A new green mag called Positively Green just launched — and threw a party last night at the Falcon in Hollywood to celebrate.

Highlight of the evening: Bill Nye the Science Guy (left, avec moi) came wearing a pretty bow tie — via folding bike and Metro rail! He had his subway ticket to prove it.

Apparently Bill lives just a few doors down from Ed Begley Jr. and Rachelle Begley — who were also in attendance, Rachelle being on the cover of the first issue and all. There were other celebs too, but because I don’t watch TV, I couldn’t identify them….

Positively Green’s self-described as a “new national women’s magazine fulll of style, substance & good simple solutions.” I’d describe it as a greener version of Lucky — meaning that most of the features push you to buy buy buy shoes, clothes, gadgets, and lotions — albeit more eco versions of said products.

Of course, smart eco-shoppers can still use the product reviews just to research the few things they do need to buy –

The mag’s also very celebrity focused — and even has an official tie-in with green celeb blog Ecorazzi. In addition to dedicating the main feature to Rachelle Begley, Ed Begley, Jr. gets the back “Eco Boy” page. Natalie Portman and Celine Dion get mentions too — for their shoe-related habits. (below: Rachelle Begley)

Positively Green does also have some interesting eco tips, like an illustrated guide to insulating your water heater and many eco-adaptable recipes I’d like to try.

A 1-year subscription to the quarterly mag costs $14, with $2 of each subscription going to one of three charities you can pick from: Climate Project, National Arbor Day Foundation, Ocean Conservatory.

Summer liked the organic beer. I wasn’t so keen on the organic Frey wine — It’s just not as tasty as some other organic wines.

I drank it though –

6 Comments

Somehow this family-owned and operated, fair trade licensed coffee shop’s been roasting and brewing for 10 years without my knowledge.

Look across the street from Sony Pictures in Culver City, and you’ll spot this lil gem. Every morning, The Conservatory for Coffee, Tea & Cocoa roasts its own coffee beans — which you can get by the cup, or buy by the pound to brew at home.

I asked if any fair trade coffees were brewing, was told the Italian Roast was fair trade, and had a yummy cup with a brioche. The Conservatory gets its pastries from La Dijonnaise up the street — a French restaurant / bakery that imports its butter from France.

No wifi, as far as I could tell — but they had cute jewelry and one-of-a-kind cards for sale — made by local artisans, I believe. Cute homey feel. The friendly women working the counter seemed to know everyone who walked in.

I get the sense the place gets super busy when the Sony people are working, but mid-day on the Friday before New Year’s was fairly leisurely. I lazed around skimming books — trying to work on that dissertation…

The Conservatory for Coffee, Tea & Cocoa. 10117 Washington Blvd. Culver City. 310.558.0436. M-Sa 7 am-6 pm, closed Su.

fair trade, coffee, losangeles

8 Comments

A resource for Los Angeles peeps looking for fair trade coffee to buy at a nearby store and brew at home.

I’ll update this as I go, but please feel free to suggest additions I’ve left out. Hopefully it’ll help you find some new local options for fair trade coffee.

I’ll do a round-up of places to get fair trade certified coffee on-the-go soon too. Update: Here’s that list.

Independents
Romancing the Bean (Burbank). They get their coffee from Volcanic Red. The organic beans are fair trade certified.

Surfas (Culver City). Get Monkey & Son coffee, wholebean. All fair trade certified, all organic.

The Conservatory for Coffee, Tea & Cocoa. (Culver City) This cute lil local shop roasts its own beans, in store. Many of its blends are fair trade.

Artisan’s Exchange (Claremont). In addition to Peace Coffee and Monkey & Son coffee, this small gift shop features fair trade imports, art from the local community, and socially responsible products made in the United States. 242-B West Foothill Blvd. Claremont. 909.626.6772.

The Coffee Cellar. Inside Mama’s Hot Tamales Cafe. 2124 W. 7th St. @ Alvarado. Mo – Su 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. I haven’t visited this cafe yet, but The Coffee Cellar specializes in triple-certified coffee — organic, fair trade and shade grown. By preordering, you can also get their coffee at the Bicycle Kitchen on Tuesdays and the LA Ecovillage on Sunday evenings. Plus, The Coffee Cellar’s at the Silverlake Farmers’ Market @ Sunset Junction on Saturdays from 8 am – 1 pm.

