Organic Coffee and the Earth Friendly Foundation

Fair Trade vs. Value Added

2012-01-02T12:25:00.001-09:00

Fair trade (FT) coffee is different from most other fair trade items. Most FT products are the result of a worker, craftsman or artist shaping or fashioning raw materials into a finished , value-added product.

This value-added product earns the artisan far more than the raw materials that compose the product, compensating the worker for his/her labor. Consider as fair trade examples: jewelry from Indonesia, carvings from Africa, baskets from Bangladesh.

“Fair trade coffee” pays the farmer a fair trade price, but only for his raw (oro) or green coffee. Additional processing is required for consumption and this additional processing commands a significant dollar premium.

Other than the indigenous farmers increasing prices for their raw commodity products, in a price sensitive market environment that can easily substitute cheaper coffee alternatives in response to rising prices,—additional revenue streams can only be generated by introducing a value added process: roasting.

Multinational coffee companies have no economic incentive to pioneer a change that could drastically improve the lives of third World coffee farmers, as they capture the economic premium derived from the roasting process.

Our mission is to secure the necessary funding to create a roasting facility for these Mayan descendants—right in their Rainforest tribal community. This simple addition will empower these gentile people to take their coffee from seed to cup. it will enable them to earn from 30-50% more of the specialty coffee dollar.

Please review to the budget breakdown for equipping this facility. If you find that you‘d like to contribute in any away,—please contact us! postmaster@earthfriendlyfoundation.org

The Earth Friendly Foundation (pending 501c3, IRS # available)

A Social Justice Initiative

To Benefit

The indigenous coffee farmers

Quiche, Guatemala

Volunteers needed for social justice and the preservation of the rainforests. We are promoting "Fair Trade" and better prices to the small family farmers of Guatemala and other locations where the highest quality coffee thrives on the high volcanic mountainsides beneth the shade of the rainforest canopy. Save the trees, the birds, and the indigenous families. Visit the mountains of Guatemala. Meet the people and the mission in some of the most beautiful country you will ever see. Come home and promote the distribution of this excellent Arabica coffee at a fair price to the consumer. Be a part of the mission. Make a difference. diane@earthfriendlycoffee.com

Kona Coffee

2011-12-18T14:38:00.000-09:00

In 1827 while King Kamehameha II visited Europe, he sent the first coffee trees home to the Hawaiian Islands. Coffee was grown on all of the islands until sugar cane and pineapple toke over as the cash crops.

The Kona coast on the Big Island continued to grow coffee because a handful of small farmers, retired cane workers were given mountain land judged unsuitable for cane production. Today, as sugar mills and pineapple canneries shut down, coffee plantations are reappearing on all the islands.

Kona coffee is a protected label. It designates the specific Kona region on the Big Island. Exact percentages of any mix must display on the label. Kona, however is not a quality designation, and there is no quality designation for Kona coffee. Kona coffee is not organic or shade grown, nor is the decaf organically decaffeinated. Only the Peaberry is hand picked. None of the Kona is hand picked, but rather all is machine harvested from big open field company farms.

I have visited these fields and checked the prices and the facts. Kona costs $31.99 / lb.in Maui including delivery. Decaf is $34.99 / Lb.

To its credit the taste is full bodied rich with a pleasant after taste. None that I tasted rated as high as my wife's Earth Friendly Dark Roast and none shared the distinct quality gradation of Guatemala's SHB (strictly hard bean).

The Kona lable demands a premium price

Fair Trade vs Value Added

2011-11-07T14:54:00.001-09:00

Fair Trade (FT) coffee is different from most other fair trade items. Most FT products are the result of a worker, craftsman or artist shaping or fashioning raw materials into a finished, value-added product.

This value-added product earns the craftsman far more than the raw materials that compose the product, compensating the worker for his/her labor. Consider as fair trade examples: jewelry from Indonesia, carvings from Africa, baskets from Bangladesh.

“Fair trade coffee” pays the farmer a fair trade price, but only for his raw (oro) or

green coffee. Additional processing is required for consumption and this additional processing commands a significant dollar premium.

Other than the indigenous farmers increasing prices for their raw commodity product, in a price-sensitive market environment that can easily substitute cheaper coffee alternatives in response to rising prices,-- additional revenue streams can only be generated by introducing a value added process: roasting.

Multinational coffee companies have no economic incentive to pioneer a change that could drastically improve the lives of Third World coffee farmers, as they capture the economic premium derived from the roasting process.

Our mission is to secure the necessary funding to create a roasting facility for these Mayan descendants—right in their Rainforest tribal community. This simple addition will empower these gentle people to take their coffee from seed to cup. It will enable them to earn from 30-50% more of the specialty coffee dollar.

Please review to the budget breakdown for equipping this facility. If you find that you’d like to contribute in any way—please contact us!

The Earth Friendly Foundation

(pending 501c3, IRS # available)

A Social Justice Initiative

To Benefit

The indigenous coffee farmers

Quiche, Guatemala

EARTH FRIENDLY FOUNDATION

2011-07-29T17:45:00.001-08:00

For the sake of total transparency the following articles document the Earth Friendly Foundation

Article I - Name

The name of the Corporation shall be: Earth Friendly Foundation.

Article II – Registered Agent Address:

Registered office in the state of Delaware is to be located at: 16192 Coastal Highway, Lewes, DE 19958, Sussex County. The name of the registered agent is Harvard Business Services.

Article III – Purpose

The purpose of the corporation is to engage in any lawful act of activity for which corporations may organize under General Corporation Law of Delaware. This corporation shall be nonprofit.

Said corporation is organized exclusively for charitable, educational, environmental purposes, including for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code. The purpose of this organization is:

·         To promote the well-being of remote mountain -- Guatemala and other -- indigenous coffee farmers.
·         To promote the farmer’s greater involvement in the milling, processing, roasting and export of their coffee.
·         To promote efficiency, product quality and sustainability.
·         To encourage good environmental practices
·         To make small low interest loans to farmers so they can pay for the help needed in harvesting and processing their beans to market standards.
·         Further specifics will be determined by the organization’s Bylaws.

Article IV – The Corporation shall not have any capital stock.

Article V – Board of Directors

The Management of the affairs of the corporation shall be vested in a board of directors, as defined by the corporation’s bylaws. No director shall have any right, title, or interest in or to any property of the corporation.

The number of directors constituting the initial board of directors is one. (1) The name and address follows:

Diane E. Hughes, PO Box 9, 1850 Jade Drive, Homer, Alaska, 99603-0009, Acting Chair

Heather Begs, Peace Corps Director in Africa, Acting Sec.

Tatiana Weis, CPA Colorado Springs, Acting Treas.

Jan O'Meara, Former Board Chairperson Homer Museum

Dottie Hill, Board of Directors Haven House

Article VI – Duration/Dissolution

The duration of the corporate existence shall be perpetual until dissolution. Upon the dissolution of the organization, assets of the corporation shall be distributed for one or more exempt purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code, or shall be distributed to the federal government, or to a state or local government, for a public purpose.

Article VII – Membership

This corporation shall have no members.

Article VIII – Exemption Requirements

At all times, the following shall operate as conditions restricting the operation and activities of the corporation.

1. No part of the net earnings of the organization shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, trustees, officers, or other private persons, except that organization shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purpose set forth in the purpose clause hereof.

2. No substantial part of the activities of the corporation shall constitute the carrying on of propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, or any initiative or referendum before the public, and the corporation shall not participate in, or intervene in (including by publication or distribution of statements), any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office.

3. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this document, the organization shall not carry on any other activities not permitted to be carried on by an organization exempt from federal income tax under Section 502(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or corresponding section of any future tax code, or by an organization, contributions to which are deductible under section 170(c) (2) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future tax code.

Article IX – Incorporators

The name and mailing address of the incorporator is as follows:

Diane E. Hughes, PO Box 9, Homer, Alaska 99603-0009

I, the undersigned, for the purpose of forming a corporation under the laws of the state of Delaware, do make, file and record this Certificate, and do certify that the facts herein stated are true, and I have accordingly hereunto set my hand this eighth day of April, A.D. 2010.

By:____________________________

(Incorporator)

Name: Diane E. Hughes

IRS form 1023 for 501c3 submitted 7/17/2011 pending

EARTH FRIENDLY FOUNDATION MISSION

2011-07-29T17:33:00.000-08:00

Mission Statement:

The Earth Friendly Foundation is dedicated to promoting the well-being of remote, mountain – Guatemala and other – indigenous coffee farmers. EFF promotes the farmer’s greater involvement in the milling, processing, roasting and export of their coffee through:

·         Education -- promoting efficiency, quality, consistency, and sustainable practices
·         Environmental conservation and sustainability
·         Roasting equipment and supervision
·         Fair Trade, Chemical Free, Organic, Shade Grown and Quality certifications
·         Marketing development and guidance,

to the end of greater prosperity, health, and children’s education among the participating indigenous family farmers and their community.

Vision:
·         EFF envisions a just segment of the coffee industry wherein indigenous native farmers leverage their own isolation and their natural resources into a specialty coffee superior in all respects to its mechanized farm counterpart. Thus, these remote and isolated farm families can gain the resources to integrate themselves into modern society on their own terms.
·         The greater involvement these farmers achieve in the supply chain of the world coffee market, the greater their revenue and integration into society and the greater their ability to care for their own health and education within their own culture and at their own pace.
·         The growing demand for high quality organic coffee presents exciting opportunity for economic growth within the native community.
·         The success of this initiative is in part dependent on production of a superior coffee product. A fair trade initiative is only sustainable when the end customer receives a superior product at a reasonable price. It costs more to harvest organic, hand picked coffee from remote high altitude rainforests. The remoteness alone presents a transportation problem. Rains wash out the roads. There are mudslides, and then there are the coyotes. The product must sell at a premium; it cannot sustain itself in the market if it lacks the quality to justify that premium. The product (to be sustainable) must be superior in perception and reality. Fortuitously the quality is there. The official quality grading of these high altitude hard beans rates SHB, Strictly Hard Beans and is the highest altitude quality gradation in Central America. A primary aim of EFF is the public recognition of this SHB quality gradation
·         Furthermore, maintaining coffee trees beneath the natural forest canopy is the very salvation of that Rainforest. In contrast to the slash and burn, open field cultivation of coffee which is the rule, this harvesting in the natural symbiotic forest has a dramatically positive environmental impact. Environmental considerations must extend to every phase of coffee production.

Goals:

·         A roaster for the Maya Ixil or other indigenous cooperativa.
·         Involve indigenous Mayan farmers and families in the processing and production of a very high quality, roasted, value added product.
·         Sell directly to the US distributor—or even directly to the customer, thus replacing the out sourced miller, the exporter, the importer and the roaster, realizing added revenue of a vertically integrated supply chain.
·         Educate the indigenous producers in the necessity of offering:
       o   A competitive price and quality of product
       o   Consistency, reliability and service (the added value necessary in the US market)
·         The importance of sanitation, safety, and chemical free criteria
·         The importance of ecological criteria at every level
·         To the end -- that the village enterprise will be sustainable and replicate in other countries, on other continents.

Objectives:

·         A grant from a major institution that will fund the roaster and the education needed
·         Ongoing fund raising to further finance: quality control, supervision and -- replication.
·         Maintain strict separation of the Earth Friendly Foundation from the Earth Friendly Coffee Company, a “C” corporation while offering the Cooperativa a legitimate distribution vehicle and access ti the North American market.
·         Fill out the Board with independent community leaders and ones with appropriate expertise --- persons willing and motivated to achieving these goals
·         Achieve an annual budget of $1 million within three or four years.
·         Add at least one other cooperativa and roaster with in 3 years.
·         Advance the SHB metric of quality. Commit R&D money to quality assessment chemical analysis and quality control.
·         Keep administrative overhead to a minimum

Programs:

· Start simple; see the roaster program through to product delivery as the initial single focus.

Fair Trade Coffee

2011-07-23T18:20:00.002-08:00

I here two things, actually three in the market.

1. "Every body has fair trade coffee now, so I can just buy it at the store."
2. "I want to buy local for environmental reasons."
3. "It doesnt taste any better than store coffee."

And yes there is a problem. Five years ago, fair trade coffee ment remote mountains family farmers who had the best coffee, but following years of revolution and a glut on the coffee market the farmers were taken advantage of by unscrupulus Coyoties. Fair trade ment a fair price to those farmers and a quality, but often rough coffee to the US consumer at a modest price.

Today many less needy producers of of lessor quality coffee, grown in cultivated fields, obtain fair trade certification. This creritfication means less. Fair trade to the farmer means a lower price than his first quality coffe brings on the market, so he tends to sell secondario or a blend as fair trade coffee.

The US importer, faced with a record high commodity price for coffee, tends to accept the fair trade organic certification (fto) and a lessor quality coffee in supplying the fair trade market segment. As a result quality suffers, the consumer gets a mediocer cup of coffee and the remote high mountain Mayan family farmer still faces the challenge of bringing his truely high quality hand picked coffee to market.

A few direct trade quality coffe enterprises still take the high road, buying at a truely premium price the best high mountain coffee whilst monetering the environment and the distribution of funds from the cooperativa to the family farmers and their community. European and Japanees coffee buyers compete for the same high quality product. Their cost runs something like "C" market plus 70 cents per pound plus import costs which have escilated as well. Fair Trade pricing on the otherhand brings in only "C" market plus 20 cents -- 50 cents less than the good stuff.

This Stanford Social Innovation article, linked above, tells it all. If you want truely excellent coffee and tuely help the endigenous farmers, be very careful in your selection of producer/importer. It is probably not local, probably not a brand name, and probably not at the store. SHB Arabica marks the highest quality gradation for Central American coffee. The SHB stands for strictly hard beans, European prep and above 5,000 ft. The quality is in the bean.

