In Ethiopia, there is a coffee plantation called Gemadro. It's unusual because almost all of the coffee in Ethiopia is grown by small farmers who harvest wild coffee or grow on very small plots of land that doesn't even (technically) belong to them. Gemadro estate is a different story.

I talked about this on AA Cafe podcast #39 with Candice. At the time, I called Starbucks a liar.

I stand by that statement. Here's why. When I first heard of this, it didn't sound right. Several things about it made me question the honesty of Starbucks. So I did some research. And I found an article about Starbucks and the Gemadro estate. It seems that the farm is owned by the Ethio-Coffee and Tea Plantation and Marketing, PLC, a division of MIDROC Ethiopia, a MIDROC International Group company. MIDROC is a conglomerate that owns gold mines, hotels, construction and real estate companies, multiple oil companies, cement factories, and other interests. MIDROC is owned by Ethiopian-born Saudi Sheik Mohammed Hussien Al-Amoudi, whose net worth is $6.9 billion. Here are a few articles from the Boston Herald, New York Times, etc that talk about Mohammed Hussien Al-Amoudi possibly being involved with funding Osama Bin Laden and terrorist activities. I don't know anything about that stuff, but it looks shady.

There's an entire article on the Coffee & Conservation website that disputes Starbucks claims that Gemadro estate is an eco-friendly place. You should read it. It's interesting.

And just yesterday, I ran across another article from The Oakland Tribune that also talks about this Gemadro coffee and the estate in which it's grown. It's a longish article, but well worth the read. Part of the b.s. Starbucks is spewing is their own certification program, called Coffee and Farmer Equity practices (CAFE), which rewards farmers for meeting social and environmental goals. They certify their own coffee. In this case, they didn't even do that. They hired another company who hired another company who sent an inspector to the plantation. That inspector was later fired for doing a poor job. But Starbucks still claims the estate is environmentally- and people-friendly. You probably won't be surprised to read the truth. But do it anyway. Information is our ally.

Besides being liars about the estate where the coffee is harvested, there's no way in hell this coffee is fresh. Or properly roasted. Even if they happened upon a great-tasting bean, Starbucks couldn't turn it into a tasty cup. But good coffee isn't really the appeal of Starbucks, is it?