Co-Opportunity. (Santa Monica) This member-owned co-op offers fair trade coffee from Cafe Altura, Equal Exchange, and Green Mountain Coffee — along with fair trade cocoa and sugar!

Ten Thousand Villages Pasadena. Choose from a nice selection of fair trade coffee from a variety of fair trade coffee roasters at this fair trade shop.

El Pueblo Folk Art & Specialty Gifts. 50 N. Raymond Ave. Pasadena. This nonprofit store in Old Town Pasadena reportedly carries Equal Exchange’s fair trade coffee and tea, along with some other fair trade items.

Chains
TJ Maxx. This clothing store’s gotten into coffee, which is a bit of an odd juxtapostion. Luckily, the coffee’s all organic and fair trade.

Marshalls. This clothing store’s gotten into coffee, which is a bit of an odd juxtapostion. Luckily, the coffee’s all organic and fair trade.

Java City. We have 1 location in the Wells Fargo building downtown :)

Trader Joe’s. Last count, they had 5 different fair trade certified options available at v. reasonable prices — Including a fair trade decaf blend! Most are also organic and shade grown.

Cost Plus World Market. You can get World Market’s own fair trade certified World Village Coffee.

Wild Oats. In addition to v. yummy fair trade chocolates, Wild Oats carries lots of fair trade certified Green Mountain coffees.

Whole Foods. Sadly, Whole Foods is trying to sell their own NOT fair trade certified Progresso coffee. They do, however, carry a few other smaller brands of fair trade certified coffees.

Peets. Lloyd of The Year of the Coffee Blog will vouch for their Fair Trade Blend :)

Big bad chains
Starbucks. The mermaid has 1 fair trade certified blend, called Cafe Estima. If you’re down to your last option, get that for your fair trade fix.

Borders. This is sorta like Starbucks too, cuz the mermaid owns Seattle’s Best, which the Borders in LA are slowly converting to. Make sure you go for the organic fair trade blends (green packaging).

Lastly — Costco (roasted by Starbucks), Ralphs, Target, and Walmart (and prolly some of the other major supermarkets) do offer a few token fair trade certified stuff. But why go there when you can go elsewhere?

[pic by Audreyjay]

7 Comments

[Here's the US-wide list of fair trade coffee shops.]

California

Aptos
Surf City Coffee. 9105 Soquel Dr. 831.684.2750. This employee-owned coffee company roasts and serves only fair trade, organic coffee!

Atascadero
The Gathering Place. 5735 El Camino Real, Ste. Q. 805.462.1092. This coffee shop sells yummy fair trade, organic coffee from Joebella Coffee :)

Berkeley
Beanery. 2925 College Ave. 510.665.1404. Most of the coffee here’s both organic and fair trade!

Cafe Gratitude. 1730 Shattuck. 10 am – 10 pm. This cafe brews organic, fair-trade, and shade grown — and boasts a yum, local and organic menu :) There are also 2 San Francisco locations. Thanks to Britt for the tip!

Beverly Hills
Newsroom Cafe. 120 N Robertson Blvd. Los Angeles. 310.652.4444.
A yummy spot not only for organic, fair trade coffee — courtesy of Mr. Espresso in Oakland — but for vegan and vegetarian food. The place serves some meat dishes too, so it’s a great place if you’re part of a group divided on meat-related issues ;) Also a great spot for celebrity sightings.

Urth Caffe. See “All Over” below.

Bishop
Great Basin Bakery. 275 D S Main St. 760.873.9828. This bakery serves fair trade coffee from Cafe Mam.

Brentwood
The City Bakery. In the Brentwood Country Mart. 225 26th St. @ San Vicente Blvd. 310.656.3040. I haven’t been here yet, but apparently you can get fair trade Taylor Maid Farms coffee here, along with seasonal local organic food!

Coral Tree Cafe. 11645 San Vincente Blvd. Brentwood, CA. 310.979.tree.
A great brunch place, Coral Tree might be a lil too busy for mere coffee drinkers during its rush hours. Still, it’s a chill place to hang out, with both outdoor and indoor seating and yummy food. The coffe comes from Groundwork Coffee (listed under “All Over”).

