I have a story I want to tell about coffee and I am going to do it in a few segments. I really hope you find it as interesting I do,
Coffee Talk Part I: The Farmers
Do you know the origin of your coffee and better yet do you know who actually planted it, harvested it, roasted it and put it into your mug for you?
A few months ago I met a coffee aficianado named Matt Ludwikowski. He has to be one of the most infectious people I have met in a really long time. He is a Barrista at Octane Coffee and recent Champion of the 2012 Southeastern Brewers Cup, coffee not beer. What a lot of people might not know about him is that he recently returned from El Salvador where he picked, dried and roasted his own coffee. Those are only three of the steps a coffee cherry goes through before it enters your cup. I will cover that in another segment of Coffee Talk.
Matt in El Salvador
A lot of us are concerned about the treatment of animals on farms where our meat or poultry come from or the use of pesticides on the vegetables we eat but there isn't a lot of emphasis on the people who actually grow these vegetables or take care of the animals on these farms. Companies like Inteligentsia (www.intelligentsiacoffee.com) actually live and work along side their farmers 365 days a year. Their intention is to ensure better pay for farmers, better working conditions, sustainable farming practices and a better coffee product for you and me.
Did you know that the farmers of a lot of the mass produced coffee are paid just a few cents for their labor while a single pound of coffee is sold for $12?
Clearly Matt got my attention and I have been on a coffee tasting binge. Here are my favorites so far: One Thousand Faces Coffee, purchased at Whole Foods, I think the name of the roast was "Aromia" my dog chewed up the bag. Another one I have been enjoying is Batdorf and Bronson "Skye's Mountain Blend". They have a shop in Decatur. www.batdorfcoffee.com
I have been trying to drink more coffee at home in order to support more humane coffee companies and I am really enjoying it. There is an occasional latte purchased from one of the chains but nobody is perfect.
Go look at the Intelligentsia Website and I really enjoyed Counter Culture's website too, www.counterculturecoffee.com. Also be sure to go see Matt at Octane Coffee on Northside Drive but don't ask for a "Frappucino" or a "Caramel Machiato", there is no such thing there, and that's not a bad thing! Branch out.
Stay tuned for the next segment.
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