Coffee: Beverage of the Gods

If you want to improve your understanding, drink coffee; it is the intelligent beverage.

Sydney Smith (1771-1845) 

Sign spotted at Finca Filadelfia, a coffee plantation I visited outside of Antigua, Guatemala.

I am an enthusiastic coffee drinker. By enthusiastic I mean regular, without fail, CANNOT FUNCTION without my morning cup o’ joe coffee drinker. The best part of waking up is absolutely, positively, 100% something-better-than-Folger’s in my cup. I drink two cups a day, minimum. Thus, coffee seems the natural place to start in making over my habits of consumption.

Coffee berries and beans picked on a tour of Finca Filadelfia.

Where to begin? Well, how about my current coffee-consuming habits. I shop at two grocery stores – Whole Foods and King Soopers (a Kroger corporation grocery store). At Whole Foods, I buy Whole Foods 365 brand coffee or coffee from Dazbog, a Denver-based company with locations all over Colorado, plus a few random coffee shops in WY, TX, MD, and, soon, IL. At King Soopers, I buy Peet’s coffee (I have a deep, deep love affair with Major Dickason’s Blend).  I also frequent Starbucks. A lot.

Step 1: Assess issues associated with coffee production

There are myriad issues associate with coffee production: 

• Environmental degradation/deforestation
• Impact on wildlife, particularly birds
• Issues of sustainable livelihoods and fair pricing
• Forced/slave labor

Several certifications target the above issues. While imperfect, they set a baseline for ethical practices.

Step 2: What do all these certifications actually mean?

     1.    Fair Trade: Fair Trade certification is granted by Fair Trade USA, a non-profit started in 1998 that certifies coffee, tea, chocolate, fruit, spices, etc. Fair Trade USA is part of FLO International, an association of fair trade labeling organizations. Fair Trade certified producers agree to annual inspections to verify that they meet sustainable environmental and fair labor standards, including fair wages, allowing workers to organize, and safety and health requirements

2. Direct Trade: Direct Trade is not certification, per se, but rather represents a streamlined relationship in which the roaster buys straight from the grower, cutting out the middleman and other certification processes. Visit ethicalcoffee.net for the pros and cons of direct trade. 

3. Bird Friendly: Bird Friendly certification--the strictest environmental certification--was created by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) and requires, first, that growers meet organic standards and, second, that growers have at least 40% shade coverage. The SMBC also provides recommendations for tree size and diversity in order to ensure overall biodiversity. While there are no explicit labor standards, organic certification creates some benefits for workers, detailed below. 

4. Rainforest Alliance: Rainforest Alliance certification is granted by a New York-based non-profit with the goal of preserving biodiversity through sustainable agriculture, forestry, tourism, and other business activity.

Basic guidelines called the Sustainable Agriculture Standard, as well as  additional environmental standards apply to coffee producers. Coffee farms must maintain (or restore) natural forest cover to achieve 40 percent shade coverage, with at least 70 trees per hectare (about 2.5 acres) and at least 12 native species. Farmers cannot alter natural water courses and, though they can use chemicals, including pesticides, they're required to maintain natural vegetation buffer zones between the coffee growing areas and land used by humans. Farmers are also prohibited from harmful practices including trafficking in wild animals, destruction of ecosystems, and dumping untreated wastewater. Labor standards include the prohibition of child labor under 15 years of age, non-discriminatory hiring practices, and a minimum wage.

5. USDA Certified Organic: In order to be Certified Organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, coffee produces cannot use synthetic substances (most pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers). To be labeled organic, at least 95% of beans must be grown under organic conditions. While this certification doesn't require additional specific environmental standards, it naturally follows that traditional organic farming is much more eco-friendly. While no labor standards are included in organic certification, farming free of pesticides is of benefit to workers.


For more details, including shade grown and carbon neutral coffee, check out ethicalcoffee.net.

Step 3: Investigate current coffee choices

First, I took a look at Dazbog. I like the generally local nature of Dazbog. There are two coffee shops within 10-12 blocks of my apartment and the coffee I buy in the supermarket is tasty. I took a look at their website and the best I could come up with were some details on their line of organic coffees. Nothing about fair trade, nothing about labor standards. What’s more, I read a Yelp review that described a manager getting super peeved when asked about fair trade offerings. Dazbog, in the words of Heidi Klum, “you’re out”.

Next, I went to the Whole Foods website to get the skinny on their 365 brand coffee. Now, I dig a lot of what Whole Foods does, from their organic selections to composting my carrot tops to positively engaging in the local community. Whole Foods has a Whole Trade Guarantee for specific products that indicates quality, fair pricing, better wages and conditions for workers, and sound environmental practices. Much, if not all, of the 365 brand coffee is Whole Trade certified, as is Allegro brand coffee, which is local (Boulder/Thornton), to boot.  What’s better, Allegro goes beyond certification standards (Fair Trade, Organic, Rainforest Alliance) and does all sorts of other awesome stuff.

