Coffee Basics: From Tree to Bean Part 3 - Coffee Trading and Certification Programs (RR05)

Welcome to part 3 of the Coffee Basics series. In this episode we will discuss how coffee is traded and purchased from the coffee producers. We will also cover the common coffee certification programs like Fair Trade, Organic, and Rainforest Alliance.

In the past two episodes we have discussed coffee farming, harvesting, coffee processing, and how coffee is packaged and shipped. Those episodes are a great place to start but they aren’t necessary to understand the content in this episode. After all of the steps we have previously discussed occur coffee has to be traded, or sold from the coffee farmer/producer to a coffee roaster or large coffee company.

Coffee is traded in a variety of ways. Coffee is actually considered a commodity and is traded on an electronic commodities exchange, very similar to the stock market. While very little coffee is actually purchased this way, this does set the commodity or floor price in the coffee market. Coffee can be bought and sold through distributors or exporters or directly between the coffee growers and coffee roasters. Occasionally, coffee roasters and companies have direct relationships with the coffee farmers they partner with, working together to improve the quality and yield of the coffee crop.

Historically, coffee farmers have been treated very poorly and have been underpaid. Many of the common coffee certification programs such as Fair Trade try to address this issue or other issues in the industry. There are many common certification programs that you are likely to encounter. In this episode we will highlight the goals, benefits, and limitations of each program so that you can make an informed decision next time you’re buying coffee.