Tag Archives: Cooperative Coffees

444. B is for Business model

2015-01-20 Comments Off on 444. B is for Business model

The B in “Certified B Corporation” stands for Benefit.  But the B Corp certification may be the best one out there for consumers who want a holistic assessment of a company’s Business model. .

385. Microroasters of the Year: Move farm-facing cupping closer to the farm

2014-02-11 Comments Off on 385. Microroasters of the Year: Move farm-facing cupping closer to the farm

This post is a featured comment submitted in response to my recent post on the farm-facing cupping form. It combines comments by three people: TJ Semanchin and Caleb Nicholes of  Kickapoo Coffee in Viroqua, WI and Mark Glenn of Conscious Coffees in Boulder, CO. Both roasters are recent winners of the Roast Magazine Microroaster-of-the-Year award.  […]

268. “Whole-of-business” trading solutions

2012-05-07 Comments Off on 268. “Whole-of-business” trading solutions

In this article in the current issue of Roast Magazine, Fair Trade USA CEO Paul Rice again expresses optimism about the future of Fair Trade Certification in the United States.  Before you panic, let me say this is not another post about Fair Trade for All.  At least, it is mostly not.  Mostly, it is […]

224. Beauty and brains – Fair Trade infographics

2011-12-07 Comments Off on 224. Beauty and brains – Fair Trade infographics

Last night, a grad student from the pioneering agroecology department at UC Santa Cruz turned me on to some recently published infographics on the Fair Trade system.  (Thanks, Nick.)  I am publishing a link to the graphs here because they are a pleasure to behold.  And they also help, at a time of great upheaval […]

202. CAFE Livelihoods draws to a close

2011-09-30 Comments Off on 202. CAFE Livelihoods draws to a close

Today, the CAFE Livelihoods project that I have been working on in one capacity or another since late 2007 draws to a close.  As we prepare the final project report in the coming weeks, I will share some of the more notable project outcomes here.  Meantime, I want to thank everyone who contributed to the […]

176. Counter Culture’s Direct Trade Transparency Report, take two

2011-06-13 Comments Off on 176. Counter Culture’s Direct Trade Transparency Report, take two

It is early June, which means that the rains are falling heavier now here in the coffeelands, and Counter Culture is releasing another Direct Trade Certified Transparency Report in the States to much well-deserved fanfare.  The report may generate less buzz in its sophomore season than it did last year as a rookie sensation, but […]

150. What makes a cooperative special?

2011-04-15 Comments Off on 150. What makes a cooperative special?

In conversations with roasters and importers, I have often referred to farmer organizations as “special.”  The term is spectacularly imprecise, since the sources of “specialness” can be so diverse.  It is important for cooperatives to articulate clearly just what makes them so special, however, since roasters are not just searching for quality coffee, but quality […]

146. Maya Vinic – Life in every sip

2011-04-12 Comments Off on 146. Maya Vinic – Life in every sip

Maya Vinic means Maya Man in Tzotzil, one of the three indigenous languages the organization’s members speak.  Maya Vinic’s members say the cooperative’s name evokes their ancestors and their coffee, which they grow with love and respect for Mother Earth, in the highland forests of Chiapas. Maya Vinic’s members believe that the extraordinary quality of […]