Fair Grounds - Peace Coffee

Picking Up the Pace
Sailing the Fair Trade Winds. Part 2 by Derek De La Paz, Peace Coffee Production Roaster
If I Was a Bicycle, I'd be...
Bark For Peace
From Josh's Viewfinder by Josh Lavelle
Roaster's Corner: No Mug is an Island by Ryan Seibold (aka P_berri), Production Roaster
Show Your Peace Coffee Pride and WIN!
Quote of the Month
Past Issues of Fair Grounds

Since returning from the Green Festival in Chicago, it's been a whirlwind of activity here at Peace Coffee. And to think... our busy season is just starting! We're stoked by the activity though, and savor the opportunity to promote the Fair Trade brew we love. In this month's Fair Grounds, we've got Part 2 of Derek's adventures in Ethiopia. We also offer some of the creative responses we got to our Peace Coffee Bike Team Jersey raffle question, "If you were a bicycle...," and profile Bark for Peace, a new pet treat company whose founders we met at the Green Festival. And we present more photos from Josh's viewfinder. This plus a recipe for coffee ice cream (yum!) and a new Roaster's Corner add up to a pretty nifty issue. Ice down a mug of Peace Coffee and read on...

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by Derek De La Paz, Peace Coffee Production Roaster

So after traveling half way around the world, making my way thru Ethiopia's capitol Addis Ababa, I've finally arrived in Yirgacheffe, a very sacred place in the ever-changing coffee world. Many connoisseurs consider the coffee that is grown in this area to be the finest in the world. Rugged highlands with an abundance of seasonal rainfall make it an ideal location for the coffee plant to grow. We arrive into Yirgacheffe a little after the six o'clock hour. Checking into the local hotel brings us a friendly welcome, and an invitation to enjoy dinner there.

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At the Green Festival in Chicago we raffled off a Peace Coffee Bike Jersey. We asked people who entered the raffle to answer the question, "If you were a bicycle, what kind would you be and why?"

Here are some of our favorite answers!

"Schwinn - red, because it was the first bike I had as a kid."

"Schwinn banana seater, because it was the first bike I remember riding with the biggest sense of freedom."

"A tricycle - for stability and youthful feeling."

"My old Bianchi Pista, because it was stolen and I'd just like to know that it's okay."

"One with a big basket to fill with food and coffee, the color would be green of course and it would have a bell."

"A Book Bicycle with bags to deliver books to kids in need of a good read (can you tell I'm a Librarian?)"

"I'd be a touring bicycle so that I might see the world at a more relaxed pace than in a car or plane!"

"A green one to promote our cause!"

"A recumbant bicycle. I choose that style because it is relaxing, peaceful, less stress and strain on your body, and not everyone has them!"

"I'd be a mountain bike so I could anywhere and be covered in mud."

"A folding bike so I could get around to more places."

"The one I'm riding, of course."

Craig Abrams of Mequon, WI, won the raffle for the bike team jersey. He said he'll send us a picture of him in it for the July Newsletter!

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If you’ve ever visited Peace Coffee’s pet page, you’ll see what an animal lovin’ bunch we are. Some of us like to cuddle up with our rabbits, cats or iguanas, but the majority of us have dogs that we love, even when they wake us up early in the morning or take up too much of the bed.

Just last month, two members of the Peace Coffee Crew attended a Green Business Conference and the first ever Green Festival to take place in Chicago. It was here Peace Coffee befriended a like-minded business out of Austin, Texas -- coincidentally named Bark for Peace!

We immediately felt a connection and after trying each other’s products, we were both hooked on one another. Like Peace Coffee, Lisa Knaggs, who started Bark for Peace, is committed to only offering "junk-free" products that taste delicious. They sell some of the best vegan, organic, human grade, allergen-free, dog treats on the planet. One of their most popular varieties is a savory sweet potato jerky chew sprinkled with ginger. This treat not only tastes great if you are a dog, but humans delight in them too. (We made sure to sample them all.)

Of course, Bark for Peace is also passionate about promoting Peace!

Here’s what they have to say about it: We think peace is more than the absence of war, rather we hope and work toward the absence of suffering and the flourishing of all! Our dogs show us- peace is: rambunctious joy, relentless love, abundant sharing, creative compassion and ever-extended forgiveness! That's why we say "Love like your dog!"

Bark for Peace treats are currently only available in Texas, but they will be available online soon. Until then, Twin Cities based Sojo’s Dog Treats offers similarly yummy products to spoil your dog. Enjoy time with your dog this summer and let’s all keep barking for peace. Woof-woof!

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Here are more photos from Josh's Peace Coffee delivery travels:

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Superstar customers, Jan Bodin and Deb Braun of Fridley, MN, biked over to our office to pick up coffee for their church, 1st Congregational. We couldn’t resist taking of a picture of them in their matching Peace Coffee shirts and reflective bike jackets!

Congratulations, Jan and Deb! You win a pound of your favorite Peace Coffee.

If you're passionate about Peace Coffee, show it! Send us:

— a photo showing your "Peace Coffee Pride”
— a short written testimonial about how much you love us
— an original coffee poem or haiku (three lines, 5 syllables in the first, 7 in the second, 5 in the last)

Each month, we’ll choose one entry to appear in the following Fair Grounds newsletter. If we choose yours, you’ll win a pound of your favorite Peace Coffee coffee. Please send your entry to mel@peacecoffee.com.

Contest ends: June 11th

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"Happiness consists in activity. It is a running stream, not a stagnant pool."

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

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Fair Grounds is produced by:
Peace Coffee

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
Derek De La Paz
Tom Hudson
Andy Lambert
Josh Lavelle
Melanee Meegan
Joe Moskowitz
Natalie Ryno
Ryan Seibold
Nate Stevens
Keith Tomlinson
Lee Wallace

*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.

Fair Grounds is designed by:

Starstruck Design
335 West Gill Road
Gill, MA 01354

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

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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