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Coffee Travel the Fair Trade Way

Post-lunch Friday, so its time for a coffee jolt. While we're lucky enough to have Peet's Fair Trade Blend on drip here at Lonely Planet USA, not everyone has access to such satisfying beans. Not only is the hybrid Central American/Indonesian blend smooth, rich and full-bodied, it supports one of our key sustainability initiatives: fair trade coffee.

It's a simple concept: fair trade coffee indicates a willingness to pay coffee farmers -- who work long, demanding hours in developing nations worldwide -- a fair wage for their toil and labor. By agreeing to compensate farmers at a minimum rate of $1.26/pound, and providing technological and financial assistance for switching to organic farming, coffee importers become fair trade certified.

Importers in turn can offer products that meet not just higher ethical and environmental standards, but deliver to consumer truly superior quality and flavor.

Fair trade also helps coffee farmers who've been drastically impacted by changes to the Global Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which has flooded international coffee markets and dropped the wholesale coffee price by two-thirds, good for consumers but devastating to coffee growers.

In particular, Nicaraguan farmers have been decimated, though they're trying to work through things as evidenced in this Fresh Cup magazine piece, A New Nicaragua.

Progresses aside, the situation needs continuing support. Take action for fair trade by voicing your opinion, or shopping with thought, or take it a step further by joining the harvest on the Global Exchange Reality Tour Nicaragua: Fair Harvest Exchange Program.

For more coffee info, try the Coffee and Conversation weblog. For all your Nicaragua travel needs, check out the new Lonely Planet Nicaragua guide.