Equal Exchange = Small Farmers, Big Change

September 8, 2015 by Jenn

Guest post from Hope Williams at Equal Exchange

Producer trip India, 2012 (Scott Patterson)

Equal Exchange was founded over 30 years ago with the purpose of redefining the way we approach trade. Our goal was to use trade to support and empower small farmers and democratically run coops around the world. We envisioned long lasting and tangible social change through honest and truly fair partnerships.

Today we still fight everyday against the ever changing market, social and climatic events that put at risk our farmer’s livelihoods. We continue this fight by not only paying the best price for our products to our farmers but also providing on-the-ground support to ensure their crops quality, longevity, durability, and productivity. We work with our farmers to organize and claim more control over the volatile market and demand a fair price for their products. We do all of this in the name of authentic fair trade.

At Equal Exchange we roast our coffee fresh locally to the highest standards. Craft chocolate with pure

The Equal Exchange rainbow of staff members

simple ingredients: all fair trade and organic cocoa, sugar, and vanilla. We work on developing non-plantation models of fair trade tea using alternative trade models. To put it simply: we are proud of all of our products. By purchasing an EE product you are making a direct and noticeable impact globally. We can trace every purchase you make to the farmers who provided the product. Our supply chain is always transparent, always Fair Trade and always organic. We truly believe that small farmers create the biggest change.

Teaming up with Portland Pedal Power was an obvious choice. Jenn and her PPP team are a group of outstanding innovators, hard workers, and strict purveyor of the best local products you can find. PPP’s work strengthening local brands and transforming the Portland delivery system is necessary and exciting. PPP is a great resource to help Equal Exchange expand our work within the Portland market. With the help of PPP, Equal Exchange is eager to reach more local businesses and increase market impact for our farmers

Since Equal Exchange believes in holding ourselves to the same standards as our farmer partners, we organized ourselves into a worker-owned cooperative. Each worker-owner retains one share and one vote. We set very strict pay ratios for ourselves in order to maintain a fair and equal workplace. Additionally, Equal Exchange maintains a no-sell out clause in our bylaws that prevents the owners from ever making a profit by selling of the company. This is done to maintain accountability and responsibility for the company’s choices and actions. We work not for profit or personal gain but for the advancement of our farmers and social justice around the world.

For more information visit: equalexchange.coop or our blog: smallfarmersbigchange.coop

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Water Avenue Coffee – The Unsurpassed Standard of Coffee

June 25, 2015 by Jon Elias

Miguel Menendez, owner of 9 coffee farms in El Salvador

There’s nothing like handcrafted coffee to help you start the day. Portland Pedal Power is proud to deliver for coffee roaster Water Avenue Coffee, a local coffee pioneering the unseen frontier of micro-roasted craft coffee from countries around the world. Check out how Water Avenue Coffee got its start, and how it’s become a Portland Phenomenon.

Water Avenue Coffee (WAC) was founded in the early days of 2010 with the goal of becoming Portland’s neighborhood coffee roaster and offering the best handcrafted coffees from around the world. They purchased a 1974 Samiac coffee roaster from its Swiss owner and set to work providing Portland with fresh roasted fresh crop coffees.

WAC’s father and son ownership team of Bruce and Matt Milletto have a wealth of experience in the coffee industry. Bruce began his coffee career in the 1980’s by opening his own espresso carts, but quickly moved into education, founding Bellissimo Coffee Infogroup in 1991 and the American Barista and Coffee School in 2004 to help others follow in his footsteps and pursue their dreams of owning their own coffee business. In the ensuing decades he and Bellissimo have published books, DVD’s, and educated thousands of budding entrepreneurs.

With a father recognized as an industry luminary, Matt started his career with a wealth of coffee knowledge already at his disposal. Beginning in Eugene and Corvallis in the early 90’s, Matt started as a barista, café manager, and barista trainer before joining his father at ABCS, and later opening WAC. Together they have assembled a team with further years of experience and passion for coffee to help produce the best coffees. WAC’s goal is to share the best of the world’s coffee crop, working as closely with coffee producers in countries of origin as possible. Through careful roasting and extensive research it is their goal to offer these coffees at their freshest and best, celebrating the seasonality and diversity that is inherent with any agricultural product.

Finca Las Delicias in El Salvador

WAC’s menu has something for just about every coffee drinker. It features many seasonal single origin coffees for the more adventurous, changing regularly as coffee producing countries begin exporting their produce. For those looking for a coffee that is consistent month in and month out Water Ave also offers two blends, the El Toro Espresso and No 7 House, designed to appeal to the more traditional coffee drinker.

Education is also key to WAC’s mission. They strive to provide as much information and traceability about their coffees as possible. Their roastery crew posts about new offerings on the company blog full of information, and the friendly staff in their café are always happy to help with brewing tips!

