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Where Does Your Coffee Grow? -
11/19/2010
Posted By:
Steve Hawthorne
This past February, I traveled throughout Guatemala and El Salvador in search of great coffee. While in El Salvador, I met up with my friend, Chris Hallberg who was living in San Salvador at the time. Chris is a contributor for 89.7 WUWM Lake Effect and recorded our visit to the Las Nubes farm with Ernesto Lima.
Chris' audio essay aired yesterday on WUWM...you can take a listen online here.
Listening to this reminded me of the evening I spent with Chris and Jess Imig from our Retail Team in El Salvador. After a long day of touring the farm and visiting the cooperative where the coffee is processed, we sat in my hotel room discussing coffee and the importance of social responsibility in the industry. Chris' essay contains an excerpt of my comments from that night that I think is very important, and I want to elaborate slightly on my thoughts.
The idea of social and environmental reasonability is not a new topic anymore. Companies all over the country are hiring "Corporate Social Responsibility Officers" to ensure that the business is mindful of this. We are all aware of steps to take to be more green, or the concept of "fair trade." I think, however, that we have to go one step farther in the chain...particularly (for me) in the coffee chain. Coffee producers have a responsibility to the people that work with them and to the land that cultivates their product. Buyers and roasters of coffee have a responsibility to work with the producers in a way that is responsible and sustainable for all involved and to educate our customers on this process...this is where the conversation usually stops. What's missing in my mind is the responsibility of the consumer to seek out and accept the education around how this product came to be. We, as consumers, have to take accountability to know where our products are coming from and that they did the least amount of "harm" possible along the way. This might mean taking a few extra minutes to ask questions or do some research. We may even have to pay a few extra dollars...but know where your dollars are going!!
When it comes to coffee, it's not just producers and roasters that are responsible for the social, environmental and economic sustainability of our product. Consumers need to join this effort...hopefully Chris' audio essay and my thoughts help you to understand why. If not, let's grab some coffee and talk about it...I'd love that. You can email me - shawthorne@stonecreekcoffee.com and we'll set something up.
Have a great weekend and remember to sip slowly!
-Steve
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