Reference: scaa.org
fairtradefederation.org
http://gcqri.org/gcqri-funding-agreement/
http://www.cupofexcellence.org/CountryPrograms/Guatemala/2011Program/WinningFarms/tabid/736/Default.aspx

Dunkin Donuts and the Cost of Coffee; How to Brew a Good Cup of Coffee

2011-01-04T11:47:00.001-09:00

Coffee prices on the commodity market run their highest in a decade, and the good stuff is expensive, but maybe not by the cup. Consumers claims the good coffee is often less expensive by the cup because you need less of it to get the full rich taste.

This morning, I measured my small press with a measuring cup and found it to brew just over one and a half cups. I weighed my scoop of coffee as 0.27 oz. The coffee sells for approximately $16 per pound that's $1.00 per ounce or $0.27 a scoop. Dividing that by one and a half cups makes it $0.18 per cup, substantially less than store bought coffee. Admittedly, my small press captures more of the rich taste of the good coffee.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)

2010-12-12T18:02:00.000-09:00

Dennis Martinez speaks from the Native Alaskans view of existence as part of the environment. He speaks of a covenant with the animals and plants long ago, a covenant in which native peoples would care for the animals and plants and the animals and plants would care for people. Martinez calls this a survival view as much as a religious one. He describes the presence of humans as having a positive influence, a stewardship with the environment as opposed to the view of anthropomorphic damage to the environment. Martinez attributes the difference as stemming from Natives' identity with nature, rather than the Western view that Nature is here to serve man.

This is all very Alaskan and accounts for some of the apparently contradictory political positions of Alaskan politicians. It accounts in part for the close relationship of Senator Stevens with Hawaii's Senator Daniel Inouye and Sarah Palin's morphing into a Raven.

Coffee Agroforestry
"The application of TEK (organic, shade-grown, polyculture) in coffee cultivation and its support by consumers is now significantly reducing the environmental degradation associated with the practice of open-field coffee monocultures that emerged in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Coffee is a small evergreen, an understory tree that originated in the tropical forests of Africa. Once domesticated, it was traditionally grown in the shade of other trees such fruit and exotic hardwoods.

The practice of “shade-grown” under a protective canopy offers a number of advantages over the more intensive “sun-grown” coffee including multiple harvests of coffee and other forest products, fertile/moist soils, temperature control, flora/fauna diversity, and the organic control of pests/disease. Traditional coffee plantations in El Salvador now constitute more than 60% of her forested land. With increased consumer demand for organic, shade-grown and fair trade coffees, farmers can return to the resilient mixed cropping systems of the past that offer sustainable harvests while still preserving biodiversity and the integrity of the tropical forest ecosystem."

If you read much of the new molecular biology in science magazines such as Nature or Science, you might read of complex symbiotic relationships between plants and between plants, soil and soil bacteria. Much detail involves genetics proteomics and hints of coherent particle relationships yet undreamed of.

Beyond Fair Trade

2010-08-02T18:48:00.009-08:00

The cost of coffee has gone up, way up, over 60% in the last two years. Fair trade is no longer a tangible benefit for the mountain farmers; they can do much better.

This higher cost has lead to: either a lower quality coffee still qualifying as fair trade and sold for the same or not much more – or at a much higher price for the high quality high mountain beans. The fair trade importer now faces a difficult choice. Does he sell cheaper beans or does he charge more for the good stuff.

What was once the highest quality coffee, obtained at the fair trade price, is no longer so great. The best coffee, hand picked from the highest volcanic mountains – designated SHB (Strictly Hard Beans) Arabica in Central America – now goes for a high premium.

In the seven years that we have been importing fair trade coffee directly from high mountain indigenous farmers, the price of coffee on the commodity market has gone from some $.80 a pound topping at $2.10yesterday. The fair trade price was $1.34 then and for the SHB about $2.80 now. The good stuff goes for much more, and of course when you roast the beans the cost per pound goes up even further due to the loss of weight. The darker the roast the more weight loss.

Farmers that were starving then turned to drug crops and the revolutionary communist insurgents; they are now doing quite well. Back then world over-supply of coffee – largely due to the World Bank over financing new coffee producers in Vietnam and Brazil – caused the price to drop far below the cost of harvest for the mountain farmers.

That was then; this is now. Fair trade was a lifesaver. The revolution ended. The governments became more egalitarian with their indigenous growers. The cooperativas became more involved with the supply chain, and indigenous communities flourished.

All that glitters is not ORO senior. If your fair trade tastes a bit off the mark you might question the supplier. As for the higher priced product, I get about six 8oz cups from 1.1oz of dark roast; that’s about 87 cups per 16 oz. bag. We are talking $0.20 to $0.22 per cup, less than the cheaper brands.
Some call it direct trade, and by stressing quality, you and I enjoy a better cup: The cooperativa works towards better handling, milling and processing of the harvest. The market recognises and pays for the higher quality which is the unwitting purview of the highest volcanic rain forests -- the remote home of these proud Mayan coffee farmers.

The premium price for the best hand picked beans from the highest volcanic mountain rain forests, double screened to European standards, brings new prosperity to these once neglected people. As these charming Mayan farmers begin to realize their worth you can see the prosperity on their faces. They feed and educate their families; they thrive in the colorful traditional dress of their culture --- as the women bring to market enormous bags of coffee balanced gracefully on their heads.

When you buy the best coffee, insist on fresh roasted whole bean. Store your coffee right, tightly closed in a cool dry place, and grind it your self – extra fine, but experiment with that and measure carefully.

Here's to a new awakening.

The Paradox of Fair Trade Coffee

2010-05-04T10:13:00.001-08:00

We argue that the remote high mountain Mayan farmers are the unwitting custodians of the very best coffee. As coffee prices improved from the disastrous levels a decade ago, the fair trade price to the farmer has come to trail the premium price that quality importers are willing to pay for the Mayan’s best high mountain coffee beans.

The farmer’s cooperativa has therefore come to view fair trade pricing as a lower price rather than a higher price for their coffee --- a fixed price rather than a social benefit. Most Fair Trade coffee importers have continued to pay just the fair trade price and in tern receive a lower grade of coffee. The lower grade coffee may come from a nearby less carefully tended harvest or from a secondary screening.

The higher price paid for the best coffee, puts a considerable pressure on the Fair Trade importer to maintain quality and yet maintain enough margin to stay in business. Unfortunately, and due to this pricing paradox, most of the fair trade coffee is no longer of the highest quality. The largest Fair Trade Importer was the first to make the switch and we could easily taste the difference. To their credit, the switch to a secondary quality came with a name change.

Some importers, discouraged with the quality change in Fair Trade, adopted the term Direct Trade to denote their direct relationship with the growers and commitment to maintaining the highest quality by paying the much higher price for that choice selection. We use Guatemala’s own quality specification of SHB Arabica for the very best high altitude green beans as our designation of quality. Paying the much higher price and maintaining a direct relationship with the farmers and their cooperativa supports our commitment to the indigenous people, their families and community.

Fair Trade is only fair trade when the customer gets the best coffee for an affordable price. That belief makes the priority of quality an easy choice. Besides, we like it better ourselves. Good tasting coffee depends on freshness as well. That is why we roast frequently and carry a small inventory. We urge our Fair Trade resellers to store the product in a consistent cool dry environment and to deliver your coffee within a reasonable time. Coffee is perishable, as we all know. The big distributors claim six months of shelf life, but we suggest three to four months at the most. A freezer can extend that time, but the shelf life after coming out of the freezer is short, and frequent opening of the freezer door is not good either. To maximize quality, we roast your coffee within one to two weeks of delivery.

You might consider whole beans and grinding your own at the time of brewing. Even ground coffee will taste better if ground finer at the time of brewing. Good grinders are hard to find. For that reason, we plan to offer grinders and brewers soon.

Primitive Coffee Roasting, practiced today

2010-04-21T17:33:00.003-08:00

Given the rich high altitude hard beans from Guatemala's high volcanic mountains, even this primitive technique produces an unmatched mellow roast. The indigenous Mayan farmers are the unwitting stewards of the World's best coffee beans, chemical free grown in symbiotic harmony with the high rain-forest.

"Hours before the sun rises and the day begins in San Lucas Tolimán, the coffee roasters have arrived at the coffee house, lit the fire that will roast the parish coffee, and are monitoring the progress of the precious final product that has evolved over hours and even months of work.

Coffee “Juan Ana” is roasted over an open fire, and at around 4:30, the parish coffee roasters begin their day and get the flames alight that will bring the coffee to its final, roasted stage.

The flames engulf the rotating blackened barrels in which the coffee is roasted, and approximately 120 pounds of coffee (in two barrels) can be roasted every hour and a half; dark roast coffee requires more time, but any roasting requires constant attention to the strength of the flames to make sure the coffee does not burn.

The result of this labor-intensive process is a rich final product that can be smelled in the neighborhood around the coffee house, sampled in the parish’s cafeteria, and enjoyed every morning around the United States."

attribution: the San Lucas Parish on North Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Consumer Report Rates Coffee

2010-03-12T08:26:00.004-09:00

The best they could say was "Good."

I just read the Consumer Report March 2010 Coffee Ratings. They got much of it right, but lacked the sophisticated cupping and chemical testing that are needed. Not mentioned either, were the organic, environmental, fair trade or high altitude issues.

A scientific cupping process would test coffee in a systematic way including source, composition of the beans and in some cases chemical analysis.Consumer Report concluded that blends are generally not good. The best rating they could give Starbucks and Green Mountain was “Good;” that sounds about right.

One captioned insert suggested that ground coffee goes stale faster than whole beans. I think most Americans know that coffee is perishable. Time is of the essence. Starbucks gives it six months. I would say three and consider the fourth month questionable.

Quality packaging and a good valve help extend shelf life. After the roast, coffee continues to produce CO2. If left out in the open during this period, coffee looses its freshness rapidly. That is why most producers choose a foil bag with a valve, so the off-gassing lets CO2 out but keeps oxygen from getting in. We use to warehouse our coffee in a cold locker at 28⁰ F. We since learned that any temperature change resulted in condensation, which is not good either. A cool dry constant temperature may be best.

Consumer Report goes on to explain that a single source coffee is better than blends that Arabica is better than Robusta and that most of the lower cost grocery store brands rate only “Fair.” I do not agree with all of the rankings. Although Starbucks does sell some very good single source organic mountain coffee, many of their offerings are blends, some over cooked. Peet’s and Dunkin Donuts In my opinion are better. There are a number of other better coffees not tested, like Kaladi Brothers, and Peaberry. Additionally, a myriad of local roasters, like some microbreweries, do an outstanding job.

Consumer Report does make an issue of cost, stating that the price of a bag of coffee does not correlate with the cost per cup. Different coffees require different amounts of coffee per brew. --- I remember an old Boy Scout Master, who threw coffee into the tall tapered camp pot by the hand full, never removing the grounds. --- Consumer Report calculates the actual cost per cup of Starbucks at 26 cents a cup, Green Mountain at 23 cents, and Peet’s at 29 cents. I did a calculation on our own coffee brewer and came out 22 cents for a sixteen-dollar 16 oz dark roast. We use 1.2 oz for a 5 1/2-cup brew with filter.

While most Americans know that whole beans have a longer shelf life and grind fresher, it surprises me that many disregard the variation in package content: between ten, twelve and sixteen ounce bags.

Consumer Reports only mentions Organic in passing for Allegro’s decaf. If quality concerns you at all, the chemical-free processing of coffee should be at the top of your list of considerations. Coffee, like carbon, absorbs chemicals and odors like a sponge. Low altitude cultivated fields require fertilizers and insecticides. The chemicals are absorbed. This contamination is inescapable due both to insects and disease. High altitude, in the forest growth, however, produces coffee trees virtually free of both disease and insects. Coffee must come from mountainsides above 5,000 ft, among other things, for it to earn the designation SHB.

With hand picking, the harvesters can, by picking only the completely ripe cherries, return two or three times for repeat harvests, taking only the ripe beans each time around. By contrast, a single stripping takes place in the cultivated fields of the estates below in the valley. So, do not let the claim of Estate Grown Coffee fool you into believing it equates to quality.

The only reliable quality designation is SHB, strictly hard bean. That is the highest rating of several. After that, it is up to the milling, the processing, the screening and the roast with attention to detail, quality and the environment. The only taste designations are the cupping numbers. The only cost criteria is the cost per cup. The only measure of social justice is Fair Trade, but quality too must become a requirement in order to achieve outstanding coffee in your cup and sustainability for the coffee that would come out better than "Good" with testing.

501c3

2010-03-02T16:33:00.005-09:00

Earth Friendly Foundation on its way to obtaining the 501c3 designation. The mission if you've missed it so far is a roaster for Maya Ixil Cooperative in Guatemala --- and enough training in quality roast to place the indigenous Mayan farmers on a more equal footing with the world market for highest quality specialty coffee. Maya Ixil is in the high volcanic mountains. Their coffee grows in harmony with the forest beneath macadamia nut trees. The high altitude yields a slow maturation of these mellow hard beans. Because of the altitude the cherries ripen free of disease. These hand picked beans are among the best in the world.

Medical News: CCDEP: Coffee Not Linked to Serious Arrhythmias - in Meeting Coverage, Additional Meetings from MedPage Today

2010-03-02T16:32:00.000-09:00

Medical News: CCDEP: Coffee Not Linked to Serious Arrhythmias - in Meeting Coverage, Additional Meetings from MedPage Today

Coffee Not Linked To Heart Arrhythmia - Science News

2010-03-02T16:29:00.000-09:00

Coffee Not Linked To Heart Arrhythmia - Science News

Four Cups of Coffee Reduced Hospital Stays for Uneven Heartbeat - BusinessWeek

2010-03-02T16:28:00.001-09:00

Four Cups of Coffee Reduced Hospital Stays for Uneven Heartbeat - BusinessWeek

Coffee Is Generally Heart-Friendly

2010-03-02T16:28:00.000-09:00

Coffee Is Generally Heart-Friendly

Leilani Münter's Green Team Roars On To Daytona | GreenandSave.com | Green News, Tips, and Services for saving money, energy and the planet.

