Coffee With A Conscience!

We are extremely enthusiastic about offering Fair Trade coffee here at Pikes Perk Coffee and Tea House. It’s a great opportunity for our customers to drink high quality coffee while supporting a higher quality of life for the farmers and encouraging sustainable agriculture.

What is the Fair Trade program all About?

Fair Trade is an innovative approach to empowering Third World farmers who are typically disadvantaged in conventional trade. Through direct trade, fair prices, access to credit, and environmental stewardship, Fair Trade helps farming families improve their nutrition and healthcare, keep their kids in school, and re-invest in their farms.

Why is Fair Trade needed?

Many small coffee farmers receive prices for their coffee that are less than the costs of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt. With little or no income between harvest months, farmers are forced to sell their next crop in advance to middlemen, who pay far below the harvest’s value. The farmer’s situation is exacerbated by the fact that world market prices are extremely volatile, creating steep drops if overproduction causes world surpluses. With today’s low coffee prices dipping to historic lows, thousands of coffee farmers are going bankrupt and losing their farms this year.
Fair Trade is more important than ever.