We are the growers and you can taste it!

At Cafédirect, we make it our business to deliver award-winning, ethical hot drinks. Growers are at the heart of everything we do and we invest over 50% of our profits back into their businesses to continually improve taste and quality.

Did you know over the last 5 years Cafédirect has:

• Trained growers to professionally taste their own products, helping them to improve quality and understand market value.

• Supported grower partners for up to two years to help them achieve Fairtrade status to enable them to trade with us.

• Paid more than £7.5 million above the market price to growers (including Fairtrade premiums).

• Invested over £3 million in tailor-made programmes to strengthen growers' businesses as part of our Producer Partnership Programme, which represents more than 50% of our profits.

In total, paid more than £10.5 million towards the businesses and communities of our grower partners.

Rooted in ethical trading
For 18 years Cafédirect has pioneered ethical business in the UK. What began with a crisis gesture from farmers on the brink of ruin has blossomed into the leading model of sustainable business in the hot beverage sector. Trading for three years before the Fairtrade mark was used in the UK, we were the first coffee brand to carry the mark.

Our innovative approach ensures growers play a key role in every aspect of Cafédirect, from governance to product design. Through direct, long-term relationships, we empower our grower partners to build a financially, socially and environmentally sustainable future for themselves, their families, and their communities. They hold shares in Cafédirect and have two representatives on our Board. Over and above a Fairtrade minimum price, the investment of over 50% of profits back into the businesses and communities of our grower partners is unique to Cafédirect.

Today Cafédirect is the UK's largest 100% Fairtrade hot beverage company and our work positively impacts the lives of 1.4 million people in 14 developing countries. Driving ethical business from the niche to the mainstream, the company has become a beacon - encouraging and inspiring social enterprise, and challenging others to change the way they do business.

Award Winning Products
In 2008, Cafédirect won eight prestigious Gold Great Taste Awards across our range of products. Regarded as the food and drink industry's Oscars, The Guild of Fine Food's annual Great Taste Awards are the UK's largest independent evaluation of gourmet and fine food and drink. We swept the board in the hot beverages category with one, two and three Gold Stars awarded for our wholebeans, roast and ground coffees, premium instant coffee and for our tea. For the second year in a row our Machu Picchu coffee scooped a Gold one star award as well as our Organic decaffeinated premium freeze dried instant coffee which also gained the one star accolade.

The Perfect Serve
To achieve the perfect serve you must start with a high quality product but as important is ensuring you have the right machine in place. In partnership with Peros, we can provide tailor made solutions in line with customer requirements. From providing high quality products, the right equipment and after sales support to barista training and strong marketing support materials, Cafédirect is a one stop solution to achieving the perfect serve.

Environmental impact and adaptation:
Standing side-by-side with farmers through the good and the bad times, we work to help farmers adapt to climate change.. In partnership with the German Technical Corporation (GTZ) and several of our grower partners, we are in the final year of a three year project  to identify ways that smallholder tea and coffee farmers can cope with the  climate change that is already affecting their livelihoods.

In addition we also support and encourage reforestation, energy efficiency and clean water projects.

For example, in the Michimikuru tea factory in Kenya we also worked with the cooperatives to implement changes that reduced the amount of timber used to dry their tea by 50%. There has also been a 15% decrease in electricity charges, 90% of all light bulbs used have been changed to energy saving versions and overall the Michimikuru cooperative is operating using 30% less energy than it was before.

Coffee

It all started in 1991 with just one Cafédirect coffee - Medium Roast Fresh Ground. Since then Cafédirect have added heaps more and just over 8 years ago we added a range of coffees suitably packed and designed for Foodservice. Cafédirect are now working with 26 coffee Producer Groups in 10 countries.

Our coffee range includes 2 types of espresso, one of which is organic which are sourced from Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Tanzania. We also offer a selection of Roast & Ground Coffees; of which one is a single origin (Machu Picchu) and the others are blends. We also offer a range of Instant Coffees. All of Cafédirect’s Coffees are Fairtrade and some are organic too.

Tea

Tea has been enjoyed at least since 550BC (by none other than Confucius), tea has travelled around the world and witnessed some extraordinary social and cultural evolutions before Cafédirect started buying under Fairtrade terms in 1998.

One thing that's never changed, though - it takes an expert to grow great tea. That's why Cafédirect work with growers who have been nurturing beautiful tea for generations in landscapes with the ideal growing conditions - experts who really care about growing leaves that's as good as they get. All of which adds up to Fairtrade teas of the very highest quality for you to serve to your customers. Cafédirect buy teas from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Sri Lanka and India.

Cafédirect also have a unique minimum pricing policy for tea to ensure that the tea growers receive a minimum price no matter how low the market price falls.

Cafédirect offer a range of teas suitable for many different occasions, including bulk packs of teabags, tagged and enveloped, dispense box and vending tea.

www.cafedirect.co.uk