Which Coffee Roasters Are Committed To Fair Trade?

Fair trade coffee is everywhere until you start paying attention.

Walk into any Dutch supermarket and you’ll see bag after bag stamped with green logos, kind words, and vague promises. But once you look closer, most of it falls apart.

The beans are old. The stories are vague. And the producers? Often still underpaid.

We roast fresh to order, source transparently, and believe fair trade should mean more than a sticker.

This post is for people who care about where their beans come from and who’s actually doing the work to keep coffee ethical and excellent.

TL;DR Most supermarket “fair trade” coffee is stale and vague. Real fair trade coffee roasters focus on traceability, freshness, and fair pay. At Zwarte Roes, we roast to order and source ethically like Blend No1 and Colombia Giraldo.

What Fair Trade Really Means

Fair trade, in its ideal form, was built to protect farmers and balance the scales in a system that heavily favored buyers.

It was a reaction to decades of price crashes, exploitative contracts, and buyer-driven terms.

But to understand how we got to today’s confusing sea of labels and claims, we need to look at what fair trade set out to do and how it gradually shifted from movement to marketing.

The Original Idea

Fair trade began as a way to protect farmers from volatile commodity markets by guaranteeing a minimum price and adding a premium for community investment. A system built to even the playing field.

Early fair trade coffee roasters supported this shift by sourcing transparently and paying above-market prices. At the time, it was a radical improvement and for many, a first step toward accountability in coffee.

Where It Falls Apart

Over time, fair trade became more of a marketing tool than an ethical framework. Over time, fair trade became more of a marketing tool than an ethical framework.

As not all fair trade certifications uphold their promises, it's important to dig deeper than the label.

Multiple certification bodies, all with different standards. Some allow large estate-grown coffee. Some don’t require transparency. And many demand certification fees that small farmers can’t afford.

Even worse, some certified coffees are roasted in massive industrial batches, left in warehouses for months, then packaged with words like “ethical” or “sustainable” and sent to the supermarket shelf.

It might tick the “conscious consumer” box. But it doesn’t deliver quality. Or fairness. Or flavor.

Four Sourcing Models

Most people don’t realize just how different sourcing models can be. Here’s what’s out there:

Commodity Coffee

This is the cheapest coffee, sold at the global “C-price.” No traceability, no fair pay, no flavor. It’s the baseline for supermarket shelves.

Certified Fair Trade

Better, but still flawed. Farmers are paid a minimum price, but the system favors volume over quality and often lacks lot-level transparency. The label alone can’t tell you what you’re drinking.

Relationship Coffee (Direct Trade)

This is where things get better. Roasters or importers work directly with farmers or trusted co-ops. Prices are negotiated transparently, and producers are rewarded for quality not just yield. This is where most of Zwarte Roes coffee lives.

Transparent Trade

A step beyond. Prices, names, and supply chain info are openly published. Rare, but growing. No greenwashing. Just straight-up accountability.

Why Freshness Is Non-Negotiable

You can pay the farmer fairly, source from a beautiful high-altitude lot, and transport it carefully. But if the beans are roasted in bulk and sit on a shelf for six months, the quality is gone.

Stale beans aren’t ethical. They’re wasteful.

Freshness isn’t a bonus. It’s a baseline. At Zwarte Roes, we roast only when you order. No stockpiles. No warehouse blends. That’s the only way to respect the farmer’s work—and your taste buds.

Criteria For Ethical Roasters

Not all roasters waving the “ethical” flag deserve your trust. If you're buying in the Netherlands and want the real deal, here’s how to filter the noise:

Look For Origin Transparency

If a roaster can’t name the country, region, or producer, that’s a red flag. “South America” or “Rainforest Blend” isn’t origin info, it’s marketing filler.

Check The Roast Date

Roast date should be clear and recent. If all you see is “best before,” chances are the beans are past their prime.

Ask About Importers And Relationships

Any ethical roaster should be able to tell you who sourced the coffee and under what terms. If they can’t or won't, that's your answer.

Pay Attention To Taste

Fair coffee should taste alive. Sweetness, clarity, structure. If the flavor’s dull or bitter, that’s a sign the bean’s been mishandled, no matter how “fair” the branding sounds.

Certifications: A Starting Point, Not A Guarantee

Labels like Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance still serve a purpose. They’ve raised awareness. They protect farmers from the worst of market crashes. And they make it easier for consumers to make slightly better choices.

