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We currently stock Chai (spices not organic). This is an aromatic blend of Ceylon Organic teas (60%) and exotics (40%): cinnamon, cloves, cardamon, pepper and nutmeg. Very tasty when prepared with milk and a little honey.
Do you know where your coffee comes from? Few of us understand the chain of production that connects us to our beloved brew - or the fundamentally different ways of growing it. One requires large inputs of chemical pesticides, and reduces biodiversity. The other metod promotes conservation, preserves biodiversity and does not expose its workers to daily doses of chemicals that may in the long run kill them. The fact that few consumers differentiate between the two has dramatic and far reaching consequences, especially in the poorest producer regions.
In the early 1980s, debt-strapped nations were encouraged to modernize plantations and replace organic, shade-grown coffee with sun-tolerant varieties, to increase yields and boost exports. Brazil and Colombia (today's leading producer countries) tripled their production. But in Mexico, the world's fifth-largest producer of coffee production remained organic because of land distribution patterns (most farms are small family holdings; their owners couldn't afford to modernize).
To be certified as organic, coffee must be produced without exposure to chemical pesticides, herbicides or fungicides, in the soil, the growing practices and even in the packagin g. Certification also means that the coffee workers, many of whom are children, aren't exposed to the kinds of pesticides and chemicals that boost cancer rates along with crop yields.
Such traditional methods mean coffee is grown under taller trees, in the shady under-story of the forest. These trees provide crucial habitat for local and migrating birds. For many species, traditional coffee farms are the only oases left amid the vast deforestation that has changed the Latin American landscape. The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Centre in Washington has a project to accredit those organic coffee farms whose growing practices help conserve habitat for migratory song birds (the project is like the "dolphin_friendly" credit on tuna in the 1980s).
Shady and pesticide_free, traditional coffee farms are reservoirs of biodiversity Their soil is healthier, and best of all shade=grown coffee tastes better. The slow ripening that occurs in the shade means more sugars are released within the coffee cherry over a longer period of time, creating a smoother, richer flavour.
Most of the world's coffee supply is traded on the New York "C" market, a commodities market set up in the 19th century. Although actual shipments of coffee do take place, most coffee trades are for futures, so that coffee is bought and sold many times over without changing hands, except on paper. Speculative futures trading tends to distance the buyer from the producer so that a trader rarely has any contact with a real coffee producer. This may explain why the current price for coffee is now around $0.65 (U.S.) a pound almost 50 per cent lower than the farmer's cost of production.
Fair Trade is a certifying organization whose goal is to ensure that coffee producers receive a minimum price for their coffee so they can cover their productions costs, reinvest in their farms and provide for their families. Fair Trade buyers guarantee a price no lower than $1.26 (US) per pound. If the world price is higher, Fair Traders pay a premium of $0.05 per pound higher than the going rate.
Next time you buy a bag of coffee, ask yourself Do you care where it comes from? Then prove it.
Julian Haber, who is completing his International MBA at the Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto, worked last winter at Santa Elena, an organic coffee farm in Chiapas, Mexico.
The Globe and Mail, August 2, 2001
Currently, there are approximately 14 million people around the world directly involved in the annual production of over 6 billion pounds of cocoa.
The world cocoa market, dominated by a few large companies, has fluctuated wildly in the last two years going from a 27 year low in 2000 (US $714 per metric ton - MT) to a 16 year high in Sept. 2002 (US $ 2,200/MT).
Despite this dramatic price increase, there are few guarantees that small farmers will benefit greatly from the situation. This is because 90% of the world's cocoa is grown on small family farms that lack the bargaining power to negotiate fair prices with local traders.
Certified fair trade organic cocoa guarantees that farmers are able to cover their costs of production via a minimum `floor price' of US $1950/MT. Moreover, when the world price exceeds this minimum `floor price', the fair trade certification system ensures that farmers receive a social premium and an organic premium thus enabling farmers to invest in and plan for their future.
In 2000, a mere 3 million pounds of all cocoa sold (less than .05% of all cocoa produced) was sold at certified fair trade prices.
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Teardrop Crafts
2600 Columbia Avenue
Castlegar, B.C., Canada, V1N 2X6
tdrop@web.ca
© 1998-01-22 George Richards update=170704