Intelligentsia's blends are home-brewed in Chicago. We love their El Diablo Dark Roast, but we also dig their commitment to Direct Trade Coffee purchased from individual farmers.
From their website: We adhere to the philosophy that the compassionate treatment of people and the environment inevitably yields higher quality.
As we search for ways to be green in the windy city, buying locally roasted Direct Trade coffee seems like a good option to have.
posted originally from: AT:Chicago
It's true that the coffee industry has done some major harm to the environment, and in response to the "greenwashing" that sometimes happens in the trade, Intelligentsia Purchaser Geoff Watts has written several articles about Direct Trade, including pieces on Shade Grown coffee and Organic certification.
Check out Intelligentsia online or in person at any of their downtown retail stores.
Image via morguefile.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
I'm not sure about this company. The reasons in the article for not using the Fair Trade system don't seem to hold water. In the FT system you could send your own person to verify what the farmers are doing and you choose which farmers to work with, so if they're not distributing money the way you want then you don't have to buy from them. But I also like that in the FT system for coffee, that the farmers are democratically organized so that they do choose where the money goes - sometimes it goes to individual farmers and sometimes the cooperative decides it should be invested in processing equipment or building a clinic that everyone can use. I don't think US based coffee companies - even good ones - should dictate how a farmer's money is spent. There are lots of places to get FT coffee click on the link below and look for the 100% businesses! http://www.chicagofairtrade.org/shopping/FTDirectory/
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All those interested in the Fair Trade coffee system should watch the Black Gold documentary. It's interesting stuff and a bit sad to see coffee growers barely make a living out of something most of us take for granted. Here's he link: http://www.blackgoldmovie.com/
Since I live in Portland, I'll plug my fav roaster here:
http://www.stumptowncoffee.com/
Enjoy,
Bill
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