Dear Chef Pat,

On a recent trip to the Northwest, I was amused by the entertaining names of coffee cafes — Central Perk, Velvet Foam, The Buzz Stop, Percatory Café, Java Jungle, Jitters Coffee and Coffee Messiah (where “caffeine saves.”) Folks are very serious about coffee there. Instead of the weather being the opener in conversations, Seattleites speak about perking preferences, variety of coffee Arabica beans preferred (there are over 100) and the techie-take surrounding the scientific methods used to extract the best flavor from coffee beans (Microsoft headquarters is nearby). I also caught some references to “socially responsible” coffee companies. Will you enlighten a confused curious consumer?

Signed, Steve (sleepless while in Seattle)

Dear concerned coffee connoisseur: You are so right! Coffee is very serious business today with the United States consuming one-fifth of all the world's coffee, making us the largest coffee-consuming nation in the world.

Coffee's history progressed from Arab coffeehouses to Europe with the age of enlightenment in the 1600s. Argued by some that coffee was evil, Pope Clement gave his seal of approval after his first encounter with its aroma and taste. Intellectuals, scientists, writers and businessmen found coffee for breakfast “heightened purity and lucidity.” Previously the only safe breakfast drink was weak beer or wine. Since coffee was made with boiled water, it was safe and kept participants alert and stimulated.

Coffeehouses, unlike taverns, were well-lit, well-furnished and adorned with bookshelves. They attracted like-minded experts who met to discuss business, theology, politics and science. According to Tom Standage, in “A History of the World in 6 Glasses “ (Walker Publishing, 2005). “Europe's coffeehouses functioned as the Internet of the Age of Reason.”

Perhaps that is the reason for the success of the Starbucks chain and the small local coffeehouses that you mention. People look for opportunities to gather. Around coffee, conversations are stimulated and stimulating.

The controversy surrounding how large companies source their coffee is worthy of your attention. Fluctuations in the price of coffee affect the livelihood of 25 million farm families in 50 developing countries worldwide. A combination of price volatility (coffee has been trending down for the last five years, currently ranging from 60 to 70 cents per pound) and increased output from Vietnam and Brazil, have left small-farm families unable to earn a living wage. Meanwhile, some coffee companies are not passing these savings on to consumers, but are pocketing the increased profit.

Enlightened organizations like TransFair USA, a nonprofit associated with Fair Trade Labeling Organizations network (www.fairtrade.net), oversees a certification process that provides a minimum price per pound of $1.26 and technical assistance on organic farming practices. “In the last five years, sales of Fair Trade coffee have grown from 1 million pounds to 18.5 million pounds,” states Paul Rice, TransFair's president.

Not all coffee labels bearing “Fair Trade Certified” offer coffee that is 100 percent fair-trade priced. Dean Cycoon of Dean's Beans Organic Coffee Co. in Orange, Mass., broke from that organization and formed his own, promising and delivering coffee that is 100 percent organic free trade.

To find the highest-quality coffee for their 73-year-old company, illycaffè of Trieste, Italy, works directly with their own coffee growers, buying directly from farmers in Brazil, Ethiopia, Guatemala, India and Columbia, paying well, teaching growers modern systems of sustainable agriculture and investing profits in facilities and plantations.

Starbucks has established its own guidelines called Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices, paying more to farmers producing superior coffee, providing socially responsible working conditions and promoting sustainable environmental practices.

Internet-auctioned coffee is the work of the nonprofit Coffee Quality Institute. Boyd's Coffee in Oregon participates actively. “Seventy-five percent from the sale goes directly to the grower, and at least 2 percent is reinvested in the community,” states Dick Boyd of Boyd's Coffee.

Ultimately, coffee that provides a living wage for growers and sustainability for the future costs more. Consumers vote with their dollars.

Always perking,

Pat

P.S. Millstone coffee is Procter & Gamble's fair-traded coffee.

Pat Ernst Dugan is a private chef, educator and food/recipe writer. E-mail her at foodlyyours@aol.com or send comments and questions to be forwarded to: Foodly Yours, Star-Gazette, Attn: Features Department, 201 Baldwin St., P.O. Box 285, Elmira, NY 14902.