Tag Archives: New York Times

Analyze This: Getting to Know Soils in the Coffeelands

2016-02-24 Comments Off on Analyze This: Getting to Know Soils in the Coffeelands

A farmer must know his or her soil. I mean, really know it: what lives in it (bacteria, fungi, protozoa, etc.); what’s decomposing in it and how much (organic matter); how hungry it is (for certain types of nutrients); if it needs a drink or needs to dry out (moisture level); and how it’s feeling […]

327. Single-serve brewers: A view from origin

2013-01-15 Comments Off on 327. Single-serve brewers: A view from origin

The single-serve café may be the innovation that has most refined the presentation of specialty coffee in recent years, but the single-cup brewing system for home use has unquestionably been the innovation that has most disrupted it. To borrow from the lexicon of American political discourse, single-cup technologies have been embraced from Wall Street, where […]

223. Clarification on NYT reference to CRS

2011-11-28 Comments Off on 223. Clarification on NYT reference to CRS

Last week, The New York Times ran a story on the rupture between Fair Trade USA and Fairtrade International and its implications for the Fair Trade movement.  In my post on the story, I noted that the reporter made a confusing reference to our role in the coffee certification process: “For consumers who pay attention […]

221. The New York Times frames the FT4All debate

2011-11-23 Comments Off on 221. The New York Times frames the FT4All debate

When FTUSA decided a few months ago to fundamentally rewrite the rules of Fair Trade for the U.S. market, the news hit the Fair Trade fold with all the force of an earthquake.  The aftershocks have been making themselves felt for weeks: position statements by smallholder farmer networks, governance shake-ups at competing certifiers, ranging debates […]