Background to Fair Trade and Hummingbird Coffee

• We've been roasting Fair Trade Organic coffee since 2002 and were the first coffee company in New Zealand to start co-importing beans sourced from Fair Trade Organic certified sources in conjunction with Trade Aid. So from 2002 in fact the opportunity has existed for coffee roasters in New Zealand to buy and roast Fair Trade green beans without any difficulty.
• We began using Fair Trade beans wherever we could, simply because we saw it as a better way to buy beans and a better way to do business.
• All our Fair Trade green beans are sourced from 100% certified Fair Trade Organic sources.
• We pay a social premium of US10 cents per pound. This equates to a substantial amount when added up over all the beans we buy and is pooled to build hospitals and schools etc. As a concrete working example, Hummingbird Coffee's contribution in 2008 to the Ethiopian Oromia Co-op was $US14,246. As a guide, a new school costs $US30,000 to build and holds 400 children. This means in this co-op alone we enabled almost 200 more children to attend school. We have seen for ourselves how this model works to improve health and education in these areas where we have built trading partnerships.
  

Here are some specific facts relating to Hummingbird Coffee in the Fair Trade area and more particularly how what we do differs from the basic requirements that those who use the FLO logo must meet (we of course meet these as well).

FACTS & FIGURES:

1. Our personal social premium contribution for the year ending March 31 2010 was in excess of $US48,800. Add this to our tree replanting scheme* contribution and our overall financial spend was over $NZ91,800.
2. We pre-finance green bean shipments up to 60% when required so that the growers receive funds up front which crucially for them means they can avoid using moneylenders to sustain them until the annual harvest of their beans has taken place.
3. The tree replanting scheme* in Guatemala and Peru is being carried out in conjunction with Trade Aid. We now know that just paying growers a better price for their coffee is not enough to ensure they have a viable income in the future as their trees are deteriorating and yields are dropping each year. As Juan from the Guatemala co-op we buy from says...."

"I'd like to renew my farm by planting new seedlings. Higher prices alone aren't enough for us, as our production is continually falling."

4. Unlike some of the multi nationals in coffee, we like to build long term trading relationships with the co-ops we buy from. We don't just buy at the best price we can get each time, nor do we jump around and buy from different people to do this. This means we ensure a stable income for the coffee growers whose coffee we buy and we in turn build good working relationships with them, not based solely on a kilo price. We believe this results in better quality beans coming our way and a stable dependable cash flow for growers.
5. We take the view our notion of Fair Trade is fluid and needs to evolve as we do. This means doing the minimum standards that relate to the FLO label and then expanding the notion of Fair Trade to incorporate tree replanting in Guatemala and Peru, for instance. From our long-term trading partnerships with growers, we now understand better ways to ensure their farming is more sustainable in the future. Replanting schemes like in Guatemala and Peru are crucial to increase both quality and yields. This all has a flow-on effect to growers and us. In the future we'll end up with even better quality beans and growers will have better yields and hence better financial gains which will keep on keeping on.

* 74,000 seedlings will be distributed to 85 families which will be used to replace 15 hectares of their aging trees. These trees are up to 40 years old which is twice the recommended lifespan of a coffee plant. Towards the middle of 2010 the work to remove old trees, to plant, to fertilise and care for the new seedlings got under way. Hummingbird Coffee sent Nick and Tim over to Guatemala to check out work in progress. To see a slideshow of the trip and to see the project at work click here.

OUR LOGO & QUALITY

We developed our own logo as an umbrella to encompass everything that we as a company mean when we use the term Fair Trade and as an assurance of quality. We purchase our green beans on flavour profile, not price. Like other coffees, prices for Fair Trade vary depending on quality and other factors. We're a boutique wholly New Zealand owned and run business, roasting in small batches before blending to create lively distinctive blends. Our head roaster has over 15 years experience of roasting and blending.

We carry out test roasting and cupping of pre-shipment samples each time before we buy in a large order of green beans. This is not just a routine process with no real purpose. We've just rejected, for example, a sample with a high moisture content and a slight mildewy overtone to it.

We receive in shipments of fresh green beans all through the year which means we have a high quality fresh product to work with. The age of green beans does dramatically affect the flavour profile of the roasted product as well of course. We're so much more aware of freshness now and work to maintain fast rotation to ensure we roast the freshest green beans we can.

GO TO THE FAIRTRADE ROASTS & BLENDS PAGE