November 2013 Coffee News

-Mountain Roads
-Making the Road While Walking
-Climate Action - Building Resilience
-2013 Holiday Flavor Winners

Mountain Roads
The last time Guillermo talked with his Dad it sounded like heavy rains have been making a mess of the roads. Transportation in Honduras has always been a challenge and especially so for coffee farmers up in the mountains. When Guillermo was a boy, it was his job with his brothers to take the family coffee harvest down winding dirt (often mud) paths, the heavy sacks of wet coffee tied tightly on the backs of their mules. As a college student, he would make the 2-3 hour trek uphill on foot during winter break to get to the farm to help harvest. We have a few photos on Facebook this month of the challenging mountain roads your coffee travels before it gets to you.

Making the Road While Walking
All this talk of roads reminds us of one of our favorite quotes from Brazilian educator Paolo Freire, "Hacemos el camino caminando/We make the road by walking." We wrote last month of a transforming economy, and it rings true to us that we can actually create the economy we want one step at a time through our daily economic decisions. Recently, the New Economics Institute celebrated "New Economy Week.. a celebration of this innovative spirit, an opportunity to shine a light on the thousands upon thousands of things that everyday people are doing right now to build a new kind of economy. These innovators are all around us engaged in the work of growing co-operative and independent enterprises, democratizing and stabilizing finance through credit unions, finding new ways to share skills and goods, new ways to measure success, and new ways to meet growing human needs on an all too finite planet."

Here are a few "steps" you too can take to build relationships with local artists and businesses, support fair trade and sustainability, and have a great time too:

Climate Action - Building Resilience
On the one year anniversary of Super Storm Sandy, there has been a lot of talk about building resilience. The Post-Carbon Institute asks the question "Resilient Against What?" PPUMC will explore building community resilience at the next Timely Topics session on November 17 from 6:30-8:00 pm 22 Orlin Ave SE in Mpls, where we feature the work of local Transition Town groups in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul and Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis. The gathering is free and open to the public. 

Holiday Flavor Winners 
Now that our kids have had their Halloween treats, it's time for the adults! Once again, our holiday flavor survey got a lot of attention. 116 people voted, most of them on the first day, and the winners this year are..

  • Drunken Uncle: Yes, we have one too….and it’s delicious! Picture yourself around the fireplace basking in the soothing tastes of Kahlua and Irish Cream laced with Gran Marnier.
  • Highlander Grog: Butterscotch creme and rich hazelnut mingle to make this rich, full bodied blend a wonderful brew for special occasions and holidays.
  • Snoodle-Doodle: A delightful marriage of Swiss chocolate, coconut, cinnamon and hazelnut swirled over our fine medium roasted Honduran coffee.
  • Wind Chill: Rich cream flavor with signature notes of vanilla, caramel, and dark chocolate has all the warmth you’ll need during those frosty winter nights.

All four of these flavors will be available in the coming 3-4 months in 8 oz packages, whole bean and ground and in limited quantities of decaf for $6.50. While we tried to order enough of each flavor, it is impossible to know for sure. Get your order to us quickly to make sure you get what you want. Respond to this email with your order or you can also use our website store to place your order. (And of course our regular flavors continue to be available during this time as well.)