|
The demand for coffee is huge right now, and is predicted by the International Coffee Organisation to increase by 25% over the course of the next few years. However, the mass-production methods used to sustain our ever increasing consumption leads to lower-quality produce – weakening the taste of your perfectly blended morning cup. But it’s not the taste of your morning cup that is of great concern – it is the farmers producing it. The greater demand for coffee increases the chances of companies treating and paying the workers unfairly - Making it more important than ever-before to purchase Fairtrade coffee beans. In a nutshell, Fairtrade is a market movement designed to ensure small producers and farmers are ‘financially healthy’ by guaranteeing a fair price for their coffee beans. However, Fairtrade is much more than just a fair price, as the organisation is designed to provide three pillars of support; economic, social and environmental to the 660,700 farmers they work with globally. To the every-day consumer, one of the first thoughts that come to mind when you think of ‘Fairtrade’ is often ‘Expensive’. However, the extra added ‘premium’ is given back to the local famers on top of the minimum price, who then decide how the money should be invested to improve their businesses. The Fairtrade producers also offer back social premiums to develop housing, healthcare, education and women’s programs and work directly with cooperatives of small coffee bean farmers, to remove expensive middle men from the equation – so the extra you spend on a bag of Fairtrade coffee beans really does go a long way. The consumer also benefits from the ‘premium’ added to Fairtrade coffee. As 37% of Fairtrade coffee is certified as organic, the natural flavors of the coffee beans remains true to the roots in which it grew, giving the consumer a more authentic and delicious taste. The natural pressing of organic beans, ensures no harsh chemicals are used in the process, making buying organic Fairtrade coffee a happier and healthier purchase as it automatically eliminates the consumer from consuming GMOs, solvents, chemicals and pesticides. At James Aimer, we offer a range of fairtrade blends and single origin roasts. For more information on these please get in touch. |
 |