After that, I took the plunge and investigated my beloved Peet’s Coffee (*fingers-crossed-please-please-pleeeeeease-be-awesome-and-socially-responsible*). Praise Allah, Yaweh, Ganesh, Lakshmi, Buddha, and whomever else you please, Peet’s IS SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE….for the win! I really dig the detail they provide on their website, including concrete examples of the good stuff that’s going on with their growers, green roasting techniques, myriad certifications, and significant philanthropy. 

Lastly, Starbucks. 


Oh, Starbucks.


I wish I knew how to quit you.

Starbucks does some good stuff, no doubt. But word on the street is that something like 10% of their coffee is Fair Trade certified and I just can’t justify choosing Starbucks over better local options.

Step 4: Other socially responsible coffee options

I decided to look into other alternative local options and came up with a few. The first, Novo Coffee, crossed my radar just last week when I attended a fundraiser for the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking—an awesome Denver-based anti-human trafficking organization. The event was held in Novo’s warehouse and included local businesses concerned with social issues and sustainable practices. Novo’s website details their engagement in the relationships involved in coffee production and they provide detailed information about a number of their coffees. Overall, I’d like to see more comprehensive information but am impressed.

Allegro, detailed in the Whole Foods section above (Step 3.), was a surprise, as I'd seen their coffee on the shelf but didn’t know much about them.

I stumbled across Conscious Coffees, a Boulder-based roaster that engages in direct trade (see Step 2.), when I was looking at the Cooperative Coffees website. I’ll definitely check these guys out the next time I’m in Boulder.

Finally, University of Denver favorite Kaladi Bros. Coffee, which is uniquely air roasted, does all sorts of good stuff for people and birds!  I’ve frequented the coffee shop near campus many a time, but have never purchased coffee there. 

Step 4: Game plan moving forward

Happily, I feel good about my previous coffee consumption habits. Based on my findings, my habits won’t need to change much. I’m going to avoid Dazbog, since organic options are as good as they get. I’ll continue to purchase the other two brands I did previously—Peet’s and 365—and will likely try Novo, Allegro, Conscious Coffees, and will definitely buy coffee the next time I stop in Kaladi Bros. or my favorite Boulder coffee shop, The Laughing Goat, which also serves and sells Kaladi coffee. I'm going to make a commitment to frequent Kaladi Bros. and other local coffee houses instead of Starbucks.

Phew. I can now commence the life of a coffee drinker of clear conscience. While imperfect, the certifications and practices detailed make me confident that roasters like Kaladi, Conscious Coffees, Allegro, and Novo are making clear strides to ensure that their coffee is grown, harvested, and roasted in a way that is sustainable for people and the environment.

Before I sign off, a few caveats. I know that living in Denver skews the availability of socially responsible offerings a bit. However, you can get coffees like Peet's nation-wide, and I'm confident that just about every chain grocery store has some socially conscious offerings. Finally, writing this post took exponentially longer than the actual research...and that's only because I fancy myself something of an amateur wordsmith. These posts are not meant to present a comprehensive guide to selecting socially responsible products. They serve, rather, as a description of my attempts to make conscientious, responsible consumption a part of my daily life, with the time and tools at my disposal, in the hope that my experiences may prove useful, encouraging or at least mildly entertaining, to others.

Thanks for reading to the bottom. We are the change.

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.

T.S. Eliot

Change Begins At Home

Greetings, friends!


I decided it was time for a makeover. Not the physical kind but, rather, a makeover in daily living. An attempt to de-compartmentalize my life and make my daily choices reflect my values. "Why now?" you might ask. Well, let me explain.


A little background


I'm a 28 year old graduate student pursuing a Master's in International Human Rights at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies. Before that, I was a program assistant at the DC-based Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights and before that I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso (you can check out my prolific blogging on that experience here).


In addition to my graduate studies, I currently serve as Associate Director of the Human Trafficking Clinic at the Korbel School, an organization comprised of graduate research associates engaged in community education and original research that aims to contribute to the movement to combat human trafficking. I also work at Banana Republic, which will undoubtedly be the subject of a few blog posts.


So, back to the "why now?". Well, in engaging in the in-depth study of facets of global human trafficking and forced labor, one rather obvious recurring theme is that of purchasing power and consumer choices. This isn't revelatory, I know. It's always been a consideration, to some degree, in choices I've made...or a characteristic of choice that I've tacitly refused to apply to certain decisions. In short, being the person that I am, given the experiences that have shaped my values, there is no good reason not to engage in a wholehearted, comprehensive effort to become a more responsible consumer and thus a better global citizen. No more excuses. No more commitments to myself to be better at some future date. The time is now. Carpe flippin' diem.


How this endeavor is going to work


Here's my plan. Each week I'll take on a product I consume regularly. I'll learn about it, investigate the labor/production/supply issues associated with it, research possible options, and make a concrete commitment to alter my consumption. That's it. In the meantime, I'll explore elements of supply chain integrity, fair labor, environmental degradation and impact, corporate social responsibility, fair trade, etc. In the process, I hope to share what I learn, what I find challenging, what tools exist that aid in my efforts, and what hindrances I come across. 


Your feedback is encouraged. Let the journey begin.

What does your conscience say? 
You must become who it is that you are.

Friedrich Nietzsche