2010-02-01T06:59:00.002-09:00

Leilani Münter's Green Team Roars On To Daytona GreenandSave.com Green News, Tips, and Services for saving money, energy and the planet.

An "E" sponsor and a Green and Save race car, but does it have an "e" booster? and "e" brakes? Ah, a secrete weapon! That extra torque, accelerating out of a turn, the cooler energy capturing braking entering a turn and the extra miles on limited fuel might make a believer out of race fans. Only when race fans identify "e" power with burning rubber and new track records will the public fully embrace electric, hybrid, plug-in, fuel cell or whatever. A little lightning out the exhaust might help, and yes, the smell of ozone in the air. Earth Friendly Coffee should fit right in. We carbon offset with Native Energy too.

Maya Ixil, Guatemala

2009-11-29T14:37:00.002-09:00

Diane is on a mission again. The goal is to secure a roaster for the cooperativa in Maya Ixil. They have the space and the motivation. What is lacking is the roaster and the training for these people to work in the supply chain with the same commitment to quality, consistency and promptness that characterized the US market. USAID may help some and others too --- so good luck!

In the meantime, the best coffee yet at EFCC is the Ixtil coffee. Paid way more than Fair Trade, it is all certified: organic, shade grown, SHB and FT. -- best taste yet.

We are still looking for experienced sales people. Unemployed, stuck at home, give a call. 866 807-6089.

EPA declares greenhouse gases a health threat | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Headline | National News

2009-04-17T12:32:00.000-08:00

EPA declares greenhouse gases a health threat News for Dallas, Texas Dallas Morning News Headline National News

Many are unaware of the role CO2 plays in human and, in fact, all animal physiology. We all recognise CO2 as a metabolic by product, but CO2 plays a far more critical role as the primary regulator of acid base balance. This critical acid-base balance is our most closely guarded homeostatic mechanism. We regulate the acid-base balance by our breathing. If we breath a little faster or deeper we reduce the CO2 concentration in our blood and thus move the balance to the -base side of the equation. CO2 diffuses as carbolic acid in the blood, and by breathing off CO2 from our lungs we reduce the acid content of our body. Not good, if we thus increase the pH -- that is lowering the H+ ion concentration -- we change the K+ ion, the Ca++ ion and others that are critical to life. The reverse is true from holding our breath or otherwise retain more CO2.

Environmental changes in CO2 has the same effect. Up to a point we can compensate for increased environmental CO2 by breathing faster, additionally to a limited extent our kidneys can compensate as well. I am unaware of there being many studies of long term exposuree to moderately increased CO2. The consequences may not have been adequately considered. Hibernation may involve changes in pH that would be similar to increased environmental CO2. Obesity may already be a reflection of our present higher levels.

The consequences of higher levels of CO2 will surely be sever. I read in a recent article that atmospheric CO2 at 570 parts per million will acidify the oceans to the point of completely dissolving of the coral reefs. The ocean, from a mineral standpoint, is completely analogous to our own mineral makeup.

The EPA seems right on target by declaring these changes a critical challenge to our health. I think, however, that we will need to put Rush Limbaugh in a phone booth with a canister of CO2 to get the point across.

Challenge

2009-04-17T10:49:00.000-08:00

I have not posted here for a long time. We are struggling to grow from a small niche market of churches and sports teams to a national distribution. I can't say we are winning, but indeed, the Eco-coffee market is growing. The buyer's recognition of and access to good coffee, however, is still not what it ought to be. There is not an industry wide grading system. Without an industry wide certification of quality, there is no way for the customer to identify good taste or good quality. The importer of the quality stuff too finds him or herself at a cost disadvantage and is motivated to cut corners.Environmental and social justice coffee is not necessarily good coffee; it should be because the good stuff comes from the most remote, inaccessible, high mountain rain forests, and that is where fair trade coffee usually - but not always - comes from. The high mountain coffee matures more slowly, more disease free to a more mellow taste. The best, when properly screened, is graded SHB, for strictly hard bean, the highest quality grade. The big labels, big names, usually blend small amounts of the good stuff with the much less expensive commodity coffee to achieve what the roaster thinks is a good taste. It does not take the second cup to tell the difference.Then, there is the issue of stale coffee. The bigger the coffee company the greater the inventory and thus the probable age of the coffee. Let me tell you from a logistics standpoint - and that's what I do - the greatest challenge is achieving sufficient turnover to insure freshness and -- financial sustainability for the company.It is hard to be all things to all people: quality, organic, chemical free, shade grown, carbon-offset, rain-forest and fair trade, never mind good taste. --- How do you know when advertising has little to do with reality?

Indigenous People Guatemala

2009-02-04T13:12:00.010-09:00

Challenging

2009-01-11T11:37:00.006-09:00

I have not posted here for a long time. We are struggling to grow from a small niche market of churches and sports teams to a national distribution. Indeed, the Eco-coffee market is growing. The buyer's recognition of and access to good coffee, however, is still not what it ought to be. There is not an industry wide grading system. Without an industry wide certification of quality, there is no way for the customer to identify good taste or good quality. The importer of the quality stuff too finds him or herself at a cost disadvantage and is motivated to cut corners.

Environmental and social justice coffee is not necessarily good coffee; it should be because the good stuff comes from the most remote, inaccessible, high mountain rain forests, and that is where fair trade coffee usually - but not always - comes from. The high mountain coffee matures more slowly, more disease free to a more mellow taste. The best, when properly screened, is graded SHB, for strictly hard bean, the highest quality grade. The big labels, big names, usually blend small amounts of the good stuff with the much less expensive commodity coffee to achieve what the roaster thinks is a good taste. It does not take the second cup to tell the difference.

Then, there is the issue of stale coffee. The bigger the coffee company the greater the inventory and thus the probable age of the coffee. Let me tell you from a logistics standpoint - and that's what I do - the greatest challenge is achieving sufficient turnover to insure freshness and -- financial sustainability for the company.

It is hard to be all things to all people: quality, organic, chemical free, shade grown, carbon-offset, rain-forest and fair trade, never mind good taste. --- How do you know when advertising has little to do with reality?

In an R&D marketing project, scoping out a broader specialty market, we bought a Keurig coffee brewer. We heard that this machine was the rage in the East. It is certainly a step up from the home espresso machines of the last generation -- at least the coffee comes out hot. The small coffee pods are cleaver things with their own built-in filter. The initial inventory of pods that come with the machine demonstrate a wide variety, including tea and coco. The machine itself is an engineering marvel, but big. It makes the coffee: fast, one cup at a time, and most of all clean!

It's the coffee pods, however that interest us. Is this a market for our "world of good" coffee? Well maybe but the coffee that came with the machine was all stale. I believe that Green Mountain bought out Keurig and, indeed, most of the samples were Green Mountain, some with Paul Newman labels. No matter, if you don't have good quality going in and freshness coming out you just don't have good coffee; you have a gimmick. I just brewed myself a cup of the Paul Newman strong blend, which should have been equivalent to our dark roast; although, all of our coffee is single source and SHB. I drank a fifth of the cup, set it aside and pored myself the remainder of this early morning's brew, our own coffee, which still tasted far better. Please note, we take the poorly ground or out dated coffee - the seconds - for home use.

Now I'm not saying the Keurig machine is not good; I think that it is. I am not saying that Green Mountain is not good coffee; it is usually good. But providing freshness in a small sealed pod - with a very special manufacturing and distribution challenge - did not result in an acceptable product as we researched it. Do we want to distribute our coffee through these small pods for use in the popular Keurig brewer? I think not; we would expose our product - outside of our control - to the same degradation of freshness that destroyed the samples we received. Coffee is perishable. Time, temperature and exposure to other smells can all destroy a roast in the off gassing, shipping, warehousing and delivery stages. So in fairness to the vendor, we will move the Keurig to the basement next to the old Braun espresso machine, and we will continue to brew our coffee with a teapot and filter into a very old Thermos.

Our little company is successful on a small niche market scale; we distribute nationally, but we need to morph or merge ourselves into a vertically integrated distribution enterprise that features the quality and taste that is our hallmark. I am willing to conclude that our one pound bags remain our best vehicle for delivery. Business school, nature food chain, green distributors where are you? We are open to suggestions.

We also need commissioned sales people with experience and motivation. Un-employed? Stuck at home? Willing to work hard? Call EFCC info@earthfriendlycoffee.com or
rick @earthfriendlycoffee.com .

Current Project Guatemala

2008-06-06T16:51:00.005-08:00

Added Value for Indigenous Mountain Coffee Farmers in Guatemala

The Diocese of Colorado Springs with the help of Earth Friendly Coffee and the Earth Friendly Foundation promoted a grant proposal through CRS Guatemala for building a processing infrastructure for the Cooperativas of Acoderol, Olopa and the families they represent. CRS is a very large US charity organization and a trading partner in promoting this sort of project. As with any large grant through the bureaucracy of a big organization there are administrative considerations. This grant may or may not come to pass. If it does not, we will continue with our more modest direct channeling of funds and help Olopa develop their drying patio which was our original intent.Earth Friendly Foundation,

EFF does not handle funds for this or any other project. Rather we direct resources to the indigenous people and their own cooperative efforts toward their own economic and agricultural development. EFF operates without administrative overhead through the use of a trust/escrow account. We believe that the farmers know best what works and what is in their own best interest. Direct funding avoids entanglements and disappointments.

The only restrictions to the farmers’ use of EFF directed funding asks that:
1) Purchases at premium prices, (greater than "Fair Trade") must be competitive for the highest quality beans,
2) Must be Chemical Free NGM agricultural practices,
3) Must follow environmentally responsible cultivation and processing with special concern for waste water and erosion.
4) Must insure that indigenous farmers are actually the beneficiaries of the funds involved.
5) We encourage local indigenous roasting and vertical integration of the processing in order that the supply side be efficiently integrated rather than exploited. The mission as stated poses a challenge for a small import company, but it makes the coffee taste so much better.

Strengthening of Coffee Processing Techniques and Infrastructure in Olopa (proposed date August 2007 – March 2008) Background Information & Project Summary

The Coordinating Association for Rural Development in Olopa (ACODEROL, for its initials in Spanish) was founded in the department (province) of Chiquimula in 1998 with the main purpose of supporting rural development initiatives in the communities that comprise the municipality of Olopa. It is currently made up of 367 indigenous Maya Chortí members, of which 55 are small-scale coffee farmers.

Each of the small scale coffee farmers cultivates his precious hectares (10,000 sq m) of coffee trees in an area ranging in size between 7,000- 14,000 square meters, at an altitude of 1,400 meters (4,500') above sea level. They produce strictly Hard-Bean, SHB Arabica, an aromatic coffee, rich in body and flavor. This is a green, compact, even, medium bodied coffee bean, with a closed fissure. The roasting turns the beans dark brown, with corrugated texture, a closed irregular fissure and very compact. ACODERROL produces approximately 46,040 kgs. of coffee beans per year.

Currently, the coffee producers mill the ripe cherry with the help of their families and do the processing in their own homes. Solar drying of the beans has become difficult because of the cloudy weather, which slows the drying process and in turn can lead to moldiness. As a consequence, there is an inconsistency in the quality of the bean, which in turn has a negative effect on the sale price.

The coffee producers from ACODEROL have expressed their strong interest in building their own coffee processing infrastructure. Their goal is to increase the income of the 55 coffee producers from ACODEROL by strengthening their technical and organizational capacity for coffee processing, and ultimately increasing the sales volume of their coffee.

Additionally, a Guatemala based agricultural education program would allow participating coffee farmers to receive training, better organize themselves, and have access to infrastructure and equipment necessary to carry out coffee processing activities collectively in order to improve their coffee processing techniques and to meet quality standards of international markets.

Goals:
1) Organize farmers for collecting and selling their coffee.
2) Establish a communal concrete patio (1,225 mts2) to dry producers’ coffee.
3) Build a warehouse for coffee storage.
4) Design and implement a training program for 55 small-scale coffee producers --- in coffee processing and management for commercial purposes
5) Coordinate with the National Coffee Association.
6) Build a wet coffee processing infrastructure “beneficio húmedo” (for depulping, washing and fermentation) The wet-mill will be used by, not only the ACODEROL members, but also other farmers that need to use it.

EFF has a special interest in this project because we have a close relationship with the farmers in this region. We want to see the farmers prosper by their own initiative, and this plan is theirs, although expanded in some ways. Some very fine people in Guatemala have been responsive and dedicated in developing this proposal, and we pray they succeed. Also, some very dedicated and caring people in the Diocese of Colorado Springs initiated this proposal, and they have a great interest in connecting directly with the names and places and with the coffee farmers of the Acoderol cooperativa in whatever way they can. We hope this project evolves.

CRS US asks not to post the financial and or details of the grant request and not to make contributions to the project pending the application review process. (The above link is password protected)

Current Project Guatemala

2008-06-06T16:51:00.000-08:00

Added Value for Indigenous Mountain Coffee Farmers in Guatemala
The Diocese of Colorado Springs with the help of Earth Friendly Coffee and the Earth Friendly Foundation promoted a grant proposal through CRS Guatemala for building a processing infrastructure for the Cooperativas of Acoderol, Olopa and the families they represent. CRS is a very large US charity organization and a trading partner in promoting this sort of project. As with any large grant, through the bureaucracy of a big organization, there are administrative considerations. This grant may or may not come to pass. If it does not, we will continue with our more modest direct channeling of funds and help Olopa develop their drying patio which was our original intent.

Earth Friendly Foundation, EFF does not handle funds for this or any other project. Rather we direct resources to the indigenous people and their own cooperative efforts toward their own economic and agricultural development. EFF operates without administrative overhead through the use of a trust/escrow account. We believe that the farmers know best what works and what is in their own best interest. Direct funding avoids entanglements and disappointments.

