Direct Trade
Here at Algonquin College we believe that a person should be rewarded as much as they are worth. This is the reason that the concept of Direct Trade was created. Direct Trade is similar to that of Fair Trade. Fair Trade was established to guarantee that coffee farmers receive fair prices for their coffee and not just the price that is dictated by the market. Algonquin College takes this methodology one-step further. Through Direct Trade, Algonquin College and Sombra Café deal directly with the coffee farmers harvesting the coffee plantations. This means that no middlemen are involved in the process allowing revenues to be passed along to the people who deserve it.

Shade Grown
Shade Grown coffee comes from those coffee plantations that are located underneath the canopy of the natural rainforest that exists in Costa Rica. These canopies protect the coffee plantations from receiving too much sunlight which can cause damage and affect the quality of coffee that is produced. As well, these canopies assist in protecting the soil from erosion which in turn provides natural mulch for the coffee plants. This natural mulch eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers and herbicides, creating an organic process.

Algonquin College is proud to support both of these processes to assist in the protection of the environment and the protection of the workers in Costa Rica.