Buena Beans sent me their Cafe La Violeta to try. I will get to the review of that in a minute. Let’s just chat about the company for a sec, shall we?

The coffees are roasted in small batches every day. They are grown using sustainable practices, and the farmers that grow the coffee are paid a living wage, which means…you know…that they can actually live on it. Warning: rant en route…

First I have to thank Bitchin’ Kitchen for twittering about this.
I like coffee. I like using coffee. I like smelling coffee…I was always sad the Dr. Suess did not write a book about coffee, although he did do some on the edge World War II propaganda movies for the US Army.
Anyway. I like coffee, I like organic coffee, and I like when people figure out how to do awesome things with everyday objects. Soy fabric is incredible, I would not eat soy based products but wear them?  Ah…so soft. Bamboo, same thing. Awesome! But coffee?

Well a company is making fabric …read more

I was reading this article about Starbucks in Reuters with great interest, Green or Greenwashed?
Frankly, I am not sure that any large company can ever be green. No matter how much they try their very existence as a corporation will preclude them being environmentally friendly.

Green belongs to the small, local coffee shops that use “for here” cups and buy their organic, shade grown, bird friendly coffee from a local roaster or roast it themselves. Green belongs to small, family owned companies that operate in communities, support the local communities, and refuse to grow past a certain, controllable point.

 
Michel Kreuger of Amsterdam’s Studio Noach has come up with a unique way to deal with styrofoam coffee cups.

 
Last week McDonalds announced that beginning early 2009 they are going to be using  environmentally certified coffee at its Australian and New Zealand locations.
The coffee is certified by the  Rainforest Alliance.  All coffee sold by the company (in Australia and New Zealand) will be certified by the group.