Contact Us:
ph 612-870-3440
ph 888-324-7872
fax 612-677-3989
info@peacecoffee.com

The holidays are behind us and the Peace Coffee crew is taking a breather and looking back over the past year. All in all, it was a pretty decent twelve months for Peace Coffee, as you can tell from Ten Fun Facts. It was also a good year for the Peace Coffee Racers... Ton Tran offers the highlights, along with the PCR Recognition Awards. Also in this issue of Fair Grounds, Anna talks about her travels in Sumatra and Natalie shares some photos taken during her recent trip to Costa Rica (you go, girl!). And as a mid-winter puzzler, we present a Peace Coffee-themed crossword, specially created by our crafty roasters! Sit back, grab a cuppa joe and read on...

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2007 was a great year for Peace Coffee. Here are a few highlights:

1) With overwhelming staff and board support Interim Director, Lee Wallace, was hired on as Peace Coffee Director and featured in an article titled Triple Play- Peace Coffee's new CEO Emphasizes 'people, planet and profit' in Upsize Magazine.

2) We launched a seasonal line of coffee, first featuring a smooth Dominican followed by a delicate and delicious Bolivian.

3) We added an additional bike delivery position. It was filled internally by our former demo and outreach coordinator, Andy Lambert. Check out the picture of him hauling an all time high of 600 pounds of coffee in one load.

4) The Yeti became our "unofficial" company pet as well as the name of our smoothest and most addictive signature cold press blend.

5) At the end of summer we spent six days sampling coffee at the Minnesota State Fair. It reminded us of everything we love about this great state, like nice people, the lakes and all the accessible bike trails.

6) We created two phenomenal signature espressos for a new neighborhood café named Common Roots. The café has also been host to fun Fair Trade educational events like Jacqueline De Carlo's book reading of Fair Trade: A Beginner's Guide.

7) The Cooperative Coffees Annual Meeting held in Nicaragua this fall with coffee roasters from the north & producers from the south was a huge success. Both groups learned a lot from each other.

8) Across the state student groups on college and university campuses made great strides toward increasing the availability of Fair Trade products and grew awareness for Fair Trade by screening Black Gold, holding coffee tastings and parading around in banana and coffee mug costumes!

9) Peace Coffee received a 1st place finish in Bikeradar.com's taste test of Bike Themed Coffee, and a 2nd place finish for Best Brewed Cup of Coffee at the Calhoun Square Coffee Festival.


10) In 2007, Peace Coffee bought 500,331 lbs of green coffee beans from our producers, up from 373,818 pounds in 2006.

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Lowering Carbon Footprints and Staying the Course

Having these two most controversial topics, "Lowering Carbon Footprints" and "Staying The Course" in any newsletter would cause major debate, but as it turn out these topics fit our racing season recapping just fine. (No,no,no... this is not an article from The Onion's Newsletter!)

The 2007 season started out differently, but very exciting at the same time. Peace Coffee had just hired a new director before the racing season started and it seemed that the team's future was uncertain. Thankfully, Melanee Meegan (Peace Coffee Marketing director) reassured all of us that they were committed to the Peace Coffee Racing Team (cycling team) all the way to the end of this decade and beyond (...bless you Melanee). That was definitely exciting news for the team; cause oh, how we just can't get enough of their coffee. With our renewed sponsorship, the whole new racing season was ahead of us. We had racers coming back with high goals and expectations, along with just having fun. As it turned out some of those top racers were injured during the season, but quite a few of our new team members plus some veteran racers really stepped-up to make it a great year. These were the PCRs (Peace Coffee Racers) nominated for 2007 Peace Coffee Recognition Awards for placing high overall in there racing class divisions or were very instrumental in keeping our team on a winning tradition this season.

Read on...

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by Anna Canning, Peace Coffee Production Manager

Change. That's the buzzword in the background on the radio as I begin to describe my recent trip to Sumatra. They're summing up the current election season, but it also encapsulates the whirlwind that I observed on the ground. Since my last visit (in February 2006), many things have changed in the lives of the farmers of PPKGO, the coop from whom we have bought our Sumatran coffee for 5 years, as well as for the other residents of Aceh.

For many years, the province of Aceh has been wracked by a struggle of varying levels of intensity between separatists and the Indonesian military, with farmers who just wish to grow their crops and go about their lives caught in the middle. One bright spot to come out of the devastation of the December 2004 tsunami that hit the northern end of the island was a peace agreement between the two sides. When I was last in Sumatra, the agreement had recently been signed and many people expressed skepticism that it would hold as they'd seen treaties come and go throughout the conflict. More than two years later, the peace is still holding. Up in the mountains, that means that people can plant crops again, knowing with greater certainty that it will be safe to harvest them and that they will be able to take them to market. In this changed environment, the coffee scene has changed as well. 

Read on...

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Natalie Ryno, our Shipping and Receiving Coordinator, offered up these great pictures of her on vacation this past fall in Costa Rica. The zip line carried her above some of the most beautiful and lush tropical forest she’d ever seen. Zip lines are not for the faint hearted. Doesn’t see look tough?!
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Think you know a lot about Peace Coffee and Fair Trade? Then solve this crossword puzzle, devised by our clever roasters... One winning submission will be chosen to win a pound of their favorite Peace Coffee. So what have you got to lose? Sharpen your pencil and get cracking!

