The large of the fair trade coffee blend was 40 cents more than that of the non fair trade blends. I had never really thought about it before, but how much more, if any, should you pay for a cup of fair trade coffee over a similar cup of non fair trade coffee?

I was assuming that a pound of fair trade coffee goes for about a dollar or two more than its non fair trade counterpart. I went to several online coffee sites and priced them out and I was approximately right. Keep in mind, this is also retail. I would imagine that the wholesale prices would be slightly less and the differences between them even smaller.

Assuming that you get approximately 24 x 12 oz mugs per pound, that leaves us with the conclusion that for every dollar more per pound a coffee is, it would add about 4 cents per mug.

There’s little likelihood that the fair trade coffee is costing anymore than about 8 cents more to make than the non fair trade coffee. Is the difference going to cafe profits? Is there higher waste (possibly, since the price is so much higher, their sales of it are lower)? Any ideas?

I brought a travel mug in, as I always try to do, and got a discounted price, so it didn’t really register until I left the cafe, but I certainly have a question or two for my next visit.

Enjoy!
Ian

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