New Coffees in Our Bulk Department
March 31, 2010 05:25 PM Filed in: STORE NEWS
New to the Hungry Hollow Co-op bulk department are several Equal Exchange coffees, located in the bulk bins and being brewed for our customers. We have had a very personal relationship with Equal Exchange, a worker-owned co-op in West Bridgewater, MA, ever since Kathey, our outreach co-ordinator, went to Chiapas, Mexico to visit EE coffee farms. She actually picked coffee berries for the Mind, Body, and Soul blend. Our plan is to offer a different organic single-origin coffee each month in the bulk department and also brew it as a choice for your morning/afternoon coffee break. This month's coffee comes from El Salvador. Here is the informative write up from the Equal Exchange website:
The Las Colinas co-operative in El Salvador is collectively farmed and managed on the site of an old coffee plantation. The agrarian reform of 1980 redistributed land throughout El Salvador from the hands of large-scale coffee growers into the hands of coffee pickers and laborers alike. But, exorbitant interest rates on the loans used to purchase the land came at a high cost and today the producers still struggle to finance their debt and stay on their land. Equal Exchange is supporting the co-op members' endeavors by purchasing the majority of their coffee crop. We're working with Las Colinas to readjust their debt and find alternative ways to improve their finances.
The war of the 1980s also had a devastating effect on the natural environment due to widespread deforestation. Las Colinas is located near the border of Guatemala and forms part of the buffer zone for El Imposible National Park, habitat to endangered pumas, emerald toucans, and fresh waterfalls. Las Colinas has taken steps to preserve their natural resources; they recently converted their coffee to organic and have invested in eco-depulpers to reduce the amount of water they use during processing.
If you find yourself really loving one of these coffees and it gets rotated out, please let me know. We would be happy to order a 5 lb. bag for you.
I hope when the new Fair Trade, organic, single-origin coffee comes in each month that you will welcome it with open arms and empty coffee mugs. -MARY
The Las Colinas co-operative in El Salvador is collectively farmed and managed on the site of an old coffee plantation. The agrarian reform of 1980 redistributed land throughout El Salvador from the hands of large-scale coffee growers into the hands of coffee pickers and laborers alike. But, exorbitant interest rates on the loans used to purchase the land came at a high cost and today the producers still struggle to finance their debt and stay on their land. Equal Exchange is supporting the co-op members' endeavors by purchasing the majority of their coffee crop. We're working with Las Colinas to readjust their debt and find alternative ways to improve their finances.
The war of the 1980s also had a devastating effect on the natural environment due to widespread deforestation. Las Colinas is located near the border of Guatemala and forms part of the buffer zone for El Imposible National Park, habitat to endangered pumas, emerald toucans, and fresh waterfalls. Las Colinas has taken steps to preserve their natural resources; they recently converted their coffee to organic and have invested in eco-depulpers to reduce the amount of water they use during processing.
If you find yourself really loving one of these coffees and it gets rotated out, please let me know. We would be happy to order a 5 lb. bag for you.
I hope when the new Fair Trade, organic, single-origin coffee comes in each month that you will welcome it with open arms and empty coffee mugs. -MARY
