Coffee at Headington Fairtrade

Many of us can’t do without our cup of coffee in the morning, but how much have you thought about where your coffee is coming from?

Worldwide, over 125 million people depend on farming coffee for their livelihoods, yet many are unable to earn a reliable living from this beloved and valuable crop. Global coffee production varies from year to year according to weather conditions, disease and other factors, resulting in a market that is inherently unstable. The volatility of the price of coffee has significant consequences for those who depend on coffee for their livelihood.

When you choose Fairtrade coffee, not only can farmers build a better quality of life for their families and communities, they can invest in growing better quality beans too. You’re also supporting farmers to fight challenges such as the effects of a changing climate and unpredictable incomes.

At Headington Fairtrade, we stock a variety of fairtrade coffee – something to suit everybody’s tastes!

Cafédirect was founded in the early 1990s by Oxfam, Traidcraft, Equal Exchange and Twin Trading in response to the collapse in the International Coffee Agreement which meant that coffee prices fell below farmers’ production costs. Its aim was to trade directly to ‘give coffee bean, cocoa and tea growers a larger slice of the purchase price for the products’. 30 years later, and they’re still going strong. We stock their Kilimanjaro Faitrade Ground Coffee; grown on the fertile volcanic soils of Mount Kilimanjaro, as well as their Intense Roast Fairtrade Ground Coffee, perfect when you’re in the mood for a darker coffee that packs a bit of a punch. For the middle ground, choose their Machu Picchu Fairtrade Ground Coffee, 100% organic Arabica, grown at extreme altitudes within the Inca heartland of the Peruvian Andes.

Grumpy Mule, an independent coffee roaster based in Meltham, Yorkshire, was founded in 2006, with the mission of creating award winning coffee that is meticulously sourced and ethically traded, making sure that their growers share in their success. They roast with precision and care, making sure that they get the very best flavour from each and every bean that the growers have worked so hard to produce. They are the most award winning speciality coffee company in the UK, with 31 Great Taste Awards achieved over the past 5 years. We stock their Organic Seasonal Decaf – Swiss Water Processed, which is a ground decaf coffee making a great espresso and filter, their Ground Sumatra, Peru and Colombia Coffee – strength 4, 3 and 4 respectively, as well as their unground Sumatra Beans, with tastes of cocoa & dark chocolate, from the Gayo Highlands, Sumatra.

We also stock Traidcraft‘s revolutionary Transparent Honduras and Sumatra Organic Ground Coffee. This organic, fair trade ground coffee is a dark roast with a light, floral sweetness. With this coffee, Traidcraft are breaking all the rules and publishing publicly (on the front of the packet, for all to see) exactly how much farmers are paid, how much goes into shipping, roasting and packing and how much profit they make. This coffee is the first coffee in the world to do this and could be seen as radical, however, it’s simply real fair trade in its purest form, as it was intended to be.

Our shelves also hold Fairtrade Clipper and Traidcraft instant caffeinated and decaf coffee, if you prefer your coffee fast!

For more insight into how buying fairtrade coffee helps the millions of coffee farmers the world over, have a look at this short clip from the Fairtrade Foundation: