It's odd at first to hear plans of a successful coffee shop owner and his partners that encourages people in metro Grand Rapids to make and drink their coffee at home, buying their beans at prices well above supermarket rates.
Nothing about the Direct Trade Coffee Club sounds like the profit-based business model. And you'd be right.
"The purpose is to promote direct trade, not to sell coffee," says Kirby Watson, partner in the DTCC along with MadCap Coffee Co. owner Trevor Corlett, and MadCap employees Chad Morton and Ryan Knapp. Ultimately, joining this club means trying to get more money in the hands of poor coffee farmers in Central America by cutting out the "coyotes," or middlemen.
But as you listen to the underpinnings of the DTCC and another small company called Bean By Bean, it sounds as if individuals in West Michigan are trying to apply the free enterprise model to correct a social problem of not paying people fairly for their labors.
"We support the families that help make your daily brew," says Derrell Jackson of Bean By Bean, a direct trade coffee supplier in Jenison. Jackson and his wife, Missy, both 30, own the company and are part of a new crop of entrepreneurs taking social responsibility to new levels.
When the Jacksons launched Bean By Bean – a combined e-commerce and personal delivery direct trade coffee service – they found a way to draw attention to the poverty of small-scale Central American coffee growers who are in danger of being edged out by large commercial farms: they put photographs of the suppliers, the farmers and their families on the company's packaging and web site.
Like Bean By Bean, DTCC says that regular visits to the growers are a vital aspect of its business.
"We see the needs of the farmer, and trading with them directly allows us to meet the needs," says Corlett, 32. As he reviewed the one-year anniversary of MadCap Coffee in downtown Grand Rapids this past January, Corlett says on MadCap's web site that "the thing that impacted us most as a company was the incorporation of our own direct trade program," the result of hiring Morton in summer last year.
"We don't want to throw fair trade under the bus," says Morton, 35. "But there's a better model and we believe there's a better option to change the lives of the people who grow the coffee."
Morton was a founder of EVO Coffee, a fair trade venture he left that has since been acquired by Fair Haven Ministries. Pastor Doug McClintic says the Hudsonville church intends to rework the EVO Coffee business model and relaunch the concept later this year. Morton says he is pursuing a different route through DTCC.
"Today's brew at MadCap is Finca de Dios, from the Ellen Prentice farm in Guatemala," Morton says. "We paid over $2 a pound green (beans), paid to Ellen directly.
"Fair trade right now is $1.33 to the co-op, not to the farmer," Morton adds. "In a fair trade transaction, the farmer sells to a co-op below fair trade price and the co-op sells at the fair trade price. Plus there are fees involved to participate."
DTCC and Bean By Bean owners say they pay the farmer directly for the product – DTCC pays at the beginning of the growing season, Bean By Bean pays at harvest – and then the companies handle all freight charges, processing costs, roasting and packaging.
Bean By Bean launched in 2007 with just 150 pounds of green coffee beans from one Guatemalan grower; last year the company purchased 4,000 pounds of beans from four family farms in Guatemala and Nicaragua.
"These small-scale farmers live day-to-day, barely making enough to make it through the season," says Derrell Jackson. "We're paying directly to them so we know that they're getting the money."
The Jacksons import the beans and hire Grand Rapids' Ferris Coffee & Nut to do the roasting in small batches, producing dark, medium and hazelnut roasts. All are available for purchase through the company web site; some orders are shipped, local orders are delivered.
Bean By Bean's packaging center is a room in the Jackson's basement, certified for use by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Both Jacksons work full-time jobs and operate the coffee business on the side. Several partnerships have opened doors for sales: coffee delivery to area churches, networking at Fair Trade fairs, and a partnership with Trillium Haven Farm to offer the coffee to its members.
The DTCC has a vision for supplying direct trade coffee to customers on a national scale by using roasters from around the U. S. that have established, direct trade coffee roasting businesses. Members buy a 3-, 6-, 9- or 12-month membership and receive a different coffee from a different roaster delivered to their door every month. MadCap and Chicago's Intelligentsia Coffee are the first two roasters in the endeavor.
A secondary goal is establishing a national direct trade standard for all direct trade coffee importers based on DTCC's Direct Trade Pledge, which all of its roasters must use as a basis of operation. The pledge states, in part, that the coffee scores 85 points or above on the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA/CQI) scale, the accepted coffee quality rating system; the roaster visits the farmer at least once annually; and the roaster pays a fair price and helps to educate the farmer on producing quality coffee.
"We are trying to define very specifically what direct trade is and what is involved, who is doing it and who is not doing it," Morton says. "I just got back from Guatemala visiting the farmers, buying pre-harvest, identifying environmental aspects of farming like trimming bushes, composting, making sure they have the resources to do what they can."
"There's no governing body for direct trade," says Watson, 43. "We've been approached by other roasters to be part of the Direct Trade Coffee Club, but their business practices are not direct trade as we've defined them. We've declined three roasters; another dozen we've removed from our list."
The education starts with the DTCC web site; the rest comes in the member welcome kit with the first coffee shipment which includes a booklet on the coffee production process and the origin of the DTCC, suggested brewing methods and a Hario dripper coffee brewer. With every shipment, the roaster includes information about that particular coffee, the grower and the production method.
But if you're looking for an inexpensive brew, your local supermarket brand will suit you better. Through DTCC, a three-month subscription for one pound of coffee a month runs $66. A Bean By Bean Large Sampler of five coffees (total 2.5 lbs.) is $25.
"It all goes back to perceived value," Corlett says. "Nothing breaks my heart more than someone who complains about a $3 cup of coffee when so many hands have touched it. Not only are we trying to be sustainable, but we're paying the growers what they deserve."
Deborah Johnson Wood is the development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She lives in Grand Rapids where she owns and operates Alpha2Omega Writing Services, LLC, a freelance writing service.
Photos:Ryan Knapp , MadCap employee and co founder of
Direct Trade Coffee Club(2)
Kirby Watson, co founder of
Direct Trade Coffee ClubChad Morton, MadCap employee and co founder of
Direct Trade Coffee ClubTrevor Corlett
MadCap Coffee Co owner and co founder of
Direct Trade Coffee ClubDirect Trade Coffee Club ,Trevor Corlett, Kirby Watson, Chad Morton, and Ryan Knapp
Derell and Missy Jackson of Bean by Bean in Guatemala buying coffee
-Photo Courtesy of Bean By Bean
This Family of Guatemalan growers produces coffee for Bean By Bean -Photo Courtesy of Bean By Bean
Photographs by
Brian Kelly -All Rights Reserved