Ready to get some Water Avenue Coffee? Take a look at our menu, where you can order coffees from distant locations and delivered right to your office!

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Roasting Only the Best at Trailhead Coffee Roasters!

March 27, 2014 by Jon Elias

Any coffee consumer knows the caffeinated drink, be it cappuccino, espresso, or your standard cup of joe, is a fickle creation. There are so many ways to brew coffee, and not all strategies are created equal. That’s why we are very excited to announce we now carry Trailhead Coffee! Trailhead roasts award-winning coffee for grocers, cafes, and restaurants in the Pacific Northwest. Their coffees are roasted to highlight the nuances of their country of origin, all while bringing out the nice caramelization that occurs in a medium-roasted coffee. To make sure the flavor is just right, Trailhead does extensive taste testing, spends a lot of time with different brewing methods, and drinks a ton of espresso. All of this is in the name of research! Their dedication to the science of brewing the perfect cup of coffee shows! Trailhead Coffee won “Best Little Bean” with their limited edition Nekisse Ethiopian coffee. Trailhead loves to cup their coffees next to the very best, proving that they can stand toe-to-toe with with any java out there. (more…)

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Breakfast on Bridges

May 14, 2013 by Brook

Have you ever biked across the Hawthorne or Steel Bridge at some point between 7am and 9am on the last Friday of the month? If so, you may have been greeted by a surprise – coffee and doughnuts from a handful of dedicated bicycle enthusiasts! If you’ve experienced this wonderful event, but missed out on the details while enjoying your treat, you were taking part in Breakfast on Bridges, served by the lovely people of Shift.

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A New Espresso Bar in NW Portland

May 9, 2013 by Brook

Nossa Familia Coffee, a local roaster in Northwest Portland, is opening their its first retail location, the Nossa Familia Espresso Bar. Their coffee is sourced from the owner’s family’s farms in Brazil, hence the name Nossa Familia, which is Portuguese for “our family”. This is the first coffee bar in the region – maybe even in the country – where the coffee stays in the family from seed to cup, with no middlemen in between. Nossa’s owner, Augusto Carneiro, grew up in Brazil where his family has been growing coffee since the 1890’s. In 2005, Augusto founded Nossa Familia, which imports, roasts and now brews his family’s coffee.

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Sugar Mamas’ Café

February 14, 2013 by Brook

This is a guest blog written by Michelle and Zelda of Sugar Mamas’ Café. We delivered amazing food from their old location, and we’re looking forward to working with them again soon!

For the past year, we were searching for a new location for Sugar Mamas’ Café. The search is over, and we’re working hard to open a wonderful new place right in downtown. We are moving up from from 750 square feet to 1800 square feet and we’ll have a full commercial kitchen, seating for fifty inside, as well as outdoor seating for twenty when the weather warms up. We’ll also have room for an express area for you to run in to grab your morning coffee, latte, and a pastry or muffin, and run out again! (So cool!) And in a few months we’ll be opening our new small bar also. Things are really looking up for Sugar Mamas’!

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Nossa Familia Brazilian Coffee is looking to settle down in the Pearl. Wanna Help?

October 2, 2012 by stacy

There are two things that we feel flow through the veins of all Portlanders, and Northwesterners for that matter. Can you guess what they are? If one of your guesses was beer, then you are certainly on the same page as we are. Can you guess the other one? We’ll give you a hint, some people like it the way they like their partners… (black and strong)

Okay, bad references and jokes aside, we’re talking coffee people! Many of us here in the Northwest live and breathe the stuff and, if you’re like us, you can’t function before noon without it. This would explain why the Northwest, and Portland in particular, is building a bit of a reputation for quality coffee, the glorification of barista artistry and frothy masterpieces (like a foam pikachus).

So for you coffee connoisseurs of Portland, you may have heard of your favorite delivery company’s (one of the best for food delivery Portland can offer) newest buds and addition to the Portland Pedal Power friends list, Nossa Familia. If you have heard of them, then you’ve likely heard of them as one of Portland’s top coffee wholesalers since 2005. Nossa Familia is owned and operated by Augosto Carneiro, who sells his family grown coffee from Brazil to local area businesses and grocery stores. Just a few months ago, they moved from beans to roasters when they switched locations back in December to NW 13th and Johnson where they began roasting using the sustainable, only one of its kind in Portland, Loring Roaster.

Now, to bring the chain around full circle and complete the full coffee cycle, Nossa Familia is looking to open their first retail location in the Pearl District. In order to open up this Brazilian espresso bar in the heart of the Pearl district, Augusto has begun a kickstarter account for his business, with which he hopes to raise $15,000, the final amount needed to open his little slice of Brazil. Currently the account stands at $12,425 with 5 days left to donate. With your help, there’s no doubt in our minds that he can reach and even exceed his goals.

Want the whole story? Want to know what makes this story different than other coffee companies? (more…)

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