November Coffee News

-Trick or Treat for Squash?
-Flavor vote winners
-Holiday gift ideas

Trick or Treat for Squash??
The morning after Halloween, we sent the kids to school with a slight sugar buzz, and Guillermo's parents, Maximo and Natalia, started chatting about Honduras. While the tradition there does NOT include going door to door to get candy, they do remember going to visit friends and family and asking for -- get this -- squash! Cooked squash with "dulce" (a by-product of processing sugar cane, much like brown sugar in a block). Natalia even sang us a little song they used to sing asking for squash and blessing the angels ("los angelitos") of the house.

The angels make sense, given that in Honduras the real focus of these first few days of November is about remembering the dead. This week, the cemetaries are full of people putting flowers on the graves of their loved ones. Natalia typically gathers all the flowers from her own beloved garden and brings them to the cemetary in the small town of La Cuesta where her parents and Maximo's parents are buried. Guillermo's oldest sister Chela will probably make the visit this year while Natalia is here in Minnesota.

And the winner is...
Over 30 people voted in our holiday flavor survey last week. Based on your votes, we will be offering the following special flavors over the holiday season:

Kahlua - Similar to the liqueur. Gourmet Kahlua flavoring combined with rich coffee to produce a refreshing brew, great as iced coffee or after dinner.
Eggnog Cream - A warm, spicy Eggnog with a rich Custard finish. (This was so popular last year, we're bringing it back!)
English Toffee - A tad of caramel, a touch of chocolate, a spot of cream, very British, very buttery, very good.
Pumpkin Spice - Nutmeg and pumpkin flavors make this the perfect flavored coffee for those chilly mornings or in front of the fire.
We will also have a limited amount of Pumpkin Spice and English Toffee in Decaf.

Let us know if you'd like to order any of our flavored coffee this month or next. We'll have it available in 8 oz bags, whole bean or ground for $5.50 through December and then only while supplies last. (Jamaica Me Crazy, Spice Buttered Rum, Chocolate Hazelnut Cream, and Cinnamon Hazelnut were close runners-up and so we may be offering them too in the coming months.) And don't forget we still have all our regular flavors: African Cinnamon, Almond Amaretto, Carribean Hazelnut, Dutch Chocolate, French Vanilla and Irish Cream.

If you were one of those who voted in our survey (Thank you!) - we've got your name and your first bag will be marked as free on your invoice. But you will have to order to receive it.

Holiday Orders
Talking about the holidays, we probably don't need to remind you that coffee does make an excellent gift. We'd be happy to help make your holiday shopping easier if we can -- let us know what extra coffee you want for gifts before our December 14/15 delivery date and we'll bring it right to your door. We can also mail coffee (with your personal note included too if you wish) anywhere in the country with only the added cost of priority mail postage. We ship over 30 boxes of coffee every month anyway, so we're all set up to do it. Just email us the details (how much of what kind of coffee sent to where) and we'll take care of it for you.

Other Unique Holiday Gifts
We will be attending two upcoming events that also provide great oppotunities for finding unique gifts. Tomorrow, November 3, from 9:00-3:00 our church, Prospect Park United Methodist Church will be holding it's very popular Art Fair and Bazaar with pottery, jewelry, music, cards, weaving, quilts, photography, tie dye, home-baked goods, baskets and more. The church is located at 22 Orlin Ave SE in Minneapolis, 1 block south of University Avenue, just west of Hwy 280 (turn south on Malcolm by Tower Hill).

On Saturday, November 17, from 9:00-4:00 the World Jubilee's fall sale will be held at the Colonial Church of Edina (6200 Colonial Way in Edina). This is a fabulous collection of fair trade products from all over the world. And sales directly benefit the disadvantaged people who have made the items.