All is fair in love and war—and now, apparently in coffee too.

These days, manufacturers are slaphappy with the “Fairtrade” bug, plastering it on everything from cashews and chocolate bars to earthy tastin’ tea and organic coffee beans. But should we all drink the Kool-Aid and believe the feel good hype that fair wages and good employment opportunities are tied closely to what’s in the bottom of your coffee mug? Even more important, what the heck is “Fairtrade” anyway?

“In a nutshell, it’s basically a consumer guarantee,” spews Nicole Chettero, of TransFair USA. “It’s a guarantee that the products customers are purchasing do not have a negative impact on the environment, and that the farmers were given a fair wage for their work.”

In River City, caffeine-buzzed java heads can personally taste the concept at work in the back corner of Ten Thousands Villages in Carytown. One single thermal airpot, surrounded by tiny tasting cups, is filled each day with a Fairtrade brew such as Café San Miguel or Equal Exchange. Bethany Serrano, Assistant Store Manager at Ten Thousand Villages, is one of the many employees charged with keeping the free samples always fresh, while serving as a front line soldier in the Fairtrade movement.

“The Fairtrade word is thrown around a lot these days,” passionately explains Serrano. “It’s similar to how the natural food concept has moved to organic certifications. Well, so has Fairtrade—now you can be Fair Trade Certified by the Fair Trade Federation, or you can be internationally certified by International Federation for Alternative Trade (IFAT).”

Best of all, these feel good beans are tasty too. Serrano points to house favorites, such as the 12-oz bag of “Mind, Body & Soul” that she has trouble keeping on the shelves. Equal Exchange, the Fairtrade provider of these tasty Mexican beans, has become a connoisseur favorite due to its smooth finish with hints of dark chocolate and spice.

Making it all possible, Equal Exchange works closely with 32 different small farmer organizations (all of which use traditional drum roasting) in 18 developing countries. Enjoying the free cup in the back of the Carytown digs is one thing, but actually purchasing these grounds-for-change directly builds pride and independence for small farms in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. 

At the Shady Grove Coffeehouse, a non-profit java joint hosted by the Unitarian Universalism Community Church in Glen Allen, the coffee choice was obvious. “One of the things we joke about internally is that coffee-hour is the most important part of the service,” laughs Scott Hammer, a longtime volunteer who heads up the coffee shop/folk music venue portion of the church.

“Partially tongue-in-check, the folks that organize the coffee after the service refer to themselves as the Ministry of Coffee,” says Hammer. “As part of our commitment to social justice we started sometime ago serving Fairtrade coffee. Unitarian Universalism is a creedless religion, so we don’t have a party line that you have to subscribe to…we do have nine principals though, and one of those is a respect for all people…so one small way that translates is that we make sure that the folks that are producing our coffee are getting fairly compensated for their labors.”

From makeshift coffee houses in churches to local markets like Ellwood Thompson, Richmonders are now waking up to find a cup o’ Fairtrade Jo in more and more River City hotspots. 

While the barons of the beverage—think Kraft (Maxwell House), Procter and Gamble (Folgers), Sara Lee, and Nestle—still pack most supermarket shelves, artisans in Fairtrade cooperatives are gaining favor.  In fact, Fair Trade Certified coffee has become the fastest growing segment of the US coffee market, growing retail sales in the neighborhood of $50 million in 2000 to nearly $500 million by 2005.

“It has certainly been well received here,” concludes a fairly caffeinated Hammer, “No one has certainly said, ‘why aren’t you serving Starbucks,’ or ‘I want my Folgers’.”