{"id":4215,"date":"2009-02-25T21:10:52","date_gmt":"2009-02-26T03:10:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=4215"},"modified":"2009-02-25T21:10:52","modified_gmt":"2009-02-26T03:10:52","slug":"caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/","title":{"rendered":"Caffeinated Activism: Three Ways Peace Coffee Thinks Outside the Beans"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I considered myself a seasoned coffee junkie.\u00a0 I jump-start every morning with a cup of Sumatra, with Fair Trade, organic and shade grown stamps of approval.\u00a0 A fair \u2013 and delicious — start, but after meeting the folks running Peace Coffee<\/a>, my coffee awareness, appreciation and activism was jolted.\u00a0 Issues I never thought about \u2013 cooperative buying, aromas, local roasting \u2013 now percolate and affect my next buying decision.<\/p>\n

Engaging customers to become activists.\u00a0 Don\u2019t think that\u2019s in the McDonald\u2019s \u201cPremium Roast\u201d marketing plan.\u00a0 But Peace Coffee<\/a> doesn\u2019t play by anybody\u2019s business rulebook. As a successful, Minneapolis-based coffee company with an ecopreneurial zest for leaving this world a better place, Peace Coffee<\/a> uses their java beans to do more than brew coffee.<\/h3>\n

Their coffee serves as a change agent, positively changing and greening the lives of everyone involved in the process.\u00a0 From the farmer in Guatemala now supporting his family thanks to a fair living wage to me direct to me, drinking my morning cup on my Wisconsin farm<\/a>, this innovative business changes people through their purchases ever since they started as a fledgling brainchild of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP)<\/a> in 1995.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not out to be the biggest coffee company in the universe,\u201d explains Melanee Meegan, marketing manager at Peace Coffee<\/a>.\u00a0 \u201cWhen people choose our coffees, their purchases go directly toward improving the quality of life for farmers across the globe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are three innovative approaches Peace Coffee uses to engage and inspire their customers:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Keep Local Priorities<\/strong>
\nPeace Coffee doesn\u2019t want to sell me coffee.\u00a0 Trust me, I asked.\u00a0 Talk about a radical approach to business:\u00a0 turning down potential customers in today\u2019s economy.\u00a0 But I did get free education with my denied purchase request:\u00a0 In addition to buying Fair Trade certified, organic and shadegrown coffee, another key decision would be to buy beans from a responsible local roaster, closer to home than Minneapolis and avoiding multiple shipping costs and fossil fuel bills.<\/p>\n

\u201cA better option would be to buy beans from a roaster Madison, Wisconsin, if that\u2019s the closest place you can buy Fair Trade, organic and shade grown coffee,\u201d explains Lee Wallace, director of Peace Coffee.\u00a0 Turning me away from their product but turning me on to their educational mission \u2013 now that\u2019s a radical business strategy.\u00a0 Do you think I\u2019m going to be talking up Peace Coffee to anyone I know in the Minneapolis market?\u00a0 As we say locally in Wisconsin, you betcha.<\/p>\n

Another way Peace Coffee<\/a> make a clear statement about their local priorities is through their choice of alternative delivery systems for their beans:\u00a0 bike and, when needed, trucks powered by biodiesel.\u00a0 The bike-delivery in particular reaps notable marketing benefits as folks in the Twin Cities area recognize the bright red Peace Coffee trailers pulled by intrepid Minnesota bikers year round. \u201cRoast beans, not fossil fuels\u201d is their motto and \u201cdelivery cyclist\u201d ranks a sought-after job slot.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Promote Cooperatives<\/strong>
\nWorking directly with small, organic coffee farmer cooperatives, Peace Coffee helped found Cooperative Coffees, an organization dedicated to fostering a more just and equitable coffee trading system where the benefits stay home with the farmers.\u00a0 Theoretically, cooperatives butt up against the traditional business model focused on bottom line profit.\u00a0 The goal here isn\u2019t serving a cheaper cup, but a just cup where each purchase dollar goes directly toward improving a life halfway around the world.\u00a0 As we write about in ECOpreneuring<\/a>, cooperatives have a triple-bottom-line embedded in how they operate.<\/p>\n

“Successful fair trade cooperatives, like the ones that Peace Coffee works with, prove that this business model works to blend profit with social change,” explains Elizabeth \u00dc, manager of strategic development at RSF Social Finance<\/a>, a nonprofit financial institution inspired by the work of Rudolf Steiner, and a Food and Society Policy Fellow<\/a>.\u00a0 “All our food purchase decisions make an impact on farmers, whether they’re farming here in this country or across the world. Cooperatives can help these farmers both increase their income AND implement more environmentally-friendly growing techniques. Supporting companies like Peace Coffee enables our purchase dollars to multiply positive impact in communities that need it most.”<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Savor those Beans<\/strong>
\n\u201cCoffee is one of the most complex beverages,\u201d comments Keith Tomlinson, head coffee roaster at Peace Coffee.\u00a0 \u201cWith over 1000 aromatic compounds, it towers over wine that has about 120 compounds.\u00a0 Chocolate comes in at 14 aromatic compounds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Add in the fact (one that Peace Coffee readily promotes) that coffee takes a lot of effort and energy to make my morning cup:\u00a0 1000 coffee beans go into one pound of coffee, which is basically a single coffee tree\u2019s harvest.\u00a0 Another way to look at it:\u00a0 it takes one coffee worker to support one average coffee drinker.<\/p>\n

