Buzzworthy
- Posted by: GOOD , annemorreghan
- on November 27, 2006 at 10:50 am
The concept of fair trade is simple: give small farmers direct access to international markets so they can compete with larger companies. As the idea catches on, coffee beans branded with the fair trade label are becoming ever-present. But is fair trade coffee as good on your taste buds as it is on your moral compass?
We asked Siel Ju—a fair trade coffee aficionado who writes on the web as Green LA Girl—to try a spectrum of six different coffees, and compared her results to those of our own crack panel. Everyone then voted for a favorite and least favorite cofee. Our samples included Folgers, Yuban, Dunkin’ Donuts, fair trade and regular varieties from Starbucks, and an organic blend from the Fair Trade Coffee Co. In a blind taste test, we determined if helping family farmers to compete in the world market actually makes coffee taste better.
1. Fair Trade Java Organic
$10 / lb.
Siel says:
A yummy fruity aroma. The best tasting of the bunch.
good says:
The Platonic ideal of coffee. Creamy and thick.
favorite votes:
GOOD GOOD GOOD
worst votes:
BAD
2. Yuban Dark Roast
$4.39 /11oz.
Siel says:
A bit too much smoke. A slightly sour aroma.
good says:
Good. Strong. Mellow. Like Michael Clarke Duncan.
favorite votes:
GOOD GOOD
worst votes:
3. Starbucks French Roast
$9.99 / lb.
Siel says:
Not too acidic. Smooth and earthy.
good says:
Kind of floral. Kind of spicy. Kind of gross.
favorite votes:
GOOD
worst votes:
4. Folgers French Roast
$3.99 / 11.5oz.
Siel says:
The aroma isn’t too interesting, but it’s not bad, though a little acidic.
good says:
Very mild. Not boring, but unimpressive.
favorite votes:
GOOD
worst votes:
5. Starbucks Cafe Estima Blend
$9.99 / lb.starbucks.com
Siel says:
Inoffensive but also uninteresting.
good says:
Ambivalence comes to mind.
favorite votes:
GOOD
worst votes:
BAD BAD
6. Dunkin’ Donuts Original Blend
$7.99 / lb.
Siel says:
Very sour and acidic. Horrible taste and aftertaste.
good says:
Strangely pungent swill. Like dirty water, wet leaves, or dung.
favorite votes:
worst votes:BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD.
DISCUSSION: 2 Comments
One of the details which coverage like that in the Economist usually glosses over (I haven’t read that article so apologies if it covered this) is that a lot of that overproduction is the result of Structural Adjustment Policies applied in the 70s and 80s to encourage developing countries to build their economies by focussing on cash crops. The heavy debts of those countries were used as leverage to force them to adopt such policies.
Overproduction isn’t a surprising result of that, but I’d argue that those of us in the countries that enforced them have some responsibility to redress the situation. Fair Trade works as one way of providing funding for communities to use to fund education and resources for diversification.