October 2011 Coffee News

-Shade Grown Coffee
-Coffee at the Bell Museum
-Coffee Fundraisers
-Travel to Honduras
-Special Orders and Holiday Flavors

While we were out doing our coffee deliveries last month, we received a call from a research institute of Harvard University, asking if they could use one of our photos of shade-grown coffee in an essay on Land Use and Bird Populations in Latin America. We were happy to offer this small contribution to their work (see more details below) and are equally delighted to have connections this month to the new Coffee Exhibit at the Bell Museum, as well as several coffee fundraisers for other excellent organizations. You can read more about all this good work below.

Shade Grown Coffee
We have several photos of our shade grown coffee on our website and so we assume that the folks at the Dumbarton Oaks research institute of Harvard University in Washington D.C. simply found us through a web search. In any case, we are happy to be connected to their volume of symposium papers entitled Designing Wildlife Habitats and specifically an essay by Shepard Krech on land use and bird populations in Latin America. The photo they will be using can be found in our photo gallery and was taken in December 2007 by Guillermo on his brother's coffee farm.

Coffee at the Bell Museum
We enjoyed taking part in the Bell Museum's "Thursday Evening in a Cup" event last night to celebrate their latest exhibit "Coffee: The World in our Cup" which runs through November 27. The exhibit covers everything from the history, economics and ecology of coffee, to how it is grown and brewed. We'll be there again next month on November 3 from 5:30-8:30 along with other coffee "experts" (we're honored that that's what they think we are!). Learn even more about the science of coffee through the Cafe Scientifique happy hour events the Bell hosts on the third Tuesday of every month at the Bryant Lake Bowl.

Velasquez Family Coffee Fundraisers
It's the time of year when our coffee fundraisers get rolling again. This fall we are happy to support silent auctions that benefit La Conexion de las Americas annual Gala on November 5, the Northland Bioneers Conference November 12, and the St. Edwards Harvest Moon Festival.

We are also pleased to have coffee fundraisers that support Adams Spanish Immersion Elementary School, Highland Park Middle School Spanish Immersion program, the Twin Cities German Immersion School, Pillsbury Elementary School, Great Northern Gymnastics, Most Holy Trinity Church Honduras Mission project, and Side by Side Youth Ministries Sam and Evans Coffee fundraiser that support among other things their mission trips to Central America. Fundraisers with the Children's Center Montessori and Zion Benton High School Spanish Club are also in the works. And our coffee was featured recently at the Nativity of Our Lord school County Fair.

We will be selling our coffee in person at the Prospect Park United Methodist Church Bazaar and Art Fair on November 5 and the Westminster Presbyterian Church Fair Trade Gift Fair on November 13. We'd love it if you can stop by and say hi! And let us know if you'd like to start a coffee fundraiser for your group.

Travel to Honduras in January
We are getting closer to finalizing details for a trip to the Velasquez Family Coffee farm the week of January 15, 2012. We have space for about 5 more people. Cost is $800 plus air fare for 10 days and includes lodging, food and transportation in country. Contact us soon if you are interested in traveling with us. (A June 2012 trip is also in the works).

Special Orders -- Holiday Flavor vote
We received several special coffee orders last month in response to our invitation. (Check our September newsletter for more details on what we can offer for special grinds, flavors, blends and packaging.) To place a special order for the November 11 delivery, contact us by October 24 when we will be placing our next roasting order.

This month, several people were interested in trying a Vienna Roast (in between our French Roast and our Full City) and so we ordered it with our October roasting. We have a limited amount available if you'd like to try it too, check our website for the latest availability.

One customer is also interested in two special flavors but doesn't need the full 5 lb minimum that we require for a special flavor order, so we thought we'd offer them to the rest of you as well. Let us know if you'd be interested in 8 oz bags of either of the following (and if you'd prefer whole bean or ground). If we have enough interest, they will be available in November.

*Rum Royale Cappuccino: Warm cappuccino – frothy & thick with a healthy splash of rich buttery rum added
*Wind Chill: Rich cream flavor with signature notes of vanilla, caramel, and dark chocolate (a favorite of our holiday flavors last year -- although perhaps we can rename it Autumn Chill -- since we're not ready to talk about wintery Wind Chill yet!)

Talking about holiday flavors, look for an email announcing our popular annual holiday flavor vote to come out mid-October. If you have suggestions for flavors you would like to see included in the vote this year, let us know before October 15. Check out the many flavors our roasters offers on their website: regular flavors, fall seasonal flavors. (We can also email you list of their winter and holiday flavors from last year if you are interested.)