Food

Our coffee is better than Fairtrade, here's why

By BaxterStorey 28 Jun 2024

You've probably heard the phrase 'speciality coffee' before, but what is it?

Think delicious, well made and ethically-sourced coffee. Speciality coffee refers to coffee that is:

Grown and farmed in optimum conditions
Harvested with care
Processed meticulously
Roasted and brewed with a knowledge and understanding that does justice to everyone involved in the process

It is often used to refer to coffees that are graded by qualified taste testers or Q Graders (yes - this is a real thing!) and score 80 points or above out of 100.

From coffee bean farm to barista, every step taken in producing speciality coffee is carefully considered. By working with Extract Coffee Roasters, you can be sure that every coffee you drink at UAL is a high-quality brew!

How?

All of the coffee Extract Coffee buy is speciality-grade coffee. They pay a price that's higher than Fairtrade because the quality is so high.

Did you know that coffee is a commodity crop?

This means that it is traded on international markets around the world. However, the coffee in our cafés is speciality coffee which is traded outside of the commodity market, supplied by Extract Coffee Roasters.

This doesn't mean that speciality coffee is less ethical than Fairtrade. Getting Fairtrade certifications can be costly and time-consuming, so certification for top-grade coffee won't necessarily mean more earnings for that grower. It just means that even though speciality growers have fair and ethical operations on their farm, there is no incentive to getting Fairtrade certification.

To produce coffee of speciality quality, growers need a skilled workforce, good working conditions and the coffee needs to be be traceable back to the farm. Extract Coffee Roasters only work with growers they know, trust and have developed long-lasting relationships with.