Wednesday, October 19, 2005


stan & wilma vs. central america

at first i thought i wouldn't write much about hurricane stan, because initial reports were that while its fury fell on the coffee-producing areas of mexico, guatemala and el salvador, the damage wasn't severe. for example, this article from last friday.

however, while the coffee itself wasn't always harmed, it is now appearing that the infrastructure -- roads, bridges -- in many coffee areas was. the coffee may be fine on the high slopes of atitlan, but how to ship it out?

this is not to deny that in some areas, old coffee plantations appear to have been washed away, and many lives lost. it's a tragedy, no doubt.

as the damage has been slowly assessed, it seems to be a little more than originally thought. certainly one of bccy's oldest greenie friends is still suffering stan-induced headaches.

flooding, and mudslides as a result of that flooding, do seem to be continuing. victims still need much aid.

it's particularly sad in guatemala, which has such a long history of suffering.

and now wilma comes churning by, with strong rains in a 15-mile radius, which could dump more flood water on central america as her edge passes by. how and if this will further affect coffee transport remains to be seen.

i'm thinking along these lines this morning as i very much enjoyed don schoenholt's fair-trade and organic atitlan shb from gillies in the vac pot.

brewed this way, it's a delicious snappy coffee. the dry grounds were nicely floral, and as i raised the the vac pot lid to give the wet grounds a little stir, a nice aroma of dried cherries wafted out.

alas, this didn't make it into the cup, which was predominantly dry toast and basmati rice. but that can be a yummy breakfast coffee.

i think a little raw sugar strengthens the pleasant toasty flavor. . .the body was good for a central in the vac pot.

if you like centrals for breakfast, check this one out! but as you drink it, consider the plight of the people in atitlan. . .we are connected to them by the coffee, our shared passion.

dougie, who visited this area not so long ago, has a beautiful post today on this issue.

posted by fortune | 7:29 AM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments