Saturday, January 9, 2010

Shade Grown

Ahhhh...I woke up on my own steam today...no alarm, no dog sniffing in my face, whimpering to be let out, no pitter patter of little feet. Everyone was blissfully asleep (even the renegade, purring cat who somehow stealthily found it's way into the bedroom before I closed up shop to den for the night (we usually don't let them in because they take issue with our large "bubbles" even when we sleep - I have a problem with being suffocated by purring beasts who sit on my chest like succubi and stare at me or take up 3/4 of my pillow and give me a new hairstyle with their kneeding paws, claws always fully extended).

So, it was off to the kitchen for the morning routine...make coffee, feed the animals, turn on some lights...

The little man was up within seconds of hearing me putter around the kitchen. It's our job on Saturday morning to stay quiet enough for daddy to sleep, since he works at night.

Our plan was made days ago...snuggling on the couch watching A Bug's Life. And that's just what we did.

The difference, however, between this Saturday morning and every other one before this? Shade grown, fair trade coffee. My first cup. And it wasn't a bad change. Coffee tastes just fine, strong and not at all bitter. This is an easy change.

But why make the change at all? Check out these links:

Coffee and Conservation

Shade Grown Coffee

Grounds for Trade

I first became aware of a need to begin considering this change on a visit to the zoo. I've been to quite a few zoos over the last year, so I'm not positive which one I was at...I think it was Boise. Anyhow, we were wandering around the bird houses and primate houses and there were several placards that made mention of a need for consumption of shade grown coffee beans, as opposed open fields. These placards shared startling and sad statistics about the bird populations in relation to different types of coffee plantations/farms. The ideas just staying in my brain and sunk in further each time I bought a bag of coffee. Finally, I convinced D. to give it a try.

We found it...of all places...at Costco - so it must be a fairly easy brand to find. Here's a link to their website: San Francisco Bay

And here we are, on cup number two, getting ready to head on in to Port Townsend for the day - It'll be a nice day for a family walk at Fort Worden and a quick look around at what PT has to offer us in our quest to buy local. It's more of a scouting missing than a shopping trip...though I will be visiting the Co-op to get a few make-up products that I can't seem to find here in town.

I'll let you know what we find.

2 comments:

Henrietta said...

Do they make french roast? I'd love to try it and convert my hubby.....

Melissa said...

It isn't French Roast...and I don't know if they make that...but we got it at Costco, and I just insert the link to their company in this post today: it Rogers Family Co. A pretty dark blend, but then I use more than I am supposed to and brew it on "strong". D. likes strong coffee, too...prefers French Roast...and he seemed to like it okay yesterday.