Tag Archives: Kickapoo Coffee

A closer look at what a $2.75 /lb. FOB minimum price means

2017-03-13 Comments Off on A closer look at what a $2.75 /lb. FOB minimum price means

A few weeks ago, Kickapoo Coffee Roasters publicly committed to paying farmers in their supply chain a minimum of $2.75 FOB per lb. FOB (FOB stands for Free on Board, which means this is the price of the coffee ready for export) for all of Kickapoo’s green coffee purchases.  Their press release says that it […]

Third-Rail Communications

2015-11-25 Comments Off on Third-Rail Communications

The Direct Trade-v-Fair Trade debate resurfaced here last week.  I weighed in on that debate here yesterday. Today I want to explore a related idea: that the leading proponents of these two trading models may have communicated themselves into corners from which they can’t easily extricate themselves even though they desperately need to. Direct Trade […]

438. The CRS Colombian Varietal Cuppings series adjourns (for now)

2014-12-17 Comments Off on 438. The CRS Colombian Varietal Cuppings series adjourns (for now)

Over the past six weeks, this blog has been devoted exclusively to the CRS Colombian Varietal Cuppings–a series of comparative cuppings of Castillo and Caturra samples from our Borderlands project involving leading roasters and importers in the United States, Europe and Australia.  Even when I took a week off from reporting on the results of […]

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.  […]

342. Mirror, mirror on the wall

2013-03-18 Comments Off on 342. Mirror, mirror on the wall

Stephen Macatonia directs Union Hand Roasted in London, one of the UK’s leading Direct Trade roasters.  Last week he published this thoughtful piece in the Guardian — the latest contribution to the ongoing debate between advocates and practitioners of Fair Trade and Direct Trade over whose trade is fairest of them all. For our part, we […]

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 […]

109. Coffee quality: What’s Fair Trade got to do with it?

2010-11-24 Comments Off on 109. Coffee quality: What’s Fair Trade got to do with it?

I suggested yesterday that Fair Trade coffee is on a roll. I think it is important to reflect further on the relationship between Fair Trade and quality, as much of what accounts for coffee quality has nothing at all to do with Fair Trade

49. More perspectives on Direct Trade

2010-05-27 Comments Off on 49. More perspectives on Direct Trade

The Fair Trade v. Direct Trade debate — to the extent that people are still having it — is fueled by caricatures of each approach that may reflect some grain of truth but ultimately misrepresent the realities of both.