Just One Cup Barista Event
Highlighting taste, quality profiles and origin of Fair Trade Certified private label coffees
About the event
Join us virtually on September 28, 2021 at 9am PDT/12 EDT for a coffee jolt to kickstart your day and celebrate International Coffee Day! Tune in to listen to Barista, Sam Spillman, as she takes us through a tasting of four high quality Fair Trade Certified private branded coffees.
Learn about coffee profiles, regions, sourcing, and how retailers are realizing their CSR goals and driving sales through their partnership with Fair Trade USA.
Just one cup of Fair Trade Certified coffee has the power to do more! In 2020, our coffee sales generated $30 million in Community Development Funds, helping coffee-producing communities invest in projects that improve productivity, product quality, access to clean water, healthcare and so much more.
After the tasting, mix and mingle with peers to stay ahead of market trends. Awareness of social issues are at a tipping point – 80% of consumers indicate that sustainability is essential. As consumers call on retailers and brands to pivot and provide products with purpose, fair trade can increase customer trust while also providing resilient supply chains that help you deliver on your CSR goals.
Your Hosts
Sam is the Director of Coffee and Café Experience at Caffe Vita, a Fair Trade Certified Coffee roaster in Seattle, WA where she is currently living and falling in love with the coffee culture. She first started competing in the United States Barista Championship in 2014, and after many hours of preparation and perfection, she won the title 5 years later. Having worked in specialty coffee for close to a decade, Sam says she loves the career field so much that she hardly considers it work. “Coffee has given me the opportunity to meet talented coffee professionals all across the world," she says. “Not only that, but through working in coffee, the learning never stops. There is always something new and interesting to discover."
Abby works with Fair Trade USA's retail partners to create actionable plans to get credit for fair trade commitments and celebrate those with associates, investors, and customers. She supports retailers in developing private brand programs, creating sustainability goals and commitments, sourcing certified national brands, and promoting these items to drive business results. At Fair Trade USA she has supported retailers like Kroger convert two private brands to 100% Fair Trade Certification and Walmart to create their 20x25 Coffee Sustainability Commitment as well as advised brands like Death Wish on retail sales and expansion.
Samantha came to Fair Trade USA after 5 years in the specialty coffee industry. She works with manufacturers to educate them on the value of fair trade, how to build fair trade into their brand, and how to effectively communicate the importance of fair trade to their business customers and consumers alike. Throughout her time at Fair Trade USA, Samantha has worked with all sizes of coffee partners from small specialty businesses to importers and enjoys connecting actors across the supply chain working towards a more equitable and sustainable coffee industry.
Co-Sponsored By
Thanks to our partners for co-sponsoring this event and making the choice to support coffee that does more! Fair Trade Certified coffee is more accessible than ever with the growth of high-quality private branded coffee carrying the trusted seal.
Behind the Seal
Coffee Farmers Across the Globe Are Facing Increasing Challenges
The recent surge in the global pandemic is making a bad situation worse for many coffee farmers. Here are just a few of the challenges:
- Volatile market prices, sometimes dropping below $1 per pound.
- Extreme poverty and food insecurity, especially during poor harvests.
- Lack of access to clean water.
- Vulnerability to climate crisis and extreme weather-related disease damaging crops.
How Fair Trade USA & Our Partners Address these Challenges
- Standards that enforce a minimum price to protect farmers when the market price dips too low.
- Standards and enforcement mechanisms that ensure health and safety for farmers and workers, which is more important than ever as the pandemic continues.
- Standards and enforcement mechanisms that protect biodiversity, soil productivity, and water; control risks from pesticides and waste; and enhance resilience to climate change.
- Additional capital through Community Development Funds that help coffee-producing communities invest in projects that address needs in their communities
Ever has been a coffee producer all his life and member of ANEI since 2012. He states: "I wanted to join because they produce organic coffee and because of the benefits the association provides – such as the stable coffee prices, the credits, and the social investment. The coffee production plant in my home was built with some money from the fair trade premium and with a loan I received. I ask all our buyers to please keep purchasing our coffee. It is organic, of the highest quality, and it helps us producers survive. I propose we use the fair trade premium to continue improving our roads, and then maybe a health clinic."
