Mike White at ShotZombies.com reports that Counter Culture Coffee has just released their first annual Direct Trade report – a compact five page PDF clearly laying out prices paid, the last time the producer was visited and the length of the relationship. Based in Durham NC, Counter Culture was one of the first roasteries to use the designation “direct trade.” From CCC:
We visit our farmer partners regularly, and seek to have a consistent, personal presence on the farms where we buy coffee. We are excited to introduce our Counter Culture Direct Trade Certification Transparency Report (PDF), the first annual report of the Counter Culture Direct Trade Certification (CCDTC) program.
The report is the product of real transparency (a core value of our sustainable coffee model) and aims to give a succinct, transparent summary of our financial and personal relationships with the producer partners whose coffees received Counter Culture Direct Trade Certification in 2009.
This is a fantastic model to follow and a big step toward total transparency. Read all about it and download the Annual Report on CCC’s web site.