The only restrictions to the farmers’ use of EFF directed funding asks that:
1) Purchases at premium prices, (greater than "Fair Trade") must be competitive for the highest quality beans,
2) Must be Chemical Free NGM agricultural practices,
3) Must follow environmentally responsible cultivation and processing with special concern for waste water and erosion.
4) Must insure that indigenous farmers are actually the beneficiaries of the funds involved.
5) We encourage local indigenous roasting and vertical integration of the processing in order that the supply side be efficiently integrated rather than exploited.
The mission as stated poses a challenge for a small import company, but it makes the coffee taste so much better.

Strengthening of Coffee Processing Techniques and Infrastructure in Olopa (proposed date August 2007 – March 2008) Background Information & Project Summary The Coordinating Association for Rural Development in Olopa (ACODEROL, for its initials in Spanish) was founded in the department (province) of Chiquimula in 1998 with the main purpose of supporting rural development initiatives in the communities that comprise the municipality of Olopa. It is currently made up of 367 indigenous Maya Chortí members, of which 55 are small-scale coffee farmers.

Each of the small scale coffee farmers has an average coffee plantation ranging from 7,000- 14.000 square meters in size at an altitude of 1,400 meters above sea level. They produce strictly Hard-Bean, SHB Arabica, an aromatic coffee, rich in body and flavor. This is a green, compact, even, medium bodied coffee bean, with a closed fissure. The roasting turns the beans dark brown, with corrugated texture, a closed irregular fissure and very compact. ACODERROL produces approximately 46,040 kgs. Of coffee beans per year.

Currently, the coffee producers mill the ripe cherry with the help of their families and do the processing in their own homes. Solar drying of the beans has become difficult because of the cloudy weather, which slows the drying process and in turn can lead to moldiness. As a consequence, there is an inconsistency in the quality of the bean, which in turn has a negative effect on the sale price.

The coffee producers from ACODEROL have expressed their strong interest in building their own coffee processing infrastructure. Their goal is to increase the income of the 55 coffee producers from ACODEROL by strengthening their technical and organizational capacity for coffee processing, and ultimately increasing the sales volume of their coffee. Additionally, a Guatemala based agricultural education program would allow participating coffee farmers to receive training, better organize themselves, and have access to infrastructure and equipment necessary to carry out coffee processing activities collectively in order to improve their coffee processing techniques and to meet quality standards of international markets.

Goals:
1) Organize farmers for collecting and selling their coffee.
2) Establish a communal concrete patio (1,225 mts2) to dry producers’ coffee.
3) Build a warehouse for coffee storage.
4) Design and implement a training program for 55 small-scale coffee producers --- in coffee processing and management for commercial purposes
5) Coordinate with the National Coffee Association.
6) Build a wet coffee processing infrastructure “beneficio húmedo” (for depulping, washing and fermentation) The wet-mill will be used by not only for ACODEROL members, but also for other farmers that need to use it.

EFF has a special interest in this project because we have a close relationship with the farmers in this region. We want to see the farmers prosper by their own initiative, and this plan is theirs, although expanded in some ways. Some very fine people in Guatemala have been responsive and dedicated in developing this proposal, and we pray they succeed. Also, some very dedicated and caring people in the Diocese of Colorado Springs initiated this proposal, and they have a great interest in connecting directly with the names and places and with the coffee farmers of the Acoderol cooperatives in whatever way they can. We hope this project evolves.

CRS asks not to post the financial and or details of the grant request and not to make contributions to the project pending the application review process. (The above link is password protected.)

Specialty Coffee Quality

2007-10-17T13:00:00.002-08:00

Coffee Quality:
The parameters of quality coffee unfortunately remain ill-defined. To answer the more obvious questions about quality, you may want to consider the following:

The really good coffee is becoming harder and harder to find and to purchase. The good stuff comes from remote, high altitude volcanic rainforests. Access is difficult. Lower down in the valley, clear fields, mechanized farming, insecticides and fertilizers even genetic modification yield far greater production and thus profit. The more the indigenous farmers of these remote high mountain family hectors are marginalized the less attentive they are to their coffee production. The historic name recognition associated with the increasingly scarce high quality beans leads to a blending of the good stuff with more abundant coffee thus retaining name recognition while adulterating the quality in the blend. Business is business; the ground coffee may hide defects as well.

Let’s talk about our Guatemala High Mountain Coffee as an example. On a practical level there are 4 elements to its high quality.

1st the beans are graded SHB. That is strictly hard bean Arabica. This is the highest grading in Guatemala.
2nd we score the various samples from the high mountain cooperativas by Guatemala's number one tester, (taste tester and cupper as they call it.) Ours all score 89 or higher on the cupper scale, and they know how to do this in Guatemala better than we do here.
3rd is the roast. The common quality problem with one very popular Roaster for example is unequal size of the beans in their blend, resulting in the small ones burning while the larger ones are just right. This burned taste has even become a sought after feature for its strong rugged taste, but with care dark roast can be achieved without burning; in so doing, it leaves the third cup far more palatable. We use what is called a European prep that screens the beans for size and fragments. Ours is a "single malt" coffee, not a blend. When blending there is the problem of one bean roasting faster than the others. In Guatemala they roast the different beans of the blend individually, whilst in the US, most if not all roasters do them together. Spill some sample beans out on a white counter top and note the faults that I described; from a blend, note the color differences.
4th the chemical free nature of the product adds substantially to the quality. Certification is actually no guarantee because there are allowable exceptions, while some of the best beans come from farms that cannot afford certification. Run of the mill beans may be contaminated by most anything from organo-phosphates, fumigation, diesel fumes or another product shipped in the same container. Additionly there is consideration of the storage climate and age of the product. There is obviously a health issue here too.

The SCAA, Specialty Coffee Association, is struggling with a system of grading the specialty coffees. As yet there is no clear quality certification unless you know the terms as above and have access to the data. We think that the American perception of quality coffee needs to include the concept of Fair Trade, documented quality (not advertizing), the healthfulness of the product, the environment and perhaps a bit more discerning palate. There are very few US coffee vendors who give heed to all of the above considerations.

Rugby World Cup, England vs. France

2007-10-13T07:26:00.000-08:00

"PARIS, 12 October - England and France arrive at their semi-final match brimming with confidence after defeating their more favoured southern hemisphere rivals.
After a difficult start to the world cup, Brian Ashton and Bernard Laporte's sides (England and France) turned the tournament on its head when they defeated Australia and New Zealand respectively last weekend."

"Rugby is played on grass with speed! --- reads the bumper sticker" This is the right venue for coffee, whether player or old-boy on tour at the World Cup.

As it turns out, "Youth Rugby" is alive and well in the US. Veterans of the early days of pioneer rugby in the US give something back by coaching youth teams, high school and younger, Many of the young clubs/teams finance their activities and travel expenses by selling Fair Trade Coffee. Earth Friendly Coffee Company supplies wholesale quantities of extremely high quality coffee to many clubs for resale and fund raisers. You can support these youth rugby clubs by buying their gourmet quality coffee online. http://groupformingnetworks.com/

Rugby, unknown by most Americans, plays with far more complexity and elegance than American football and with a level of sportsmanship largely lost to our game (Joe Perterno's teams not withstanding.) Furthermore, the sport fosters an international spirit of camaraderie among rugby players and former players. This fraternity displays itself nowhere or more so than at these World Cup events. The series plays out over weeks and in many cities, in this case across England and Europe with the finals in Paris. The pageantry, singing and parties in these far-flung cities matches or surpasses the spectacle afield --- or "on the pitch."

http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/index.html

Alaska Journal of Commerce

2007-09-10T22:43:00.000-08:00

'An energetic Homer woman who honed her marketing skills at a top national advertising firm is now hawking coffee beans from the highland rain forests of Guatemala. She's aiming for a profit and for peace.

“I believe we will never have peace in the world until we treat the Third World fairly,” said Diane Hughes, who buys coffee beans from the mountainous Chiquimula region of Guatemala, and sells packets over the Internet to customers across the United States.' Margaret Bauman

Guatemala Politics

2007-09-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

"Guatemalans have cast their ballots in presidential and parliamentary elections, after one of the bloodiest campaigns in the country's history. More than 50 candidates, activists and their relatives were murdered in the run-up to the polls. The top presidential contenders Alvaro Colom, a centre-left businessman, and a former general, Otto Perez Molina, have vowed to tackle crime and poverty." BBC

Mr Rogers

2007-08-25T16:32:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a41lJIhW7fA Talk about a fund raiser; watch Mr Rogers secure 20 million dollars in 6 minutes!

Sustainability

2007-08-16T11:21:00.002-08:00

Indigenous mountain farmers worry at least as much about sustainability as about fair trade prices. Yes the family may cover the price of harvest this year but what about next year. Will the harvest dry properly? Will the rain ruin the drying process? How do I get my product to market? How do I know what the beans are worth? The Mayan farmers speak neither English nor Spanish. They and their cooperativas are vulnerable to exploitation. The actions of NGOs and nonprofits, while always well intended, may not be sustainable. There are many examples: wet-mills without water, padlocked latrines, schools-without-teachers, even resentment, indolence and backlash.

Sustainability is a prime requisite of successful entrepreneurial activity, whether in the most primitive agrarian society, or in the advanced technological era. Sustainability is the reason for the new business school emphasis on "for-profit companies with a social mission." The for-profit company fosters just such critical sustainability. EFC's Our sustainability depends entirely on the sustainability, profitability, quality and reliability of our indigenous source. Working with the farmers and their cooperativas, gives them the means to invest in their own critical harvesting and processing needs as they learn to see them.

EFC's business model, with its well developed logistics, finance, and business principles, provides the indigenous cooperativa a lasting framework of knowledge and of market connection. The first priority of enterprise is survival, and that survival requires a high quality and dependable source of material. That supply is dependent upon land, labor, capital and entrepreneurial ability. When the Fair Trade importer embraces the supply chain, as a for-profit enterprise, the involvement leads to a cultivation of the farmer-supplier as part of the supply chain. The farmer has the high mountain hectares, and we bring access to the American consumer. In so doing the farmer -supplier develops the metrics of quality, a connection with the transportation, processing and export of the product and a much more sustainable and competitive position in the market place.

There are winners and losers. The high profit margin in the coffee-commodity-supply-chain traditionally rests with the roaster. The pergamino, is milled in the city, so the farmer is paid only a fraction of what the green beans are worth. The miller therefore takes a bigger cut than the farmer's profit. The exporter comes next with his share of the profit, then the product becomes a part of the whole World coffee commodity market. Several middle men are eliminated when the farmer-supplier forms a functioning Cooperativa and gets involved with the milling, the roasting and the shipping. Negotiating directly with the for-profit-Fair-Trade-importer, leads to a more efficient market, a serious competitive advantage for the farmer and likely a superior product. More important the farmer now has a sustainable relationship with the World coffee market, one that will give his family a greater share of the revenue, and a better chance to survive the natural ups and downs of the harvest and the coffee business.

New Indigenous Coffee Roaster, Guatemala

2007-08-08T17:41:00.003-08:00

Considering coffee from the local roaster or a national chain such as Starbucks versus coffee roasted in Guatemala by the indigenous people, there are three distinct issues: 1)The roaster represents the largest profit potential in the delivery of coffee. Shifting this revenue to the growers and their cooperativas benefits the indigenous financially. 2)The growers become more involved in processing a value added, finished product, rather than a raw commodity. 3) The transport of roasted coffee by air delivers an exceptional product and a high element of social justice.

The roaster makes the major money in the coffee market. By contracting the roasting in Guatemala and involving the indigenous people in the roasting, it is possible to pay the growers a more than "fair trade price" for their coffee and still offer a competitive price to the consumer. By paying a more than fair trade price for the coffee, we bargain for the highest quality beans from the more remote, higher mountain coffee regions, thus giving the villagers of these remote volcanic regions a greater understanding of their worth and a sense of competing on the basis of quality in a depressed world coffee market. Approximately 3% of our revenue goes towards research, development and facilitating the capacity of the cooperativas from whom we buy.

With a grant from the Guatemala Ministry of Agriculture, and partially facilitated by Earth Friendly Coffee's business model, roasting history and promoted by our Guatemala roaster, a consortium of 17 indigenous cooperativas purchased a roaster and established a roasting facility in Huehuetenango. It turns out that the Roasting Facility is an indigenous women's venture as well. Many of the women from the villages will learn to do the work of milling, roasting and packaging coffee and with time engage the collection, processing, shipping and export of their product. This represents a giant leap forward in involving indigenous people in the supply chain for their coffee. Our Guatemala partner and his people will initially do the roasting and supervise the processing to insure the quality of the work. Traditionally, it is the women of the remote villages that do much of the processing. This roaster gives them the opportunity to earn a substantially greater portion of the specialty coffee dollar. The roaster also helps their people gain a sense of the market, the quality requirements and greater access to the buyers of coffee.

Earth Friendly Coffee trades for the carbon offset to mitigate the carbon burden of shipping by air. We contribute to wind generation of electricity through Native Energy. The roasted beans that are flown by air weigh 1/3 less than if they were shipped before roasting. Flying the fresh roasted coffee standby, in effect further reduces carbon impact. Furthermore, the roasted coffee arrives fresh at the distribution point within a day or two, matching or exceeding the freshness of locally roasted coffee.

More to come

Social Entrepreneuer

2007-05-29T09:01:00.000-08:00

Stanford Social Innovation review

Personal Relationships

2007-04-23T12:10:00.001-08:00

It is the personal relationship with the growers that makes the difference. They are proud of their small hectars of mountain coffee. They are also so appreciative of a relationship that pays them a fair price for their beans. These photographs hardly do justice to the tears of appreciation and the friendships formed without language but with love.

