Forgot your password?
CC news
CoopSol AGM 2010
From January 15th to the 21st, several of Coop Coffees' members and producer partners convened in Peru for meetings and field visits during Coop Sol's 2010 annual assembly. Despite a grueling schedule (so much to do in one short week!), unexpected road blocks and run-ins with the police, everyone who participated came away with a better understanding of what fair trade truly is and should continue to be on the ground, with our partners, and within our coop.
Quality Control in Oaxaca
Cooperative Coffees roasters and producer organizations from across Mexico gather together from Sept 4 - 11, 2009 under the umbrella of the Catholic Relief CAFE Livelihoods project in Oaxaca to discuss and experience first hand the challenges around producing consistently high quality coffee.
Market Challenges (and Solutions) in Nicaragua
As part of the ongoing CRS project "CAFE Livelihoods," three representatives from Coop Coffees -- Bill Harris, Tripp Pomeroy of Cafe Campesino, and Chris Treter of Higher Grounds -- spent a week in Nicaragua facilitating and participating in workshops on market management and commercialization in the coffee industry. They worked alongside 5 different cooperatives which included CC producer partners. Below is a trip report by Chris Treter, roaster-member and participant in the CRS Project.
10-year Anniversary makes the news!
Coop Coffees made front-page news in April for the Americus Times-Recorder newspaper who reported on the 10-year celebration that took place at founding member Cafe Campesino's roastery and cafe. It truly was a wonderful, memorable event and we're happy to see it get a bit of press!
CC partners with CRS
Coop Coffees ally and Fair Trade supporter, Catholic Relief Services has officially launched a "Coffee Livelihoods" program that will incorporate several producer coops -- including some of our partners -- in Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico. The project entails a series of tecnical and management training workshops that will take place over the course of the next 3 years. Coop Coffees, along with social lender and ally Root Capital, will help facilitate several of these workshops.
CoopCoffees' AGM 2008
Roaster members and staff of Cooperative Coffees gathered at Higher Grounds’ recently inaugerated café and roastery in the beautiful lakeside town of Traverse City, Michigan from Oct 2 - 5 for the Annual General Meeting of Members. The three-day weekend was action-packed with coffee cupping, discussion and debate around the internal politics of pricing and positions within Fair Trade, as well as clarifying the functions and responsabilities of staff and member alike.
Monika Firl discussing Fair Trade with Vancouver Cooperative Radio
As Fair Trade coffee makes its way onto the shelves of giant corporations like Walmart, spokespersons such as Monika Firl of Cooperative Coffees, warn that Fair Trade coffee available in such mega-stores may not necessarily embody the original spirit of Fair Trade as "social movement". Read on (and listen!) to discover the inner-workings of the corporate world's adoption of Fair Trade.
Coffee with a conscience
May 18, 2008. This Albany Herald article on the 10 year anniversary of Cafe Campesino looks at the history of the Americus roastery, and at how Coop Coffees got its start.
Fair Trade or fairly traded?
May 8, 2008. Minnesota Daily article discusses the coffee chain and coffee quality, citing Peace Coffee as an example of a true fair trader.
Regular, decaf or ethical?
Report on panel discussion at the University of Vermont titled "How Green Is Your Coffee?", featuring Monika Firl, producer relations at CoopCoffees, Mane Alves, CoopCoffees member and coffee cupper, and Ernesto Mendez, a UVM professor and contact for El Comanur cooperative in EL Salvador, looks the coffee crisis and the role fair trade plays in coffee producing countries.
Spilling the beans on fair trade
Naomi Lightman. Sept 27th, 2007. This is a feature article on the ongoing discussion surrounding the future of fair trade, written by Naomi, an intern at Cooperative Coffees last year, for McGill University's student newspaper, The McGill Daily.
Fair Trade or Fairly Traded
This is a great article that highlights the debates currently raging in Fair Trade circles: the place of multinationals, the role of FLO, and the minimum price of FT coffee. Many members are featured in the article, and Cooperative Coffees is given as an example of a player that is staying true to the integrity of the movement.
Tiwun
A first export of Tiwun coffee (Tayrona Indigenous Federation) from the Arhuacos to Cooperative Coffees makes headlines in Colombia. by Lila Esther Silgado Villadiego of the Diario La República. Spanish version only.
Coffee Connection
Feature article in the Courier-Journal featuring producer partner Nahuala and a visit by Cooperative Coffees and Heine Brothers Co, in Louiville, Kentucky.
Now I know we’re in a recession
When the economy starts to hurt Starbucks, I know we’re in trouble. Fortunately, Dean’s Beans is still going strong, so there is some hope. For those of you who don’t know, Dean’s Beans started the fair trade movement in coffee and makes a variety of fair trade and organic roasts that put Starbucks to shame (both in terms of taste and corporate policy).
Three Coffee Countries in Eight Days: CRS Hits the Trail
Blog entry from the folks at Catholic Relief Service about a trip to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras one of their staff is taking, in the company of Tripp from Cafe Campesino.
Third World program: Putting a face on your next cup of coffee
Published April 29, 2004 12:00 am - AMERICUS -- The next time you go to take a sip of your favorite cappuccino, try to sense more than the aroma. "Think a little deeper about who is behind the coffee," said Bill Harris Jr.
Clamor May03
Who's Paying For Your Fix: A Crop-to-Cup Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Your Morning Pick-Me-Up
