Damn, that logo’s cute!
Here’s some fair trade coffee with style — from a local roaster, to boot. Thom Fuhrmann, the monkey of Monkey & Son Coffee Company, runs his business out of Claremont. Not only is Thom a fair trade advocate, he used to play bass for Savage Republic (via LA Weekly).
I found the company during a mad web search for local fair trade coffee providers — Jonathan Gold of the LA Weekly says the Velvet Hammer blend “smells almost as if it has been enrobed in pure, smoky chocolate.” Wow.
So get yourself some punk rock coffee. In LA, you can get Monkey & Son at Surfas, a self-described “chef’s paradise” in Culver City. I took the #12 Big Blue Bus today to check it out, thinking that Surfas might be a well-hidden fair trade heaven. Not so — Monkey & Son was the only FT product representin’. Still, the logo made me smile. Cost for the Sumatra Mandheling: $9.50 for 12 oz.
Thom says he’s working on getting Monkey & Son coffee into more outlets — By the end of the year, hopefully we’ll be able to buy brewed cups in LA. Until then, shop at Surfas, or the net. They have super cute Ts too — sweatshop free, but made by American Apparel, which I still have qualms about…. I may have to make an exception for this one though –
Monkey & Son Coffee Company. Claremont, CA. (909) 398.1992.
Surfas Restaurant and Supply. 8777 W. Washington Blvd. 310.558.1458.
**Update, 10/31/05: An interview with Thom of Monkey & Son about why he’s opted for all organic, all fair trade certification –
Oh I live near Surfas. And I’m outta coffee. I’ll hop on over there when I get some $$ and check it out. :-)
Re: Fair Trade teas you posted about earlier in my journal - I do buy a good bit of Fair Trade tea, but it’s not the only tea I buy. Upton USED to mark which teas were organic, but they don’t seem to do that any longer which vexes me.
I should find you the contact info for David Hoffman’s tea company - he does a lot with small farmers in China directly, and encourages bio-dynamic farming and sustainable practices, as well as paying them fair prices. His tea is exceptional, usually organic, and more than Fairly Traded, but it is not labeled Fair Trade because he deals direct with the farmers.
Comment by Will Pillage For Yarn — September 10, 2005 @ 7:06 pm
Yeah — I’d have to agree that for real tea lovers, the fair trade teas available probably don’t provide enough variety. Puzzling about Upton no longer marking their teas organic — Perhaps we should email them about it?
I’m also going to be exploring Groundwork Coffee more soon, and will look into their teas while I’m there too :) I think they work directly with farmers — and they’re local! :)
Comment by Siel — September 10, 2005 @ 8:10 pm
I’m happy to hear I’m not the only one disgusted by the whole American Apparel thing. Even before the sexual harassment charges surfaced I was completely turned off by their store in the Haight when it convered an entire wall with Penthouse magazines. If you’re on good terms with the people at Monkey & Son you might want to suggest that they check into carrying T-shirts from Hemptown Clothing Inc. (www.hemptown.com). Hemptown has an anti-sweatshop policy as well, and because their shirts are made from a hemp-cotton blend, they are much better for the environment than conventional cotton t-shirts. And, as far as I know, Hemptown isn’t owned by an egomaniacal mysoginist.
Comment by Karin — September 10, 2005 @ 9:04 pm
Karin — Thanks for the Hemptown info! I’ll check them out and pass on the info :)
And while on the tea subject — Treehugger just did a post about The Republic of Tea, which sounds super yummy :) Most are organic and fair trade, and they have special blends that support causes like cancer research.
Comment by Siel — September 11, 2005 @ 4:50 am