Literati Cafe. 12081 Wilshire Blvd. 310.231.7484. Literati says its coffee’s fair trade and organic, which I’m inclined to believe, cuz their food’s organic and v. yummy. I like it there, though some of my fellow grad students complain that the place is overrun with screenwriters clicking away on laptops, eavesdropping for interesting conversations…

Noah’s Bagels. 11911 San Vincente Blvd. Brews a fair trade blend, Tribeca Blend, on a daily basis.

Burbank
Romancing the Bean. 3208 1/2 W. Magnolia Blvd. 818.562.3267. The organic blends are fair trade certified, and one’s brewed about every other day — Call ahead if you wanna double check. And you get free wifi to boot.

Carmel Valley
Wild Goose Bakery Cafe. 18 E. Carmel Valley Rd. 831.659.5052. The always green and fair trade Summer sez this place serves fair trade coffee :)

Claremont
Motley Coffeehouse. 1030 Columbia Ave. Box 1113. 909.607.3967. Located in Seal Court on the Scripps College campus, the Motley is a noprofit, soci-eco-friendly biz run by women undergrads that serves fair trade organic coffee.

Some Crust Bakery. 119 Yale Ave. 909.621.9772. This bakery gets its yummy coffee from Santa Cruz Roasting Company, a Northern California fair trade organic roaster.

Chico
Cafe Mondo. 951 Nord Ave. 530.895.0878. Says Valerie of Greenfeet: “They are fantastic people and Tim has started a solar company as well. They’ve converted to 100% Fair Trade and organic.”

House of Nature’s Own. 117 Broadway. 530.342.1188. This raw vegan restaurant serves cold-pressed fair trade coffee.

Culver City
Akasha Restaurant. 9543 Culver Blvd. 310.845.1700. This enviro-conscious bakery, bar, and restaurant serves only fair trade coffee along with organic and local foods.

The Conservatory for Coffee, Tea & Cocoa. 10117 Washington Blvd. Culver City. 310.558.0436. M-Sa 7 am-6 pm, closed Su. This cute family-owned shop often has a fair trade blend brewing (just ask which one). You can get yummy French pastries on the side, and do a lil shopping for locally-made jewelry and cards.

Cafe Surfas 8777 W. Washington Blvd. 310.558.1458. M-Sa 7 am-6:30 pm, Su 9 am-6:30 pm. Beginning around April, Surfas’ cafe’ll start brewing Monkey & Son coffee, a SoCal 100% fair trade and organic coffee company.

Synergy Cafe. 4455 Overland Ave. 310.559.8868. M-Th 6:30 am-10 pm, Fri 6:30 am-12 am, Sat 9 am-12 am, Su 9 am-10 pm. Synergy serves yummy sandwiches, brews Groundwork Coffee, and offers free wifi :)

Davis
Delta of Venus. 122 B St. 530.753.8639. This restaurant and coffee shop serves fair trade coffee from Pachamama. There’s wifi too.

Village Bakery. This place reportedly has excellent pizza and serves fair trade, organic coffee from Cafe Mam :)

Cargo Coffee. 3 locations, near Olson Hall, King Hall, and the Academic Surge Building, on the UC Davis campus. These convenience-oriented outposts serve Grounds For Change organic and fair trade coffee and teas and Bella Bru Café fresh pastries.

Idyllwild
Idyllwild Green. This natural and organic store offers brewed coffee from Cafe Mam.

Long Beach
Hot Java. 2101 E. Broadway Ave. 562.433.0688. Reader Joseph says Hot Java “has *only* fair trade except for 2 of their brews….AND! they only use triple insulated cups that are 99% recycled material (triple insulated so they don’t need the cardboard sleeves) and they use recycled paper and plastics for their foods and they even have non-dairy whip cream!”

Portfolio Coffeehouse. 2300 E. 4th St. 562.434.2486. Mo-Th, 5:30 am – 11 pm, Fri 5:30 am – 12 am, Sa. 6:30 am – 12 am, Su. 6:30 am – 11 pm. Reader Rafi sez this is one of his fave indie coffee shops. Portfolio has 1 fair trade blend brewing most of the time :)

Los Angeles and environs
A whole list here!

Marina
Coffee Mia. 250 E. Reservation Rd. 384.0148. This coffee shop gets organic, fair trade coffee from Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting.

