You're standing in the coffee aisle, or scrolling a web shop. One bag says "direct trade", the next says "Fairtrade". Both sound fair. But what do they actually promise? Let's sort out fairtrade vs direct trade coffee together: what each one promises and what it doesn't, what the research says, and how to check a roaster yourself.
TL;DR
- Fairtrade is a label with a minimum price for the coffee. Direct trade is a way of buying with no fixed rules.
- The minimum price only matters when the market price (what the world market pays) falls below it.
- Research on certification shows mixed effects on income, and the results differ by country.
- Ask a roaster about the farm, the importer (who buys the coffee and ships it to Europe) and the price.
What is the difference between Fairtrade and direct trade coffee?
Fairtrade is a label with set rules and a minimum price for the coffee. Direct trade coffee is something else: a term for buying straight from the farmer, with no label and no rulebook. Both tell you something about the trade behind the bag. Neither tells you anything about the taste in your cup.
With direct trade, the roaster sets the bar. In 2015, researchers found that direct trade has no single, agreed definition (Borrella, Mataix and Carrasco-Gallego, IDS Bulletin, 2015). What a roaster means by the term can differ.
Fairtrade works differently. The same rules apply to everyone who carries the label, so you know what you're getting. Those rules cover a minimum price and a premium, a fixed extra amount on top of the coffee price.
Specialty is a separate question. It's about taste and quality, and we explain it in our post on what specialty coffee is.
What exactly does Fairtrade guarantee a coffee farmer?
Fairtrade guarantees two things for coffee sold on Fairtrade terms: a minimum price and a premium, which is a fixed extra payment. The minimum price is a floor for that coffee. The premium is a separate amount on top. That doesn't automatically mean a farmer makes a good living.
Fairtrade International's own 2026 statement says it sets a minimum price for coffee plus a fixed premium. Both are reviewed regularly (Fairtrade International, 2026).
Here's how it works in practice. The market price is what the world market pays for coffee at that moment. Say it drops below the minimum price while a cooperative (a group of farmers who sell together) is selling on Fairtrade terms. The cooperative then gets at least the minimum price.
There's a catch, though. The promise only covers the part of the coffee that's actually sold on those terms. The research below shows how much that is.
Why does the Fairtrade minimum price sometimes do nothing?
When the market price sits above the minimum price, the coffee just sells at the market price. The minimum price does nothing then. It only kicks in when the market price drops below it. A safety net is something you only notice when you fall. Whether that happens depends on the period.
In 2025, Fairtrade published its own figures on coffee. From 2011 to 2022, the minimum price was above the New York market price 53% of the time. Since August 2023, it has been above it only 23% of the time (Fairtrade International, 2025). These are Fairtrade's own numbers. So the safety net came into play more often in the first period than since.
In 2026, Fairtrade International reported that the coffee price has stayed above the level of the new minimum price since March 2024 (Fairtrade International, 2026). The world price was high too. In February 2025, the monthly average was the highest the International Coffee Organization (ICO) had ever recorded, 94.6% above February 2024 (International Coffee Organization, 2025). Those prices are not adjusted for inflation.
For you as a buyer, that means a Fairtrade bag tells you which rules the coffee was sold under. A record price is exactly when a safety net is needed least. The label still matters, because it's there for the lean years. Just don't assume the minimum price puts extra money in the farmer's pocket on every Fairtrade bag while the market price stays above it.
Research on Fairtrade and farmer incomes gives mixed results
Research doesn't give one clear answer on whether certification raises coffee farmers' incomes. The picture changes by country and by study. Below are two studies from scientific journals, each with its conditions attached, so you can see where the results come from.
First, a caveat. According to Fairtrade itself, cooperatives sold on average 35% of their coffee on Fairtrade terms in 2023 (Fairtrade International, 2025). The rest sold on other terms. A certificate doesn't mean all of a farmer's coffee is sold that way.
In 2022, Jena and Grote published a study of 738 small coffee farmers in Ethiopia, India and Nicaragua (Jena and Grote, Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2022). They compared farmers with and without certification. In Ethiopia, the researchers found no clear difference, and certified farmers did no better. India came out positive, both for the harvest per hectare and for the net revenue from it (what's left after costs). In Nicaragua, a hectare of coffee brought in more net revenue, but the researchers found no significant effect on total household income. They compared farmers at a single point in time, so the study shows links but can't prove cause and effect.
Also in 2022, the Journal of the European Economic Association published a study on Costa Rica. Fairtrade was linked to higher incomes for farm owners. Part of that gain came from middlemen, whose incomes fell. For mill revenues, that held only in years when the minimum price beat the market price (Dragusanu, Montero and Nunn, Journal of the European Economic Association, 2022). Fairtrade had no effect on unskilled workers. The study ran from 1999 to 2014 and covered one country.
