Rogers Estate Coffees' "Fairly Traded" and "Community Aid" Programs Pay Farmers and Workers More Than Industry Standards and Protect Nature in 10 Countries From Mexico to Rwanda

BRACKNELL, England, March 1, 2010 - An increasing number of coffee lovers are not aware that their choice of
coffee can impact thousands of people and nature in communities thousands of
miles away.

There is an array of labels out there- each pledging to the consumer that
their coffee is socially and environmentally responsible.

But how can you differentiate between fact and fiction? What do these
labels actually mean for the farmers, workers and their families and the
natural environment in these coffee growing regions?

Rogers Estate Coffees(www.rogersestatecoffees.co.uk/), the UK
producer of gourmet coffee(www.rogersestatecoffees.co.uk/), has
adopted its own standard: "Fairly Traded." This program exceeds the goals of
some labelling organisations such as Fair Trade and ensures that the workers
who produce your coffee beans(www.rogersestatecoffees.co.uk/) are
given the payment they deserve. This is done through setting up long term
contracts with single estate famers, which enable these coffee famers to
treat their employees fairly, improve local ecosystems and make a decent
profit.

Did you know that your coffee choice has a global impact?

Coffee affects an estimated half a billion people around the globe, from
pickers to roasters to retailers. The low prices in the coffee market
actually mean that coffee farmers are under great pressure and financial
stress. Many must sell their coffee beans way below their cost of production
in a desperate attempt to make a living. This leaves them greatly in debt and
facilitates the increasing levels of poverty in the coffee growing regions of
Central and South America. Worse still, the situation puts pressure on famers
to implement bad farming practices (such as the growing of illegal crops,
poor maintenance of land and even abandoning and selling their farms) in an
outcry to make money to support their families.

What are the Differences (and similarities) between Fairly Traded,
Community Aid and Fair Trade?

Rogers Estate Coffees' Community Aid /Fairly Traded coffee and Fair Trade
both strive to help break the cycle of poverty in coffee-growing lands. Both
programs promote long-term fixed contracts and direct imports from farmers to
bypass middlemen.

However, not all coffee farms are small enough to be organized into
cooperatives (a prerequisite for farmers participating in Fair Trade). Many
large coffee farms with which Rogers Estate Coffees does business often hire
the local, indigenous population to work on their farms. So, when importing
coffee from a farm that is not small (and therefore not a member of a Fair
Trade cooperative), it is impossible to get Fair Trade certificate for the
coffee. But poverty is still a problem for the local community and the
workers on the large farms.

The 'Coffee Community Aid program' extends Rogers Estate Coffees Fairly
Traded promise and fills this void that cannot be addressed by Fair Trade. In
a vow to tackle the appalling poverty in coffee farms, Community Aid turns
"Fairly Traded" coffee into houses, schools and medical clinics for thousands
of workers and their families - while preserving native plants and animals
and restoring rainforest. This year, Rogers will invest $US 1 million in
their Coffee Community Aid programme. Unlike other programs, the Rogers
Family Co. ensures that all Community Aid funds go only to farmers, workers
and their families for social or environmental projects that help break the
cycle of poverty and improve the quality of life for the workers and their
families.

From 2001 to 2007, 18 schools, 125 bathrooms, 119 housing
units, 12 clinics, and 52 kitchens were constructed in communities in Mexico,
Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Rwanda, New Guinea, Sumatra, Ethiopia and
Columbia via the Community Aid program.

To read more about Rogers Estate Coffees Community Aid visit:
www.rogersestatecoffees.co.uk/cremapress/2010/03/fairer

Notes to editor:

Rogers Estate Coffees actually pay more for their coffee than Fair Trade
- up to $1.40 per pound; (in some instances much more) which is substantially
more than the average market price - thereby exceeding labelling
organisations' standards - to ensure a farm's long-term viability.

About Rogers Estate Coffees

Rogers Estate Coffees is a UK subsidiary of Rogers Family Coffee Co., one
of the largest family owned coffee roasters in the USA. . The Rogers Family
Company supplies its "Responsibly Grown, Fairly Traded" gourmet coffee to
discriminating customers worldwide. . The company prides itself on its
Community Aid projects and the premium quality of its coffees. Visit
www.rogersestatecoffees.co.uk/ to find out more.

Contacts: Aimee carmichael, Tel number: +44(0)1202-237135
E-mail: aimee@rogersestatecoffees.co.uk

Contacts: Aimee carmichael, Tel number: +44(0)1202-237135, E-mail: aimee at rogersestatecoffees.co.uk