Fair Trade

I was recently sent some Green Mountain Fair Trade coffee K Cup samples.  I have had a lot of experience in the past with Green Mountain Coffee.  Back in college, it was the type sold on campus and the type I grabbed every morning.  When I graduated, I bought it at the grocery store.  Time passed and I stopped drinking coffee or even having it in the house.  However, I’ve recently starting enjoying a cup of coffee here and there and I was discovering that its a whole new world of coffee!

Social and environmental issues have become more prevalent and they have even shown up in coffee.  Green Mountain’s Fair Trade Coffee makes a difference.   Green Mountain Roasters offsets 100% of their greenhouse emissions.  They also allocate 5% of their pre tax profits to social and environmental causes.

Fair Trade isn’t a designation that is earned lightly.  Fair Trade farmers must maintain fair labor practices and withhold environmental standards.  They must also reinvest their premiums for projects such as composting or clean water.  In exchange for this, Fair Trade farmers are paid an ethical, fair trade amount for their coffee beans. If the current economic environment is calling for a lower price, farmers are paid the current price plus a premium.

So, I will tell you I live in a house of discerning coffee drinkers.  I made everyone coffee with the Green Mountain K Cups and everyone was impressed with the robust but not over powering flavor.  It makes a great cup of coffee.

And if you’re going to have a cup of coffee why not do some good with it?