Together, the two studies show that "certification raises income" is too simple a claim. Sometimes it holds, sometimes there's no clear difference, and it depends on who you measure and where. A label can't tell you what a farmer earns. So think of a Fairtrade bag as a safety net, not a guaranteed higher income.
What does direct trade mean, and what doesn't it tell you?
Direct trade is usually pitched as a roaster talking to the farmer directly, with as few middlemen as possible. There's no fixed definition, and no label guards the term. The term says something about how the coffee was bought. It says nothing about how high the price was.
Buying close to the farmer can be worth a lot. It can also be a feel-good word on the bag. In 2015, researchers wrote that consumers often misunderstand direct trade. They also noted that people in the coffee trade sometimes misuse the term (Borrella, Mataix and Carrasco-Gallego, IDS Bulletin, 2015).
We found no study that compares farmer incomes under direct trade and Fairtrade.
"X% above Fairtrade" says little about fairness
When the market price is high, any coffee bought at the market price lands above the Fairtrade minimum price on its own. "X% above Fairtrade" is then the standard, not an achievement. A percentage like that sounds strong. Still, it says little about fairness, because it doesn't show what reached the farmer.
There's something else going on. A top-quality lot and the Fairtrade minimum price are two different things. A lot is one exceptional batch of coffee. The minimum price is a floor for coffee in general. A percentage linking the two compares things that don't match.
A better question is: above which floor, for which lot, and what did the farmer keep? What a farmer keeps depends on what the coffee cost to grow and how much of the price actually reached the farmer. A percentage can't show that. A fair story takes more than a nice number. The question works for Fairtrade, for direct trade and for a bag with no label at all.
How to check whether a roaster really buys fairly
Three questions work better than one word on the bag: does the roaster name the farm, the importer and the price the farmer gets? This is Camino's own checklist. It isn't research. You can use it on any roaster. You don't need any expert knowledge, just a bag or a web shop page.
- Does the roaster name the farm? A real name of a farm or cooperative, with a place attached, is something you can look up. "Coffee from Colombia" isn't. Staying vague is a signal, nothing more.
- Does the roaster name the importer? Sometimes an importer, the company that buys the coffee and brings it to Europe, sits between farmer and roaster. That's fine, but with direct trade you want to know how direct it really is. If the name is there, you can see the chain. If it isn't, you're left guessing.
- Does the roaster name the price the farmer gets? This is the hardest question and the most telling. An amount per kilo gives you something to compare with. Without one, "fair" stays just a word.
Look up a few roasters that put direct trade on their site or bag, and count how many answer all three questions. That count tells you more than the word itself. If you'd rather choose by taste and brewing method first, read how to choose coffee beans. The three questions still make a good final check.
Where does Camino stand?
Camino has no certification label. We don't say every coffee is direct trade either, because how we buy differs from coffee to coffee. The farmer's name is on the bag, though. You can read who we are on the about page, and browse the coffees in the coffee beans collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Fairtrade coffee?
Fairtrade coffee is certified coffee sold on Fairtrade terms. According to Fairtrade International's 2026 statement, that includes a minimum price and a fixed premium, both reviewed regularly (Fairtrade International, 2026). The label says nothing about taste.
Why is Fairtrade coffee more expensive?
Not always. The seller sets the shelf price. The premium and the cost of certification can be part of it. We don't know how much of a difference that makes, and we'd rather not guess.
What are direct trade coffee beans?
Direct trade coffee beans are beans a roaster says they bought straight from the farmer or cooperative. It's a way of buying with no label and no fixed definition. It's best to check for yourself what a roaster says they do.
Is direct trade better than fair trade coffee?
Neither is better by default. Fairtrade gives a minimum price and fixed rules, and direct trade may come with a real relationship with the farmer. We found no study that compares farmer incomes under both, so we can't name a winner.
Is Fairtrade really fair?
Fairtrade guarantees a minimum price and a premium, but it can't promise every farmer a good income. Research shows mixed results. In 2022, one study looked at 738 small farmers in three countries. Certified farmers sometimes earned more net coffee revenue per hectare, sometimes saw no clear difference (Jena and Grote, Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2022).
Is Camino Fairtrade or direct trade?
We're not Fairtrade certified, and we don't claim all our coffee is direct trade. How we buy differs per coffee. You'll find the farmer's name on the bag.
You can spot honest coffee by the answers
No label proves that a farmer gets a fair price. A word on the bag tells you little, because it doesn't show how the buying actually worked. That holds for direct trade vs fair trade coffee too. Answers you can read back say more than one word.
Take the three questions with you to your next bag.