Please send your answers to mel@peacecoffee.com.
Contest ends: February 11th

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"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."

~ Anne Bradstreet (1612 - 1672)

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  • December 2007 Turning U of M 100% Fair Trade, Wintertime Survival Strategies, Yetis Might Really Exist!, Roaster's Corner: Blue Ox Blend
  • November 2007 Notes From the Co-op Coffees AGM by Keith Tomlinson and Lee Wallace, Bike Heaven, Can Fair Trade Change Your Life? by Jacqueline DeCarlo, The Origins of Roots Blend Espresso
  • October 2007 Jokes Across America, Sow the Seeds Blend at Whole Foods, Local Fair Trade Label Debuts Divine Chocolate: The Best of the Best by Kyle Feldman, Peace Coffee Customer Accounts Representative, Reverse Trick or Treating
  • September 2007 Hangin' at the Roaster's Guild Retreat by Keith Tomlinson, Head Peace Coffee Roaster, Gearing Up For Fair Trade Month by Liz Wawrzonek, Events & Outreach Coordinator, What People Love About Minnesota, Book Review: Brewing Justice by Heather Putnam, USFT Coordinating Committee Member at the University of Kansas
  • August 2007 Ecotouring Nicaragua With USFT by Melanee Meegan, Peace Coffee Marketing Manager, Team Los Guapos Wins at Roaster's Retreat by Agent Chiapas, Meet Our New Events Coordinator!, Going the Distance by Tom Hudson
  • July 2007 Learning From the Zapatistas in Chiapas by Nate Stevens, Former Peace Coffee Customer Service Representative, This Just In: Our Summer Survival Kit, First Yeti Sighting! Welcome to the Common Roots Café, Profile of our Seasonal Dominican Republic Roast
  • June 2007 Peace Coffee Gets Down and Dirty, And The Band Played On, From Josh's Viewfinder by Josh Lavelle, Roaster's Corner: Ryan Shares the Flavor Profile of our Seasonal Dominican Republic Roast
  • May 2007 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
  • April 2007 Sailing the Fair Trade Winds by Derek De La Paz, Peace Coffee Production Roaster, New Faces: Josh Lavelle, What Do You Think About Fair Trade?
  • March 2007 Iguanas. Coffee and Magnetic Poles by Andy Lambert and Ryan Seibold, Our Daily Bread - Don't Miss This Movie!, Focus on the Farm Bill, Roaster's Corner: The Joys of MPR Blend by Keith Tomlinson
  • February 2007 Ice Ice Baby by Melanee Meegan, Marketing Director & Marathon Runner, Taking to the Streets for the Stupor Bowl by Tom Hudson, Peace Coffee Bike & Biodiesel Delivery Driver, Global Warming 101 by Andy Lambert, Peace Coffee Outreach Coordinator.
  • January 2007 Having Attitude for Gratitude by Ton Tran, Peace Coffee Race Team Manager, Wedge Co-op Introduces Sow the Seeds by Mandy Catlette, Magic Beans: Sow the Seeds Blend is Ready to Brew by Barth Anderson, Research and Development Coordinator at the Wedge Community Co-op
  • December 2006 I Bought a Cow For You!, Fair Trade: It's Not Just for Coffee, Beer! It Tastes So Good! by Melanee Meegan, Marketing Manager & Beer Activist
  • November 2006 Book Review: Organic Coffee by Tim King, Becoming a Beer Activist by Melanee Meegan, Hot Off the Press: Fermenting Revolution, How Microbrew Can Save the World by Chris O'Brien
  • October 2006 The Power of 100: A Fair Trade Harvest, Minnesota Does Fair Trade, Local to Global: A Fair Trade Resource List
  • September 2006 The Hike: Another Peace Coffee Adventure by Ryan Seibold, Peace Coffee Production Roaster, Coming to a Theatre Near You!: Black Gold.
  • August 2006 One Brick at a Time by Beth Backen, Shipping and Receiving Coordinator, Sitting On Top of the World by Nate Stevens, Customer Accounts Representative, The Long Haul to the Green Man by Ryan Seibold, Eco Experience at the State Fair, Howdy. I'm Keith, The New Head Roaster.
  • July 2006 Bike Film Festival Rolls Into Minneapolis, Biofuels or Bust by Jim Kleinschmit and Mark Smith, Oxfam Red Cards Adidas
  • June 2006 Travels With Habitat in Guatemala by Andy Lambert, Finding Balance in East Timor by Anna Canning, New Peace Coffee Beer: MJDBA, Customer Spotlight: Jay's Café by Melanee Meegan.
  • May 2006 Gardening Grounds by Nathan Steigman, Peace Coffee Builds With Habitat, Bike Map Adds New Spin to Art-A-Whirl
  • April 2006 Discovering Fair Trade in Guatemala by Keith Tomlinson, Travel Notes from Sumatra, Indonesia by Jamie Schumacher, Birchwood Café Celebrates Earth Day, Birch Clothing Plants Trees, Donates $$
