Coffee Kids Day on Friday Feb. 22nd......

Good morning! I hope you all are enjoying a cup of fine coffee.

This coming Friday, February 22nd we are having our second Coffee Kids Day right here at Longbottom Coffee House and Roasting Factory in Hillboro, Oregon.

What is Coffee Kids Day? It is a day where we feature a pound of Coffee Kids Blend for a donation of $5. You will recieve a bag full of goodies as well. All this for your name and address so you can stay informed on how the Coffee Kids organization is helping the coffee farming families achieve a sustainable way of life. You can learn more by logging on to www.coffeekids.org

We at Longbottom love this organization. They know how to make things happen the right way. That's what I'm talking about.....we're talking real sustainablity here!!
Not a bunch of feel good marketing hoooie.

Come check it out!

Changing Times...If you don't like change, better get out of the Coffee Business

Sorry, it's been a while. I'm sure many of of you have read the news about the big green machine "SBUX" or Starbucks, which ever you prefer. We all know that SBUX has over roasted burnt, bitter coffee. If you don't think so just try drinking the stuff black. I dare you!!

But what is the root of SBUX 50% reduction in their stock value this last 2007? Is it just about bad coffee? I don't think so. I think it's a combination of several things, but mostly it's about the lack of willingness to change with the times.

I believe the day of the large coffeehouse chain is all but gone. Folks are drawn to a neigborhood coffeehouse restaurant if you will. Some place where the environment is cozy, family friendly and fun, with quality food and drink. Plus the folks that own the joint not only live in your community, they are directly involved in it. SBUX personly could give a rip about you or your community. They might have their P.R. group make sure they get a bunch of free press when they give something away. I believe most resent it because the local guy does the same thing without holding up a sign that says "look at me, look how wonderful I am".

Well now SBUX, has got a lot of free press and it ain't so hot. Some of the other reasons are lack of vision concerning the economy. Everything is costing lots more, from fuel to milk and everything in between. The big shots at SBUX just keep on building sterile coffee shops. They're even building them in outer Mongolia. Now who in outer Mongolia can afford a 3-5 dollar cup of crappy tasting coffee. Whoever the visionaries are at SBUX please keep them away from me!!

So costs keep rising and SBUX keeps raising the cost of their drinks. There's a time where the two points meet and things start to go sideways...then down. Folks start looking for a better value. Not cheaper coffee, but "A BETTER VALUE," that means quality, period. The environment, the food, the service, and the coffee.

Now go to your locally owned CoffeeHouse or Drive-thru and order up!

The CoffeeMariner

Toys For Kids With Cancer.....Candlelighters

This time of year, it seems every cause, good or not so good comes out and asks for your help. CHRISTMAS IS THE SEASON FOR GIVING!

Here at Longbotttom Coffee and Tea we truly love to give. You've read my blogs on how we love to support COFFEE KIDS. There is another organization that we are especially fond of, and that is the Candlelighters. They help kids with cancer. Every year for the last several years a couple of staff members here at Longbottom Coffee have taken on these special kids. Linda Wilson and Nancy Mills can't wait for their yearly auction fund raising dinner.

First they make sure Longbottom sponsors a table so they can invite there most favorite friends. Then they put together the most magnificent gift baskets. I'm talking BIG and BEAUTIFUL!!!!! These must weigh at least 35 pounds a piece. Each year they seem to get bigger and seem to have more and more of the goodies that go with coffee jammed in them. Then comes the night of the auction fundraising dinner. It feels like the whole city of Portland is there. And the kids are so wonderful, listening to their testimonies and then trying to hold back the tears. It's as good as it gets! This is a great organization!

So, all that to let you know, here at Longbottom Coffee's Coffeehouse we have a tree set up especially for those KIDS! So Linda asked if Longbottom could put the first set of new unwrapped gifts under the tree. You gotta come and check it out! It's a beauty!!! And when you do, don't forget to bring your gift.

The CoffeeMariner

Model for a nation wide COFFEE KIDS day......

This last week, Longbottom conducted an experiment in our coffeehouse. We held a "COFFEE KIDS WEEK" We offered a special coffee blend to customers who were willing to sign up and make a small donation to COFFEE KIDS in exchange. All told, we added 197 new donors and raised $1495 for the COFFEE KIDS non-profit organization! A representative from Coffee Kids travelled across the country to be here for the event. So why did we do this?

