Certified Coffee / Do the labels deliver?

One of the first questions I get asked when describing what I do – (after explaining that I don’t drink 60 cups of coffee a day, but I spit it out!!) - is if the certification labels are just a marketing gimmick for the developed consumer markets of the west, or do they actually deliver on their promises of a fair price to the producer? What I can offer is my humble perspective on the subject from the side of the middle-men who reside at the centre of certification supply chain – creating the direct link between the west and the “rest” – and by being the ones which bring the premiums paid by the consumers directly to the producers.

Simple answer is in theory, Yes they do work; and mas o menos Yes in practise, but it comes down to questions of consumer transparency, traceability and maintenance. To ensure that these values are to be respected, ALL the players in the supply-chain have to be accountable and responsible.

Would it be better if these labels never existed? I don't think so.

There are probably a thousand of academic articles / journalistic investigations and mainstream documentaries mentioning or even better dissecting the reality of these labels, as it’s a subject currently milked by the marketing world, as we all want to buy into the “feel good” consumer role.

For organizational sake, here is a list of the most used labels in the coffee sector: Rainforest Alliance / UTZ Good inside / 4C / Fairtrade International / Fairtrade USA/ Café Practises (Starbucks) / Nespresso AAA / Organic / Bird Friendly…. Take your pick as there are so many – they cater for all sizes and shapes, and have their own downsides and limitations I shall not go into. But most of all they cater for the needs of the coffee roasters themselves, the people who sell you the coffee.

With the development of inhouse labels, the coffee roaster creates a strict base of selected suppliers: we as the middle men can only buy AAA certified coffee to sell it to the AAA buyer, and that being solely Nespresso – and likewise for Starbucks and their Café Practises programs. Rainforest Alliance, UTZ, and 4c are independent labels, which ensures some separation from the main trading actors involved. Each label ensures its own audits, that the farmer respects the set of standards necessary to join and maintain membership. Each label is different, and the “difficulty” or strictness of joining is at the discretion of the label provider.

The harsh reality is that the futures markets in NY and London dictate almost entirely the price for which we are ready to purchase and therefore sell the coffee. And these labels remain an option, and are not a requirement – they are an additional cost put on the contract at the discretion of the buyer.

What I always find fascinating when researching the subject of certification is how much they pinpoint the failures of these labels without highlighting how much good and benefits they bring to the farmers. I have been called innocent on this subject, failing to see the reality of how these certifications are done. But I have also seen the proper way here in Nicaragua of how it should be done. Nicaragua is a small producer on the world – scale, but it has been one of the worst hit countries by the roya and with the Arabica price being around 110 c/lb – paying of certifications premiums was never as important.

Past weeks I have been working on ensuring that the correct amount of premiums we owed to the various farmers from which we have purchased the certified coffee, was paid. When you see huge amounts of quintals of coffee, even that 1 bag of 46 kg can be a 10 usd in premiums, and even that small amount can be the defining difference in this family’s monthly income. So it was a real pleasure and a humbling exercise, but with some apprehension, I am looking forward to the organised night when we’re going to pay the cheques to all the 200 + farmers we work with - directly.