Cafédirect: Fairtrade Coffee at its Finest

Did you know that Cafédirect was the UK’s first Fairtrade certified coffee company? In fact Cafédirect was fair trade before the certification mark was created, that’s how ahead of the times they were – no wonder they are one of our favouritehttps://www.ethicalsuperstore.com/category/groceries-and-everyday/drinks/coffee-beans/ brands.

Cafédirect was founded after the coffee crisis of 1989 when the price of coffee fell globally due to the international coffee agreement (which fixed global prices according to the production cost) collapsing. This was devastating for small coffee farmers in developing countries who had to sell their produce at low prices. There were three coffee growing communities from Peru, Costa Rica and Mexico who decided to ship a container of coffee to the UK loaned on trust, and Cafédirect roasted the beans and sold them through church halls, charity shops and events.

It wasn’t until three years later that the Fairtrade Label was created, and was of course awarded to the company – everything about them is fairtrade. What does that really mean though? Well, you can be certain that the people who grew the coffee you drink when you buy from Cafédirect are not exploited, that they are paid a fair price for their coffee along with a Fairtrade premium, so not only do the earn enough money to live, the local communities also benefit because the premium is used to develop projects and fund education and healthcare among other things.

A glimpse of the Cafedirect coffee range.

I don’t know about you, but that sounds perfect to me. And they didn’t stop at coffee. You can now buy Cafédirect tea and hot chocolate, so even if you don’t like coffee you can support the company and everything they stand for.

It’s great that they are becoming better known; I’ve seen Cafédirect available in various places including supermarkets and even my old university! Have you tried it? if not, does their Fairtrade status make you more inclined to give it a go?