Fund Raiser for non-profit

2007-04-15T15:43:00.000-08:00

Nothing but the best! Earth Friendly imports wholesale, at greater than "Fair Trade" prices, the best beans. Roasted in Guatemala, some by the indigenous people themselves, the fresh-roasted coffee is flown next day to Denver, Anchorage and to volume buyers for resale. A non-profit organization can sell as a fund raiser -- supporting its own worthy goals.

This is gourmet coffee at a reasonable price, but more important it is a social mission, supporting the impoverished mountain farmers with their wonderful crop. This social entrepreneurship gives added value every inch of the way along the supply chain -- to the consumer.

Additionaly, 2% of all Catholic sales go CRS in support of the poor, and EFC, behind the scenes, promotes and supports the local women of the villages learning the intermediate processing, cupping and roasting of their own coffee.

Pictures below depict this year's exploration and buying journey to the mountains of Guatemala.

Rain Forest

2007-04-15T15:04:00.001-08:00

I don't know if it is still that way, but in Mexico, flying over the mountainous rain forests near the coast one could see smoking fire after smoking hillside from "slash and burn" strategies to secure farm-able land. The fire put carbon into the soil, often a depleted sandy thin topsoil. The farmer would benefit from a few years of vigorous crop growth; following which, the erosion of the hillside and the depletion of the ground would render the area useless.
The farmer then goes to yet another area to repeat the process.

Here the environment remains undisturbed. Coffee trees have adapted to the rain-forest and grow with vigor under the protection and in harmony with the natural ecology of the mountain.

Pergamino

2007-04-15T14:35:00.001-08:00

The first stage of processing completed, the carefully selected beans surrounded by their dried silk-like exterior are waiting to be bagged in large white (150 pound) sacks for transport to town. In town at the mill they will loose a third of their weight in the milling process with screening and re-packaging as green beans (Oro) in 132pound (1.32 qt) traditional, woven, brown sacks.

Locally the separation of the silk from the bean is done in a colorful display of women with their brightly colored skirts poring the pergamino from over their heads. Piles of naked beans then collect in piles at their feet. The dry silky threads blow away in the wind.

A Cupping Class

2007-04-15T14:29:00.000-08:00

Roast each sample with consistant care.

Cupping

2007-04-15T14:22:00.000-08:00

Francisco, Guatemala's prominent cupper, examines a tray of beans. A cupping number of 85 or above from him is, indeed, a coveted distinction.

Fermentation

2007-04-13T19:09:00.000-08:00

Another stage in the processing of mountain coffee.

Social Entrepreneurship

2007-04-13T18:56:00.000-08:00

These mountain people are poor but industrious. Descendants of the Mayan, coffee has been their traditional way of life. The modern era, however, does more to exploit them than reward their enterprise. It is a sub-optimal unpleasant equilibrium from which they have taken only the smallest cut, often breaking even or worse. They do not usually speak Spanish, so they are yet further disadvantaged in their efforts.

The Sustainable Coffee movement, The Fair Trade Federation, CRS and companies like Earth Friendly form a social entrepreneurship that is changing that equilibrium for the better.

Pergomino

2007-04-13T18:51:00.000-08:00

After the farmer crudely mills away the husk, the coffee bean is still covered with a wet pulp. Here the farmer dries the product in an initial stage of processing.

2007-04-13T18:47:00.000-08:00

Diane founder of Earth Friendly Coffee brings some small measure of good cheer. She makes sure the family farmer actually gets paid the better than "Fair Trade" price.

2007-04-13T18:40:00.000-08:00

Shade Grown is good. The overhanging canopy of the Rain Forest protects the cherries fron direct sunlight. The beans ripen more slowly. It preserves the environment and makes a home for the birds and the creatures like us, no erosion, no slash burn and no insectsides.

Children

2007-04-13T18:32:00.000-08:00

Give the kids a break. These mountain farmers were decimated by Globalization. The World Bank gave Brazil, Vietnam and others so much money to raise a cash crop, coffee that they flooded the world commodities market and drove the price paid to these indigenous farmers an amount less than the cost of the harvest. And these are the very best beans!

Coffee Cherries, SHB Arabica

2007-04-13T18:27:00.000-08:00

A closer look shows the rational for hand picking. The cherries do not ripen all at the same time. In fact, there may be 4 harvests from February to April each year.

2007-04-13T18:18:00.000-08:00

The higher up the cherry tree, the sweeter grow the cherries, or so the song goes. The higher altitude the coffee tree on the volcanic mountainside, the sweeter and mellower the roast. -- That's no kidding, it's the taste. Coffee grading in Guatemala reserves the best of these high altitude slow ripening shade grown berries as SHB, meaning Strictly Hard Bean.

Association of Small Coffee Producers

2007-01-30T07:22:00.000-09:00

Some of these cooperatives work better than others. Some become a further tool of exploitation and some actually pass the money through to the farmers. The same for the certifications, they may not be quite what they seem. Small loans to the growers are a big consideration. The farmer must hire the pickers. If he wants or needs to get paid right away he is forced to accept a lower price. In the past the loans have been tied to a lower price. If he waits for the milling of the pergomino and the negotiated price of the cooperativa, he can do better. Transparency is hard to come by.

Fair Trade, the Confusing Part

2007-01-29T16:26:00.000-09:00

Starbucks v Ethiopia Storm in a coffee cup
Nov 30th 2006 NEW YORK From The Economist print edition

Interesting conflict. By branding Ethiopian coffee, Starbucks contends the Ethiopian government and the elite will realize the benefits and not the farmers. Yet, loans and grants other than Fair Trade pricing may not benefit the farmers either. It is our contention that the farmers who are hurt the most by low world coffee prices are the mountain farmers who cannot take advantage of chemical and genetic enhancements, pesticides and fertilizers, nor can they benefit from open fields and mechanized harvesting. These most disadvantaged farmers, however, remain the sole custodians of the finest high mountain, shade grown coffee. The health benefits of chemical free and the social benefits of fair trade are obvious. This exclusive source of high quality is not.

You can have your cake and eat it too. By buying the better than fair trade priced coffee from hard to reach locations, offered by these small niche market Fair Trade importers, you give social justice and enjoy the cote d oro coffees unobtainable except by blend on the broader market.

It is hard for the big Importers to match the small Fair Trade operations but in a limited way and for market image.

Fair Trade

2006-11-14T08:05:00.000-09:00

Why fait trade? Here is part of the answer from Global Exchange

Fair Trade Q&AQ. What is Fair Trade? A. Fair trade means that farmers, workers, and artisans:
receive a sufficient price under direct long-term contracts,
are small-scale producers in democratic co-ops (coffee, cocoa, bananas, fruits, crafts) or workers on larger farms who receive a living wage and can bargain collectively (tea, bananas, fruits),
don't use abusive child labor or forced labor, and
use ecologically sustainable methods. Fair Trade products bear the "Fair Trade Certified" label and the "Fair Trade Federation" logo. TransFair USA is the third-party certification agency that places the "Fair Trade Certified" label on coffee, chocolate, cocoa, tea, bananas, and other fruits; and is the USA's affiliate of the Fair Trade Labelling Organizations International. The Fair Trade Federation is an association of businesses that follow Fair Trade principles exclusively. The presence of the Fair Trade Certified label or Fair Trade Federation logo on a product is the only guarantee that every step from the producer to you has followed international fair trade criteria. For the specific guidelines, see the Fair Trade Labelling Organizations International and the Fair Trade Federation
Q. When you see the "Fair Trade Certified" label on one line of a company's products, does that mean that all of their products are Fair Trade Certified? What about the Fair Trade Federation logo? A. For the Fair Trade Certified label, only products that actually bear the label were purchased through Fair Trade criteria. The label on one product does not guarantee that a company practices Fair Trade in all purchasing. Fair Trade Federation members must follow Fair Trade standards across the board and are carefully screened, so its logo indicates total commitment to Fair Trade.
Q. If a product doesn't have the Fair Trade Certified label or Fair Trade Federation logo but the package talks about fair trade, is it considered Fair Trade? What about organic or shade grown labels? A. Unless you see the Fair Trade Certified label or Fair Trade Federation logo on a product, you can't guarantee any claims about fair trade status. Unfortunately, some companies use fair trade language to appear more ethical, and thus increase the appeal of their products. If a package has phrases like "fairly traded" or "your purchase supports fairness for farmers," or something similarly indicating fair trade practices, contact the company to ask about their purchasing guidelines. Organic and shade-grown labels are also not a guarantee of fair prices or working conditions for, as they focus on the ecological impacts of production. Shade-grown certification agencies may include labor and wage standards, but these programs focus primarily on larger farms rather than the family farms, and require only a local minimum wage, which is typically not enforced and doesn't come close to meeting living costs. Refer them to TransFair USA or the Fair Trade Federation to build the Fair Trade market!
Q. Why is Fair Trade important? A. Free trade isn't fair for farmers and artisans, their families, communities, or the environment. Fair Trade is. For example, a drastic fall in world coffee prices has pushed millions of coffee farmers and workers into malnutrition and starvation; and losing their jobs and even their farms. Some have even turned to drug cultivation t survive. Most cocoa farmers are so poor they have been using child labor, sometimes even child slaves. Most farmers get only about half of the world price because they thus are forced to sell their next crop in advance to exploitative middlemen who pay far below the value. Some farmers have also cut down the rainforest to sell the trees for extra money, or to make room for more profitable crops. Artisans face poverty and the loss of culture as the find the need to work in sweatshops. Fair Trade ensures better lives by helping afford health care and keep their kids in school; and by supporting sustainable production. Fair Trade producers also set aside funds for community projects like schools and clinics; and for training in quality improvement and sustainable production.
Q. Are Fair Trade products also organic or shade grown? A. No, but Fair Trade criteria require sustainable farming techniques, and offer an extra premium for organic production. Revenues from Fair Trade cooperatives are often used to train producers in organic and sustainable techniques like composting and integrating recycled materials. Most Fair Trade coffee and cocoa are shade grown and organic because these are the traditional methods used by small farmers- approximately 80-85% of all Fair Trade coffee farms do not use pesticides. Organic and shade-grown methods are important for the health of local communities and the earth, so look for these labels on Fair Trade to support the best of all worlds.
Q. If Fair Trade exists, why are there still problems? A. The benefits of Fair Trade are not reaching all Fair Trade farmers because there is not sufficient demand for their crops. Producers sell an average of 20% of their crop at Fair Trade terms, selling the rest through the world market at much lower prices. The same story goes for artisans. That is why we need to build a market for Fair Trade in the US!
Q. How can I support Fair Trade? A. You can demand Fair Trade- and accountability - from corporations that sell Fair Trade applicable products. You can also ask local businesses such as stores, cafes, bakeries, and restaurants to sell and use Fair Trade Certified and Fair Trade Federation members' products. If you're in a school, university, faith-based or community group, switch your purchases and fundraising programs to Fair Trade. For action tools and help getting started, see Global Exchange: globalexchange.org and the Fair Trade Resource Network: www.fairtraderesource.org
Q. Where are Fair Trade products available? A. Grocery co-ops and natural foods stores are the best places to find these products --and support local small businesses. They are also available at many large stores. You can find complete listings at transfairusa.org and globalexchange.org "Fair Trade"
Q. Are there other Fair Trade products available? A. YES. You can find fairly traded clothing, home and garden products, crafts, musical instruments, and much more at: Global Exchange Fair Trade Stores Fair Trade Federation Fair Trade Resource Network
Q. What about agricultural products from the USA? A.You can support fairness for US family farmers by buying local organic produce sourced directly from family farmers. To ensure fair wages for farm workers, look for union labels. Farmers' markets, natural foods stores, grocery coops, and Community Supported Agriculture are the best places to find these. Ask local stores to carry these products, and lobby managers of campus and workplace eating facilities to use them along with Fair Trade Certified and Fair Trade Federation member's products -- making fairness for farmers and the earth a comprehensive policy! For action tools and sources, see Food Routes , the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, United Farmworkers, and other organizations listed in the Links section.

Painful legacy of Guatemala storm

2006-10-05T09:34:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS Americas Painful legacy of Guatemala storm

You ask, why Fair Trade Coffee; these high volcanic mountains nurture the best coffee in the world. These are the farmers and workers of the harvest, often working from near inaccessible hectares high above their villages, hand picking the choicest cherries. They speak neither Spanish nor English. They are gentle Mayan, but in desperation, can be lead to rebellion or illicit cash crops. Without fair treatment, none of this remote high mountain coffee gets to market or if it does the Coyotes cheat the growers, and they have nothing. These high mountain coffee trees are transplanted by the Spanish from the fine Arabica (Arabic) trees from Ethiopia, thus the name. The plants thrived in the rich volcanic soil and yield a beautiful rich abundant large bean that is extra hard with a taste that is arguably the best in the world. Elsewhere the well known names, the beans of highest quality are subjected to chemical fertilizers, mechanical harvesting and open sun in clear cut fields, and where the highest quality beans do emerge, they are blended --- adulterated for commodity coffee export.

Lake Atitlan is a high mountain lake, crystal clear like Lake Taho. It is much larger, however, and surrounded by villages and higher volcanic mountains. They do not slash and burn for planting in Guatemala, so these harvests come from the shade of the hugh rain forests. The people are proud of their coffee, but have no facilities to mill the pergomino or roast the beans (except by the traditional process of stripping the cherries, drying the pergomino and shedding the silk by poring the beans by hand in strong sunlight and strong wind, a most colorful scene.) The growers are most happy to sell direct to the Fair Trade, specialty coffee people, but they are often hoodwinked by the big multinational roasters or their own coyotes and sometimes a combination of both.

Some of our big name importers do a fair deal and some not. Some fair trade certification is political and at a cost the grower cannot afford, same for organic. NGOs build latrines, which the mountain people do not use, some wet mills where there is no clean water. The Sustainable coffee people or the Specialty coffee people believe that if the grower gets a fair price for his coffee he, his cooperativa and his family will best see to their own traditional ways, and gentle ways they are.

