Philosophy

PHILOSOPHY

Our Own Philosophy

We believe that family is important and “Organic” is more than a trend. We believe that farmers should earn fair wages and helping to build community should be part of every business. We believe coffee should always taste great and great coffee can be the vehicle to create a better world. As importers, we see first hand where coffee comes from and feel responsible for how that coffee arrives into the consumer market. For more than 20 years, we have been traveling to the remote mountain areas that produce the world’s best beans. Despite many changes within the coffee industry, we still feel it is vital to meet face to face with our suppliers. We visit farmers and share meals and cups of coffee in kitchens. We discuss the harvest with cooperatives, and talk about how to strengthen business in the coming years. Often, that means providing other forms of support such as market information, pre-finance loans, or collaborating on development programs in education, health, infrastructure, and technical assistance. OPTCO has been strengthening these relationships for over two decades and is proud to stand by its producer groups and share their coffee, and their stories with roasters and consumers around the world.

Why Organic

We are passionate about great tasting coffee that has been grown, harvested, milled, shipped, roasted, and consumed in the healthiest conditions possible. By purchasing Certified Organic coffee, we know rigorous production and processing standards have been followed and inspected each and every year by internationally recognized auditors that follow the strict standards set by the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Only an Organic Certification guarantees that coffee was produced without genetic engineering, toxic pesticides and fertilizers, or sewage sludge, which contaminate ground water in farming communities, not to mention the coffee itself. Organic agriculture protects environmental health and strives to improve soils through crop rotation, cover cropping, composting, and keeping water sources clean and free of chemicals. To learn more, visit www.organicitsworthit.org.

What’s Behind the Fair Trade Movement

Fair Trade is an alternative approach to the imbalance of power, unstable markets, and injustices of the conventional trade system. It is based on a partnership involving producers, exporters, importers, manufacturers, and consumers. The Fair Trade system offers producers the security of fair pricing during volatile markets and improved terms of trade. It also requires producer organizations and its members to invest in their communities, follow environmental standards, and plan for their future. Fair Trade offers consumers a powerful way to be involved in reducing poverty through their every day shopping, as funds that go back to coffee producers are specifically designated for social, economic, and environmental development projects. To find out more, please visit www.fairtrade.net or www.fairtradeusa.org.