Joe Green Columbia
an addict’s guide to conscious coffee
“Without my morning coffee,” Johann Sebastian Bach writes in his comic operetta, Coffee Cantata, “I’m just like a dried up piece of roast goat.”
While the rest of the world may not be able to describe its addiction so poetically, the numbers suggest we feel a similar sentiment. According to the International Coffee Organization, 1.6 billion cups of coffee are consumed worldwide every day. First discovered in Ethiopia during the ninth century, coffee is now mass-produced all over the world and constitutes one of the most valuable traded commodities after oil.
Providing a social space to meet, talk, write, read, or simply pass the time, the coffeehouse is the ubiquitous center for the hip, intellectual social scene. Local purveyors of America’s favorite legal drug are more popular—and more ethical—than ever. All over the city, coffee purveyors are boasting close, direct relationships with farms, a commitment to the environment, and lofty ideals for the future of coffee.
Buying ethical coffee is one of the best ways to be environmentally conscious. A cup of organic, shade-grown coffee tastes better than its flat-harvested counterpart because it has not been exposed to the harmful chemicals in pesticides, and it has been cultivated in its natural environment under the shade of taller trees. It also represents important efforts to nurture sustainable development, maintain or even increase biodiversity, minimize pollution, and provide economic security for farmers in the developing world.
Fresh roasting, expensive equipment, and expert baristas are no longer enough—coffee retailers are now using their commitment to socially and environmentally conscious farming and roasting practices to court customers. The result goes beyond a humble cup of joe—it’s a delicious and artfully designed representation of economic responsibility.
Fair Trade certified coffee is bought from farmers at a minimum of $1.26 per pound, nearly three times what the average coffee farmer receives according to Global Exchange, an organization that promotes social responsibility throughout the world. In order to provide Fair Trade certified coffee, buyers pay the Fair Trade Labelling Organizations International to police the farming practices around the world and certify farmers.
At a time when historic lows in world coffee prices have created a crisis for millions of farmers whose livelihood depends on the crop, fair trade policies not only insure that farmers gain direct access to international markets, but they also set a minimum price for their coffee. By making sound environmental practices profitable for farmers, Fair Trade partnerships create conditions for long-term sustainability.
In order to be certified as an organic producer, a farmer must abide by certain rules that typically include using minimal synthetic products, farming without chemical additives, and having farming sites inspected on a regular basis. While not all countries have organic food regulations and certification, there are third-party organizations, such as Quality Assurance International or the Organic Crop Improvement Association, that grant certification to farmers internationally.
Among New York’s numerous purveyors of Fair Trade and certified organic coffees are Gorilla, in Brooklyn (97 5th Ave. at Baltic St., Brooklyn) and Gimme! Coffee (new location at 228 Mott St. in SoHo, also at 495 Lorimer St. in Brooklyn, with five locations upstate). These new, independently operated coffee shops are the Apple to Starbucks’ Microsoft: they are user-friendly, stylish, in touch with the times, and—together with the rest of the city’s independent coffee culture—a force to be reckoned with.
Gorilla has a very guerilla atmosphere to it, with old maps of central and south America hanging on the walls and the occasional barista that looks as though he just emerged from the jungle. The name Gorilla “connotes strength,” co-owner Darlene Scherer said in an interview with WNYC in 2007. According to her, Fair Trade coffee is “essentially empowerment for the farmer,” so that if something goes wrong with a crop or they have a bad season, they have something to fall back on.
All coffees that Gorilla uses are certified organic and Fair Trade. The two tend to go hand-in-hand. “That’s typically a way of growing,” Scherer said. “It’s not just a social responsibility, but it’s an environmental responsibility.”
Fortunately, paying the farmers more for their business does not necessarily mean a huge hole in your wallet. Beans generally cost $10 to $14 per pound, which is significantly more than Maxwell House, but only a dollar or two more than you would pay for a pound of your favorite Seattle company’s blend.
Just because something is not certified organic does not necessarily mean that it was produced using chemical inputs. At Gimme! Coffee, the coffee is not technically Fair Trade or organic, but it is still morally sourced. Their coffee comes from small family farmers who may not be able to afford certifications to become Fair Trade or organic. “Our farmers probably can’t afford pesticides even if they wanted them,” Jennifer Bryant, a manager at Gimme!, says.
The Fair Trade label does not encompass all fairly traded coffee. “Fair Trade is a trademark term,” she says. “It’s a business that you have to buy into.” Instead, Gimme! Coffee uses a method called “relationship coffee,” or “direct-trade coffee,” where they are in direct contact with the small farmers who supply their beans, cutting out the middle man.
Gimme! has a relationship with the Las Mingas Project, a small group of farmers in Colombia. Gimme! sent representatives down to Colombia to meet and work with the farmers from whom they purchase their coffee beans. Through “relationship coffee,” the farmer and the buyer have a relationship that improves the bottom line on both ends, while enhancing the bean’s quality. “We know that we can help them improve their coffee,” Bryant says.
Not only do these companies provide “moral” coffee—roasting beans that are fair trade, organic, and shade-grown—but they also provide the sort of hip culture that trendy New Yorkers seek out. Baristas are highly trained artisans. Your milk is sure to be steamed fresh (and is probably from a local dairy), not poured from the same pitcher that’s been used for every latte in the last ten minutes. The foam will not only be velvety-smooth, but might even include fancy latte art swirled on top with a flick of the wrist.
Although Starbucks may be stronger in numbers, the corporate giant has only a few organic, fair-trade options for the environmentally conscious. If you want to buy a single cup in the store, you must ask for it specially. They have tried to improve their image and have gone as far as closing all stores for an evening for a massive re-training of their staff, but they are simply too large to keep up with independently hip trends everywhere. While local retailers are providing relationship coffee and the promise of conscious trading from seed to cup, the best Starbucks can do is 10 percent off for Earth Day.
At places like Gimme! and Gorilla, with a simple $2 cup of coffee, you will not only get a more lovingly-crafted drink, look cooler, and possibly make a new friend, but you will also be supporting farmers who are committed to the environment and helping ensure biodiversity, fair labor practices, and price stability.