Our History

The original founder, Joe Cesa, had been micro-roasting coffee in Philadelphia since 2002. His commitment to Fair Trade started then and carried into Philly Fair Trade Roasters in 2010, when he joined with partners to launch a Fair Trade coffee roasting company. Our roasting facility is now in Reinholds, PA, where we produce high-quality, roasted coffee.

Our business is run by a small staff so we all wear different hats. In unison to the idea of Fair Trade coffee, we believe our employees also deserve higher than usual wages. Each of our employees, from roasting and packing, customer service and sales, to demo and farmers market staff, work hard to support our mission in delivering delicious coffee grown by real people.

100% Fair Trade and Organic

We source our coffee from Fair Trade and Organic certified cooperatives in Central and South America and the Pacific Islands. Through a partnership with a direct importer, Crop to Cup, we are able to source excellent African coffees with direct connection to the farmers where they are encouraging them to build up to Fair Trade practices. We are also a Certified Organic facility, a rare find in this region for this product.

We’re Committed to Healthy Local Economies

We support local and small businesses and buy American made products. We are actively committed to a community of like minded-businesses. We support our producers’ organic practices, ensuring that farmers work in environmentally-healthy communities and paid more for their crop than they would receive from normal trade channels.  The few selections we buy via direct trade are from totally transparent sources, assuring us that the extra premiums paid are going directly to the producers–in their pockets, their areas’ infrastructure, education systems, health care programs and facility needs such as washing stations for coffee production. We’re making a difference–with your patronage–one cup at a time!