Counter Culture Coffee and Earth Fare Team to Produce Sustainable Coffee Line

Durham, NC (November 2, 2004) — Specialty coffee roaster Counter Culture Coffee has joined forces with Earth Fare, the Asheville, NC based specialty grocery store chain, to produce a new line of environmentally and socially responsible artisan coffees, available in all Earth Fare stores the second week of November.

The line, called Earth Fare Trade, features shade-grown, Organic and Fair Trade ™ Certified coffees from select farms around the world. Growing coffee under shade forces coffee to mature more slowly, allowing richer and more complex flavors to develop, and helps protect and preserve natural rainforests and indigenous plants and animals.  Producing coffee organically ensures that no harmful pesticides or poisonous chemicals are used, which can be hazardous for the environment and the workers who are in direct contact with the chemicals.  Coffee that is certified Fair Trade by TransFair USA guarantees that farm workers are paid fair wages, and promotes community development projects and good environmental practices.    

Counter Culture Coffee and Earth Fare searched the globe for sustainable coffee farms with producers whose business ethics and commitment to quality matched their own.  Earth Fare Trade certified coffees are designed to reward farmers for their good farming practices with a better price, and to provide consumers with more information about the people that produce their coffee.  Forming long-lasting, sustainable relationships with farmers leads to a better understanding between consumer and producer, and a steady supply of consistently excellent coffee.

Earth Fare Trade brings the real stories of coffee producers around the world to area grocery store aisles.  The first five coffees available are from farms in Terrazu, Costa Rica; Harrar, Ethiopia; Matagalpa, Nicaragua; Oaxaca, Mexico; and Aceh, Sumatra.  The coffee is packaged whole bean, in 12 oz. bags.  The bags feature pictures of the real people who produce the coffee, and include information about the region where the coffee is grown, as well as the individual farms and cooperatives that produce the coffee.

Peter Giuliano, master roaster and green coffee buyer for Counter Culture Coffee, says that the two North Carolina-based companies are a perfect match.   “Earth Fare, like us, values strong relationships with producers—that they care enough to embark on a project that helps people here make a connection between the coffee that they drink every morning and the craftspeople that picked it, processed it, milled it…that’s a great thing.”  Earth Fare has sold coffee roasted by Durham-based Counter Culture for years, and its popularity in the chain’s stores spawned the new Earth Fare Trade line.      

Counter Culture Coffee’s sustainable business practices have made them a leader in the industry for almost 10 years.  The first Certified Organic coffee roaster in North Carolina, Counter Culture works to develop relationships with the producers that they buy coffee from year after year, and spends time on location with farmers to assure that their high standards for quality and environmental sustainability are met.  


Contact Information:
Lydia Troxler
Counter Culture Coffee

1. 888.238.5282/f.919.361.5888
   http://www.counterculturecoffee.com