Fair Trade

2006-09-21T21:48:00.000-08:00

Fair Trade

The Fairtrade Foundation, London, UK | Home of the FAIRTRADE Mark

2006-09-21T21:43:00.000-08:00

The Fairtrade Foundation, London, UK Home of the FAIRTRADE Mark

Fairtrade - Transfair e.V.

2006-09-21T21:41:00.000-08:00

Fairtrade - Transfair e.V.

Java Justice: Fair Trade Coffee and Cutting Out the Coyotes - Associated Content

2006-09-21T21:37:00.000-08:00

Java Justice: Fair Trade Coffee and Cutting Out the Coyotes - Associated Content

Fair Trade Federation

2006-09-21T21:32:00.001-08:00

Fair Trade Federation

This one apparently is the most demanding certification, and with terms that best support the interests of the small growers.

Fair Trade Federation

2006-09-21T21:32:00.000-08:00

Fair Trade Federation

This one apparently is the most demanding certification, and with terms that best support the interests of the small growers.

CRS Fair Trade

2006-09-21T21:26:00.000-08:00

CRS Fair Trade

Java for Justice

2006-09-07T13:47:00.000-08:00

Guatemalan coffee a proven friend to people, planet
By McKibben Jackinsky Staff writer

"Led by a desire to improve conditions on the earth and for those living on it, Diane Hughes of Homer has developed a winning formula drawing on her background in marketing and sales. The result is Hughes’ Earth Friendly Coffee Company that partners Guatemalan-grown organic coffee with local nonprofits for the benefit of everyone involved.
Photo provided Earth Friendly Coffee gets its product directly from Guatemalan coffee-growers who grow the beans in the shade of the rain forest. “It’s very fresh. It’s very rich. And it just has a really good flavor,” said Mary Fell, who coordinates sales of one-pound bags of Hughes’ whole- and ground-bean coffee as a fund-raiser for the Homer Mariner girls softball team. The team sells it at two locations — Pudgy’s Meat and Groceries and Homer Medical Clinic.
“We’ve done this for two years and it’s a pretty good money-maker,” Fell said.
Barb Hill organizes sales of Earth Friendly Coffee for Homer-Kachemak Bay Rotary.
“I love it,” said Hill of her own preference for the product’s flavor.
Hill takes prepaid orders from customers over her home phone and orders from Hughes on a three-month schedule. The money Rotary raises through the coffee sales helps fund its community service projects.
While attending a meeting of the Specialty Coffee Association several years ago, Hughes met an individual who shared her dream of buying organic coffee at a better than fair trade price from indigenous people. The person she met was working with Japanese coffee buyers at the time and knew where the best coffee was coming from — the western highlands of Guatemala.
“We went to one little village and they wouldn’t even sit down to eat until we took a bite of chicken they caught and butchered for us. It was unbelievable. The people were wonderful,” Hughes said of the hospitality extended to them. “And that’s how I started working with them.”
At that time, the coffee market was down, with growers being paid 20- to 30-cents a pound and the buyers selling the same amount to consumers for $12.
“I started paying growers fair trade — $1.26 a pound,” Hughes said. “I pay more because those extra few pennies I pay them ensures I get the very best. It’s fair trade in my book if the grower gets a just price for extraordinary beans and the consumer gets extraordinary coffee.”
Hughes’ coffee comes from hard beans that are grown at high altitudes where a moderate climate allows the beans to mature slowly and produce a mellow coffee. Also important to her is that the coffee is grown in the shade of the rain forest.
“I will not buy coffee that has been grown on land where the rain forest has been slashed, burned or clear-cut,” Hughes said. “The rain forest is the lungs of the earth. People that grow my coffee are stewards of the rain forest. That’s their partner in life.”
And then there’s the coffee’s chemical-free status. It may lack USDA’s “organic” label, but, Hughes said, that is only because the growers she works with cannot afford the $1,700-$2,300 fee for “organic” certification.
“But it’s chemical free,” Hughes said. “I have seen where it comes from. I’ll put it through any chemical lab so you can see there are no chemicals in it. It’s the best coffee you can get.”
Hughes incorporated Earth Friendly Coffee Company in March 2003, founding it on her belief that it’s “good for the earth, good for the grower and good for the consumer.” She is a member of the Fair Trade Federation, an association whose members are committed to providing fair wages and good employment opportunities to economically disadvantaged artisans and farmers around the world. Hughes also is a member of Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade, which offers assistance to low-income coffee farmers overseas.
The list of organizations raising funds by selling Hughes’ Earth Friendly Coffee can be found on the Web at www.earthfriendlycoffee.com. She reported that sales for January-June 2006 reflect a 200 percent increase above that same time period in 2005.
“What I’m working for in my own little way is passing the good along in every aspect of this,” Hughes said. "
McKibben Jackinsky can be reached at mckibben.jackinsky@homernews.com.

InterAction.org | Media

2006-07-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

InterAction.org Media

AnotherThink: Java Justice

2006-07-14T11:21:00.000-08:00

AnotherThink: Java Justice

Java for Justice

2006-07-14T11:17:00.000-08:00

Herein may be the strongest initiative yet. Not the largest, but these folks particulairly target the most remote mountain villages and arguably the poorest farmers. These farms are also the highest altitude, fortuitously resulting in the highest quality hand picked beans. Difficult to bring to market, due to their remoteness, and not yet fully certified due to that poverty, the coffee is yet chemical free, naturally cultivated, shade grown and at acquired at greater than Fair Trade prices.

The lower than market price and exceptional quality to the consumer, together with a fund raising opportunity for the sponsoring and supporting organizations, drive a dynamic group forming network with a truly unique selling proposition.

Coffee Cooperative in Uganda by Dee Axelrod

2006-07-14T10:42:00.000-08:00

Coffee Cooperative in Uganda by Dee Axelrod

Java Justice, Sojourners Magazine/April 2004

2006-07-14T10:36:00.000-08:00

Java Justice, Sojourners Magazine/April 2004

Earth Friendly Coffee - Fair Trade Chemical Free Shade Grown Arabica Gourmet Coffee

2006-07-14T10:28:00.000-08:00

Earth Friendly Coffee - Fair Trade Chemical Free Shade Grown Arabica Gourmet Coffee

Java Justice: Fair Trade Coffee and Cutting Out the Coyotes - Associated Content

2006-07-14T10:25:00.000-08:00

Java Justice: Fair Trade Coffee and Cutting Out the Coyotes - Associated Content

McGill News -- Java Justice (Page 2)

2006-07-14T10:23:00.000-08:00

McGill News -- Java Justice (Page 2)

McGill News -- Java Justice: The Battle for Fair Trade

2006-07-14T10:20:00.000-08:00

McGill News -- Java Justice: The Battle for Fair Trade

Arthur: Java with some justice

2006-07-14T10:17:00.000-08:00

Arthur: Java with some justice

Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly . COVER STORY . Java Justice . June 11, 2004 | PBS

2006-07-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly . COVER STORY . Java Justice . June 11, 2004 PBS

Fair Trade coffee

2006-07-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

Fair Trade coffee

crscoffee

2006-07-14T10:03:00.000-08:00

crscoffee

"Java for Justice"

2006-07-14T10:01:00.000-08:00

"Java for Justice"

Java for Justice

2006-07-14T09:59:00.000-08:00

Java for Justice

Guatemalan Coffee

2006-07-07T09:02:00.000-08:00

Guatemalan Coffee a proven friend to People and Planet

The tree huggiest coffee, clearly so, comes from a small social justice wholesale importer with offices in Alaska and Colorado. What makes this coffee unique is the very primitive nature of the small indigenous farmers who cultivate and pick by hand.

Their coveted trees find slow ripening shelter under the broad canopy of rain forests, high on volcanic mountainsides. In marginally accessible hectares of their cherished coffee trees, these gentle people do it all by hand. You will find no clear-cutting here, no chemicals and only natural fertilizers, no mechanized harvest or milling, no genetic modification. Insects and disease are less a problem at these high altitudes, just the birds and the bees and the cherry blossoms.

The High mountain Arabica cherries ripen slowly and sweetly. What is more, these poorest of the poor farmers find themselves the unwitting stewards of the very finest tasting highest quality coffee beans. With a hint of the volcanic soil, they dwarf the better known brands, compromised long since by open fields, and modern implements of production.

Diane Hughes, the founder buys, sometimes with great difficulty directly from these small family farmers, speaking a tribal dialect, neither Spanish nor English, colorful descendents of the Mayans. The women with long colored skirts, identifying their village, and carry quintals of pergamino effortlessly balanced on their heads.

Earthfriendly coffee sells itself through social and justice conscious non profits as a fund-raiser to the advantage of the consumer the non profit and the mountain farmers. Without this initiative the poor mountain families are exploited by revolution, illicit cash crops and the unscrupulous coyotes. Prestigious resellers include churches, colleges, a number of sports teams and Catholic Relief Services. Earthfriendly is worth a visit.

The higher up the mountainside, the sweeter grow the cherries! but everybody knows that. The trouble is the big coffee roasters buy from the coyotes or estates down in the vally where modern mechanized agriculture and productivity techniques produce greater yield and easier access. Juan Valdez now drives a BMW.

Fair Trade

2006-05-04T07:08:00.000-08:00

What the article does not tell you: the big coffee companies sell only a small portion of their product as Fair Trade. While the big roasters sell Fair Trade at way more than the added premium paid to the farmers, many of the Sustainable Coffee importers sell an even better product at substantially less. Fair Trade is only one element to Sustainable (Specialty) Coffee. The Chemical Free or Organic element offers even greater benefit to the consumer as does the freedom from genetic modification, NGM. From an environmental view-point too, the absence of mechanized farming in the rugged volcanic high mountain forests preserves the rain forest canopy and the creatures that live there --- and prevents erosion too. Furthermore that protective canopy shades the slow, mellow ripening of the highest grade SHB Arabica coffee cherries. Only the beans from high altitude, usually above 5,000 ft. and of necessity hand picked, earn the coveted designation as Strictly Hard Bean, SHB. A number of churches support these Sustainable Coffees with large scale initiatives within the Catholic and Lutheran Churches.

Not all the coffees within the Sustainable Coffee movement are certified. There is a fair amount of mordida in the certification process and the poorest most remote farmers cannot afford the cost or time for certification. The certified importers, however go to great lengths to see that the farmers get the money and that the supply chain is authenticated. Sustainable applies to the consumer as well. The price must be affordable, the health benefits sufficient and the quality high, so that the market will continue to grow.

An interesting article on the BBC highlights elements of Fair Trade, and a small Sustainable Coffee importer, Earth Friendly Coffee tell the story in detail.

Coffee, Campesinos and Me

2006-03-22T17:05:00.000-09:00

Eight strangers met at Houston airport. Coming from places as diverse Alaska and Atlanta, each was bound for Nicaragua. Everyone knew who would lead them. But we did not know each other.

We traveled on a common mission—American Christians & Jews, in search of our Central American ‘brothers and sisters’. CRS had pulled us together--so that we might experience first hand, life as these simple campesinos live it.

Michael Sheridan, CRS Fair Trade Chief and Jefferson Shriver, CRS’ Nicaragua’s head man prepared us for what was to come. Bring tents, insect spray, flashlights, a bed roll. No 5 star hotels, just cool nights under the starry skies of Nicaragua and a hotel at either end of the journey.

Our first day and a half was spent learning about coffee, learning about the challenges the small coffee farmer faces, efforts to educate him on how to improve the quality of his beans. Then we broke down into two groups and traveled to the rural coffee farms.

When we arrived at Pedro’s farm, we left our vehicles and hiked in on foot. Our first sight was Pedro’s “home” with dogs, kids, Grandpas, pigs and other creatures cheerfully co-existing in the same space.

Primitive, impoverished, beautiful, dirt floor, sick baby, without windows, electric, plumbing or even a real front door that locked—all that they had laid out simply before us. For them, for their animals, for us to share. And, it was love.

Certainly, there was reason to pity. Reason to rankle at the conditions under which they live. But, these feelings could only prevail momentarily. Pedro and his family were so happy to have us, to share their life with us. Grandpa grabbed my backback and insisted on carrying it to the field where we’d chosen to camp.

Pedro moved his one cow out of our camping area—and we set up our tents. Grandpa was distressed. He did not want me to have to sleep on the ground. He offered to exchange places with me—and give me his home.

We shared their beans and rice. Later we had rice and beans. It felt like gourmet dining—because we shared it in love.

Such a brief trip; yet such an intense exposure. My business is coffee—Fair Trade coffee. I wanted to reach way beyond my own resources—to purchase all their coffee at a price that would allow them something more than bare subsistence. And, I felt discouraged at my own limitations. But I knew that I could still make a difference. And, I will. I tell their story every day. Daily, I work to make their lives easier—fairer—more just. And, I am committed to enlisting YOU in the same effort!

If we treat our Third World brothers fairly—war will have to find roots of hatred in the rocks of goodness.

Diane E. Hughes, Founder
Earth Friendly Coffee

Specialty Coffee

2006-01-03T11:23:00.000-09:00

There are more than a few reasons to consider Fair Trade coffee. Coffee is the second largest world wide commodity. Specialty coffee is a growing segment of the coffee market at a growth rate in excess of 27% a year. Various themes contribute to the specialty coffee growth. Some are environmental initiatives promoting the natural shade grown process beneath the canopy of the much needed rain forest. Another is the freedom from pesticides that linger in the bean and contaminate the food chain. The quality alone of these hand picked higher mountain beans drives the consumer demand for a significantly better taste. As an investment, a growth industry with spectacularly increasing market share represents an uncommon opportunity for venture capital. The largest initiative surprisingly comes from the social consciousness of fair trade pricing, paid to the small mountain farmers, who cultivate these choice coffee cherries; they collect their harvest in local cooperativas. The importer pays the farmer more nearly what the product is worth and at the same time imports the best beans. The Earth Friendly Foundation works to facilitate the Fair Trade and the venture capital necessary to inventory and market these choice specialty coffees.

