Direct Trade

Much of our coffee here at Transcend is what we call direct trade, and our goal is to be 100 per cent direct trade by 2012. But we get asked a lot about what direct trade means. What it means for farmers and what it means for consumers.

The following is an attempt to begin to answer those questions. Honestly, it barely scratches the surface of the complexities, politics and social implications of buying and trading coffee. But hopefully it is of value as a place to begin to ponder and explore those complexities.

Direct trade is a term that is being used more and more by higher quality specialty coffee roasters. But because there is no official third party organization setting policies or certification criteria, direct trade can mean slightly different things to different people or companies.

Here’s what direct trade means to Transcend Coffee

Direct trade means we’ve met the farmer. We’ve shook the hand of the person directly responsible for growing and harvesting the coffee that we purchase. In most cases we’ve toured the farm, inspected the facilities, met the workers, asked questions about their growing, harvesting and processing techniques. By the time we’ve discovered all of that, we’ve usually spent a good deal of time with the farmer, shared a meal, met their family and made a new friend.

Direct trade also means we know exactly how much money goes into the pocket of that farmer. Sometimes we are able to write a cheque directly to the farmer. Sometimes we do need to go through one third party, like a coffee importer — but we know exactly, down to the penny how much the importer is taking and how much goes to the farmer. There are no secrets with direct trade.

On average we pay our farmers three to five times the ‘C’ market price (the price that coffee is traded as a commodity on the New York Stock Exchange). For exceptional auction lot coffees, we’ve paid up to 10 times the ‘C’ market price or higher.

Why we do it

It’s all about relationships and quality. By taking the time to find the small farms that are doing things differently, not only do we get to know the farmers we partner with as human beings, but we also get better tasting coffee. It’s these smaller, passionate farmers that take extra care to only pick ripe coffee, experiment with different processing techniques to coax all the sweetness and potential out of the plant that they grow. It means we get a better tasting cup of coffee at the end of the process, and since we know exactly who grew it, how we got it and what it cost, it’s much easier to enjoy.