I love coffee. The loud crunching sound of the coffee grinder and the long zishes of the steamer on large Italian espresso machines are the same all over the world. As are the smell of freshly ground roasted coffee beans, the mild taste of a good espresso and the firm foam of a soya cappuccino: somehow comforting and satisfying.
On the menu of my favourite breakfast café Da Bakery in the old city of Chiang Mai I saw “Hilltribe Coffee”. I asked what this was and learnt that in the seventies, a Royal Project Foundation was established to help the hill tribes of Northern Thailand by offering them alternatives to growing opium poppies, of which coffee was one. However thousands of the finest coffee trees were abandoned or cut down as many of the small and most remote farmers , who produced the best beans, had no market to sell their raw coffee beans.
Coffee beans from North Thailand's hill tribes
Today, more and more small fair trade and organic enterprises work together with these remote farmers and purchase the small amounts of coffee, blend and roast it and sell it to coffee shops and little cafés. Like my breakfast café.
If you want to read more about Fair Trade Coffee or Fair Trade in general, start here:
Fair Trade International
Fair Trade coffee (Wikipedia)
"un express s'il vous plait!" Probably not quite so fair espresso in café Rue du Bac in Paris
I enjoyed reading your piece above, and look forward to following your blog. Your quest sounds very interesting, and one we feel passionate about as well. Did you know you can visit these Royal Project Foundations, and areas where hill tribes are growing these coffees? It might help in your research.
May you have a blessed and healthy 2012 Tina!!
Wonderful to hear from you again ! Three years ago we had a girl in the Bible Core Course, the course that I lead for many years and when it was her turn to teach (all need to teach on subject for their grade) she taught on Fair Trade and she got my attention immediately! I now really look at Fair Trade when I buy coffee and so I can enjoy the coffee and still know that people get a fair price for their coffee, that feels really good!
I am very disappointed though that there is still no fair trade cofein free coffee. Maybe we should ask the coffee companies to change that. Cofein free coffee is a big thing in Holland, but here it is very hard to find.
Hopefully we will have some time again to talk soon!
Lots of love Rosalie
Dear cousine,
Great to read your story about coffee. Gouda has just become Fairtrade municipality. A lot of shops, schools, restaurants participated. We did not have to think twice. And now we have got our Fair Trade sticker too. A lot of people react to that. A Fair Trade photostudio? Yes, we serve coffee, tea etc. And it is all Fair Trade. The cupcake mix is a local product. We buy it at the mill behind our house. We like to use fresh local products (like juices) too.
Thanks for sharing your story.
Lots of love and a big kiss,
Monique