• Who grew it?
• Was it fair trade?
• Do the farmers take care of the surrounding environment?
• What’s the environmental impact of this coffee?
• What’s the economic impact of this coffee?

Rather than Google all the answers, simply look for the “certified organic” or “certified fair trade” on the label. This means that the coffee you are about to buy went through a  lengthy application process with the governing body that ensures that all the processes leading up to your putting it in your cart were environmentally friendly.

Meaning, the coffee beans were grown without pesticides that endanger the surrounding environments animals and crops. They were cultivated with low-impact techniques to keep the surrounding areas fertile and unharmed. They were packaged and shipping with low-impact procedures. And the coffee traders bought them from the growers at a reasonable price, ensuring more money goes into the local economy.

One extraordinary company taking this to heart is Longbottom Coffee & Tea. Longbottom buys fair trade coffees, estate coffees, co-op coffees, and organic coffees which are shade grown, bird friendly and sustainable. Longbottom has been a certified organic producer since January, 2003. Their Cafe Equitas brand of coffees is certified organic by Oregon Tilth in accordance with FDA and NOP standards.

In fact, they’ve been selected as a training location for organic inspectors.

Environmental Responsibility
Longbottom has taken it once step further. Not only do they take a stance on who and where they buy, they also practice what they preach, by:

• Packaging goods with recycled boxes
• Using biodegradable popcorn starch packing peanuts and recycled newspaper packing materials
• Use small and fuel efficient half-ton cargo vans to make local deliveries
• Use afterburner systems on all roasters to reduce emissions
• Use recycled paper for much of their for printing

Social Responsibility
Longbottom could have stopped there and went on its merry way feeling good all the way home, but it didn’t.

Believing it’s their responsibility “to help economically disadvantaged coffee producers,” they purchase and promote organic and Fair Trade coffees and are sponsors of Coffee Kids, an international non-profit organization established to improve the quality of life for children and families who live in coffee-growing communities around the world.

How can you help them help others? They’ve been so kind as to donate a little bit from every sale of Longbottom coffee to Coffee Kids on a monthly basis.

If you can’t stop by their show room located at 4893 NW 235th Ave, Hillsboro, OR 97124, visit them online. I hear their Equitas Black Gold is delicious!