Marina Del Rey
Noah’s Bagels. 546-548 Washington Blvd. Brews a fair trade blend, Tribeca Blend, on a daily basis.

Meadow Vista
Café Vista. 17100 Placer Hills Rd. 530.878.6169. This coffee shop serves fair trade coffee and has some organic soups.

Menlo Park
Flea St. Cafe. 3607 Alameda de las Pulgas. 650.854.1226. This restaurant serves local, seasonal food and offers fair trade coffee from Cafe Mam.

Morro Bay
Shine Cafe. 415 Morro Bay Blvd. 805.771.8344. This vegan eatery sells yummy fair trade, organic coffee from Joebella Coffee :)

Moss Landing
Surf City Coffee. 7990-C Highway One. 831.632.2077. This employee-owned coffee company roasts and serves only fair trade, organic coffee!

Mt. Shasta
The Stage Door Cafe and Cabaret. 414 Mount Shasta Ave. 530.926.1050. The cafe serves fair trade, organic coffee from Cafe Mam :)

Newport Beach
Kean Coffee. 2043 Westcliff Drive. 949.642.KEAN. Sun – Th, 6 am – 9 pm; Fri – Sat, 6 am – 10 pm. This new coffeehouse by Martin Diedrich offers all sorts of fair trade, organic coffees :)

Oakland
Bear Naked Burgers. 5179 Telegraph Ave. 510.655.9300. This burger, sandwich, soup and salad spot serves fair trade organic coffee from Mr. Coffee.

The Breakroom Cafe. 300 13th street at Harrison. Opening July 10, 2007, Breakroom will serve fair trade, organic coffee from De La Paz coffee.

Gaylord’s Caffe Espresso. 4150 Piedmont Avenue. Oakland. 510.658.2877. Super yummy, all fair trade coffee, cute and convenient location, friendly baristas, and a real indie feel — right across the street from a Starbucks.

Nomad Cafe. 6500 Shattuck Ave. 510.595.5344. This super-green cafe serves all fair trade, organic coffee :)

Peerless Coffee & Tea. 260 Oak St. 800.310.KONA. This coffee roaster offers a few fair trade coffees at its retail store :)

Ojai
J B Coffee Connection. 311 E El Roblar Dr. 805.646.7821. Jon Furness over at Ojai’s Coffee Connection hand-picks fair trade blends like those from Pura Vida. The coffee shop also offers organic ice cream — and some of those’re fair trade tool

Pacifica
Bay Coffee Company. 330 Palmetto Avenue. 738.5935. Bay Coffee beans are roasted and delivered to the store the same day — It makes the cafe one of the few places where you can get organic fair trade coffee every day.

Pacific Palisades
Noah’s Bagels. 15270-15276 Antioch St. Brews a fair trade blend, Tribeca Blend, on a daily basis.

Pasadena
Jones Coffee Roasters. 537 S. Raymond Ave. 626.564.9291. Pasadena. Mo-Fri, 7 am – 6 pm; Sa, 9 am – 4 pm; closed Sunday. [not fair trade certified] The coffee from this warehouse-esque location comes from a fairly-run family-owned farm in Guatemala.

Steamers. 142 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. This new coffee shop serves Jones Coffee, which gets most of its coffee from a family-owned farm in Guatemala with socio-environmentally conscious practices.

Paso Robles
Artisan Restaurant. 1401 Park Streetl 805.237.8084. This restaurant serves yummy fair trade, organic coffee from Joebella Coffee :)

Manor Grill. 1487 Creston Rd. 805.237.1218. This restaurant serves yummy fair trade, organic coffee from Joebella Coffee :)

Serendipity. 834 11th St. 805.239.7858. This restaurant serves yummy fair trade, organic coffee from Joebella Coffee :)

Point Reyes Station
Toby’s Coffee Bar. 11250 State Route 1 (Main Street). This cafe serves only organic, fair trade coffee and offers customers a 25 cents off for bringing their own cup.

Sacramento
Temple Fine Coffee and Tea. 1014 10th Street between J and K. Temple gets its coffee from Barefoot Coffee. Recommended by Uneasy Rhetoric.

