Alberta Co-op Grocery

Fair Grounds

Posted July 26th, 2010

by Jhan Hochman, Working Owner, email hidden; JavaScript is required

Just Coffee Cooperative, out of Madison, Wisconsin, is a worker-owned coffee roaster dedicated to creating and expanding a model of fair trade based on “transparency, equality, and human dignity.” Their formation as a cooperative reflects a commitment to a “non-hierarchical and worker empowered shop. All major decisions are made by true democratic process —there are no bosses . . . .”

Just Coffee works in a total cooperative landscape, partnering with growers’ co-ops to obtain green coffee; with Northcountry Cooperative Development Fund for financing; with Cooperative Coffees, Just Coffee’s importing co-op; and by selling to and bartering with housing co-ops, food co-ops, and other worker co-ops. Being a cooperative itself, Just Coffee cinches the circle on this comprehensive cooperative universe.

Just Coffee also touts itself as a 100% fair trade roaster. Unfortunately, many companies boasting fair trade practices practice few, reaping many unfair market advantages such as getting accounts like universities, churches, and food co-ops which they could not with their “conventional” coffee. A less committed company can also offer fair trade coffee at dirt cheap prices and subsidize the loss by offsetting it with profits made from coffee bought at cheaper prices.

In contrast, Just Coffee’s own fair trade code tries to achieve five comprehensive goals: a better price for growers, pre-financing for growers’ business development, long-term partnerships with growers, commitment to cooperative forms of business, and organic methods.

Organic certification, however, has a political side demanding more scrutiny. Certification normally takes up to three years and is costly for poorer farmers. Growers making the commitment generally do not get any return for their expenses until the end of the third year.  Currently the USDA will not allow “Transitional Organic” on labels to let consumers know that they are buying coffee from a farmer attempting to change to organic methods. Contact the USDA National Organic Program and weigh in on the matter.

The last factor in the Just Coffee commitment to grower, land, and customer is transparency.  Instead of depending on third party certifiers to tell you what Just Coffee does, they place their contracts and financials on their website for all to see.

At the Alberta Co-op, you can find Just Coffee for $10.99 – $11.99/12 oz. with the Bike Fuel and Revolution Roast being our most popular blends.  And as a side note, our bulk buyer, Nick, likes to emphasize that Just Coffee is air roasted (not barrel roasted) allowing more of the beans’ natural flavors to emerge.

Websites of interest:

Just Coffee Collective

Contact the USDA National Organic Program

Tags: coffee, fair trade
Posted in Food and Drink