Re: coffee rant


"Miss Elaine Eos" <Misc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Misc-6D81A1.21411128082008@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


How am I, a mere human -- and barely that before my coffee! -- supposed
to analyze the global impact (and fairness of trade) of my local coffee
supplying establishments?


You can't.

What you can do, however, is to avoid the corporate machine. Get your
coffee from small, independent retailers. Many of them will go to great
lengths to source good coffee directly from producers (either estates or
cooperatives of small growers) away from the supply chain of the
international market. IME, while you may not always be able to get
precisely the bean or blend you are hankering for, not only is the coffee
better (fresher beans, often roasted only when it hits the retailer) but you
should be able to get detailed information on the origin of the beans.

It's the same with other products. If you don't want to buy what the
multinationals are pushing, find small independents. You can buy your wine
from the supermarket, or you can go to the boutique aficionado merchant who
will, in all likelihood, have been to the vineyard and be on first-name
terms with the grower. Ditto vegetables, chocolate, meat etc. I've just
sourced a farmer in Wales who will send me salt-marsh lamb directly from his
farm without the detour via the big abattoirs and meatpacking plants that
service the supermarkets.


.

Relevant Pages

  • Is Supermarket Coffee Worth Drinking?
    ... Is Supermarket Coffee Worth Drinking? ... ''premium'' beans so that quality coffee can be had at home. ... for not liking the other supermarket brands. ...
    (alt.coffee)
  • Re: Is Supermarket Coffee Worth Drinking?
    ... coffee drinkers than there are high-end speciality coffee drinkers. ... Is Supermarket Coffee Worth Drinking? ... ''premium'' beans so that quality coffee can be had at home. ... for not liking the other supermarket brands. ...
    (alt.coffee)
  • Re: color of brewed coffee
    ... > my supermarket, which I ground at the coarse setting on the store's ... Usually I treat myself to fresh beans from a local roaster. ... brewed coffee color is dependent on many factors -- roast level, ... standards, is wacky, imvho. ...
    (alt.coffee)
  • Re: First really good superauto shot
    ... > you have control of grind) - this is the opposite of what we try to do at ... > the temp is the same every shot, ... There are beans in the hopper. ... Ground coffee finds it's way directly into the group. ...
    (alt.coffee)
  • =?windows-1252?Q?Chapter_XXI_PREPARING_GREEN_COFFEE_FOR_MARKET__Early?= =?windows-1252?Q?_Ar
    ... PREPARING GREEN COFFEE FOR MARKET ... and some for treating the beans on ... machines for pulping and drying coffee. ... the plantations in the producing countries. ...
    (alt.coffee)