Coffee with a conscience

Getting a cup of sustainable coffee is set to become more convenient, with two large coffee chains going for ethical coffee.

From June, all espresso coffee served in 78 Wild Bean Cafés around NZ will be made from Fairtrade-certified beans, an exercise that will increase the annual volume of Fairtrade coffee sold in NZ by two-thirds. And McDonald’s will now serve coffee from Rainforest-Alliance certified farms in its 141 NZ restaurants. This means the four million cups of espresso coffee served in McDonald’s and McCafés each year will come from farms certified that their beans have been grown sustainably, in a way that benefits the farmers and their families’ welfare. Rainforest Alliance is an independent non-profit organisation which aims to develop standards in sustainable forestry, farming and tourism.