Here’s an article describing the differences between fair trade coffee and direct trade coffee, from the Chicago Tribune. Many of the coffees that we serve in our shop (including our House Blend) are products of Intelligentsia’s Direct Trade.
All’s not always ‘fair’ in coffee labeling
The direct trade criteria includes a “verifiable price to the grower or the local co-op, not simply the exporter, must be at least 25 percent above the Fair Trade price; the grower must be committed to healthy environmental practices; the grower must be committed to sustainable social practices.”