Back before I hosed the site and lost everything, I had a post up about shopping for coffees that talk about what to buy and who to buy it from. I'm not going to take all the time to redo all of the research I did for that post, but browsing through Hippyshopper last night I was reminded of why it's important to get to know the folks who bring you your coffee.

Coffee is a unique product in that large numbers of people have been making social responsibility in the industry for a number of years now. When you consider that even here in the Midwest, coffee roasters are jumping on the fair-trade and organic coffee bandwagon, you know it's a good thing.

But you should get to know your coffee roaster and find out exactly where your beans are coming from. While it helps to look for the labels on the packages, you should ask what's happening with the people who are growing and picking the beans. While a product may be labeled fair-trade, that doesn't mean the money used to buy the coffee is being put to good use for the growers themselves.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters does a very good job of letting you know exactly what's happening in the areas where they purchase their beans. They make sure they're informed about the coops they work with and pass that information on at the bottom of each product page.

Starbucks, on the other hand, doesn't do such a good job. They mention where the coffee is grown, but don't necessarily tell you how their business is affecting the people who grow it.

The Hippyshopper article mentioned above mentions a couple of UK companies for organic and fair-trade coffees and teas, but I don't know much about either company. Clipper does talk about how they're involved in the lives of their growers, and Traidcraft gives some general information but you'll probably have to inquire about specific products.

Your best bet, however, is to find a local roaster, walk into their shop, and ask them specifically about the growers of their beans. If they don't know, ask them to find out. That's the only way to know for certain that your morning wake up call is as socially responsible as it can be.