Farmers get help by changing coffee tastes

Would you pay more for your coffee if you knew exactly where it came from and how it got to you?

The cafe tries to make customers aware of the specific story of the beans that made their cappuccinos and lattes, as well as the impact they are having by choosing to drink ethically.

The Attendant develops relationships with individual farmers through green coffee traders so that they can carefully select beans from individual farms.

Technology helps ensure the beans can be tracked all the way from the farm to the cup. When I visited I drank a £3 ($4) cappuccino made from beans grown in the Rwenzori Mountains of Uganda - about 18% more expensive than the average price of a coffee in the UK.

However, the customers I speak to are happy to pay more than they might elsewhere if it meant the farmers were getting a fairer price for their beans.

"It is important that the farmer gets a fair price for the coffee they sell," says logistics manager Eric, adding he also feels that consumers should be asking more questions about where their food comes from.

Instant coffee represents by far the biggest share of the global coffee market. As with any coffee it needs to be roasted relatively near to the end consumer so that it maintains its taste until it is actually drunk.

That is why most of the margin added to the beans is pocketed near to where they are consumed, rather than where they are farmed.