April 06' I had the honor of travelling with a team from COFFEE KIDS to Oaxaca, Mexico to see first hand the work they do to help pull these coffee growing communities out of poverty. I'm sure most of you have heard the old adage "Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will be able to feed himself for life".

Through micro-credit programs, education, health care, and business development programs, the COFFEE KIDS organization has been teaching these folks how to fish! They're involved in several coffee growing countries south of our U.S. borders. Most of these little coffee growing villages rely on coffee (which is seasonal) for the bulk of their income. The profit they receive is minimal at best and definitely not enough to feed their families year round. By partnering with COFFEE KIDS we help break the cycle of poverty.

Now, back to the COFFEE KIDS DAY! Picture this, each independently owned coffee house throughout the U.S. sets aside one day where the owner or manager sits behind a table and gives a bag with a pound of their own COFFEE KIDS BLEND COFFEE, a CK's newsletter plus a coupon like a "buy one get one free" drink. All for a donation of $5 bucks, but for that bag (that realistically has a value of $15) they also have to give their full address so they can receive the quarterly COFFEE KIDS news letter.

With this small transaction for the consumer we increase their awareness of COFFEE KIDS' mission to break the cycle of poverty in these coffee growing communities and add to the COFFEE KIDS donor base.

If these coffeehouses partner with their roaster, this all can be accomplished with little cost. With the data we gained by having a whole week for COFFEE KIDS we know that 50 new donors were signed up on our best day.

Now, picture hundreds of coffee houses around the U.S. and even the world, having a day for COFFEE KIDS and by doing so building their donor base by 50. Now multiply that conservatively by 300 coffee houses the first year. That's 15,000 new donors! Can you imagine what this would do for those villages?

One thing it would do is ensure that we would get to keep drinking the fine coffee these poor families pick for us each year.

Think about it!

The CoffeeMariner

Limited Edition...BALI BLUE MOON....coming mid October

Longbottom Coffee and Tea offers a limited edition coffee every quarter that is new and exciting.

This coming October we will be offering an Indonesian coffee from Bali. Remember, Indonesia dose not have any Estates because for the most part there are no large land owner. There are about 40,000 small farms that sell there cherry to mountain men on the island of Sumatra alone. Bali is noted and well know for its premium coffees. The BALI BLUE MOON is brighter than other wet-processed Indonesian coffee, and it is fruity with a smooth sweetness. It is a classic, clean cup with a great body and mildness.

Remember, coffee is perishable and losses 80% of it concentrated flavor in 5-7 days after roasting. So please order just what you need and grind it each time you make a cup or pot for the best flavor.

Longbottom Coffee..."Were Roasting Everyday"

The CoffeeMariner

Take a Trip with..... COFFEE KIDS...........

This coming November 6-11 Coffee Kids will be taking a group of folks to Costa Rica. This five day tour will focus on coffee communities and a student scholarship project. Coffee Kids will partner with The Rural Children's Education Foundation (a Costa Rican Organization).

The Deadline for registration is Saturday, Sept. 15.

If any of you out there desire to go to origin and visit a true coffee growing community, this is for you. This is not a dog and pony show. It's the real thing!

If your interested please call Kyle Freund, Coffee Kids Communications Coordinator @ (505) 820-1443 or email him @ kyle@coffeekids.org. You can also get more info on the trip by logging on to there website @ www.coffeekids.org

Please join us and support this great organization,

The CoffeeMariner

New Crop Peru Organic...Villa Rica

It is 9:15am in the great state of Oregon. The sun is shining and we are all in for a hot week. The weather man says it should break 90 degrees on the 4th. This is not normal!! Normality is rain(or a shower or two)on the July 4th in Oregon. Then on the 5th we begin our summer.

Well, it's a beauty of a morning. And what even made it more beautiful was the sample of Organic Peru...Villa Rica's first crop of the year is sitting on my desk waiting for me to sample roast and cup it.

The beans are a deep green and a uniform 18 screen. The aroma was nice and deep as the roast was nearing completion. The cup is hardy and robust with a smooth finish.

If you are looking for a fruits and vegetable taste, SORRY!, this one is all COFFEE!!!

