Get Roasting with Cafe Direct

 

by Deborah Miarkowska

Get Roasting with Cafédirect
-First ever live TasteFair event to run from 21st February- 1st March 2009-

To celebrate the art of coffee growing, Cafédirect, one of the biggest names in Fairtrade, is staging the first ever TasteFair - nine days of eco-lifestyle events to stimulate the senses during Fairtrade Fortnight at Whole Foods Market, Kensington High Street, London.

TasteFair will run from 21st February - 1st March and will feature an impressive line-up of some of the UK’s best-known ‘eco’ celebrities and experts including Wayne Hemingway and Oliver Heath. There will also be food tastings, music evenings, story time readings, coffee classes and a specially created photographic exhibition tracing the incredible journey of coffee. Daily ‘seed to cup’ sessions will be available for coffee lovers and novices alike to learn about the coffee-making process, giving them the unique opportunity to hand-roast and taste coffee beans direct from Kilimanjaro under the expert supervision of Amen Mtui, coffee cupper from Tanzania.

The full programme of exciting TasteFair events is available at www.tastefair.co.uk and highlights include:

Meet the Experts
Saturday 21st February at 3.00pm: What’s cooking at River Cottage? Tim Maddams, Head Chef at River Cottage Canteen. One of the UK’s most successful chefs, Tim Maddam, will kick-off TasteFair with a special session on seasonal food - what’s in season now and how best to prepare it. Tim will provide a selection of seasonal tasting samples from River Cottage Canteen in Devon, and advise on how to become attuned to the seasons and where your food comes from, both in your shopping and your cooking. He will also talk about his passion for food and first-hand experience working as a professional chef.

Tuesday 24th February at 7.00pm: Style or sustainability? Wayne Hemmingway, Designer and co-founder of Red or Dead. Wayne discusses the future of the design industry in these testing times. How does environmental design respond to the current economic landscape - is it possible to achieve ‘eco design’ on a budget? Do tastes change when the economy changes? What ‘looks’ should we invest in now, and what lessons do we need to learn? Find out the answers to all these questions and hear some of Wayne’s experiences working on the front line of sustainable and affordable housing delivery and more from his wide business and design interests.

Wednesday 25th February at 7.00pm: Screening of Black Gold hosted by producer and film-maker Nick Francis. In a time when everyone is more conscious about ethical and environmental issues, Black Gold opens your eyes to the coffee trade and guarantees you’ll never look at your latte or cappuccino in the same way again. The film follows the journey of Tadesse Meskela, General Manager of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Co-operative in Ethiopia, as he travels around the world to find buyers willing to pay a fair price for his coffee.

Saturday 28th February at 3.00pm: ‘Eco-Chic’ with Oliver Heath, Interior Designer and Architect. Oliver Heath shares his passion for eco-interiors - looking at how to create beautifully designed low-impact homes using a balance of technology, nature and vintage. He will focus specifically on why vintage items are important in reducing our environmental impact and how they can add character and personality to the home, investigating a number of creative ideas and demonstrating how to make over a piece of furniture, bringing it back to life for today’s homes.

Sunday 1st March at 2.00pm: Growing your own food with Joe Swift, BBC Gardeners World. Joe Swift takes you through a year on his allotment with tips and advice on organic gardening methods and companion planting. Joe will show how to grow your own fruit and veg as well as a revisiting the past with a look at heritage varieties.

Cafédirect Story Time at Elevenses
Looking to entertain your kids while relaxing with your favourite cuppa? TasteFair will feature regular story time events with well-known children’s authors, giving mums and dads the chance to sit back and enjoy a delicious cup of quality Cafédirect coffee, tea or hot chocolate. Highlights from the Story Time events programme include:

Monday 23rd February at 11.00am: Learn to sign with Olli the Monkey and author Garry Slack. Come along and meet Garry Slack, sign language expert and author of the critically acclaimed books, ‘Learn to Sign with Olli’ and ‘Learn to Sign and Cook with Olli’. Garry and Olli the Monkey will host an interactive and easy sign language session for children using rhymes and songs.

