Guide To Great Sustainable Coffee in Fairfield County

Coffee joints have always been key meeting grounds, but in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, good quality caffeine and WIFI reign supreme. However, cafes such as Green Leaf Organic Bakery and Cafe inWilton,Terrain in Westport, Sugar & Olives in Norwalk, Tusk & Cup in Ridgefield, & espresso NEAT in Darien are going beyond basic coffee service. Here's why...(re-posted with permission from the Fairfield Green Food Guide)

Ah, it’s getting to be hot-beverage season (but then again, maybe it always is). Are you a mom who is back to inhabiting cafes with friends now that the kids are back in school? Or a traveler passing through Fairfield County? Either way, a great cup of joe is always on the destination list. But where to get one? And, more importantly, where to enjoy a sustainable cup of coffee? That’s the trickier part because not all joe is created equal.

Why go sustainable with your coffee, you ask? It’s merely beans and water. Oh, but it’s not. The cup is far deeper and more complex than you think. Coffee reigns with chocolate as a commodity that not only impacts our planet but human lives as well. Really? Really. When coffee is grown in a sustainable fashion, maintaining the ecology of the area and ensuring that it remain diverse and productive despite its usage are a top priority. The human component, communicated via the “fair trade” label, ensures that farmers and workers who pick and process the beans receive fair wages and fair treatment. Something to ponder as you sip your next coffee. 

Several labels have become more prevalent on our favorite bags of beans these days. If a coffee is “organic”, then it is grown and produced without using synthetic pesticides or fertilizer. If a coffee is “fair-trade”, then you know that the beans have been cultivated with a certain level of sustainability in mind and that better labor trading conditions ultimately help the farmers and workers. These developing countries benefit greatly in the economic realm when this is established. And finally, if a coffee is deemed “direct trade”,  it has been sourced directly from the farmer, without a middle man. This also actively promotes positive economical change in developing areas.

Without further ado…some great spots to get a cup of coffee that not only tastes great, but does great things too.

Read the full original article with more coffee venues to check out @ Fairfield Green Food Guide.