This just in from Coffee and Conservation:

Today my home-delivered Sunday paper, in a large midwestern city, was in a sleeve containing a free 2.5 ounce sample (ground) of Starbucks Cafe Estima, their Fair Trade blend.

I don’t read the paper on paper — I read the LA Times online via RSS feed like a real blogger :P But I’m wondering — Did any other cities get free Cafe Estima with their paper this morning?

I have mixed feelings about the promo. I love love love that new people are getting introduced to fair trade coffee — kudos to Starbucks for sending Estima as opposed to some other blend.

I don’t, however, like that Starbucks seems to be trying to piggy-back its own program — CAFE Practices — as something just as good as fair trade certification. Writes Coffee & Conservation: “The sleeve explained that Starbucks shares the goals of TransFair USA through its CAFE (Coffee and Farmer Equity) program…”

I mean, I have serious issues with CAFE Practices.

I also think that Starbucks needs to do a better job of actually making sure Cafe Estima gets to stores and is avaliable for people to buy by bag AND by the cup.

Still, overall, I’m glad Starbucks did the promo. Some of the customers who want to find out more will likely google “Starbucks fair trade” — and the top link takes you to the Organic Consumer Association’s Starbucks Fair Trade Campaign home. Type in “Starbucks CAFE practices,” and a link to yours truly shows up near the bottom of the page :)

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