Opening up to Seasonal Fair Trade Coffee
Posted by Wendy on 27 Oct 2009 at 10:50 am | Tagged as: Fair Trade
Fair Trade Month Quiz:
Question 27: By what percentage has demand for Fair Trade coffee grown in the US in 2008?
Answer: Over 30%
Haven’t answered our Fair Trade Quiz question of the day, yet? Well, why not? The answer’s right there! If that isn’t enough for you, the first 100 participants* get a sample of Green Mountain Coffee’s Fair Trade Certified™ Organic House Blend and all answers get entered to the grand prize drawing of 12-months of Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Certified™ Coffees. Go here to enter: http://www.eatdrinkandbefair.com/quiz.php.
*Sorry, employees and their immediate family members of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. are not eligible. But keep an eye out for our internal Fair Trade quiz.
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I gave a bag of coffee to a friend of mine as a housewarming gift. She took one look at it and said “Do you have anything that’s Fair Trade?”
I confess, before I started working for Green Mountain Coffee, I didn’t understand what Fair Trade (FT) meant exactly. Even when I settled on Fair Trade Organic Espresso as my coffee of choice, the fact that it’s Fair Trade had no impact on my decision whatsoever. But now that I know what it means and how it impacts the lives of those who grow our coffee beans, I get even more satisfaction out of my morning cup.
One category of coffee that’s exclusively Fair Trade is our Limited Edition Seasonal coffees. Four years ago, Green Mountain Coffee decided to make the seasonal coffees Fair Trade across the board. The idea was to grow awareness of Fair Trade to more coffee lovers like you so that we could expand our Fair Trade market and ultimately make a difference in more farmers’ lives. Why Seasonals? Well, I don’t know about you, but when I see “available for a limited time”, I’ve got to have it right now, and lots of it. What better way to introduce Fair Trade to as many people as possible who will not only anxiously await the next arrival, but will stock up? It’s true, even through our current economic situation, folks are ordering cases (yes, cases) of Fair Trade Pumpkin Spice before it’s gone. Maybe they’re depending on the aroma of mom’s pumpkin pie to get them through the tough times. Either way, it means coffee farmers are getting a better life.
What I love about the Seasonals is that, no matter what your reason, there’s a seasonal coffee that you can call your own. My second favorite coffee would have to be FT Organic Joyful Season Blend (available mid-November) because a) it’s Fair Trade; b) it’s organic; and c) I love the holidays. So much so, in fact, my Christmas tree stayed up until August one year. Apparently I have a problem with letting go. So if you’re wondering if I replaced the housewarming gift with a Fair Trade coffee …you betcha. If it helps coffee farmers survive, and thrive, in light of their long-standing economic troubles, shouldn’t everyone get Fair Trade?
Is your favorite coffee among our Seasonals? If so, I’m curious. Was it because it was the socially responsible choice, or because you associate its aroma or name with a different time or place, or simply because you like the taste?
-Wendy
I love Fair Trade coffees–and all Fair Trade products. I buy them whenever I have the choice to do so. And Joyful Season Blend is my favorite holiday coffee!! But I see that it’s not listed in the Holiday 2009 catalog, and that’s SO disappointing!! I just can’t imagine why Green Mountain would decide not to offer Joyful Season! I hope that they’ll reconsider and will make it available again!!