http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1073/wholesale-organic-fair-trade-coffee/ Wholesale Organic Fair Trade Coffee Where do you find wholesale coffee if your preference is healthy organic coffee? Commonly, wholesale batches of organic coffee are purchased directly from coffee growers and cooperatives, whereas standard coffee commonly enters a worldwide supply chain and ends up where price, supply, and demand dictate. Coffee giants like Starbucks send their people throughout the world to find huge quantities of coffee. What do you do if you want organic coffee at wholesale prices? And what if you want to coffee grower to get a fair price for his coffee? That is where you want wholesale organic fair trade coffee. Fair Trade Coffee The essence of fair trade coffee is that it is produced by farmers who are members of a democratically run cooperative. The coffee is grown without the use of child labor. The coffee is organically grown in that the use of pesticides and herbicides is limited. And, importantly, the farmer receives both a minimum price for his crop and a premium for abiding by the criteria involved. Strictly speaking Fair Trade coffee is certified by one of the Fair Trade related agencies. However, there are other coffee certifications that assure one of a fair trade results without necessarily having a fair trade sticker on the bag of coffee. UTZ and Rainforest Alliance are two good choices for wholesale organic fair trade coffee without a specific fair trade label on the package. Making a Living Growing Organic Coffee About one percent of the seventy million tons of coffee produced each year is organic coffee. The premium paid for organic versus regular coffee runs from ten to forty percent. At issue for small organic coffee producers is the price of being certified by an agent of the United States Department of Agriculture. It can cost a small coffee grower in the mountains of Panama $500 a year to get and retain certification. If he is not getting a sufficient premium for his organic coffee the extra effort and the cost are not worth it. One route that many small growers take is to affiliate with UTZ or Rainforest Alliance. Both of these agencies teach and require an organic approach to coffee farming, avoidance of child labor and sustainable agricultural practices. They also help the small coffee grower find buyers. Wholesale Organic Fair Trade Coffee from the Grower What if you want to purchase wholesale organic fair trade coffee directly from the grower? How do you find coffee growers without tramping up and down the mountains of the Colombian Eje Cafetero (coffee growing axis of Colombia)?