Regardless of major, there are some questions every college student struggles with.
Regular, or decaf?
Cream? Sugar?
Fair Trade? Organic?
A survey this week will give students a chance weigh in on the future of USM’s coffee offerings, as dining services seeks to switch to a local supplier in a push for a ‘greener’ bean.
“We are trying to work within our sustainability goals and make more purchases from local suppliers,” said Mark Allen, director of USM’s dining services.
Dining services brought in two potential vendors for a taste test last week with Brunswick-based Wicked Joe serving up brew on Tuesday, and Portland-based Coffee By Design offering samples on Thursday.
These taste-testing sessions will be followed up this week by a survey offered between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. this Tuesday and Wednesday in the Woodbury Campus Center dining area. The survey will gauge students’ interest in switching from current vendor Pure Vida, who has been USM’s retail coffee supplier for the last five years. The potential switch does not extend to Gorham’s dining hall, which currently brews New England Coffee, although “that may change down the road,” according to Allen.
Dining services have not made a final decision as to whether or not they will switch from Pura Vida and will wait until the results of the survey are tallied to hear what the students have to say on the issue.
Either of the new vendors would also mean expanded menu offerings on campus. Both companies can supply USM with espresso machines and other brewing equipment necessary to make specialty coffee drinks like lattes and cappuccinos.
For some, the switch could not come fast enough.
“I will walk down to Mobil and drink Green Mountain over this,” said junior Jason Batchelor, who also said he’ll regularly stop at his neighborhood coffee shop on the way to school instead of drinking the university’s current brew. “I think [Pure Vida] is terrible – just slightly below average,” he added.
When USM contracted Pure Vida five years ago, the vendor was “one of the few companies that had organic and fair trade that could meet our needs in terms of volume,” said Allen.
That has all changed in the last couple years and CBD and Wicked Joe both hope that the quality of their coffee, Fair Trade practices and organic growing methods will win over the USM market.
“We believe you have to have that third party oversight,” said Bryden Smith, Wicked Joe’s director of sales and marketing, whose products are labeled as Fair Trade by TransFair USA.
The Fair Trade movement has become an enviro-conscious buzzword as of late, and with so many companies labeling their products with the phrase, it’s important to try to pin down exactly what the label means. The Fair Trade movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as social and environmental standards. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries. While nearly anyone can slap the words “fair trade” on a product, there are organizations that try to institutionalize the labeling process.
While taste reigns supreme in the minds of most coffee drinkers, potential vendors say there is a lot more to your average cup of coffee than beans and water.
“We were very excited to get the call,” said Mary-Allen Lindemann, who founded CBD in 1994 with her husband Alan Spear. “But we want to communicate to customers everything that goes into each coffee. We have certain quality standards and farming practices.” She said the company works closely with its growers in equatorial countries, with the goal of traveling to three of their coffee growing regions each year.
CBD is also one of the founding members of the Portland Buy Local campaign. Lindemann said that the company does not take on every account that approaches them but were won over by USM’s commitment to buying locally-produced goods. “We’ve been really impressed with Aramark ‘s committment to bring in local products,” said Lindemann, noting “you can get as good or better buying locally.”
With a less obvious presence in Portland – their brand is sold through Mister Bagel, and their company has half a stake in Bard Coffee on Middle Street – Wicked Joe emphasizes the sustainable nature of their operation as a selling point for the USM community.
“It’s not just a good fit in terms of being local and quality, but also in terms of social issues,” said Wicked Joe founder Bob Garver. “We are one of few Fair Trade certified companies in Maine,” he added. Both Wicked Joe and CBD offer Fair Trade coffee, although not all their blends qualify for the distinction.
Wicked Joe also participates in the Governor’s Carbon Challenge, and achieved a 54% reduction in carbon emissions in its first year as part of the program. Wicked Joe said that its environmentally-conscious practices make the brand the perfect fit for the college market. “The young consumer is more attuned to whats going on in the coffee world as it relates to fair trade and organic practices,” said Bryden Smith, Wicked Joe’s director of sales and marketing.
This is not Wicked Joe’s first foray into the college market. The company is now the sole brew offered at Bates College’s dining hall in Lewiston. “It’s definitely better than what they used to have,” said Bates senior Lisa Hartung, “There is much more of a variety of flavors,” she said, noting that there are usually four or five different blends to choose from.
Sustainability, Fair Trade, and all other enviro-buzzwords aside, sometimes it just comes down to taste. “I have to admit, it’s all about flavor,” said Batchelor.