The CoffeeMariner

New Limited Brazilian Estate...Baixa da Pedra

This coffee took 2nd place in the Brazilian cupping compitition this last year. I secured four 132 pound bags.

As I grind this estate I am blasted with a deep caramel aroma, the cup is light with a noted citrus zing that tantalizes the roof of my mouth, it finishes with a slight smooth winyness.

This estate is a pulp natural. The cherry is allowed to dry slightly on the tree before picking. This process allows the absorbtion of the mucilage into the cherry pit or as most know it, the coffee bean itself. This process is not normal for Brazil. They are doing a few parcels to satisfy the 3rd wavers. This estate obviously has done some satisfying!!

The CoffeeMariner

Oaxaca, Mex. Blog#7....I'm Home Now...For Me That's Oregon....

I've been home (Oregon) now for near 2+ weeks. As I reflect on the trip I took with COFFEE KIDS and their gracious team of teachers and mentors, one would have to be blind not to see the tenacious committment this group has for the coffee farmer and their families.

To be very honest the job COFFEE KIDS has taken on is overwhelming! The drive and courage this organization has should be applauded daily. This is a pretty humble group of folks and they make a big difference for the future of the families that care for the coffee we count on, one small coffee village at a time.

The word SUSTAINABILITY.........What does it really mean? I've seen it being used as a tool like a hammer driving home a marketing platform for companies, whether the company really believes in it or not. I've seen it spoken as flippantly as a sailor would use curse words in a bar, by politically correct groups. I think if you're part of the IN crowd it has to do with the environment...GREEN...or how about...ORGANIC. Maybe it's about all these things!

I believe SUSTAINABILITY means life! I also believe with all my heart that this is what COFFEE KIDS is all about....a sustainable way of life for the coffee farmer and their families.

So, please join me! And give generously to COFFEE KIDS!

The CoffeeMariner

Oaxaca, Mex. Blog#6.....An Unforgettable Meal......

As the day turned from hot to hotter, we were informed there was going to be a meal served to us in a hour or so.

I'd like you to picture a small two room adobe brick home. You enter into the larger of the two rooms, there is a short wooden counter with a double electric hotplate and a few modest cooking utensils. On the back wall just opposite of the door there are about 20-30 sacks filled with coffee still in parchment. The floor is hard dirt that's swept clean, with a wooden table in the center. By and by a few small chickens would run between and around our feet.

The meal of chicken and hominy covered in mol'e sauce was served around the small wooden table. About 5 minutes into the meal a warm cloth with fresh stone ground corn tortillas was brought to the table. One of the ladies told us fresh mushrooms with mol'e would be coming in just a few more minutes as well.

The meal was incredible. This food was as good as it gets! As I was about halfway through this great food I said, "Whoever is married to the ladies that prepared this meal are very lucky men." What came back was unexpected, one of the ladies said, " Most of us have not seen our husbands in years, they are all up north in America".

Sobering.....

More to come,

The CoffeeMariner

Oaxaca, Mex. Blog#5 Coffee Kids...... Mushroom Farming Micro Credit Program.... It's A Good One!

We entered the village. Today seemed hotter and dustier than the others for some reason. We walked up to the home where all the action was. There were two small fires going with large 25 gallon pails of water boiling. In the water were sacks filled with shredded corn stalks. These corn stalks will end up being the base product for the mushroom seeds to take root in. They bring the shredded stalks up to temperature to kill all the unwanted bacteria, then the sacks are hung up over the pails to drain. Just in front of the boiling pails is a mound of corn stalks and a new electric shredder. These folks would methodically grind each and every stalk into sacks with dust flying everywhere. There were about a dozen women and 3-4 men working on this project. There was one small adobe brick building with wooden tables set up with a new balance scale at the end of one of the tables. Before we were allowed to enter the little mushroom growing building we all had to wash our hands with lots of soap, put on rubber gloves and don a hair cover and a mask to cover our nose and mouth.

Inside the little building was dark. The tables were covered with the boiled corn stalks. The ladies would stuff the shredded stalks into a large plastic bag and layer it with mushroom seeds till the sack was full, then repeat the process. The scale was used for measuring the mushroom seeds and other ingredients. Everything was so precise. All we could see were each others eyes and they were all dancing with excitement. These ladies were helping their families provide a means for a new type of stable income.

