Kindred Cafe - High-End Green Bean Coffee House
Fair-trade, organic, fresh-roasted coffees, teas, and exquisite edibles.
Home roasting and brewing supplies, equipment and information.
Supporting socially-conscious stimulant consumption.
Introduction - Information - Gallery - Products - Links
The Sustainable Coffee Program (SCP) was established by Merchants of Green Coffee (MGC = our main coffee supplier) in 1999 to facilitate the production and sale of high quality sustainable coffees. SCP is a partnership between farmers, consumers, third part certifiers, coffee experts, governments, NGO's, universities, and industry. SCP coffees are grown and processed on traditional high elevation coffee farms, under a canopy of shade trees, in harmony with nature and people. MGC has pioneered sustainable coffee certification and is the only company with a food product certified under the United Nation's Global Eco-labeling Initiative via the Government of Canada's Environmental Choice Program.
SCP Certification Criteria meet the highest international standards for:
Quality = taste
Fair trade = fair price paid to farmer
Organic production = no agrochemicals
Biodiversity = grown in a biodiverse eco-system
Eco-friendly processing = solar drying technology and natural water filtration ponds
The program is supported by:
World Wildlife Fund Canada
Friends of the Earth
Coffee Kids
Canadian International Development Agency
Earth Day Canada
Sustainable Development Research Institute
Over the last 50 years, the quality of coffee being sold on the market has declined dramatically due, in part, to the industrialization (or technification) of coffee production and processing. Technified coffees are a high yield mono-agricultural crop grown in direct sun on megaplantations. This is unnatural for the tree species, creating unhealthy vulnerable trees with an overwhelming dependence on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In many parts of the world, centralized mills are used to wash and dry coffee for export. These mills are a primary polluter of fresh water sources in producing countries and contribute to rainforest destruction, as firewood is the main fuel source used to dry coffee.
MGC Optimized Supply Chain
MGC pays higher prices to farmers who meet SCP certification criteria:
1. Quality
Taste is the most important criteria for us in selecting a coffee. Quality of taste is determined by variety, origin (region, elevation, soil, climate) and method used to process.
2. Fair Trade
Most coffee is produced by small farmers who own, or work on, 1 to 3 hectares of land. One coffee tree produces one pound of green beans per harvest. Coffee is a commodity traded on the New York and London exchanges. Trading is speculative, partial to roasters and non-value added traders (middlemen), and exploitive to millions of small coffee producers. Fair trade means buying direct from small farmers at a fair price. The transaction is monitored by the Fairtrade Labeling Organization (FLO) in Germany and certified by TransFair Canada. The minimum base price paid to farmers is US$1.26/lb. To participate, farmers must be organized into democratic cooperatives and listed on the FLO Register. To buy and sell, importers and roasters must be licensed by FLO and agree to open audits. MGC was the first licensed Fair Trade Importer in North America.
Benefits
Better standard of living in coffee growing communities.
3. Organic Growing & Biodiversity
Growing coffee without agrochemicals and in a biodiverse ecosystem = high quality = equitable exchange with nature. Organic production in a biodiverse ecosystem includes, but is not limited to, the use of multi-tiered tree species for shade and wildlife habitat, composting and leaf litter rehabilitation, natural pest and disease controls and multiple crop rotation. Organic farms must be certified under IFOAM. Biodiversity on farms must be certified by SMBC, RA, or ECP.
Benefits
(1) No harmful agro-chemicals; (2) Superior coffee quality and long term yields; (3) Lower cost of production; (4) Protection and restoration of biodiversity on farms; and (5) Alternative sources of income for farmers who harvest other forest and farm products.
4. Eco-Friendly Processing
The use of ecologically sustainable technologies and methods to process coffee eliminates water pollution and deforestation. SCP's principle partners are: (1) Mesoamerican Development Institute (USA); (2) Cooperativa Montes De Oro (Costa Rica); and (3) Government of Canada (Environment Canada).
MesoAmerican Development Institute (MDI) is a Boston based non-profit inventor and manufacturer of eco-friendly tools and technologies for processing coffee. The products include: natural water filtration ponds, composting systems, solar coffee dryers, and hermetically sealed storage silos. MDI's processing equipment is the most advanced technology on the market - efficient, commercially viable, and affordable.
Montes De Oro (MDO) is a coffee farming cooperative with over 500 family farm members growing the only certified sustainable coffee in the world. MDO is an award winning specialty coffee producer in Costa Rica. MDO manages the SCP and provides technical support and training to farmers throughout Latin America.
Environment Canada and Merchants of Green Coffee established the world's first criteria for growing and processing coffee under sustainable conditions. It is based on the standards established by FLO, IFOAM, OCIA, SMBC, RA, and produced in conjunction with traditional coffee farmers, MDI and MDO.
Benefits
(1) Control over growing and processing is a proven strategy for success in most coffee growing countries; (2) Need to cut firewood from the rainforest as fuel source for drying coffee is eliminated; and (3) Fresh water sources are protected from the unregulated dumping of waste wash water.