But they’re also a baseline, not a badge of excellence.

Some of the most impactful coffees we’ve ever roasted weren’t certified but they came from smallholder cooperatives setting their own prices, selling directly through ethical importers, and reinvesting in their farms.

We care about whether the system works, not just whether the box is ticked.

Our Approach At Zwarte Roes

We don’t do shortcuts. We don’t roast ahead of demand. And we don’t hide behind vague sourcing language.

We partner with trusted importers like This Side Up and Cultivar, who work directly with smallholders and prioritize traceability over volume. We cup and evaluate every lot ourselves. If the quality and transparency aren’t there, we don’t roast it.

Our pricing isn’t driven by margins. It’s built around sustainability for everyone involved. That means fewer blends for show, and more coffees that hold up in your cup and in your conscience.

Three Fair Trade Aligned Coffees We Stand Behind

Blend No1

Our Blend No1 is a best-seller for a reason. It’s smooth, balanced, and works across brewing methods. While it’s not certified, the beans are ethically sourced, and the farmers behind it are paid fairly every time.

Colombia Giraldo

One of our standout traceable offerings is Colombia Giraldo, a smallholder-grown washed Arabica from Antioquia with clean notes of red apple and caramel. The producers set their own prices and work with ethical exporters focused on long-term development and transparency.

Decaf Brasil (Swiss Water)

If you want full flavor without the caffeine, our Decaf Brasil is a solid choice. Naturally decaffeinated using the Swiss Water process and Rainforest Alliance certified, it’s grown in Mogiana with a focus on long-term sustainability and roasted fresh so your cup doesn’t taste like cardboard.

Other Dutch Roasters Worth Watching

We’re not the only ones doing this right. A few Dutch roasters we respect:

Bocca (Amsterdam) – Longtime pioneers of direct sourcing. They skip certifications and invest in long-term producer relationships.

Keen Coffee (Utrecht) – Transparency and quality focused. They publish sourcing info and reward producers based on cup score.

White Label (Amsterdam) – Consistently ethical sourcing, minimal marketing fluff, solid execution.

Nordkapp (Rotterdam) – Small, intense, and transparent. No buzzwords, just traceable coffee that punches above its size.

Ethical coffee isn’t a competition. It’s a standard. And we’re glad others are holding the line with us.

The Hidden Cost Of “Cheap” Fair Trade Coffee

When you buy supermarket “fair trade” for €3.99, you’re not paying for quality. You’re paying for marketing, logistics, and storage.

The producer may get less than €1 per bag. The roast is old. The flavor’s gone. And you’ve supported a system that rewards scale not sustainability.

That’s not real value. That’s the illusion of doing the right thing.

Buying directly from a roaster, especially one close to home, gets you more for your money, more impact for the producer, and better coffee in your cup.

The Greenwashing Trap

It’s trendy for big companies to say their coffee is “ethically sourced.” But without names, roast dates, or sourcing info, it’s just packaging.

Real transparency includes real answers. Who grew this coffee? How were they paid? When was it roasted? What does it taste like?

At Zwarte Roes, you can ask us any of those questions and get a straight answer.

Why Your Purchase Actually Matters

We get it. Ethical coffee can sound abstract especially when you're choosing between two bags that both say “fair.” But here’s the truth: your choice is one of the few parts of the global coffee chain you actually control.

Every euro you spend on coffee casts a vote. For freshness or warehouse stock. For fair wages or race-to-the-bottom pricing. For small producers or faceless exporters. It adds up, quickly.

When you choose a roaster like Zwarte Roes, you’re supporting a supply chain that functions on transparency and fairness not efficiency and scale.

You're helping producers who reinvest in their farms, send their kids to school, and keep cultivating quality lots instead of giving up.

And it’s not charity. You get better coffee. Cleaner flavor. More insight. More connection.

You don’t need to be an expert to care. You just need to be someone who’s tired of stale coffee with empty claims. Someone who wants a real answer when you ask, “Who grew this?”

We built Zwarte Roes for people like that. Like you.

Final Thoughts: Don’t Settle For Labels

If you’ve made it this far, you’re not here for a feel-good logo. You’re here because you want coffee that’s fresh, traceable, and fairly sourced.

That’s what we offer. No fake enthusiasm. No empty claims. Just honest beans, roasted to order, backed by ethical sourcing and clear communication.

Your cup deserves it. And so does the person who grew it.