On Thu, 20 Jan 2005 13:47:50 +0100, Frantisek <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I would add one shamelessly political plug ;-), but hopefully not > offending to anybody. If you also want good coffee, buy "fair trade" > coffee. Not only, with current coffee market depression, it will be > inherently better quality than the stuff Tchibo and others buy from > Vietnam, but it's also a bit responsible on the planet and people. And > for any coffee lover (like I am, brewing coffee in Dzjazwa most of the > time, these coffees are very good. If you can't roast well yourself, > get roasted beans and make the powder yourself. Already powdered > coffee doesn't last well. Also, because of the current situation on > the market (lowest coffee prices ever), many cheaper (and many big) > suppliers sell beans which are harvested prematurely, and often with a > lot of dirt in them. Fair-Trade coffee beans are made to a set (high) > quality, often also organic growing quality (you can find both > designations), and simply the program affords the growers to make good > beans. Right you are, Franticek. The green beans we get are fair trade, and really don't cost that much. If anyone's interested, just google it - there are lots of places selling it on the internet. With fair trade, it may cost a bit more, but more of your money gets to the small landowners (as opposed to huge agribusiness conglomerates who own most of the world's coffee plantations) and his/her labourers. And, the coffee (since it's not intended for mass-market consumers) tends to be better quality. These small landowners (since it's their land, and they want to keep it in their families for future generations) also tend to be more environmentally sensitive in the way that they grow and pick the beans. cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson
