Monday, January 23, 2006


bolivia c.o.e. in da house

andrew b. of ecco just sent me his new c.o.e. bolivia, the 1st prize agricabv bv calama marka!

this is hitting the vac pot first thing tomorrow morning; thank you, andrew. i'm very grateful.

to read the words of juan de dios blanco, the farmer himself, is so touching:

" 'i have 4 children; 3 of them in school. the oldest is 15 years old. all of my children help me to pre-select, but it is my wife who sacrifices the most; she told me that it is the fruit of my work; she is the one that deserves the award. it was a dream for my family to participate, as well as for me, and at the end a very big surprise.' "

meet juan and his family. they are the smallholder coffee farmers who sit every morning at your elbow, at your breakfast table, at your computer.

your specialty coffee isn't an abstract, fungible commodity on an exchange. it's the hopes and dreams of real human beings who love it as much as you do.

when you hold these coffee beans, you hold juan's hands. the hands of his wife and children.

literally, as they tell you themselves, they have touched every single bean.

juan has 3 children in school. buying this coffee will not only get you a delicious, world-class cup to enjoy at home, it will also send juan's 4th child to school.

you will effortlessly and without charity be making a tremendous difference in the life of someone you now know. this isn't maudlin romanticism, either -- it's frankly and most practically true.

i'm overwhelmed that andrew found this beautiful coffee and helped make it available to us. his roasting artistry will display juan's beans in their best light and reveal their full potential to us in the cup.

of that, i'm sure!

posted by fortune | 1:45 PM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 2 comments