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The Observer Food Teams Winning Fairtrade Foods

Ethical eating: how much do you swallow?

Two years ago, there were just 150 Fairtrade products. Now there are over a thousand. Andrew Purvis of The Observer asks if Fair Trade products can now get right out into consumer mainstream. Read his article here.

And The Observer food team sampled dozens of Fairtrade foods – and these were their ‘winners’.

Best hot chocolate – Cocodirect 250g, £2.29, widely available

What it tastes like: chocolatey, comforting and delicious.
Who it helps: the cocoa in this drinking chocolate (a generous 40 per cent) comes from grower co-operatives in the Carribean, Latin America and Africa -allowing them to invest their profits in projects like cocoa plant nurseries.

Best cereal bar – Traidcraft Geobar £1.79 for six, widely available

What it tastes like: foods which are both worthy and healthy, as these are, do have the potential to taste like sawdust. However, these apricot and raisin bars are very tasty indeed.
Who it helps: Traidcraft deal directly with the producers who grow the ingredients for their Geobars in Chile, Ghana, Malawi, Pakistan, Paraguay and South Africa.

Best coffee – Co-op after dinner roast coffee 227g, £2.05, 0800 068 6727

What it tastes like: a strong rich coffee to give you a major kickstart.
Who it helps: all the Co-op’s coffees are fair trade – the price of coffee has dropped dramatically in recent years and as a consequence some growers find themselves making less than half what it costs to grow their crops. The Co-op wants to alleviate the poverty this causes by paying extra for their beans, bought from countries like Nicaragua.

Best wine – Thandi chardonnay 75cl, £6.64, www.tesco.com/winestore

What it tastes like: a zesty white, very easy to drink.
Who it helps: the wine is a product of a black empowerment initiative in South Africa, which helps support two villages in the Elgin Valley.

Best tea – Co-op organic tea bags £1.95 for 80 bags, 0800 068 6727

What it tastes like: a mellow cuppa.
Who it helps: an isolated community in southern Tanzania, who have been able to construct a maize mill, community centre, nurseries, water pumps and start work on both a primary and secondary school.

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