Organic, Fair Trade Coffee Beans

My newest quest, which I must admit I have many of these from week to week, is the one that I decided I will launch my first ever blog post with. It is my quest to locate and buy the strongest coffee beans that are also ethically and organic farmed. I must have my coffee strong; maybe due to living in Miami, Florida for many years; and if any of you know what it's like to drink Cuban coffee than you may understand me better when I say strong. Above all I am an eco-ist and I want to support the right organizations with the dollars I spend. Therefore, these next beans I purchase will ideally be ethically traded and organic. What a predicament.
We all know how wonderful Twitter is nowadays so I start there with my search. I put the call out for recommendations on said elusive beans. I get a reply from 3 "tweeps": @pulpologist, @raelinn_wine and @GreenWholesale [thanks girls!]. I also do my own little quick search and come up with some additional options. My methodology involves heading straight for the dark roast section of each roasters'/vendors' internet page. Some beans are also organized by region of origin and I don't know why but I have a predilection for African beans. I heard they were the best. Am I misinformed, crazy, maybe both? Anyway, it is the birthplace of coffee and a quite impoverished part of the world so I wouldn't mind sending some of my dollars that way and also pay respects to the historical roots of coffee (please inform me if I'm making a mistaken preference). Here are some of the suppliers I found.
I've located a bean called Organic French Roast from Allegro Coffee. Supposedly all the co-ops that Allegro works with are paid a premium for their beans. The Organic French Roast isn't really a bean from Africa. It's a blend of beans from different origins some of which are from Africa. It's dark, it's a little bit smoky--it sounds like a bean I might like. They also have a bean called Organic Espresso Sierra, also a blend of beans and with no beans of African origin. No matter, it says the beans are roasted dark, oily and the coffee has hints of chocolate, cardamon and caramel to the taste. This may work. Lastly, there's a bean called Rwanda Karaba, a single origin bean. I called the company and spoke to Dawn who explained that the beans although not certified organic could get the certification without making any changes if the farmers had the money to do so. Even though it says it is a light roast I read a review online and the taste-tester rated it to have a very full body with much acidity (translates to good for someone who likes strong coffee). That taste-tester is Ken Davids, supposedly a coffee expert and cofounder of Coffee Review. I'm easily persuaded so I'll add it to the list. Allegro has over a dozen different beans but these are the only ones that caught my attention. Well then, let's look up the ordering info. Darn it! They require a minimum 5 lb purchase for online orders. That's more coffee than I originally wanted to buy. I'm looking for about 12 oz. to 1 lb. Shipping the 5lbs to me costs about $15. I'm not entirely ruling it out but let's keep looking.
I next checked Jennifer Stone's Stone Cup, which was a recommendation from Twitter, but I didn't find any organic beans that were strong enough and there wasn't much of a selection on the dark roasts. Other groups I checked, although all great organizations fostering great causes, didn't really have a bean for my purposes for the same reasons: Grounds for Change and Yummy Coffee. I felt these were worth mentioning because they all had considerations for social responsibility.
Then I found one bean by Nectar of Life Coffee called Happy Place. Yup, this one is supposed to take you to that place. If it delivers on its promise to being full-bodied, dark and slightly smoky and chocolatey, then it just might do that. Shipping for 12 oz. is about $8.50.
From the next roaster, Intelligentsia Coffee, the Black Cat Organic Espresso caught my attention. It is described as a heavier, smokier espresso; but what they are comparing it to I don't know. I notice the price of these beans are almost double the others I have looked at. They also don't give you a shipping quote before you have to enter a bunch of personal info. The FAQ section says it will cost approximately between $5-9. Without a more technical rating of the flavor on these beans I'm not too certain I'd spend more here.
Finally, I discovered a group called Sacred Grounds. I am very intrigued by this roaster and they describe in detail the interaction they have with their small farmers under each bean. The one that seems most suitable for me, after looking through many beans and hoping one of the more exotic ones would fit the bill, turns out to be the commonplace Fair Trade French Roast. Alas, the African beans they offer are really enticing but not convincing me that they will make the strong coffee I desire. Then through some bizarre stroke of luck I stumbled upon The Arcata Eye, an exotic dark blend of organic coffee they purport to be strong. However the description is more comical than it is informative so I'm going to have to give them a call and really get the technical low-down on the flavor. After talking to Tim, who was very warm and helpful, I discovered the Arcata Eye was not going to be the right fit and if I want a strong, full-bodied coffee I had best go with the Costa Rica Double Dark or the Guatemala French Roast. Both are organic coffees according to Tim though no mention of such on the webpage. The shipping for 12 oz. is not bad at approximately $7.75 (when I say not bad I'm using the term lightly since 12oz. of Organic coffee at my local Publix costs $7.99).
So what is a girl to do? Right now I've narrowed it down to a bean from either Allegro Coffee, Happy Place, or seeing as how it's currently on sale, Costa Rica Double Dark from Sacred Grounds. The Rwanda Karaba is just tearing at my curiosity and since Whole Foods is one of the carriers of their beans I think I will stop in during my errands run today and see if I can get a small sample of a few oz. However, the best impression was left by Tim of Sacred Grounds and I have decided the Costa Rica Double Dark has best captured my vote. I'm going to cross my fingers and go with an order of a 12 oz. pack, as they sell them on their website.