November 2009 Coffee News

-Political Stalemate Continues
-Holiday Coffee Flavors
-Coffee Farm 2010 Calendar
-Holiday Gift Ideas

Political  Stalemate continues
For a moment last week, there was a glimmer of hope that the political situation in Honduras might finally be coming to a resolution. Jaded by previous Honduran political disappointments, we were not quick to celebrate. Unfortunately, it turns out that our cynicism was justified, as the accord between Zelaya and Michelletti appears to be "dead" at the moment. Thankfully, Hondurans do have one reason to celebrate -- the Honduran soccer team won a rare place in the World Cup finals, the first time since 1982. This month, we'll keep the political updates to a minimum (that was it) and we'll focus the rest of our newsletter on more pleasant matters (like which special coffee flavors we'll be offering for the holidays).

Holiday Coffee Flavors
We're excited to announce that throughout November and December, we'll be offering the following special flavors.

• Drunken Uncle - Kahlua, Irish Cream & Gran Marnier.
• Eggnog Cream - Warm, spicy eggnog with a rich custard background.
• Gingerbread Spice - Grandma's gingerbread cookies never smelled so good. Freshly baked characteristics of rich spices, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger that will make your mouth water.
• Maple Pecan Streusel - A scrumptious sweet and sugary blend of maple and pecan capped off with a background of homemade streusel.

As with our regular flavors, these will be packaged in 8 oz bags, available ground or whole bean for $6.00 a bag. A limited quantity of decaf will be available for all four. Get your orders in for our upcoming November 13 delivery by noon November 12th. (Sooner if you can, as supplies are limited and we'll fill orders in the order we receive them).

Honduras Coffee Farm Calendar Available
In addition to selecting holiday flavors, we also had fun of looking through photos from our June 2009 trip to the coffee farm to find the best ones for our 2010 Calendar. We received the sample copy this week from Custom Built Calendars and it looks fabulous! We created a Flickr slideshow where you can see the photos that will be included in this bilingual (English/Spanish) wall calendar made with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper. We've also marked all of our coffee delivery dates for the coming year.

Calendars will be available for $13.50 (sales tax included) in time for our December 11th coffee delivery. Reserve a copy for yourself and extras for holiday gifts by emailing us at coffee@vfamilycoffee.com or calling us at 651-587-5356 before November 16. We don't want to be stuck with boxes of old calendars, so we'll be ordering just enough to fill the orders we receive.

Holiday Gift Ideas 
Here are a few unique holiday shopping opportunities:

-Prospect Park UMC Bazaar and Art Fair - Tomorrow, November 7 - 9:00-3:00
Join us TOMORROW at our church's annual Bazaar and Art Fair at 22 Orlin Ave SE in Minneapolis. Details about the event, directions to the church and links to some of the 38 artists' work is at www.prospectparkchurch.org.  The Bazaar features wonderful baked goods from the PPUMC Ovens and an equally delicious Snack Bar for breakfast and lunch (be there early for homemade cinnamon rolls) as well as a Twice Nice "thrift area." The Art Fair offers a wide spectrum of beautifully crafted items: photography, jewelry, Hmong needlework, quilts, rugs, pottery, fused glass and more. The photographer who took our family photo featured on our website, will also be available for inexpensive mini-portrait sessions. We'll be there selling coffee, recycled handbags, Blue Sky Guides and taking orders for our 2010 calendar.

-The World Jubilee - November 21 - 9:00-4:00
Once again, Cathy will be at the World Jubilee selling recycled handbags made by Honduran women who are neighbors to the Velasquez family. The sale will be held at the Colonial Church of Edina on November 21 from 9:00-4:00. Stop by to see her and lots of other unique fair trade products (toys, cards, pottery, baskets, jewelry, clothing, carving, textiles, needlework, rugs, musical instruments and more) from around the world. The church is located at 6200 Colonial Way (from crosstown Hwy 62 exit on Tracy Ave. Go one block north then one block west).

-Terrace Horticultural Books - November 21 - 9:00-5:00
Coffee customers Kent and Abby Petterson who own Terrace Horticultural Books will be hosting their Annual Fall Open House also on Saturday November 21st, featuring a 25% discount on all books, ephemera, seed and plant catalogs, seed packets, unframed art and antique garden tools. Their showroom's at 503 St. Clair Ave in St. Paul will be open from 9am to 5pm with refreshments all day. Terrace Horticultural Books is the largest stocking bookstore of new and used books about plants and gardening in North America. Books and more can also be purchased through their website at www.terracehorticulturalbooks.com (although the discount is only available in person at their annual open house).

-Our Home Tea - www.ourhometea.com
For those tea drinkers on your shopping list and in your household, visit this unique on-line tea store run by one of our coffee customers, Hans Wold. He specializes in full-leaf teas from around the world, including many organic and herbal varieties.

We wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving.