At a recent coffee exhibition in London I met Bijumon Kurian, the manager of the company that produces this wonderful coffee. He is such a nice gentleman I felt it would be rude not to stock his coffee. Fair Trade is quite unusual for what is usually referred to as a ‘standard grade commodity’ coffee. I feel that the care gone into the production of this crop is deserving of a higher price but it sells as a great value cup, and everyone is happy. I suppose 59 tons shipped in one go helps keep the price low. According to Bijumon, this Fair-Trade coffee crop helps support over 1600 members and their families, each smallholder farms an average of four acres. A proportion of the Fair-Trade Premium goes into a fund to help farmers pay for their children’s educational costs and provide a health insurance scheme, runs pop-up clinics and helps build ponds to conserve water. The group is very active in encouraging women farmers to join the society, currently standing at 20% women members. On top of this it’s a great coffee, enjoy.
