Ethically traded coffee

Tirian

jmarko wrote: »

I would happily buy fair traded coffee at a premium price if it didn't taste so consistently awful.

You are about 5 years out of date, I'm afraid. There are currently at least 30 or 40 different fair trade coffees available now, and many of them are very pleasant indeed.

Anyway, isn't this supposed to be the ethical money-saving board? What's with all the fair-trade hating?!

Any coffee that carries the Fair Trade Foundation mark guarantees a minimum price paid to the growers for the coffee, regardless of the the market price. If the market price is above that minimum then the market price is paid - so to answer Cardew, yes you are being too cynical.

Furthermore, I don't know where you buy your coffee, but Fairtrade coffee is nowhere near "200%-300%" more than normal. Maybe 20-40p more for a bag / jar. Unless you are buying Tesco Super Valu 'mud in a jar' or something, in which case you're clearly more concerned about a few pence in your pocket than the ability of a coffee grower to send their child to school ... so what are you doing posting on the ethical money-saving thread??

Jenna_Appleseed

for the more left wing Zapatista coffee is good stuff
http://www.wombles.org.uk/article20060210.php