This all went on for hours! The large plastic bags would then be set on another table in the dark. Slits would be made in the side of the bags and in a few days mushrooms would be growing out of those slits. In two or three weeks, harvesting and drying takes place.

What a joy to see happy people and know that Longbottom coffee had a small part in it! Yes, people are what really matter!!

More to come,

The CoffeeMariner

Oaxaco, Mex Blog#4 On The Way To The Next Coffee Village......

Early the following morning we loaded ourselves, lots of bottled water and the little cooler full of Trader Joe's munchies in the Ford van and hit another windy and dusty road! This coffee village was only about a 4 hour drive! After about 2-3 hours and fording two small rivers we climb up out of the valley about half way up the side of one of the many small mountains. At this time Juliette one of the COFFEE KIDS team ask the driver to stop. She pointed to a village way off in the distance to our left as our destination. I got out to take a photo. It looked like we had to go up and down two more valleys to get there. As we were making way, by and by we would see a man with a straw hat riding his burro. On one occasion we picked up an old man who had just finished tending his coffee parcel and was on foot on his way home to the village we were going to. He had about a 7-8 mile walk ahead of him. Christino instructed the driver to pull over and pick him up. He sat next to Christino and the two began to talk. Christino ask if his three boys would be helping him this year. The man said no, they had all travelled north to America. He said, he has to find other help or will have to pick it by himself. This story is one that seems to be the norm. It's like that old Peter, Paul and Mary song "Where Have All the Young Men Gone". It makes me wonder, will there be anybody to tend the coffee parcels in the future?

More to come,

The CoffeeMariner

Quick Headline......Farmer Bros. Coffee...Just Bought... Coffee Bean International Of Portland,Oregon

Longbottom was established in 1981 and since then, CBI has been bought and sold several times. Each time the company focus has changed with the new ownership even though the promise is made to keep management the same. Now CBI has been bought by one of the largest institutional coffee roasters in the US. I'm talking, heavy on the word institutional. I'm sure most of you out there have seen the Farmer Bros. coffee carafe coming to your table at your local roadside restaurant? And then having the tea type coffee liquid touch your lips?? Yes! This is the company that just bought Coffee Bean International. I wish them luck!

The CoffeeMariner

Oaxaca, Mex, Blog#3...FairTrade..Or Not So FairTrade That Is The Question.....

While standing under the shade canopy with coffee trees everywhere and coffee seedlings covering the ground waiting to be thinned, we talked with Christino and his uncle. I had many questions, about organic certification, Shade certification and Fair Trade.....

Have any of you out there had to deal with any RED TAPE during your life time? The fact is, it's no fun! For a small coffee farmer that cultivates a few acres of coffee this is a monumental task, and one that can not be done without help. There is a gentleman out there that works for an organization called FomCafe. He is a friend of the coffee farmer and their families. This young man not only helps with the RED TAPE but also works with COFFEE KIDS helping these little villages with entepreneurism and economic development. I asked Jose Luis the meaning of "Fom" that makes up the first syllable of FomCafe. He explained Fom is an abbreviation for the translated words in English...like come-along-side, beneficial, give-a-helping-hand-up. This friend of COFFEE KIDS that works for FomCafe dose just that, he comes along side. I have met this man and I would agree with Jose Luis, he is a true friend of these people!

Christino explained that Christino's uncle's coffee parcel is certified organic and FairTrade but not Shade Grown. I asked why? He said "the certifiers said the canopy was not thick enough". I'm looking up and I'm thinking, if it was any thicker there would be no sun coming through. I also thought, "it would be interesting to have the certifier pick this coffee, load it up on burros and prepare it for parchment, maybe then he would give the Shade Grown certification." I also learned that last year the farmer received $1.11 per pound for their coffee. The New York "C" was trading for around $1.22 at that time. FairTrade claims that they give around $1.45 per pound to the coffee farmer. To my understanding the dry mill folks are getting over .30 cents of the $1.45 that FairTrade claims goes directly to the farmer. Now, if this is true, I'm wondering how FairTrade justifies it's DO-GOOD ER marketing?? I need to make a few phone calls!! Maybe I've missed something during translation, but I doubt it!

This is just one of the reasons we give to COFFEE KIDS, to make sure that every coffee bean we roast is Traded Fairly!!!!

