Direct trade is a form of sourcing practiced by some coffee roasters, referring to direct sourcing from farmers, with standards varying between producers. Direct trade is seen as an alternative to Fairtrade certification, and represents the interests of roasters who disagreed with elements of Fair Trade, including:

• the lack of increase in fair trade premiums paid to farmers;
• the lack of what the direct trade advocates perceived as a sufficient quality-incentive for farmers;
• the limits on Fair Trade participation (i.e., individual farms cannot be certified unless part of a cooperative, and plantations and estates are not allowed to join cooperatives);
• the fees involved in being a participating Fair Trade company (e.g. fees, dues, and surcharges).

Advocates of direct trade practices promote direct communication and price negotiation between buyer and farmer, along with systems that encourage and incentivize quality. There is no agreed definition of the term, and, unlike Fair Trade coffee, there is no third party certification that the conditions stated by the coffee buyers are being complied with.

The term was pioneered by the collective efforts of Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea

Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea

Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, colloquially known as Intelligentsia, is a coffee roasting company and retailer with its headquarters at 1850 W. Fulton Street in Chicago, Illinois. Intelligentsia has several cafe retail locations throughout the Chicago area. The company was founded in 1995 by Doug...

 (since 2006 or earlier), and Counter Culture Coffee. (since 2008), The term is also used by coffee roasters like Stumptown Coffee Roasters

Stumptown Coffee Roasters

Stumptown Coffee Roasters is a coffee roaster and retailer based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The chain's flagship cafe and roastery on SE 45th and Division opened in 1999...

. In fact, within the specialty coffee industry, these three roasters are often referred to collectively as the "Big Three

Big three

Big Three is a term used colloquially to refer to the three most prominent entities in any given grouping or subject.It may refer to:- People :* The leaders of the three major Allies of World War I: David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, and Woodrow Wilson...

 of Third Wave Coffee

Third Wave Coffee

The Third Wave of Coffee refers to a current movement to produce high-quality coffee, and consider coffee as an artisanal foodstuff, like wine, rather than a commodity, like wheat...

".

The term "direct trade" has since been adopted by other roasters; a list is maintained by the Direct Trade Coffee Club.

External links

• Direct Trade Coffee Club – organization promoting and offering monthly subscription coffee via roasters who have pledged to use Direct Trade sourcing