Cafe Femenino – Great Ethically Sourced Coffee, Great Coffee Practices

Coffee, Community Support / By / Updated on August 27, 2024

Ethically Sourced Coffee & Sustainable Sourcing – Why It’s Important

Consumers want coffee suppliers to be more transparent about their coffee sourcing. Café Femenino ensures both an ethically sourced coffee and supply chain.
Roaster holding freshly roasted Cupper's ethically sourced coffee.
At Cupper’s, we recognize the importance in ethical sourcing. Knowing where your coffee beans are grown is as important as knowing who roasts them for you. Not every major coffee company prioritizes the farmers who grow the beans. This can lead to unethical coffee production.
 
We work to ensure all our beans come from ethical sources from around the world. We source from Asia and Indonesia, Central and South America, and Africa. Confidence in the source of your coffee beans is essential to a more ethical retail market as a whole.

What is Fair-Trade?

fairtrade coffee bags from cuppers coffee
When a coffee is fair-trade certified it only means that the buyer gets paid a ‘fair’ price for their beans. To do this, there is a system of checks in place to ensure fair treatment to everyone on the supply chain. This sounds good… but there are inherent problems with a certified Fair-Trade product. Fair-Trade Certification coffee producers have to pay fees for their certification. Sometimes these fees are equal to or greater than the money actually taken in by the farms. Because of this, not all the coffees sold by Cupper’s Coffee & Tea have this certification. We are happy to pay a fair price for coffee that helps the farmers and their community in the long term. Thus we avoid short term gain that creates long term problems.
 
Our green bean suppliers have close relationships with small farms. They ensure the ethical treatment of all farm employees. At Cupper’s Coffee & Tea we pride ourselves in the transparency of our coffee sourcing. Knowing where the coffee comes from and who grew it helps customers rest easy. The hard work and research put in means you can enjoy your coffee.

What is Organic Certification?

certified organic coffee beans ethically sourced coffee in a roasting sampler
“Organic” means products are grown without any artificial fertilizers, pesticides, or other chemicals. These can affect the quality of coffee beans, both for good and bad. In general, organic growing methods are ideal for coffee production. Organic farming methods are also less detrimental to the environment. This makes organic grown coffee better for humans and the planet.
 
The problem is that certification is often expensive for small growers. We support small and family-owned coffee growers who use green growing practices. At Cupper’s, all our coffee is ethically sourced in the following ways.
  • Certified organic when possible
  • Green growing practices
  • Fair-trade
  • Café Femenino

What is Café Femenino?

red Café Femenino Logo

The Café Femenino Foundation is an international, non-profit organization. They encourage and support women of coffee-growing communities. The focus is for the women to become plantation owners and managers as well as workers.

Café Femenino coffees are the very definition of relationship coffees. In general, the coffee production industry has a heavy reliance on female labor. The Femenino program works to end poverty affecting women within the coffee industry.

Cafe femenino woman looking at a coffee tree branch with coffee cherries

Café Femenino knows that when the women in any community thrive, so does the community in general. This affects their families, their relationships, and the community’s services. The supported women grow the crops and make financial decisions. Then these benefits continue and extend into the future through new generations. The inherent dignity of paid work and ownership empowers the whole community.

A group of cafe femenino coffee growers attending a meeting
What does Cafe Femenino offer?
Café Femenino helps by ensuring fair compensation to those women. Café Femenino farms agree to provide their women farmers with benefits. These are greater than what the farmers otherwise receive. Their benefits include:
  • Legal rights to their farmland
  • Leadership positions
  • Financial decision making power
  • Direct payment for their coffee products
Femenino coffees also improves working conditions for women employed in rural coffee communities. This is especially true where barriers prevent women from prospering from their work.
Cafe femenino coffee growers, older man and a woman holding a baby
Why and how did Cupper’s get involved?
Cupper’s has supported Femenino coffees since 2006 by purchasing their green beans. These green beans are ethically grown in communities participating in the Femenino program. The decision to for Cupper’s to partner with Café Femenino was not a hard one to make for us. Inclusivity and leadership by example are two of the core values of our company as a whole. We are very proud to have an on-going relationship with Café Femenino and the values it embodies.
 
We send the Café Femenino organization a percentage of every Femenino pound we sell. The money goes straight back to the women and the community that produced the coffee. Those leaders develop community services under the supervision of Femenino representatives.
Cafe Femenino farmer looking over ethically grown coffee plants in shaded building

We source all our Peruvian coffee only from Café Femenino farms. Our Peru Café Femenino is an amazing medium roast coffee with a sweet nougat finish. Now you can enjoy your coffee even more, knowing you are helping support the women and families of Peru!

Sept. 2024 - Rwanda Femenino

In September 2024, we were able to bring in a small batch of amazing coffee from Café Femenino. The Hinga Kawa Abakundakawa coffee co-op in Rwanda grew a special crop. It was a fully washed, sun-dried bourbon species. We roasted this coffee to a delicate medium roast with hints of bergamot, jasmine and lemon. This coffee collective employs some amazing women. Many of these women became the sole providers for their families after the 1994 genocide. Partnering with Café Femenino has allowed these women to increase their earning potential. 

Infographic about the Cafe Femenino Rwanda Hinga Kawa Abakundakawa coffee for sale in September 2024

Cupper’s Coffee & Tea has spent almost 30 years working hard to build trust with our customers. We have a reputation of responsibly sourcing our coffee and will continue to do so. If you are looking for ways to help change the world, one cup at a time, look no further than buying coffee online from us.

If you want to learn more about our coffees check out the Beginner’s Guide To Coffee Beans.

Check Out Our Fundraising Program

"Working with Cupper's was an amazing experience, they listened to our needs and created a thoughtful blend keeping our clients in mind!" Parkinson Association of Alberta

Online Coffee Beans & Teas

Shop our exceptionally roasted coffee beans online.

Best Roasted Coffee Lethbridge Alberta

Ethically Sourced and
Meticulously Roasted Coffee Beans

Phone: 403 380 4555

Hours of Operation

Regular Store Hours:

Mon – Fri: 9:00 am – 5:30 pm

Sat: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

For Pick-ups:     

Mon – Sat: 11:00 am – close

Our Lethbridge Location

1502c 3rd Avenue South,

Lethbridge, AB T1J 0K8

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