The Green Beanery, a non-profit company that aims to help small coffee farmers in the Third World, has become Canada's newest merchant in specialty green coffee beans.

After just six months in business, Green Beanery has emerged as a major player in the home-coffee-roasting market, providing Canadian consumers with the country's largest variety of specialty beans.

"We stock gourmet beans from Malawi, Yemen, India, Papua New Guinea, Burundi -- countries dominated by small coffee farmers with distinctive tasting beans that are generally unavailable here, not just in the supermarket chains but also through high-end retailers such as Starbucks and Second Cup," says Lawrence Solomon, Green Beanery's founder. By bringing these beans to the public, we plan to expand the market for the Third World's small farmers while supporting research into activities that harm small farmers around the world."

Worldwide, the livelihoods of some 30 million people depend on the coffee industry, more than on any other industry.

Green Beanery's profits support the activities of Probe International, a federally-registered charity that fights hydro dams and other large-scale projects that force farmers off their land. Solomon helped found Probe International 20 years ago. He also helped found the World Rainforest Movement, Friends of the Earth Canada, and Energy Probe Research Foundation, among other organizations.

Apart from stocking more varieties of gourmet green coffee beans than any other Canadian retailer, Green Beanery also offers the country's widest selection of home coffee roasters -- a fast growing business -- as well as coffee grinders and other coffee accessories.

"A few lucky people in Canada live next to local coffee roasteries, but these are few and far between," Solomon explains. "For people who like their coffee fresh, almost anywhere in Canada, there really is no alternative to roasting your own."

For more information please contact:
Lawrence Solomon      416-964-9223 ext 241
Green Beanery
225 Brunswick Avenue,
Toronto, ON, M5S 2M6
http://www.greenbeanery.ca