DunnBros

While we are proud supporters of Fair Trade, Organic, Rain Forest Alliance, UTZ, and Shade Grown certifications, we do not exclude other really great coffees that have not been certified by one of these important organizations. We call ourselves an "Inclusive Coffee Buyer." We go "beyond certifications" to source high-quality coffees directly from growers who are deserving of high prices for their coffee, even though they have chosen to forego or cannot yet afford the cost of certification.

We are a certified Fair Trade Coffee Roaster and Retailer. We believe that this organization has been very important in improving the lives of many small coffee farmers in many different countries. We will continue to source and purchase Fair Trade and other certified coffees. But we also believe we have a responsibility to source and introduce our customers to many other great coffees that are not affiliated with a certifying agency.

As an example, we recently traveled to the African country of Burundi. Burundi has the potential to become a big producer of some really great coffee but they have just recently come out of fifteen years of civil war and their infrastructure is still very unstable. None the less, we were able to visit several coffee cooperatives with the help of USAID. USAID is very involved with helping coffee producers in Burundi introduce their coffee to high-end American coffee buyers like us. These are the kinds of "direct buying" relationships we have been interested in growing over the past couple of years.

To make a long story short, we recently made a purchase from one of these co-ops in Burundi and paid substantially more than Fair Trade because of the great coffee they are producing. They are not Fair Trade certified nor are they in a position to become Fair Trade certified at this time. But these too are small farms and poor farmers that deserve to be paid for the high-quality, sustainably-produced coffee they grow. If we were to simply buy only Fair Trade certified coffee, we would not only be missing the opportunity to bring to market some new and wonderful tasting coffee, but we would be excluding farmers who work just as hard, and deserve just as much as those who can afford and/or have the opportunity to become certified.

We visit these farms and get to know these people and see their commitment to their work. We intend to develop long-term and sustainable relationships with these farmers who we consider our partners and we will always pay them the prices they deserve, which are currently at least as good as, and many times much more than, Fair Trade guaranteed pricing. We are committed to reinvesting our profits back into coffee growing communities. We are not commodity buyers of coffee. We pay high prices for high-quality coffee that has been sustainably-produced from growers we know. This is something we are very proud of and committed to.

Click here to see our current selection of coffees. If the coffee is certified, you'll be able to see who it's certified by. If it's not, you'll be able to learn about the people who grew it and why we made the decision to buy it.

If you are currently a Dunn Bros Coffee customer, THANK YOU! If you are not one yet, please give us a try. We are confident you won't be disappointed.

Certifications

Fair Trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach to empowering developing country producers and promoting sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, and flowers.

Rainforest Alliance is a non-governmental organization (NGO) working to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. The Rainforest Alliance works with people whose livelihoods depend on the land, helping them transform the way they grow food, harvest wood and host travelers. From large multinational corporations to small, community-based cooperatives, they involve businesses and consumers worldwide in their efforts to bring responsibly produced goods and services to a global marketplace.

Organic In order for coffee to be certified and sold as organic in the United States, it must be produced in accordance with U.S. standards for organic production and certified by an agency accredited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. U.S. requirements for organic coffee production include farming without synthetic pesticides or other prohibited substances for three years and a sustainable crop rotation plan to prevent erosion, the depletion of soil nutrients, and control for pests.

Shade-grown coffee refers to coffee grown under a canopy of trees. Most of the coffee farms in Latin America have converted to "sun-coffee" to increase production. "Sun-coffee" entails thinning out the trees in order to make more room for the actual coffee plants. The debate over "sun-coffee" and "shade-grown" has mostly been caused by ornithologists who believe that the de-forestation of these farms has resulted in the loss of countless birds who once lived in the trees.

UTZ Certified is an industry-led coffee certification program launched in 2002. The program claims to be the largest coffee certifier in the world. Formerly known as Utz Kapeh, UTZ CERTIFIED is a foundation for the world-wide implementation of a baseline standard for responsible coffee growing and sourcing. UTZ-certified cooperatives, estate farms and producer groups comply with the UTZ CERTIFIED Code of Conduct. This Code is an internationally recognized set of criteria for professional coffee growing, which includes socially and environmentally appropriate coffee growing practices, and efficient farm management.