Certifications FAQ

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Certifications

You have one coffee listed as Organic, and another listed as Fair Trade. I'm not sure of the difference?

If we start selling your roasted coffee beans how can we say our coffee is "Certified Fair Trade"? Who certifies, or is it mainly a convention of the trade? I'm trying to design a label for bags.

What is meant by "bird friendly" on your coffee description?

You have one coffee listed as Organic, and another listed as Fair Trade. I'm not sure of the difference?

Excellent question. Organic and Fair Trade are certifications. A coffee can be certified as both, only one, or neither of them. An organic certification is given to coffee that has been grown using only natural processes, without the use of artificial ingredients (pesticides, herbicides, industrial fertilizers, etc). Organic coffee is considered better because some say it tastes better, and it is grown sustainably, in harmony with its environment and maintaining the natural ecology of the location. Although organic requires more manual labor (composting, manual weeding, etc) it is actually also cheaper for the farmer, as artificial additives are quite expensive.

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A Fair Trade certification is given to a product (mostly coffee, currently) that has been bought according to Fair Trade standards which essentially require that the price paid to the farmer be a set minimum price (normally, above the market rate) so that the farmer can afford a better life and not be subject to the vicissitudes and price swings of commodities. The Fair Trade price is set by an European-based non-profit organization. Some but not all Fair Trade-certified coffees are organic. Hope this helps.

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If we start selling your roasted coffee beans how can we say our coffee is "Certified Fair Trade"? Who certifies, or is it mainly a convention of the trade? I'm trying to design a label for bags.

Our Fair Trade certificate is issued by FLO international, and the US certifier is www.transfairusa.org. We are an authorized and registered Fair Trade coffee importer. In order to use their logo in your packaging, you need to register as a Fair Trade retailer (and pay their fees). The link is here. Fair Trade certification is an official process, and not just a trade convention. Hope this helps.

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What is meant by "bird friendly" on your coffee description?

It means the coffee has been grown under a canopy of shade trees which are very necessary and useful for migrating birds and contribute to a holistic approach to agriculture (as opposed to raze and burn, full-sun crops). As mentioned on the product description: "These coffee beans have also been certified by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center as "Bird-Friendly®". By the way, the birds benefiting from the shade are not just tropical birds, but the migrating birds that come all the way from North America to winter there.

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