Guatemala

2005-11-03T21:50:00.000-09:00

For Immediate Release WheatRidge, Colorado November 3, 2005

Earth Friendly Coffee’s Anthony Pena is in Guatemala surveying the damage done by the hurricanes to the coffee, the mountain roads and the bridges. Coffee will be difficult this year; at least one mountain village suffered a devastating mudslide.

Earth Friendly promotes social justice by paying more than Fair Trade prices to the indigenous mountain farmers who otherwise suffer financial hardship and exploitation. By working directly with the farmers and their cooperativa, these good families realize a fair share of the revenue and can begin to improve their lives.

These small farmers high on the volcanic mountainside enjoy the stewardship of the very best coffee. Far from the roads and mechanized farms of the valley, these shade grown coffee trees in volcanic soil, above 5,000 feet, meticulously cultivated and hand picked receive the highest quality grading of SHB (Strictly Hard Bean) Arabica.

The earth and the birds win as well. Chemical free, genetic selection from centuries of care, preservation of vital rain forests, organic mulching and fertilization make this sustainable commodity an asset to the environment. There is no doubt that such ecologically friendly coffee is healthier for the consumer as well.

Anthony Pena is a native of North Denver with a degree in computer science. He and the founder of Earth Friendly Coffee, Diane Hughes, a former Diamond Hill IBM marketing manager are the principals in this social entrepreneurial enterprise. Anthony’s computer skills contribute to the Internet presence, http://earthfriendlycoffee.com, and supply chain that characterizes Earth Friendly’s unique marketing strategy.

Anthony will meet with the growers in many mountain villages, with the Guatemala agent, with shipping, security and the roaster. Earth Friendly delivers freshly roasted wholesale coffee by air directly from Guatemala. EFC offers non profit fund raisers the opportunity to earn funding, offering the highest quality specialty coffee to their members and supporters at a fair price; it also promotes social justice for the indigenous growers, and serves the environment as well. That’s a quadruple win.

The Earth Friendly Coffee Company is a Colorado corporation with offices at 4350 Wadsworth Blvd. suit 240. You can buy Earth Friendly Coffee at Gold’s Market, 26th & Wadsworth; Heinie’s Market, 44th near Ward Road or on the Internet from your favorite charity, church, school or team. Anthony or Diane can be reached at 303 641-4283.

Electric Car

2005-10-21T23:13:00.000-08:00

The choices are limited. When D and I decided to go look at a Prius while outside on vacation, the trip to town took us through a small ski town that had advertised a low mileage, bi-turbo, Quatro with 6 speed manual transmission. I had to drive it. That was a mistake. While the mileage was our first concern with the rising cost of fuel, there are reasons enough to want 4W drive in Alaska, and for us, 4% grade with switch-backs to our home on top of the hill, the 6 speed transmission holds unusual appeal. The problem is not a lack of power or appropriate gear to climb the hill but in having the right gear to hold us back coming down. It’s a brake job once a year. That was the excuse. The result was of course after driving that magnificent bi-turbo Quatro the Prius felt tentative and a bit unstable, so we are still looking.

The criteria for us now including: electric or some combination for economy better than 40 MPG shortens the field. Make that a small car for shopping, regenerative brakes for the hill and some mechanical sophistication and the list grows shorter yet. None have it all. What I would really like would include: 3 cylinder diesel or ceramic turbine to back up an electric 4W drive or a fuel cell to accomplish the same.
Toyota RAV4 EV, now out of production. A few may be for resale in California.
Prius, for obvious reasons.
Honda Civic, hybrid.
VW Beetle TDI DSG
The Ford Hybrid does not have the mileage
Neither does the Jeep Liberty
And then there is that 400 horsepower Quatro with 6 speed shift.
The Mini-Cooper actually makes the list at this point.
All but one is satisfactorily economical. I come away liking the Beetle largely for it’s advanced trany and diesel. The all electric Toyota would be a find. Why can’t we have our cake and eat it too.

Catholic Relief Services, Fair Trade Coffee

2005-10-01T12:25:00.000-08:00

Dear Friend:
We are writing to share some exciting news—the CRS Fair Trade Coffee Program is now proudly working with 14 Fair Trade coffee companies across the United States, including Colorado-based Earth Friendly Coffee!
CRS Fair Trade Coffee Program
The CRS Fair Trade Coffee Program works overseas to help improve the lives of low-income coffee farmers. Here in the United States, it creates opportunities for you to make international trade fairer for them and countless others like them through the everyday choices you make about what kind of coffee you buy.
CRS & Earth Friendly Coffee
Earth Friendly Coffee is deeply committed to the welfare of the farmers who grow the coffee they sell—the same commitment CRS upholds in its work with coffee farmers overseas in places like Nicaragua. And Earth Friendly Coffee is also committed to CRS —for every bag of coffee you buy through the CRS Fair Trade Coffee Program, it will donate a percentage of your purchase to the CRS Fair Trade Fund to support our work with low-income coffee farmers overseas.
Earth Friendly & You
Start building a relationship with Earth Friendly Coffee. Invite Earth Friendly Coffee to events in your parish and community to serve coffee or to talk about their commitment to justice for the farmers they work with overseas. And the next time you buy coffee for your parish, home or office, consider purchasing
About Earth Friendly Coffee
Earth Friendly’s mission is to find the best Arabica coffee from small farmers worldwide; to pay these growers a price
that enables them and their families to prosper; to offer
this excellent coffee at a
modest price that allows many more people to enjoy it; to provide our customers with an excellent chemical-free shade grown coffee; and to be fair to ourselves as well.

Contact Information:
Diane Hughes
866-807-6089
diane@earthfirendlycoffee.com
http://www.earthfriendlycoffee.com/
Fair Trade coffee from Earth Friendly Coffee as part of your commitment to work for economic justice and walk in solidarity with our brothers and sisters
in need around the world.
When you buy Fair Trade coffee from Earth
Friendly Coffee, everyone wins—the low-income farmers who grow your coffee are treated with dignity, a local socially responsible business gets rewarded for its commitment to justice, CRS gets support for its important work overseas, and most
of all, you get great coffee you can feel good about!
For more information about CRS, Earth Friendly coffee, or any of the other Fair Trade coffee companies participating in the CRS Fair Trade Coffee Program, visit us online at http://www.crsfairtrade.org/ or call us
at 1-866-608-5978.
With warm regards,

Michael Sheridan
Economic Justice Program Officer
P.S.: Call Earth Friendly coffee at 866-807-6089 today, or visit them online at http://www.earthfriendlycoffee.com/ to learn how you can get involved! Be sure to let
209 West Fayette Street Baltimore, Maryland 20201-3443 www.crsfairtrade.orgthem know you participate in the CRS Fair Trade Program!

Food Bank

2005-09-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

Earth Friendly Fair Trade Coffee brings in revenue to keep food bank open

When the foodbank at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, in Boulder Colorado, lost critical funding; their volunteers realized that they might have to close their doors. Families depended on this service daily to survive current economic hardships. How would St. Thomas’ concerned parishioners continue to provide this important service to their neighbors?

Refusing to accept defeat, St. Thomas Aquinas’ Connie Starr began to research potential solutions. She found out about Earth Friendly Coffee Company’s efforts in working with other organizations to successfully raise funds for their needs. She contacted Diane Hughes, Founder of EFCC to ask for help.

Diane explained how her program worked to not only raise the funds that St. Tom’s Food Bank needed quickly; but how it would also generate some very exciting benefits in addition.

For instance, the small growers who provided the coffee would be paid at least a Fair Trade price for the coffee. That meant that St. Tom’s would be contributing to a more just world, at the same time that they funded their foodbank. The coffee was Shade Grown; so the Rainforest had not been slashed or burned in order to plant many more coffee trees. The coffee was grown at the highest altitude in volanic soils creating the highest quality cup. The coffee was Chemical Free; so neither the grower nor the consumer would be endangered by harmful chemicals. And, as if that wasn’t enough, EFCC operates under a formal Agreement with Catholic Relief Services and they donate a portion of each sale to Catholic Relief Services Fair Trade Program.
Catholic Relief Services works overseas to provide assistance to low-income coffee farmers. Here in the United States, CRS supports those farmers by promoting fair trade – an alternative system of international trade that is rooted in the principles of human dignity, economic justice and global solidarity.

By ensuring that farmers earn a fair price for their coffee, fair trade helps struggling small-scale farmers put food on the table even as coffee prices reach historic lows. By helping these farmers get access to credit and technical assistance, fair trade helps them to survive in a competitive international market.

The Earth Friendly mission: to find the best Arabica coffee from small farmers worldwide; to pay these growers a price that enables them and their families to prosper; to provide customers with an excellent chemical-free, shade grown coffee; and give organizations a means to raise capital using a product that people need and use every day.

Connie brought this news back to her fellow volunteers. They decided to give this program a “go”. St. Thomas Aquinas found this to be the easiest fundraiser they ever conducted. They earned over $1,000 in about two weeks! In addition, the church immediately created a perpetual income source for its food bank via Earth Friendly Coffee’s internet reorder system. St. Thomas volunteers wouldn’t have to go back out to re-solicit sales. An added bonus—EFCC supplied the church their own custom coffee labels—free. They used this label to tell their supporters where their purchase dollars were going and say “Thank you for your support!” And, ultimately, their parishioner customers liked the coffee so well that Connie’s group now offers it on a monthly basis.

Earth Friendly Coffee specializes in fundraisers and parish social justice initiatives. Call toll free 1-866-807-6089 for more information.

International Cellphone

2005-08-14T06:13:00.000-08:00

Just when you begain to think there is no god, a Jedi Knight strikes a blow against the Dark Side. A small start up today offers a software down load for $10 that will allow you to call your computer by cell phone and, through the Skype software, VOIP anyone in the world with Skype.

Quetzaltepeque, Guatemala

2005-04-22T07:55:00.000-08:00

Diane has been busy cupping volumes of mediocre coffee until this morning. Opening a new sample from Quetzaltepeque Volcano the test roaster produced the best brew yet. This has been a poor year in GU due to lack of rain. The price was up. The coyotes bought up coffee otherwise promised to the cooperativas. The good stuff is scarce. These newly arrived SHB Arabica beans, however are the best. It is probably due to this wet area of dense forest benefiting from the dryer weather. The high altitude shade grown volcanic coffee tastes best. QV is 1,903m or 5,700'. The challenge of course is in the logistics. The family farmers hand pick the beans and carries them through the dense forests for processing. Needless to say we have purchased all we can get of these Quetzaltepeque Strictly Hard Beans. These beans will soon be available in a dark roast and in a house blend from Earth Friendly Coffee.

We are still looking for qualified marketing people. If you are qualified and want to do good works in supporting disadvantaged family farmers, promoting ecologically beneficial farming techniques and distributing chemical free geneticly true beans of the highest quality, you might apply. If you are a non-profit looking for a fund raiser --- there is none better.

"The higher up the mountainside, the sweeter grow the cherries."

Biodiversity

2005-02-23T16:55:00.000-09:00

An academic group of anthropologists and biologists with a well-funded and well-planed mission ran into problems with a local organization of alternative or traditional healers. The anthropologists were funded by NIH and the National Science Foundation. They were seeking identification of and sustainable harvest of pharmacologically active plants, identified by traditional use and laboratory and pharmacological testing of others. The technology and economic interest in the result of the research was to be kept with the local communities, a sustainable harvest and eco-development to the benefit of the indigenous people of the Maya Highland.

All the local communities agreed until the organization of traditional healers and midwives got wind of the project. A political organization and for-profit guild, Consejo de medicos y Parteras Traditionales de Chiapas or COMPITCH felt threatened by the scientific intrusion. They enlisted the help of another NGO, RAFI and later Global Exchange to help block the bio-economic development project. The witch doctors felt threatened perhaps by the science of medicine and the loss of their own secrets, privilege and economic position. There may be more here than meets the eye but NIH hardly suffers a reputation for exploitation. Global Exchange however called this group of anthropologists, with NIH sanction, bio-pirates.

What seems interesting is the apparent reversal of roles between scientific medicine and alternative medicine on the one hand and the NGO for bio-diversity shut out by the NGO against globalization. Some NGOs may be more NG than GO.

Human Organization, Journal / Society for Applied Anthropology, vol 63, No. 4, 2004
.

2004-11-14T17:55:00.000-09:00

Strictly Hard Beans

The Mountain People

2004-11-06T21:47:00.000-09:00

These gentle mountain people need a fair price for their coffee. The surprising secret is that theirs air the best beans but hard to get to. The hand picking and processing adds to the quality and selection. These are SHB, strictly hard beans shade grown at the higher altitudes, the highest quality designation.

The challenge lies in getting the money to the families and getting the coffee to the city for processing, roasting and shipping. With many of the programs the money has a way of disappearing before it gets to the family. The cooperativa helps, but even then ---.

I love these people and I love their coffee. By careful planning we can fly fresh roasted coffee north and distribute through our non profit affiliates at a modest price.

Perhaps the environment gains the most. In contrast to the slash and burn cultivation in other areas, these coffee trees grow beneath the canopy of volcanic mountain rain forests. Chemicals are not needed at the higher altitudes. Only organic mulches and fertilizers combine with the rich volcanic soil to grow these cherries slowly to their full maturity. That too may account for the wonderful flavor and lingering taste, typical, I think, of volcanic mountain coffee in other places. This area is in the Northern mountains of Guatemala.

At the risk of sounding like the chamber of commerce I would highly recommend Antigua and Lake Atitlan.

press release

2004-10-22T16:42:00.000-08:00

Press Release: October 9, 2004 Wheat Ridge, Colorado

Can an American for profit business succeed without greed? Can it create success without taking advantage of third world people or destroying the environment? A new and growing venture with a conscience joins the growing list of Colorado small businesses. With offices in Wheat Ridge, the Earth Friendly Coffee Company thrives on doing the right thing.

