee
enthusiast. Decaffeinated coffee is a perfect solution for anybody who
desires to eliminate caffeine from their diet.

About the Chemical
Caffeine:

Caffeine is a chemical
found naturally in coffee beans, and is considered an alkaloid. An alkaloid
according to medterms.com is, “A member of a large group of chemicals
that are made by plants and have nitrogen in them.” Caffeine is
listed in this group among other chemicals such as cocaine, nicotine,
and tryptamine. Caffeine is a stimulant and therefore can help improve
stamina, alertness and improve a person’s cognitive function when
at least 100 mg. are consumed. Too high of doses, such as 250 mg to700
mg, can cause negative side effects such as anxiety, heart arrhythmias,
nervousness and even insomnia.

Since caffeine is naturally found in coffee beans, these beans must
go through special processes to remove the caffeine. Caffeine can never
be completely removed from the bean, however 94-99 percent is typically
extracted depending on the process used. There are two main methods
for removing caffeine from the coffee bean. They are the Swiss Water
Process method and the Solvent Based method.

Swiss Water Process:

The Swiss Water Process received its name due to the Swiss
Water used which originates from British Columbia, Canada, according to
www.swisswaterprocess.com. The term “Swiss Water Process”
was originally created and patented by a Swiss company. Green coffee beans
are first soaked in water which is saturated with soluble solids from
green coffee, otherwise known as Green Coffee Extract. As the beans soak
in the solution for approximately 10 hours, the caffeine is drawn out
of the bean itself and into the extract through charcoal and carbon filtering.
Once removed from the extract the beans are dried and ready to be shipped.
This process does not use any chemicals.

Solvent Based Process:

Solvent Based Process is when a chemical solvent is used to remove the
caffeine from the coffee beans. The two most common solvents used are
either methylene chloride or ethyl acetate. Methylene chloride is held
in lesser regard due to controversy over its carcinogenic risk. Ethyl
acetate is the most commonly used of the two solvents. It is regarded
as a natural solvent since it is a compound naturally found in fruits
and vegetables. However, due to the demand for this chemical compound,
it is rarely used in its natural state and instead, synthetically manufactured
compounds are used in its place.

The Flavor of Decaf

When it comes to the flavor of coffee, it is changed slightly due to the
decaffeination process. The beans cannot absorb back all of the flavor
mixtures which were extracted. Using stronger blends for decaf coffee
can offer a solution, or simply making the coffee a bit stronger. For
example, when making a quick espresso using either a stove
top espresso maker, or a larger espresso machine, simply pack the
espresso more than normal and the decrease in the flavor of the coffee
will be less noticeable.

Natural Decaffeinated Coffee Trees?

Interestingly, new species of the genus Coffea have recently been recognized
and classified for naturally producing green coffee beans with minimal
traces of caffeine. Because these species are located in the exploited
forests of Madagascar, they are very rare and nearly considered endangered.
Unfortunately, it is unlikely these beans will ever be commercialized.

Consuming decaffeinated coffee will lower the overall intake of caffeine.
When it comes to the decaf coffee, there may be a slight difference in
taste, but it is well worth it for those can’t live without their
coffee, but need to live without the caffeine.

About the Author: Elizabeth Krause grew up in an Italian home where
drinking coffee was just as common as eating spaghetti out of everyday
white
pasta bowls. Every Italian loves their pasta and their coffee. She
remembers her first cup of coffee as a child and she has been hooked
ever since. Today she drinks decaffeinated lattes and enjoys publishing
simple
Italian recipes on her cooking website.

Other Articles on Fair Trade and Gourmet Coffee: