As many of you know, I cut back to half-time at Café Imports and returned to the University of Minnesota in the fall to pursue my Master’s in Public Health. Later this week I have the seemingly serendipitous opportunity to join my studies very specifically with my work at Café Imports. It just so happens that Grounds for Health, promoters of the early detection and treatment of cervical cancer, will be working at the CESMACH coop in Chiapas, Mexico the same week as my spring break. I was thrilled to be invited to join the team and could hardly believe it happened to be at a coop we buy from!

Quick fact: Did you know that cervical cancer causes the most deaths among all cancers and is the second leading cancer among women worldwide? Without increased and effective screening and treatment, as many as 70,000 women in Latin America and the Caribbean are projected to die of causes related to cervical cancer by 2030. ^1,2

GFH staff and volunteers (including myself) will work training local health providers in up-to-date cervical cancer screening and treatment procedures in addition to training CESMACH women as peer health educators. ‘What is a peer health educator?’ you may find yourself asking. Peer health educators are women interested in advocating for themselves and other women in their community with regards to preventing, screening for, and treating cervical cancer by first informing themselves and then reaching out to their female peers to share what they know. Women attending the peer health educator trainings are volunteers from the CESMACH community. Through empowering local providers and CESMACH women, GFH is not only creating solidarity among community members but is also building a sustainable, life giving program. 

Stay tuned for an update and photos upon my return. For more information about Grounds for Health please visit: www.groundsforhealth.org.

I am gearing up to head out for the USBC Great Lakes event this weekend in Milwaukee.  Café Imports is sponsoring the event, and I am looking forward to being part of such an great weekend for a ton of barista talent.  We are really excited to see all the baristas, and word on the street is that this Great Lakes event is going to be the largest one of the year so far.  Alterra is hosting this event and we are happy to be spending the weekend with them.  After talking with the Alterra guys, it sounds like they are renting out a Brazilian restaurant in Milwaukee and even flying in a Brazilian band.  Can’t wait to eat more than one man probably ever should in one sitting.

 It seems to me like this Great Lakes event is going to be a big deal leading up to US Championship in Anaheim in April.  We have upped the stakes a bit for the baristas competing by offering a really awesome prize to the winner:  A trip to origin with Café Imports.  We are going to pay for the winning Barista to fly and lodge with us as we go visit origin most likely this summer.  We feel like this will be a great opportunity to experience a deeper education in sustainable coffee farming and production.  I truly believe that Baristas are so important to our industry because they are last hands to touch coffee before it reaches the end customer.  Without a talented a barista behind the counter, a well grown, meticulously processed, and beautifully roasted bean can be ruined.  Baristas are a vital element of the chain of people that guide coffee from the tree to the cup.  So this is our way of saying we value all that they do for us! 

 Good luck this weekend Great Lakes Baristas!!  We can’t wait to see you all soon!!

 Here is the link to the competition site: http://www.usbaristachampionship.org/greatlakes/

 -Noah   

Well the 2010 GLRBC is over, and we would like to congratulate Mike Phillips of Intelligentsia Coffee for winning the event!  Cafe Imports is going to award Mike a trip to Origin with us for his incredible performance this weekend.   

It was a really great weekend hosted by Alterra, and arguably the most hotly contested region in the USBC.  We were excited to see Ryan Knapp from Madcap using our Burundi for his espresso; it was an incredibly fruity and rich espresso with a clean smooth aftertaste.  Ryan made it to the finals with that Burundi.  Trevor from MadCap took 2nd place in the competition, and demonstrated that he really knows his stuff.  It was great to see the Madcap guys from Grand Rapids Michigan have such a strong showing this weekend.

 

We had a blast in Milwaukee and cannot wait to get back for next year's competition!  Thank you Alterra and the SCAA for being such great hosts to us this weekend. Congratulations to all of this years competitors!!

After doing some research into things people were doing to help them set up pourover stations, we found several ridiculously expensive "pour-over stations" that hold cones.  I mean these things ran all the way up to nearly $300 per station.  So out of a bit of frustration and a underlying need to stick it to the man, we decided that if we tried really hard, we could make an even better one for around $20.

So I set out to a local hardware store on a mission to create a cheap and cool looking pourover station for the office.  I ended up wandering around the plumbing section and realized something pretty awesome could be made using piping and elbows.  I spent about $20 on the station, and now we can run 5 pour overs in one area.  This steel station will last forever.

So I guess the lesson learned here is that often times we and our customers can find cheap and effective ways to serve and brew coffee that can simpifly our lives, make us really cool, and ultimately save us money.  Enjoy guys!

-Noah