San Diego
Chicano Perk Cafe Y Cultura. 129 25th St. 619.702.5414. This cafe features 100% fair trade coffees from throughout Latin America. According to Roman of SD Friends of Fair Trade, the local coffee shop features gallery exhibits and the famous “meximocha.”

San Francisco
A whole list, here :)

San Luis Obispo
Linnaeas Cafe. 1110 Garden St. 805.541.5888. Mo-Sa, 6:30 am – 12 am. Su, 6:30 am – 2 pm, 6 pm – 11 pm. This coffee house serves organic, fair trade coffee :)

Monterey Street Espresso. 980 Monterey. 805.541.9559. This coffee shop offers organic, fair trade coffee from Cafe Mam.

San Rafael
China Camp Bikes and Beans. 292 N. San Pedro Rd. 415.507.1992. This place serves organic, fair trade coffee from de la paz coffee.
Santa Barbara
Lazy Acres Market. 302 Meigs Rd. 805.564.4410. This market has an espresso bar that sells yummy fair trade, organic coffee from Joebella Coffee :)

Santa Clara
Barefoot Coffee Roasters. 5237 Stevens Creek Blvd. 408.248.4500. According to Barefoot’s website, “85% of our coffees are sustainable being either Organic, Shade Grown and/or Fair Trade certified. And many times all three.”

Mission Bakery Café. on Santa Clara University campus. This cafe serves fair trade coffee :)

Santa Monica
18th Street Coffee House. 1725 Broadway. Santa Monica. 310.264.0662. A spacious, laid-back coffee house where you can hang out and read or write for hours (no wifi though). The coffee’s from Groundwork Coffee.

Bookmark Cafe. 601 Santa Monica Blvd. 310.587.2665. Mo-Th, 8 am – 9 pm; Fri, 8 am – 5:30 pm; Sa, 9 am – 5:30 pm, Su, 11:30 am – 5 pm. [Organic, but not yet fair trade!] This coffee shop inside the Santa Monica Main Library gets its organic coffee from Supreme Bean, a fair trade licensed roaster that says it’s happy to swich the cafe over to fair trade upon request. Drop a note in the library suggestion box asking for the switch!

Co-opportunity. 1525 Broadway @ 16th. 310.451.8902. 7 am – 10 pm. Fair trade coffee from Cafe Altura brewed by the cup at the cafe in this cooperative grocery store :)

Groundwork Coffee. 2908 Main St. 310.392.9243. Mon-Fri, 6 am – 6 pm; Sat – Sun, 7 am – 6 pm. Ethically sourced coffee (not yet fair trade certified), roasted in LA :)

Infuzion Cafe. 1149 3rd St. Mon – Fri: 6:30 am-9 pm, Sat: 7 am-9 pm, Sun: 8 am-6 pm. This indie coffeehouse serves Groundwork coffee, boba tea, and yum food. Plus, there’s free wifi :)

Mani’s Bakery. 2507 Main St. 310.396.7700. Yummy and healthy baked goods, tofu scrambles, and fluffy organic pancakes in a deli-like setting with organic Groundwork coffee :)

Velocity Cafe. 2127 Lincoln Blvd. 310.314.3368. A cute coffee shop with free wifi and loaner computers where you can hang out for hours eating yummy wraps and sandwiches and drinking organic Groundwork coffee. Plus — a helmet discount for cyclers!

Scotts Valley
Surf City Coffee. 6006 La Madrona. 831.430.9112. This employee-owned coffee company roasts and serves only fair trade, organic coffee!

Solvang
New Frontiers Natural Foods. 1984 Old Mission Dr. A-10. 805.693.1746. This market has an espresso bar that sells yummy fair trade, organic coffee from Joebella Coffee :)

Soquel
Cafe Cruz. 2621 41st Ave. 831.476.3801. This restaurant uses local, organic, and sustainable ingredients for its dishes. The wine list consist mostly of local and California wines, and the coffee and tea are organic and fair trade.

Stanford
Cool Cafe. At Cantor Arts Center. Lomita Dr. and Museum Wy. 650.723.4177. Wed – Sun 11 am – 5 pm. Th. 11 am – 8 pm. This museum cafe serves organic, fair trade coffee from Cafe Mam.

[Here's the US-wide list of fair trade coffee shops.]

4 Comments