The Power of Story: Behind Cause Coffees
By Scott Conary “I don’t really like coffee…” And with these words, you are stopped short. All of your well-constructed arguments and delightfully thought out taste descriptions forced back in a choking cough….
Direct Trade: Going Straight to the Source
By Shanna Germain Direct trade has long been a hot button in the specialty coffee industry. Ask 10 coffee people what the phrase means, and you’ll get 10 different answers. Listen in at…
To Market, To Market: What the New Economy Means for Sourcing Strategies
By Shanna Germain Increased pricing. Decreased availability. Contract defaults. Closer relationships with producers… The current market situation is having huge impacts all across the coffee industry, but perhaps nowhere more so than at…
Reassessing the Role of Certifications
By Tracy Ging About a year ago at the annual roasters Guild retreat, we posed the question in the roundtable discussions, “is fair Trade dead?” We selected the subject because it was a…
Traceability & Sustainability
Much Accomplished, But Our Work Continues By Chad Trewick The specialty coffee industry has always been close to our sourcing partners—much closer, it seems, than in many other industries. We recognize that those relationships…
Why is Traceability Important to the Global Coffee Market?
There’s No Sustainability Without Traceability By Juliette Caulkins Strong consumer demand for sustainable products is driving the introduction and expansion of a fast growing market segment: sustainably and responsibly produced and sourced products….
