Our Green Home » Coffee and Tea

23 Degrees Roastery

Ariel — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:31:43 +0000

This company decided early on in its existence to sell only fair trade and organic coffee; they felt that the social and environmental benefits associated outweighed the benefits that access to a broader variety of conventional coffee offered. They roast their coffee at their St. Regis Crescent North location in Toronto and retrofitted their roasting equipment with energy efficiency equipment that reduces emissions. 23 Degrees Roastery offers a variety of locally roasted coffees at many specialty stores throughout the GTA.

Merchants of Green Coffee

Ariel — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:25:14 +0000

Merchants of Green Coffee specializes in the sourcing, importing and marketing of the highest quality certified green arabica coffees. It is a widely held belief that anything but freshly roasted coffee is not worth drinking and the Merchants help people drink freshly roasted coffee by providing home and industrial roasters with certified organic and fair trade green beans. In their business, they strive to “look at the triple bottom line; equal treatment of the economic, social and environmental components of trade”. Merchants of Green Coffee can be purchased over the phone, at their Toronto location or roasted through roasters such as the Fresh Coffee Network.

Camino Medium Roast Coffee

Ariel — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:17:25 +0000

This coffee, which is available at many specialty and health food stores, comes from the Camino Co-operative collection of small farms that produce only organic and Fair Trade coffee. The higher price that Fair Trade receives allows farmer to re-invest in their farms, making environmental, wage and educational improvements. It is roasted in Montreal at Les Sevices adaptés Transit, which is a social enterprise designed to provide employment to people with disabilities.

Salt Spring Coffee

Lushen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:03:41 +0000

Available in most chain grocery stores, this coffee is produced under Salt Spring’s own “Fair to Farmer Direct” philosophy, which involves paying a minimum above the fair trade base price. The company has a boatload of certifications, including being a B Corporation (a for-benefit corporation) and bullfrog powered. However, like most bagged coffee, the beans are packaged in a non-recyclable bag.

Choice Organic English Breakfast Tea

Charles — Fri, 07 May 2010 00:54:36 +0000

While only available in specialty stores and via the producer, Choice Organic teas are certified fair trade and organic. The company also has an Alternative Energy certification. Its tea bags made of unbleached natural fibres, but do come in individual envelopes. Choice Organic Teas are manufactured in a certified organic facility where Green-e Certified renewable energy certificates from wind power are purchased to offset 100 percent of the facility’s electricity.

This product is not widely available, check your nearest coffee and tea specialty shop.

Starbucks Organic Shade Grown Mexico

Charles — Fri, 07 May 2010 00:52:33 +0000

This coffee, available at Starbucks locations and in most major grocery stores, is certified USDA Organic but not fair trade. As a requirement of this certification, the beans are shade grown. They are grown near the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, one of the last remaining cloud forests in Southern Mexico. Starbucks claims that its farmers are helping to protect this forest through their organic and traditional shade growing methods.

This product is widely available (in-store, online, and in most major grocery stores).

President’s Choice Organics Honey & Ginger Green Tea

Charles — Fri, 07 May 2010 00:47:44 +0000

President’s Choice Organics is a private label brand of the Loblaw Companies Limited chains. This tea is certified organic by Quality Assurance International but is not fair trade. The tea comes from Wuyuan County in Jiangxi Province, China. The tea is packaged in a recyclable box made of recycled components, but the tea bags come in individual envelopes, which creates additional waste.

This product is available at:

President’s Choice Retailers

Kicking Horse Mexican

Charles — Fri, 07 May 2010 00:46:07 +0000

Kicking Horse, an Invermere, B.C.-based company, is the number one fair trade and organic coffee producer in Canada. The beans are shade grown in the Chiapas region and Kosher. Kicking Horse employs energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions reduction initiatives, and recycling at its roasting plant. The company is also heavily involved in community initiatives and contributes financially to conservation projects in its area.

This product is widely available.

Kicking Horse

Tim Hortons Fine Grind Coffee

Charles — Fri, 07 May 2010 00:44:07 +0000

Tim Hortons has a Coffee Partnership that supports its coffee-growing communities through training, environmental management, medical and education assistance, and “consulting farmers to ensure their coffee gets to market at the best time and at the best price.” However, its beans do not carry any certifications. Its coffee can is both reusable and recyclable, unlike the bag packaging of many other producers.

This product is widely available (in-store, online and in most major grocery stores).

Van Houtte Mexico – Fair Trade & Organic – Whole Bean

Charles — Fri, 07 May 2010 00:41:47 +0000

Shade grown in the Chiapas region of Mexico, these beans are certified fair trade and organic. Van Houtte’s coffee bags are composed of a recyclable polylaminate exterior, but the inside aluminum foil “is the only solution on the market that keeps coffee fresh, but is not recyclable.” Van Houtte says it is committed to searching for a recyclable solution. The company also says it uses non-polluting roasting systems that eliminate fumes at low temperatures and consume less gas. Van Houtte also recovers and recycles heat generated during the roasting process.

This product is widely available.