I normally buy my coffee from Bruno and Maria – authentic Italian organic Australian family owned coffee, freshly roasted and delivered straight from the plantation to my door.

but this morning i had run out, so i went to visit Tom, my local grocery store guy. after staring at the wall of coffee for a while i was about to make a choice between two Australian-roasted but imported coffees, both about $6 for 200g. then i noticed a packet with fair trade logo, and read a nice story about a peruvian women’s farming coop. it was exactly twice as expensive, but that extra six dollars is helping someone escape slavery, so i bought it happily. and when i took it to the counter, Tom said “our most popular coffee. i got it in first as an experiment, now i sell more of that than anything else.”

so congratulations to the shoppers of Summer Hill for making the fair choice, and confirming what i always hope – that given an informed choice, people will choose generously.