Tuesday 24th February at 11.00am: Get your dancing shoes on: elevenses story time with Ruth Symes, author of ‘Harriet Dancing’. Bring along your tiny tots and hear children’s author Ruth Symes (with the help of Harriet and her friends) read the story of ‘Harriet Dancing’ - the hedgehog who wanted to dance with everyone. Ruth and Harriet will also lead a workshop in making colourful butterfly finger-puppets and butterfly dancing.

All Cafédirect Story Time events are free; email tastefair@cafedirect.co.uk to reserve your place. Tickets for the Meet the Experts sessions cost just £5 in advance, and can be purchased online at www.tastefair.co.uk. Proceeds from these ticket sales will go towards helping the Coocafé coffee co-operative and its growers in Costa Rica rebuild their business as they recently suffered severe damage to their crops following a major earthquake in January this year. Cafédirect is providing support to the Coocafé co-operative and other co-operative businesses around the world through its unique Producer Partnership Programme. To find out more about Coocafé click here: http://www.cafedirect.co.uk/coocafe

Space at all the events is limited so book now to avoid disappointment. Visit www.tastefair.co.uk.

-Ends-

For further information please contact Rosie Watson/Katie Coakes
FML Public Relations
01273 834716 or email rosie@fml-pr.co.uk

“When our cooperative first began working with Cafédirect over five years ago I didn’t believe there would be any change in our lives. Now I am sitting here today feeling very happy. The growers are paid better prices and receive training. Cafédirect is not like the others. I did not believe anything would change but now it is changing.” Emiliana Aligaesha, Coffee Grower, KDCU, Tanzania.

“Through their Producer Partnership Programme, Cafédirect has gone out of the box to show there is a lot more that can be done. The extra effort made in building farmer and management capacity in a bid to sustain supplies of tea has been received by us farmers and factory staff with appreciation. It has placed Cafédirect in a class of its own which is worthy of my respect.”
Julius Ethang’atha, Tea Grower, Michimikuru, Kenya
Awards

• Eight Cafédirect products won Gold at the 2008 Great Taste Awards, more than any other hot beverage company, Fairtrade or otherwise.

• A recent independent coffee taste test in Which? Magazine rated Cafédirect’s coffee higher than non Fairtrade coffee.

• In a survey of 2,000 global brands Cafédirect ranks No. 1 as the most recommended brand (Source: Millward Brown, March 2007).

• Teadirect, Cafédirect’s tea brand, was nominated for Best Hot Beverage in the 2008 Branded Excellence Awards

• Combining taste, price, ethics, and availability, Teadirect tops the Fairtrade Tea category: New Consumer Magazine, February 2008
Notes on Cafédirect plc:

• Growers play a key role in every aspect of Cafédirect, from governance to product design. They own shares in the company and have two directors on the Board.

• Together with our grower partners, we share a passion for producing the best quality teas, coffees and drinking chocolate. Our latest is the premium Teadirect Gold.

• Cafédirect was founded in 1991, predating Fairtrade in the UK by three years and was the first coffee brand to carry the mark. With a turnover of £22.34 million (2007/08), Cafédirect is the UK’s largest 100% Fairtrade hot drinks company, the 5th largest coffee brand, and 7th largest tea brand.

• Cafédirect’s work has directly improved the lives of 1.4 million people in developing countries by partnering with nearly 300,000 smallholder growers through 39 grower organisations across 13 developing countries.

• Over the last five years, Cafédirect has invested more than £3 million in its grower partners, representing more than half of the company’s profits, and has paid more than £7.5 million above market prices for its raw materials.

• Supporting sustainable development, Cafédirect pioneered a minimum price for Fairtrade tea, and reward growers for quality and organic produce.

• Cafédirect’s range of delicious 100% Fairtrade coffees, teas, and hot chocolate is available in major supermarkets, independent retailers, Oxfam shops, Traidcraft mail order, and the Cafédirect online store, as well as thousands of food service venues, such as hospitals, universities, schools and hotels. They are also available in Ireland, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

• To learn more about Cafédirect visit www.cafedirect.co.uk.

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