The Ballard Market is one of the reasons I moved to the neighborhood - but that's another story.

At the last Fremont Fair I sampled Equal Exchange coffee and learned their cooperative was going to open an Espresso Bar at the Ballard Market. Where would they put it, I wondered? The answer: next to floral. What I can't answer is why it took me seven months to find a caf/ that seems to have been hidden in plain sight.

There was a frantic energy at Ballard Market on Super Bowl Sunday. The aisles were crowded; whoops and hollers were coming from the meat department. I was eager to escape but while in the checkout line something caught my attention - the Equal Exchange cardboard cup in the checker's hand. "Four shots," Tor told me proudly. According to Tor, the Equal Exchange coffee is never bitter. I ditched my full cart by the crocuses and finally found the espresso bar/caf/ that opened last summer. Five minutes later I had a list of daily drink specials, the Java Jive newsletter, a coupon for a free espresso drink, the manager's card, and a sense that I'd gone through the door in the back of the wardrobe.

What I've learned since going through the glass door is a serious challenge to Fremont's claim as the Center of the Universe. I've learned that Equal Exchange is over 20 years old and a community model: a worker-owned cooperative that trades directly with 32 coffee, tea, cocoa and sugar farmers in 17 countries, dedicated to sustainable farming, environmentally sound practices and improving social services through a stable source of income. Their headquarters are in Massachusetts but of all the places in the world the first-ever Equal Exchange Espresso Bar is located next to the floral department at our own Ballard Market.

The caf/ is small but amazingly removed from the shoppers and checkers just on the other side of the glass. There's a toy chest and child-size table with small cups and an enamel coffee, table and counter for grown-ups. They sell pastries and Mighty-O donuts, bagged coffees, chocolates, teas and gift baskets. There are drink specials for Valentine's week and a sign stating that all dairy and soy products are organic. I've learned that the manager Allison Booth moved from Rhode Island to launch and run the new enterprise. I've learned that the locally-owned Town and Country Markets have been the No. 1 retailers of Equal Exchange coffee for almost five years and that everyone contacted in each organization will return phone calls and emails, and then praise the others' organization. And when you turn in your coupon for the free espresso drink, Allison next rewards you with a coupon for a free pastry.

The Equal Exchange founders believe they will better the planet and its inhabitants "by creating and nurturing a relationship between the public and food producers." An activist since college, five-year employee Allison Booth is now working four day shifts per week in addition to her management responsibilities, plus coordinating marketing events and educational programs, because she believes the ripple effect of introducing consumers to fairly traded coffee will lead to greater social justice.

The Ballard Market is 21 years old and Allison doesn't look much older than that. To a growing number of "regulars" she may appear as just another highly personable barista - in truth she's a pioneer in combining community, coffee and activism. She relocated across the country and changed her career focus to lead this experiment for Equal Exchange, in which they take their mission of fairly traded products directly to the lips of the consumers. The only Equal Exchange Espresso Bar in the world just happens to be next to floral - a portal to positive change, and four shots that are never bitter.

Peggy's e-mail is atlargeinballard@yahoo.com. Her blog At Large in Ballard is at http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/ballard/