October is Fair Trade Month and while I usually say, "Buy Local", there are some things we just cannot grow locally due to our climate.  As much as I would like to have Minnesota avocados, it just is not going to happen (and yes, I have tried the avocado pit in a bowl of water thing).  So, what is a person to do when you want to eat bananas, drink coffee, or devour a bar of chocolate?  Buy Fair Trade, of course!

What does Fair Trade mean anyway?  Products with the fair trade label mean that workers have been paid a living wage and treated humanely.  Simply put, workers are not being exploited.

One of the most popular fair trade products is coffee.  Recently, I was invited to tour Peace Coffee's facilities and not only discovered ethical coffee, but also the best coffee I have ever had.



The neat thing about Peace Coffee is that it is delivered by bike.  From their South Minneapolis offices to your local co-op, it is all pedal power.  Their motto is, "Roast beans, not fossil fuel" and the employees live and breathe that motto.  Employees either bike or walk to work each day and the proof was clear from the bikes out front.  These folks even trek through snow and cold weather all in the name of coffee.  Check out more pics from their Web site.



If your co-op is in the suburbs (like mine is), your Peace Coffee is delivered by a biodiesel van.



I was able to see the beans before roasting and never knew they were green!



The beans were then carefully roasted, cooled, and sorted by the big roaster:



During my visit, I was able to try the brand new Snowshoe Brew.  I never drink coffee black and often add hot chocolate or some other kind of sugar/milk combo, but I felt I should try the real thing.  I was blown away by how drinkable it was.  The flavors were amazing and best of all, no bad coffee aftertaste.     I will take my coffee black from now on:





Grab a bag of Peace Coffee next time you visit the co-op or order directly from their Web site and let me know what you think.

In honor of Fair Trade Month, here are links to a few wonderful Fair Trade products that I have been able to find in the Twin Cities:

Alter Eco - try the amazing coral red jasmine rice and black quinoa
Etica - both white and red wines
Numi - large variety of teas and gorgeous flowering teas
Equal Exchange - coffee, chocolate, and teas
Oke - Fair Trade bananas

Enjoy!