Small indigenous family farmers in remote volcanic mountainous regions of Central America have been economically displaced by a worldwide over production of cheap sun grown coffee. Unable to afford the harvest of their own coffee, they have sought grim alternatives. The worldwide over production of sun grown Robusta Bean coffee resulted in a glut on the market and unsustainable prices paid to the traditional producers of shade grown mountain coffee. The low price paid to the farmers, stewards of the highest quality Arabica Beans, forced them to abandon their harvest and at times their farms. The low commodity prices aggravated what was already a problem with the exploitation of indigenous farmers by supply side shippers and processors. A system of cooperatives developed, but they were unable to successfully pass the costs of production on through to the consumer. Rather, the low commodity price became a windfall to the middlemen and the roasters.

The over production was an unintended consequence of well meaning promotion of coffee as a money crop in newly emerging agricultural initiatives such as Brazil and Viet Nam. This story has been told. The money made available in these new areas of coffee production went into large corporate farms. Mechanization, chemical fertilizer, pest control and huge open accessible fields assured a high yield. Planers, often oceans removed, quoted the economic mantra that those who cannot compete will migrate to other endeavors. This was said, without consideration of the consequences further stress on the indigenous people might bring. Neither was there anticipation of the loss of quality coffee that might result from abandonment of remote high mountain farms tended beneath the shade of the critical rain forests.

This small company plans to change some of that. Diane Hughes, the founder of Earth Friendly Coffee established a personal relation with a number of small mountain farmers and co-ops in Northern Guatemala with a promise of better than Fair Trade prices for their excellent crop. This gutsy promise depends upon bypassing multiple layers of profit in the distribution chain, and to transform these choicest beans into an affordable bag of the richest specialty coffee for the consumer.

Diane runs like a turbine, a New Yorker, who lost her accent but not the motor. The coffee import business, this social entrepreneurial venture, one would have given a slim chance. It was a challenge for this one-woman show. There were more challenges along the way. Energy and perseverance won out, with much help from business schools. The dream is in its second year of reality.

This new Information Age Company, EFC makes maximum use of the Internet in support of its supply and distribution. It supports the small family farmers. It supports the environment and the rain forests. It offers an organic, genetically true product of superior quality at a reasonable price. The packaged coffee product trades nationally. This kind of excitement must be what the venture capitalist sees.

It turns out that the mountain grown coffee, growing beneath the protective canopy of high mountain rain forests in rich volcanic soil, yields a far superior quality compared to the sun grown varieties. The small family farmer hand picks the cherries and mulches the trees with organic fertilizers. Chemicals are not used because they are less needed at the higher altitudes. The Arabica beans require shady slow ripening on high mountainsides. The gradations of quality, assigned to coffee, match the hardness and exciting taste of coffees from these higher volcanic mountains. The higher the altitude, the better the coffee. SHB, strictly hard bean, designates the highest grade of Arabica. These SHBs ripen the slowest of all. Their quality proves consistent because of the hand picked cherries and careful selection of the best beans. EFC imports only these high quality beans.

Importing this superior coffee serves the indigenous mountain people of Guatemala. Most are Indian, or Mayan. Many speak neither Spanish nor English but only a local dialect. Promoting a Fair Trade price allows the farmer to cloth, to educate his family and to improve the health in his village. The Fair Trade mountain coffee proves people friendly, tree friendly, bird friendly and earth friendly. Environmentally sound, the imported coffee remains chemical free without genetic alteration. Without clear-cutting or the slash and burn techniques used elsewhere. The critical rain forests are preserved. The people and the creatures that live there will thrive. These high quality fair trade, organic and shade grown coffees earn the name, Ecologically Sustainable.

The consumer enjoys the benefits of taste, nutrition and price. The superior taste derives from the slow ripening, the handling and the rich volcanic soil. The high quality Arabica provides health benefits from lower caffeine content, an anti-oxidant effect as well as less irritation to the GU system. The later would make a good graduate study. Earth Friendly sets the retail price at a modest level compared to many other Specialty Coffees and the prices are a bargain for the shopper seeking quality coffee. By simplifying the supply and processing channels, Earth Friendly delivers a gourmet product at a reasonable price.

By far the majority of store bought coffee stems from, sun-grown Robusta Bean Coffee. It ripens faster in the sun, leading to greater productivity and profit. The mechanized farming and chemical treatment insure a greater yield and a lower price. Because of cost, even the high-end specialty coffee roasters blend in the cheaper bean. The product of the sun grown or plantation harvest accrues to the affluent, the politically connected and the wealthy landowner. On the distribution side, the greatest profit accrues to the roaster. The tight control of distribution channels results in high prices to the consumer despite low commodity prices for coffee.

The US imports about 1/4th of the world’s coffee, about four and a half billion pounds annually, according to the Sustainable Coffee Survey of North America . The Specialty Coffee business accounts for about 17 percent of that volume, but its sales represent about 40 percent of the total US Coffee Market in dollars. The market growth of Specialty Coffee approaches 10 percent annually. The Sustainable Coffee Market, on the other hand, comprises only ½ percent of US imports and 1½ percent of that dollar market, but with an explosive growth of 27% a year.

College students and young people in general demand Fair Trade, environmentally correct products. They are suspicious of globalization, and are sensitive to the plight of the indigenous people. Coffee emerges in the for-front, of that concern. Young people seek ecologically sustainable products. Business schools promote the social entrepreneurial enterprise as a desirable business strategy. These young people, themselves, comprise a fast growing demographic with a social conscience.

Earth Friendly works as an importer. The wholesale distribution of the coffee takes place through socially conscious organizations that resell the coffee as a fundraiser. Many Colorado area clubs and colleges have participated in this distribution A unique feature of the sale is the opportunity for ongoing income derived from the re-orders of coffee from satisfied customers. Another unique benefit results from the promotion of the club’s own, mission by providing a private label. Re-selling Earth Friendly, coffee offers a unique triple win scenario.

Earth Friendly Coffee can be purchased at Gold’s Market, Wadsworth at 26th, at Heinie’s Market, 44th near Ward Road, from any number of soccer and rugby clubs and on the Internet: http://earthfriendlycoffee.com/. Anchorage, Malibu and Jacksonville outlets are open now. The Earth Friendly Coffee Company, a Colorado corporation, has offices in Homer, Alaska, Wheat Ridge, Colorado and Guatemala City. Diane Hughes, founder and president, can be reached at 303 641-4283 or at 866 807-6089, Alaska, 907 235-4229. The Wheat Ridge offices can be found in the US Bank building, 4350 Wadsworth, suite 240, 80033.

The Earth Friendly Coffee’s Alaska office and the Earth Friendly Foundation’s office address are: PO Box 9 Homer, Alaska 99603-0009. Funds channeled through the independent Earth Friendly Foundation are directed towards facilitating: the supply channel from Guatemala and towards developing a suitable label identifying Sustainable Fair Trade Coffee. That label if endorsed by the Specialty Coffee Association will be available to other producers of Sustainable Coffee.

Contact: Clancy Hughes 907 235-4229

Bacterial Decaffeination

2004-10-18T21:37:00.000-08:00

Link

Genetic Decaffeination of Coffee

2004-10-18T21:27:00.000-08:00

Link

Brazil decodes coffee genome

2004-08-11T09:15:00.000-08:00

Another round in the issue of genetic modification. Free market competition, yes, but what about the traditional hill country farmer and his family? Super coffee will grow fast on massive clear cut low altitude full sun mechanized farms. What about the environment of the rain forest and a sense of safety with natural organic product? We are busy genetically enhancing our athletes, why not coffee?

We are pushing the frontier of evolution ever harder. Maybe that is a good thing. Survival pressure it seems works counter to the betterment of the human race. We kill off the cream of every generation in wars. We shelter and feed the criminal. Could human judgment do better with genetic manipulation. We as humans hunt each species into extinction, contrasted with other species of hunters that switch to another source of food before the first is wasted, giving it a chance to recover. We would probably genetically perfect ourselves to a point of specialization that leads to our own extinction at the onset of the next environmental challenge.

Ours may be a lost cause, but for now we will stick with our certified organic, chemical free, genetically true, high mountain, shade grown, slow ripening, hand picked, fair trade coffee. We will give the farmer three times market (fair trade or better) and eliminate the mechanized middle to bring to the house wife the highest quality Arabica with the taste of volcanic soil, fresh roasted to perfection and at a discounted price. Wholesale destribution is available to any qualifying fund raising organization.

A Family Affair

2004-06-26T10:25:00.000-08:00

Diane runs like a turbine engine in a Piper Cub. A New Yorker, who lost her accent but not the motor. This coffee import business, this social entrepreneurial venture, one would have given a slim chance. The one woman, show was a challenge. Employees did not work out, lots of them, but there was no money. Energy and perseverance won out, with a lot of help from business schools.

A young IT graduate with a minor in math and the young Guatemala coffee expert make up the perfect team, freeing the founder to sell. The combination of marketing and a computer science major, as primary management seems unique. Successful new companies are usually teamed by a marketing leader and production engineer. Later as the company grows, an administrator is brought in. Things usually deteriorate at that point. In this case, however, the Internet plays a significant role in supply and distribution channels. The IT becomes more critical. Finding him was more or less an accident brought about while scratching for low cost outsourcing.

When you stop to think about it, marketing and IT may be the perfect start up combination. The IT precludes the necessity of a bean counter. Accounting for the pure purpose of internal decisions and systems, seamlessly connected with supply and distribution channels, without the bean counters, read administrator’s restraints, makes for innovation and creativity.

The perfect Information Age company, it supports the small family farmers that were hurt by an Industrial age misadventure, The Internet manages supply and distribution. It supports the environment and the rain forests. It offers an organic, genetically unaltered product of superior quality at a reasonable price. The packaged coffee product trades internationally. This kind of excitement must be what the venture capitalist sees.

Atitlan

2004-06-12T13:37:00.000-08:00

Can’t seem to upload photographs, should be simple but I’ve disabled my Instant Messenger in every way conceivable. That may be the problem.

Sitting on the porch of el Tul y Sol, a delightful French restaurant on the shore of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, I enjoy a cup of coffee roasted by the owner. The view might be right out of National Geographic. The water glistens sparkling clear. The large high altitude lake remains trapped between volcanoes just behind the coastal range. The deep clean water invites swimming and a water taxi ride to the few villages that shadow the shoreline. Tall water grass lines the shore where I am sitting, separated by an old wooden dock and a small beach. Shade trees frame the view. This area delineates the roadways and Antigua to the south from Mayan people and mountainous country to the north. Native dress is the rule among the women, with colors characteristic of their village.

The sun warms the well-kept lawn and reflects off the trees, the tall grass and the water. A breeze cools the air and rustles the leaves. A young woman in clean bright native dress walks onto the lawn below carrying a very large bag in a woven basket balanced on her head. I am surprised when she stops right there. Putting down her load, which is obviously heavy, she spreads out a canvas about six feet square. She opens the bag and fills the intricately woven basket with linen or silken colored beans. She then holds the basket over her head pouring the beans into the wind so that they fall at her feet on the canvas. The most amazing and colorful sight unfolds as the silken chaff blows away from the beans igniting the air in a cloud of reflected sunshine. The golden brown beans pile up at her feet while the silk piles up several feet away. Amazingly, this goes on all morning in a graceful and untiring ballet danced to a distant glare of village music and the chirp of nearby tree frogs.

The choice coffee beans, now in the gold, provide our hosts with quality beans for their roasting. These beans come from higher on the volcanic mountainside from patches that belong by tradition to various families. At harvest, time buyers ride the water taxi buying hundred pound bags from the dock. The color and the haggling can be imagined. This setting with distant volcanoes forming the head of an imagined elephant was the front cover of Antoine De Saint Exupéry’s book, The Prince.

Strictly Hard Bean

2004-06-06T16:03:00.000-08:00

More than you probably want to know, the strictly hard bean Arabica is the top of the pecking order. This is the coffee from higher up the mountainside. Shade grown, it matures slowly. Because access is difficult, it is often hand picked, chemical free or organic for much the same reason. The farmer cannot afford chemical fertilizers or pest control.

Herein lies a bit of a mystery. These coffees do not irritate the GU system the way other coffees do, but the reason is not known. Is it the high altitude hard bean or the lack of irritation due to the absence of chemicals? This would be a great student research project.

The answer would be of certain interest to urologists and to the Specialty Coffee Associations in their certification of sustainable coffee. Identifying a health benefit could be yet another reason to include high quality as the forth parameter for certification of sustainable coffee; organic, shade grown and fair trade comprise the other three.

Presently certification for any one of these desirable characteristics must be individually perused. The cost of any one is more than the family farmer and or his coop can afford. There needs to be some way to characterize this super premium class of brew. Presently certification of any of the above says nothing about quality and in practice; the certified coffees tend to be from large fincas (estates or plantations) where not all of the above characteristics can be met.

A Few Good Men

2004-05-27T23:09:00.000-08:00

We are looking for a few experienced mature volunteers to join the team. Our passion is in promoting Fair Trade payments to the family farmers that grow and cherish the best coffee beans.

Direct and consult market development.
Grant writing for outside funding.
Research and develop distribution and fulfillment channels.
Develop a certification process and seal for Sustainable Coffee.

Work from home. Travel opportunities. Probably best suited for recently retired person with high level business management experience.

907.235.4229

Earth Friendly Foundation

2004-05-22T15:39:00.000-08:00

Our mission is to develop a four way certification seal promoting Sustainable Coffee. The foundation will seek and administer funds for the promotion of a fair trade price for the small family farmers who are stewards of the finest coffee. We may help fund supply and distribution channels.

The foundation home is PO Box 9 Homer, Alaska 99603-0009. Offices also in WheatRidge, Colorado at 4350 Wadsworth Blvd. Suite 240 80033

Distribution of the coffee product is through non profit fund raisers facilitated by The Earth Friendly Coffee Company