Equal Exchange Interfaith Coffee Program
Convince a Local
Business to Offer Equal Exchange Products
How to Order
The UUSC Coffee Project offers a full line of fairly traded coffees (in bulk whole bean, packaged whole bean and drip grind, percolator grind and pillow pack varieties), as well as fairly traded teas, cocoa, chocolate bars, sugar packets, and more. At the UU Church of Augusta, we carry a variety of whole bean, drip grind (organic and shade grown), decaf, and flavored coffees. We also stock teas, hot cocoa mix, baking cocoa mix, and chocolate bars.
Contacts: Gayla S. Keesee and Chris Palmer
The Fair Trade Store is open each 2nd and 4th Sunday in the hallway at church or you can complete the order form and forward with your payment.
The UUSC Coffee Project was launched at General Assembly in June of 2001, just as world coffee market prices were beginning to collapse. Years later, the coffee crisis continues as prices remain at their lowest point in decades, devastating farming communities across Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Today, more than 600 congregations—over 60 percent of all UU congregations— are participating in the program, thus ensuring that low-income farmers in Latin America, Africa and Asia receive a fair price for their products. In addition to helping to provide small coffee farmers with sufficient income to meet their basic needs, UUSC receives a small percentage of the proceeds of sales to provide grants for human rights initiatives in the coffee-growing regions.
The UUSC Coffee Project partners UUSC with Equal Exchange, a worker-owned fair trade organization founded in 1986. Buying coffee, tea and cocoa directly from farmer cooperatives, Equal Exchange follows the standards and principles of fair trade on 100 percent of its products, ensuring that low-income farmers earn a fair price for their products.
Direct payment to farmers also eliminates the middlemen, giving farmers a much larger share of the profits. In 2001 alone, Equal Exchange paid farmers almost $1 million above what they would have earned under conventional trade practices. This allows farmers to better meet their families' basic needs, such as food, education, and health care.
In partnership with these small farmer cooperatives from India and Tanzania to Guatemala and Mexico, Equal Exchange also provides essential pre-harvest credits, gives technical assistance to cooperatives, encourages environmentally sustainable practices and healthy and safe working conditions.
Another goal is environmental. All coffee and cocoas are shade grown, which means that the area has not been clear cut. Tea cannot be shade grown. Also, most of the products are 100% organic including all the teas and cocoas, and the coffees with a navy blue label are fully organic. Also, the whole bean coffees with hand written labels that are measured out from bulk packages are fully organic. The decaffeinated coffees (with green labels) may or may not be fully organic, but will say so on the packaging.
Our after-the-service coffee hour always serves fair-trade 'Fellowship Blend' coffee and some teas and hot cocoa and often paper cups that are purchased from 'Equal Exchange'.
What you can do: Buy some Fair-Trade beverages today! Learn more about Fair Trade options. Get your company to convert. Convince local stores to carry Fair Trade products.
NEW! Organic Green Magic Tea
This 100% small farmer green tea is from the Small Organic Farmers Association in Sri Lanka (Ceylon). It is a sweet and vegetal tea with a clean finish. Ingredients: 100% Organic Green Ceylon Tea
NEW! Organic Irish Breakfast Tea
This black tea is a blend of tea from the Sahyadri Farmers Consortium in the state of Kerala in Southern India and garden tea from Tea Promoters of India in northern India. It has a distinctive, bright character. Ingredients: Organic Kerala Black Tea & Organic Dooars Black Tea
NEW! Organic Rooibos TeaCase
This 100% small farmer Rooibos tea comes from the Wupperthal Tea Association in South Africa. Rooibos or red bush tea, a distinct herbal plant that has been cultivated by African farmers for more than one hundred years, produces a rich, fruity caffeine-free tea that contains antioxidants. Ingredients: 100% Organic Rooibos
COMING IN OCTOBER!
The Chocolate Bars have taken a summer vacation since they will melt during shipment if the temperature is over 80F degrees.
NEW! Fairly Traded Organic Mint Chocolate (67% Cocoa)
The crunchy mint chocolate experience you’ve been waiting for—an ideal balance of rich, dark chocolate and light, refreshing mint. You’ll love the delicate mint crunch in this bar, which provides a wonderful compliment to the creamy, deep chocolate. This bar is made with cocoa from the farmer cooperatives CONACADO, in the Dominican Republic, and CACVRA, in Peru, and the fairly traded organic sugar comes from cooperatives in Paraguay and Costa Rica. Gluten-free. May contain traces of nuts and milk.
NEW! Fairly Traded Organic Chocolate Espresso Bean (55% Cocoa)
What took us so long?! Try this perfect duo of sweet, rich chocolate and crunchy pieces of roasted Fair Trade coffee beans. It’s like eating chocolate covered espresso beans in a bar. Dangerously good! This bar is made with cocoa from the farmer cooperatives CONACADO, in the Dominican Republic, and CACVRA, in Peru, and the fairly traded organic sugar comes from cooperatives in Paraguay and Costa Rica. Gluten-free. May contain traces of nuts and milk.
NEW! Fairly Traded Organic Dark Chocolate with Pure Cocoa Nibs (68 % cocoa)
For the chocolate fanatic— try this bar for a delicious combination of smooth, dark chocolate and crunchy bits of roasted cocoa beans (nibs). You’ll find delight in this incredibly delicious “double” chocolate experience. This bar is made with cocoa from the farmer cooperatives CONACADO, in the Dominican Republic, and CACVRA, in Peru, and the fairly traded organic sugar comes from cooperatives in Paraguay and Costa Rica. Gluten-free. May contain traces of nuts and milk.
Fair Trade in the U.S.
FAIR TRADE LINKS
(Links open in a new window)
Recipes
Spring 2006 Issue of A Taste of Justice
Winter 2006 Issue of A Taste of Justice
Fall 2005 Issue of A Taste of Justice