We returned to the village, said our goodbyes and started our journey back to the hotel. As I tried to stay seated upright though the windy road home(Putla), my thoughts wandered from the simple life of coffee farming to how our world has placed demands on these folks when all they want is to care for their coffee....

More to come....

The CoffeeMariner

Oaxaca, Mex. Blog#2...Coffee Parcels Are Small Plots Of Land...Maybe 2-6 Acres Each....

After listening to the ladies on how things were going with their micro-credit program, we then had a late lunch of tree ripe mangoes and bananas. They shared with us how they have grown close to one another through working and problem solving together.

While one of the COFFEE KIDS staff was explaining how to manage their money with a large piece of butcher paper taped on one of the inside walls, Carolyn, Juliette, Jose Luis and I followed Christino to his uncle's house. His uncle is very small, I would say 4'10" and maybe 90-100 pounds. He was wearing a pair of well worn sandals, a pair of baggy pants and a shirt filled with finely stitched patches. He was a happy man and was thrilled to show us his coffee parcel. It was just over 4 acres in size. We walked for about a 1/4 mile over dusty roads passing by a mule tethered next to a small home with a satellite dish. The satellite dish was unexpected, but at the same time makes sense when you think about it. Young teenage boys seeing what's on TV and saying to themselves "I want some of that" and they're off, making their way north to head to the land of opportunity. The good old USA! The problem is, it's not at all like what's on TV.

Well, back to the uncle and his 4 acre coffee parcel. As he pointed to the distant mountain range to the south, he said, "Back in 1942 my family and I brought back little coffee trees from those mountains. We loaded up our burros with wonderful little coffee plants and started for home."

Those trees are what make up Christino's uncles coffee parcel. It was like walking through a forest of large shade trees with coffee trees all over the place being protected by the shade tree canopy. Banana trees and pineapple plants were also throughout this forest of coffee. It was so cool watching Chistino and his uncle show us this part of their life. They were so proud! As we talked with coffee seedlings brushing our ankles, I asked how many sacks of roastable coffee their coffee parcel produced. After thinking a bit, the uncle said, "about 15." I thought to myself, 15 sacks. This man cultivates and cares for his precious parcel of coffee and a roaster like ours would have roasted, packaged, dated and delivered that quantity in just a few hours. Like the TV satellite dish and the mule, it's hard to put it all in perspective. Even though I was thinking Longbottom Coffee would have roasted 15 sacks in a matter of a couple of hours, I could never speak it out loud.

Stay tuned for more........

The CoffeeMariner

Back From Oaxaca, Mexico.....Coffee Kids, What A Great Organization....

This last Monday my plane landed at the PDX airport around 9 that evening. It's always good to be home, sleep in your own bed. There is just something about your very own pillow.

Oaxaca is a beautiful city, a real picture of old Mexico. The COFFEE KIDS team and I got up early the first morning got in a Ford van and went for a little drive. After 6 hours of serpentine roads with speed bumps every 1/4 mile we arrive in the little village of PUTLA. We check into our modest hotel, got a quick nap (about 30 minutes) and we're off again to our first little coffee village. We picked up Christino the man who is the go-to guy for the PUTLA area coffee co-op. He also helps COFFEE KIDS with direct village leadership. He is a humble man that helps the family groups in these remote villages with leadership also. We arrived after one hours worth of another serpentine speed bump experience.

THE FIRST VILLAGE....If you can picture a area(the state of Oaxaca)about 36,000 square miles with mountains 1/3 the size of Mt. Hood about 4-5 thousand feet high all jammed up next to one another. The coffee village is nestled on the side of one of these mountains. With a population of about 150 little people. Mostly women, children and older men make up the total population. Most of the young men have traveled "El Norte" - north for work, either in the USA or in northern Mexico. We drive on the dusty road up to a small two room brick house. There are about a dozen women and a bunch of little coffee kids waiting for our arrival. We are greeted with kindness, they are so happy to see us and anxious to tell us their progress with their micro-credits and how they have grown economically as a group. The micro credits are furnished by COFFEE KIDS along with a helping hand to develop economic development though entrepeneurism. These families have not only grown their micro credit, but have built up a little nest egg for a small health care fund. The ladies told us that these monies can't be touched, "it's there for emergencies" they said. These folks are bright and are so excited to think of new ways to work together and make more money for their families. Next on the list is starting and building a small herd of goats. Just think, milk, cheese and meat! This is a good thing! Because of the COFFEE KIDS organization this stuff is happening. It was so great to see and be apart of, it's making me think of coming up with new models to grow the COFFEE KIDS donor base.

