Maybe you've bucked the supermarket for the farmers' market, cultivated your own plot of herbs and hopped aboard the fair-trade bandwagon. But you can do even better, especially when it comes to coffee, according to Jake Elster and Taylor Mork, two coffee importers who've gone beyond fair trade with their company, Crop to Cup.
After working on Ugandan coffee farms, Elster and Mork decided the "know thy farmer" creed should apply to java as well. Based in New York City and Chicago, Crop to Cup imports beans directly from farmers in Uganda, paying growers a 20 percent premium above market prices, and roasts them locally. Crop to Cup's website allows customers to trace their beans back to the field; you can even e-mail farmers directly. The company is also working on similar projects in Mexico and Burundi.
Fire up a pot of the bright and delicate Uganda Bugisu ($9 for 10 ounces) and feel good about your daily dose of caffeine: At the end of the year, Crop to Cup will put 10 percent of its profits toward development projects in their partner farmers' communities.
Find Crop to Cup coffee in your area or order online.
