Fair Grounds - Peace Coffee

Keeping the Home Fires Burning
Peace Coffee and Fair Trade Gain Ground by Scott Patterson, Peace Coffee Director
Coffee Flavored Beers Grow in Popularity by Andy Lambert
10 Good Things About Another Bad Year by Medea Benjamin, Director of Global Exchange & Co-Founder of Code Pink
Roaster's Corner: Musings by TJ On The Fine Art of Coffee Pairing
Show Your Peace Coffee Pride and WIN!
Quote of the Month
Past Issues of Fair Grounds

OK, so it’s cold, the wind is blowing, and the snow is swirling. What does that make you think of? Of course – a steaming, filled-to-the-brim mug of Peace Coffee! While we’re keeping ourselves warm with our favorite brew, we’re also keeping the fires of our Fair Trade mission burning. In this issue of Fair Grounds, our fearless leader Scott Patterson looks back at 2005, a good year for both Peace Coffee and Fair Trade in general. Andy celebrates the growing ‘hopularity’ of coffee-flavored beers, and TJ offers his Roaster’s Corner insights about coffee pairing. We also reprint an uplifting article from Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Global Exchange, about the political and social justice gains made in 2005. That plus a new recipe and another winner in our Show Your Peace Coffee Pride contest make for some pretty interesting reading. So what are you waiting for? Take a sip of Peace Coffee, relax, and read on…

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by Scott Patterson, Peace Coffee Director

Here at Peace Coffee we’ve wrapped up a busy and wonderful holiday season! January now affords us the opportunity to reflect on 2005 and ramp up for all that we hope to accomplish in the coming year. The past year has been filled with unimaginable tragedy and challenges. From the Asian Tsunami to hurricanes Katrina and Stan many of the planet’s most vulnerable people suffered so much. At the same time, 2005 saw tremendous growth in the Fair Trade movement and the capacity for people to respond to tragedy with great generosity. Ronald MacDonald hoisted a mug of Fair Trade java (in 650 outlets in the East for now) and you can make the claim that Fair Trade products truly reached the mainstream market in 2005. While the mainstreaming of Fair Trade coffee also means that independent roasters like Peace Coffee have to compete with the glossy marketing campaigns from larger, more well-known companies, it is an unequivocal success. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Peace Coffee’s amazing customers and conscientious coffee lovers everywhere.

more...

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by Andy Lambert

Coffee and beer go together like a Dylan and the Dead concert. Independent of each other, they are outstanding and have millions of fans. Put them together, and you’ll get a magical mixture of mind-blowing magnificence. Two local businesses have been hip to this fact for a couple of years and are partnered up with Peace Coffee to create their own delicious concoctions of coffee porters and stouts: Midwest Brewing Supply and Town Hall Brewery.

more...

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by Medea Benjamin, Director of Global Exchange & Co-Founder of Code Pink

As we closed 2005, a year in which we were pummeled by the Iraq war, attacks on our civil rights, and Mother Nature's fury of hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis, there was no shortage of reasons to feel bruised and beaten. But to start the New Year with a healthy determination to keep on fighting, we need to reflect on the good things that happened. And there are plenty.

One continent alone - South America - could provide more than ten examples of wonderful progressive victories, but I'll just list some of the highlights.

see the entire list

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Nate Maddux is this month’s winner in our Peace Coffee Pride contest. He sent in a photo showing how he makes Turkish style coffee with our Guatemalan Dark Roast. For Nate’s efforts, he wins a pound of his favorite Peace Coffee, his photograph will be featured in The Rake Magazine.

Want to get in on this action? Email your photo showing your “Peace Coffee Pride” to mel@peacecoffee.com or mail it to Peace Coffee, Attention: Mel, at 2801 21st Ave. South, Suite 120, Minneapolis, MN 55407.

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“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.”

- Benjamin Franklin

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Fair Grounds is produced by:
Cooperative Coffees

Contact Information:

Orders and General Information
Phone - 612.870.3440 or 1.888.324.7872
Fax - 612-677-3989
E-Mail - info@peacecoffee.com
Web - http://www.peacecoffee.com

Peace Coffee Crew*:
Anna Canning
Beth Backen
Rachel Hiltsley
Andy Lambert
Melanee Meegan
Jamie Schumacher
Ryan Seibold
TJ Semanchin
Nate Stevens
Scott Patterson

*We work together to get the coffee out to our customers. Although we have specific job titles, we all take turns switching roles and putting in time where it's needed most.

Peace Coffee Bikers*:
Nick Johnson
Keith Tomlinson

*Our bikers pack a mean trailer full of coffee. They are speedy as speedy gets. Watch out, when they are on the street, they mean business!

Fair Grounds is designed by:

Starstruck Design
335 West Gill Road
Gill, MA 01376

Contact Information:
Don Kruger
Lynn Nichols
Phone - 413.863.7752
Fax - 413-863-7752
Web - http://www.starstruckdesign.com

You are receiving your Fair Grounds e-newsletter because you told us you wanted to get it, or a good friend of yours suggested to us that you would like to get it. If you like it, let us know. If you want to suggest ways that we can make it better, let us know. Our e-mail is info@peacecoffee.com

If you would like to unsubscribe to the Fair Grounds E-Newsletter because:
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simply send an e-mail to: newsletter-off@peacecoffee.com and put your e-mail address in the subject line.

Remember, you are always welcome to visit our website at http://www.peacecoffee.com