I will write more about the coffee parcels(small 2-6 acre farms)and the next coffee village tomorrow.....Stay tuned...

The CoffeeMariner

The First New Crop Estate Organic Guat.....Jose La Laguna....

A couple of weeks ago I cupped out and absolutely incredibly fine organic estate from the country of Guatemala.

The estate is "San Jose La Laguna". It's located about 20 miles south of Guatemala's capital in a coffee growing region known as Fraijanes. Surrounded by majestic volcanoes and situated on a land once occupied by a presently retreating lake which provides the area with fine mollic soils.

The cup is rich with bright acidity that explodes in your mouth. The finish is smooth as silk that lingers with no aftertaste. It is so good I upped my order. We are getting an add on shipment next week.

Now since I'm part of The Fourth Wave, which is the Truth about Coffee, I have to tell you that even though this coffee is organic it is NOT in the Fair Trade program. Remember, only co-ops can join the Fair Trade program. But at Longbottom Coffee and Tea we give monies from a portion of every coffee bean we roast to the COFFEE KIDS organization.

That way a part of the proceeds from all of the coffee we roast is Fairly Traded. We cup all our coffee to assure the finest for our customers, and we believe in a fairly traded program by giving back. And we do that through the trusted name of COFFEE KIDS. I buy Fair Trade coffee, but, it has to cup out! Just because it touts the label does not guarantee the cup!

Keep one hand on the tiller and both eyes on the skyline, The CoffeeMariner

Coffee Kids...Making A Big Difference With a Little Help From There Friends!

This coming April 18th, I will be making way to Oaxaca, Mexico to visit several coffee villages and farms with Coffee Kids Executive Director, Carolyn Fairman and her team.

You many not know how big a part our Longbottom customers play in the well being of the poor families that are involved in the growing and harvesting of the fine coffee we serve and drink on a daily basis. A percentage of every coffee bean that is roasted at Longbottom Coffee and Tea goes toward the education and development of these families. To give you and idea--the Coffee Kids organization will give very small low interest loans to these families for entrepreneurism. For example, a family could be given a small low interest loan for a commercial sewing machine. This would give them work in the off seasons between coffee harvesting and processing. Coffee Kids enthusiastically gives a hand-up rather than a hand-out, educating and instilling excitement and hope for people that feel at times hopeless. The coffee business for folks like us is a gift. It wouldn't be possible for us to enjoy the fine coffee we take for granted if it wasn't for these people who grow and care for it. I believe because of folks like our valued Longbottom customers, it makes it possible for an organization like Coffee Kids to reach out to so many families around the world.

When you think about it, what really matters in this world? I believe people matter. And with your help and with the help of the Coffee Kids organization--we're making a difference.

If you want to know more about this great organization, see their website at www.coffeekids.org

Thank you, Michael, The CoffeeMariner

Reno, Nevada Here I Come............

First I would like to apologize for being away from my blog so long.....Life right now is in the fast lane.

This next month I will be putting on a mini COFFEE SEMINAR at one of the fine independently owned CoffeeHouses in Reno, Nv. The Place is called PURPLE BEAN. Susan the owner has just opened her second location. I will be doing a complete Coffee educational seminar. Everything from cupping to brewing and everything in between. This is all going to happen on the 3rd and 4th of April. Susan and her staff of great baristas do an incredible job caring for their coffee so they can offer their loyal customers the finest.

Keep up the good work Susan and the PURPLE BEAN crew!

New Crop Costa Rican Has Arrived............

This last Friday our first container of the New Crop season from Costa Rica backed into our receiving dock. As always I'm eager to inspect the container itself for contaminants, like bad odors. Then I open a few bags with my trier to check out the coffee. They are uniform and deep green....I can't wait to sample roast them.

They roasted up evenly, the aroma was intense with Carmel. The cup was rich and creamy with the smoothness of a true very high grown Costa! The subtle Carmel finish is what make a true specialty Costa Rican.

I was so impressed with it's cup I booked another container and look forward to it's arrival in mid July of this year.