  • March 2006 The Scent of Sumatra by Anna Canning, On the Road at The USFT Convergence by Andy Lambert, Happy 20th! A Big Year for IATP
  • February 2006 Tsunami Goal Reached, Fair Trade Fashion Debuts in Hong Kong by Patricia Jurewicz, Senior Associate, Trade and Global Governance at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, The Red Bull Sky Ride, Cool Opportunities Sustainable Energy in Motion Bike Tour
  • January 2006 Peace Coffee and Fair Trade Gain Ground by Scott Patterson, 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 
  • December 2005 Make Peace, Not War, Students Help Grow the Fair Trade Movement by Andy Lambert, Catching Up With the Crew, Think Tank Going to WTO Ministerial
  • November 2005 Hurricane Stan Causes Much Devastation by Jeronimo Bollen of Manos Campesinas, On the Road With Brad...Continued, Winter Biking Tips from Hub Bike Co-op, Show Your Peace Coffee Pride and Win!, Customer Spotlight: Peaceful Valley Greetings, Meet the Queen Bee (and Worker Bees) by Andy Lambert
  • October 2005 Coop Coffees Meets in Guatemala by Tripp Pomeroy, Peace Coffee Bike Team Season Wrap-up by Ton Tran, Peace Coffee Bike Grinder, Catching Up With the Crew, Peace Gear: Spiffy Socks
  • September 2005 Green Beans Lost in Katrina's Wake by Scott Patterson, The Revolution Will Not Be Motorized by Andy Lambert, The Joy of Stovetop Espresso Machines by Melanee Meegan, The Wanderlust Returns By Brad the Intrepid Bean Pedaler
  • August 2005 A New Buzz...Chain Saw Art, The Valley of the Giant Green Man by Andy Lambert, Peace Coffee Events and Demo Guy, The Annual Milk Carton Boat Race by Melanee Meegan, Peace Coffee Marketing Manager
  • July 2005 Pedal Power: Peace Coffee Bike Team, FT Futures: Living a Fair Trade Life, CAFTA Is Not Done: A Call to Action
  • June 2005 Extraordinary Ethiopia by Melanee Meegan, Peace Coffee Marketing & Advertising Coordinator, Peace Coffee's 2nd Annual Open House, Aceh Tsunami Relief Fund Update PPKGO, ForesTrade and CV Trimaju, Batter Up! by Monika Firl, Coop Coffees
  • May 2005 Fair Trade in Seattle by Scott Patterson, Brad's Nicaragua Journal by Brad the Bike Messenger
  • April 2005 Fair Trade Travels and Other Adventures, Nicaragua Trip Brings Fair Trade to Life by Anneka Kmiecik, Birchwood Café, Fair Trade in a Volatile Market by Bill Harris, Cooperative Coffees
  • March 2005 Andy's Chiapas Journal (part two) by Andy Lambert, Converging For Fair Trade
  • February 2005 Update On The Aceh Fund, Return To Chiapas (part one) by Andy Lambert, In Praise Of Hot Chocolate by Rachel Hiltsley
  • January 2005 Tragedy's Wake: Update From Sumatra, How I Spent My Floating Holiday by Brad the Bike Messenger, A Coffee Science Experiment by Rachel Hiltsley, Resident Equipment Expert
  • December 2004 Great Coffee the French Press Way, The Best Coffee in Town, Coffee+Beer=Friggin' Good. eh? 
  • November 2004 My Other Bike is a Biodiesel, Biodiesel: It's What's Inside
  • October 2004 A Peaceful Alternative to Petroleum, Don't Just Do It. Do It With Justice 
  • September 2004 Santa Anita de la Union, The Beauty of the St. Paul Classic
  • August 2004 Crema Café: Home of Sonny's Ice Cream,
  • July 2004 Exploring Our Origins: Ethiopia
  • June 2004 Journey through the Life of a Bean
  • May 2004 Report from Colombia and Brad 's Big Bike Adventure
  • April 2004 Nicaragua: Coffee and the Community at CECOCAFEN
  • March 2004 Fair Trade Friends: United Students for Fair Trade
  • February 2004 Mut Vitz and APECAFORMM Trip Reports
  • January 2004 10 Good Things about a Bad Year
  • December 2003 Global Exchange Fair Trade Challenge
  • November 2003 Barriers to Fair Trade: NAFTA on Steroids
  • October 2003 Dia de Los Muertos
  • September 2003 Report from Cancun: Victory for Fair Trade
  • August 2003 Fair Trade Friends: Oxfam America
  • July 2003 Exploring Our Origins: Sumatra

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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*:
Stacy Adrianson
Anna Canning
Derek De La Paz
Kyle Feldman
Andy Lambert
Josh Lavelle
Melanee Meegan
Joe Moskowitz
Meagan O'Brien
Natalie Ryno
Ryan Seibold
Brian Steehler
Megan Tardiff
Keith Tomlinson
Lee Wallace
Liz Wawrzonek

*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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