Why we are leaving the current Fair Trade mechanism behind.
By the end of this year Supreme Melbourne will be making the transition from a FT certified blend to a Direct Trade Organic blend. Don’t worry, we’re still keeping the sweet, delicious, stone fruit flavour profile that we’ve all come to love in this blend, only better. Where we began, a tip of the hat to the coffees of old.
We are doing this for several reasons:
QUALITY
Across all our green coffee purchasing we are building sustainable long-term relationships with producers and exporters. We pay a premium for quality, making it worthwhile for those growers and exporters to continue to produce and supply us with the quality of coffee we seek. Our key criteria for coffee selection is coffee taste.
Currently being FT certified has no linkage to this.
In the broadest terms, these coffees should be understood as a true collaboration, with both sides investing a great deal of time, energy and ideas to produce something great. We believe human effort is the most critical factor in quality coffee and that the growers who do the best work should get the best price and individual recognition.
ETHICS
We acknowledge that FT coffee has delivered real benefits to some coffee farmers. We have been purchasing FT certified coffee for nearly a decade now, we have learnt that the system has serious limitations, and we have found we can get a better return to farmers by paying a premium for quality. To get such coffees we need to work closely with actual producers, not just importers, exporters or co-ops, so that we can build great coffees from the very start.
SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING
The way we source our coffee is driven by our thirst for quality. We select coffees from all over the globe - in some cases from farms we have been buying from for a long time, in others with farms Heath is currently building relationships with. Securing these coffees in a competitive speciality market is a complex process reliant upon trust and transparency.
PERCEPTION
By continuing to sell a FTO blend we help perpetuate the consumer perception that the only ethical coffee is FT coffee. We know this is not true, and believe our approach to sustainable purchasing is more honest and transparent. So now we feel its time to stand by what we know. And tell the story behind our decision.
Our coffee’s are sourced from around the world with care and consideration.