The coffee industry needs to wake up and smell itself. As it profits from the global caffeine jones, many of the biggest producers continue to buy beans from growers who slash rainforests and exploit workers. With that in mind (and steaming cup in hand), Sierra magazine invited top coffee experts to recommend their favorite ethical brands. We imposed two rules: They could only pick growers, importers, or roasters with clear planet-positive practices, and they couldn't push any products in which they have a financial stake.
DOUG WELSH is the chief taster, purchaser, and blender at Peet's Coffee and Tea, a Bay Area–based chain that operates the nation's first gold-certified LEED roasting facility and has been crafting artisan coffee since 1966.
"Sebastopol, California's TAYLOR MAID FARMS uses smokeless, energy-efficient roasting machines, hand-manufactured locally. Its community-funded stores guarantee local investors an 8 percent return and employees a living wage. Their beans come in reusable, recyclable steel cans. Refill one with Don Oswaldo ($10.75 for 10 oz.), a Rainforest Alliance- and organic-certified product from a Colombian farm that boasts a bird-research center. The brew, from heirloom typica beans, is beautifully sweet and balanced with nuanced flavor."
ROHAN MARLEY
is Bob Marley's son and the cofounder of Marley Coffee, which sells
organic shade-grown coffee from offices in Jamaica, Los Angeles, and
Vancouver.
"Vancouver's CUPPAJOE COFFEE is a great model for an
ecofriendly company. Their Sumatra Takengon Organic ($15.75 for 16 oz.)
city roast from Indonesia is produced by the Gayo Organic Coffee
Farmers Association, a multiethnic co-op that has renovated local
mosques, developed a savings program, and constructed houses for
Javanese refugees. The flavor has a velvety richness and a full body
while maintaining a clean, sweet nature. Classic Sumatra earthiness is
accompanied by notes of fruit and smoky hints of spice and cocoa."
DANIELE GIOVANNUCCI
is one of the world's leading organic-coffee experts. He is a former
consultant to the World Bank and a cofounder of the Committee on
Sustainability Assessment, a global consortium that evaluates
ecological initiatives. He lives near Philadelphia and has written
several industry reports, including The State of Sustainable Coffee.
"Coffee should embody a commitment to the environment and social
justice. And it should taste great. A current favorite: Serpentes
Allegres ($14 for 12 oz.), from a Brazilian farm that converted to
organic and started social programs. It's available from an
extraordinary group called the ORGANIC COFFEE CARTEL, which
gives 51 percent of its profits to charities that support farmers.
Nobody takes a salary. The Serpentes Allegres has sweet pipe-tobacco
aromatics, allspice notes, a viscous body, and a buttery finish."