Starbucks and Local Coffee Farmers

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We started our Sunday by going up to the Poas Volcano and hiking around, since we couldn’t see the crater due to dense fog that had rolled in we hiked their trails. The hike was amazing; the paths take you through these amazing habitats where you feel like you are walking through fairy tale woods.
After we left Poas, we went to meet one of our contractors who wanted to take us on a tour of a local coffee plantation. We have other plantation tours near our house, but they give you a somewhat glorified view of what coffee plantations can be- they are coffees that don’t get exported and are not the best quality place. This place on the other hand is a REAL coffee plantation, owned by a 3rd generation coffee farmer.
It was amazing, the plantation was a mix of coffee plants and other trees, they had hummingbird feeders, and flowers for butterflies, tons of birds and all of the antique equipment his grandmother had purchased when they started the business.
We discussed the plantation a bit, and then the owner explained to us that the reason the trees were still intact, and the fact that the whole system was so modernized was because he sold his premium coffee to Starbucks for their shade-grown, fair-trade coffee. They come to his farm regularly to make sure that there are enough trees, birds and other wildlife. They only buy his best beans, and they pay him a lot of money for it- $137 per 45 kilogram bag, and he had hundreds of bags, and this is only the beginning of the season. He told us that they pay him an almost 5%!b(MISSING)onus above their already relatively high prices for his adhering to their standards.
I have always had this idea that Starbucks was this horrible megalopoly and that they treated their farmers poorly and exploited people in third world countries. Apparently, at least when it comes to their fair trade coffee, they are making a positive difference in countries like ours, encouraging sustainable and responsible farming habits and helping sustain family farms.

Matt


Orchid Lodge's Website - http://www.theorchidlodge.com
Click here to read our blog - http://blog.theorchidlodge.com

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