Many aren’t paid a living wage and are stuck in poverty. “165 million people depend on cacao or coffee for their livelihood. Moka is one of these companies that has chosen to not only produce high-quality coffee and chocolate but they are also producing ethical coffee and chocolate. direct trade coffee has made its way into its own segment of the industry, giving companies an edge in the third-wave coffee industry. If you would like to learn more about Fair Trade and Direct Trade coffee, check out my article here.Ĭoffee drinkers around the globe desire ethical and high-quality coffee. They both call for a more ethical way to produce and consume coffee. Fair Trade and Director Trade coffee are a part of the third-wave coffee movement. The efforts to decrease the number of people and production through the coffee process is where the idea of direct trade coffee came from. You can learn more about third wave coffee here: It began in the 2000s with a focus on coffee consumers caring about where their coffee comes from and how it is produced. Third-wave coffee is the wave of the coffee industry we are in currently. This is the concept of third-wave coffee. There have been efforts to minimize the number of hands and the number of economic stages coffee passes through. Lastly is the cup of coffee you experience at home or in a coffee shop. That might be to bag the coffee to sell it or the baristas who are brewing the coffee for a customer. You can see part of this process under stage 3 in the graphic as it relates to the economic process of coffee. This means transforming it from cherry to bean that is ready to be roasted.įor many large coffee companies, the coffee is brought to them to be sold or to brew, or maybe even both. Here is a simple break down of that process.Ĭoffee is planted by coffee farmers, taken care of by farmers, then harvested by those farmers. What this graphic doesn’t show is how many hands it takes to produce one simple cup of coffee. You can learn more about this graphic here: The graphic to the left does a great job breaking down all the parts of the coffee industry. Understanding the economics of coffee is the first step in understanding the importance of the work a company like Moka is doing. Talking about the coffee industry and all the steps in coffee economics and production can empower people to make wiser coffee consumption decisions. Large coffee companies undervalue the coffee and underpay those involved in the growing and processing process. When discussing coffee production and economics, is important to realize that so many coffee farmers and workers are not properly compensated for their work or coffee products. Today not only have they created amazing programs in Cameroon for the farmers and their communities, but they also have their factory store and sell their chocolate in 40 retail locations across 9 states. “Our mission in Cameroon is creating food security, market linkage, and employment opportunities by partnering farmers as well as directly cultivating local food crops and cash crops (such as cacao), and starting a Farmers Field School.” ĭriven by their mission, Jeff Abella and Ishan Tigunait, the husband and wife duo that created Moka Origins, grew it into the amazing company that it is today. It began in 2014 in Cameroon as a farming venture. Moka didnt begin as a factory store, though. You can grab bags of coffee and chocolate there, and you can even order a coffee or chocolate beverage at the cafe! If you are near Honesdale and want to stop by the factory, check out this blog post on what I recommend getting while you are there. You can visit for a tour of the facilities where they make the chocolate and roast the coffee. Moka Origins currently has a factory store and cafe in Honesdale, PA. Moka Origins was like taking a trip to coffee heaven! I adore spending my time trying new local/micro-roasted coffees and learning about the coffee industry. After my trips to Guatemala in 20, my passion for coffee has grown into something wonderful. We went for the coffee but left with such a passion for single-origin, ethically made chocolate. On a snowy March day, I drove through the winding roads of northeastern Pennsylvania to get to the Moka Origins Factory.
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