Gulp.\u00a0 But Peace Coffee isn\u2019t telling me not to drink coffee \u2013 whew \u2013 but these numbers do radically shift my approach to gulping, no I mean drinking, my coffee.\u00a0 I\u2019m trying to be more conscious of each cup, savoring those complex aromas and the good karma my personal coffee grower put into those beans.\u00a0 I\u2019m trying to be more grateful for the goodness I have in my life; slow down a bit and enjoy the moment.\u00a0 I realize that coffee is one of the most energy intense beverages I could drink \u2013 so I do need to be particularly mindful of how I do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrateful for the goodness I have in my life; slow down a bit and enjoy the moment.\u201d\u00a0 Not sure if those exact words are in Peace Coffee\u2019s marketing plan, but do you think they\u2019re pleased they got me to consciously think about my coffee in that way?\u00a0 You betcha.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I considered myself a seasoned coffee junkie.\u00a0 I jump-start every morning with a cup of Sumatra, with Fair Trade, organic and shade grown stamps of approval.\u00a0 A fair \u2013 and [ … ]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":17597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,79,13,7],"tags":[1994,62,2677,2678],"yoast_head":"\nCaffeinated Activism: Three Ways Peace Coffee Thinks Outside the Beans • Sustainablog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Caffeinated Activism: Three Ways Peace Coffee Thinks Outside the Beans • Sustainablog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I considered myself a seasoned coffee junkie.\u00a0 I jump-start every morning with a cup of Sumatra, with Fair Trade, organic and shade grown stamps of approval.\u00a0 A fair \u2013 and [ … ]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sustainablog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-02-26T03:10:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/peacecoffeecolorlogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"288\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"216\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"lisakivirist\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"lisakivirist\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"lisakivirist\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/d1e2494bb1934b4d19c98e11c1d8244b\"},\"headline\":\"Caffeinated Activism: Three Ways Peace Coffee Thinks Outside the Beans\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-02-26T03:10:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-02-26T03:10:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/\"},\"wordCount\":956,\"commentCount\":3,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"coffee\",\"fair trade\",\"minneapolis\",\"peace coffee\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Culture\",\"Products\",\"Sustainability\",\"Technology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/\",\"name\":\"Caffeinated Activism: Three Ways Peace Coffee Thinks Outside the Beans • Sustainablog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-02-26T03:10:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-02-26T03:10:52+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Caffeinated Activism: Three Ways Peace Coffee Thinks Outside the Beans\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\",\"name\":\"Sustainablog\",\"description\":\"Since 2003, Sustainablog has been one of the pioneers of sustainability news online.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Sustainablog\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg\",\"width\":200,\"height\":142,\"caption\":\"Sustainablog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/d1e2494bb1934b4d19c98e11c1d8244b\",\"name\":\"lisakivirist\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f26d96e121c8deefe4637047f950e952?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f26d96e121c8deefe4637047f950e952?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"lisakivirist\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/author\/lisakivirist\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Caffeinated Activism: Three Ways Peace Coffee Thinks Outside the Beans • Sustainablog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Caffeinated Activism: Three Ways Peace Coffee Thinks Outside the Beans • Sustainablog","og_description":"I considered myself a seasoned coffee junkie.\u00a0 I jump-start every morning with a cup of Sumatra, with Fair Trade, organic and shade grown stamps of approval.\u00a0 A fair \u2013 and [ … ]","og_url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/","og_site_name":"Sustainablog","article_published_time":"2009-02-26T03:10:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":288,"height":216,"url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/peacecoffeecolorlogo.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"lisakivirist","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"lisakivirist","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/"},"author":{"name":"lisakivirist","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/d1e2494bb1934b4d19c98e11c1d8244b"},"headline":"Caffeinated Activism: Three Ways Peace Coffee Thinks Outside the Beans","datePublished":"2009-02-26T03:10:52+00:00","dateModified":"2009-02-26T03:10:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/"},"wordCount":956,"commentCount":3,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization"},"keywords":["coffee","fair trade","minneapolis","peace coffee"],"articleSection":["Culture","Products","Sustainability","Technology"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/","name":"Caffeinated Activism: Three Ways Peace Coffee Thinks Outside the Beans • Sustainablog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-02-26T03:10:52+00:00","dateModified":"2009-02-26T03:10:52+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/caffeinated-activism-three-ways-peace-coffee-thinks-outside-the-beans\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Caffeinated Activism: Three Ways Peace Coffee Thinks Outside the Beans"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/","name":"Sustainablog","description":"Since 2003, Sustainablog has been one of the pioneers of sustainability news online.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#organization","name":"Sustainablog","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/cropped-sblog-logo_3b.jpg","width":200,"height":142,"caption":"Sustainablog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/d1e2494bb1934b4d19c98e11c1d8244b","name":"lisakivirist","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f26d96e121c8deefe4637047f950e952?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f26d96e121c8deefe4637047f950e952?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"lisakivirist"},"url":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/author\/lisakivirist\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4215"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}