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…

Why is it that many Americans feel like they need a six figure annual income to barely survive on the meager basics and yet will buy cheap coffee at a the-store-that-shall-remain-nameless or one like it to ensure that the farmers that grew that coffee will never make enough to have inside toilets. Why is that? I happen to know that a family of eight can live very well on less that 25,000 a year because I have recently done that…and I don’t feel the need to buy cheap coffee, either.

end rant.

Ahem.

So, I was impressed with the company’s commitment to the farmer. That would not have gotten the coffee a good review in and of itself, however. When Marc ground the coffee the whole kitchen was scented with the fragrance. It was incredible.

As the coffee brewed I could hardly wait to taste it. The brew has an almost purple cast to it, nice and wine-y looking. The surface is clear and mirrors the room around it and the flavor is that clean, too.

Nice acidity. The flavors unfold in a complex parade; spice, plum wine, bittersweet chocolate, pecan, and finally a smoky finish.  I liked the coffee better the more I drank it and I think I prefer it black to having it with cream and sugar. Very rich and smooth cup that makes you want more when you are done.

Buena Beans Cafe La Violeta would go well with oriental dishes, plain cakes (like poundcake), and simple desserts. Give it a try…it is so worth it.

Oddly enough, I did a review on Archer Farms Estate la Violeta almost exactly a year ago. Have a look if you want to compare the two.

image:marye audet

image:sxc

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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 from coffee. In fact the company that perfected it has made two shirts from the amount of grounds it takes to make a cup of coffee. GROUNDS mind you, not beans. The after product of your morning ritual.  If the fabric goes viral those of us that drink a lot of coffee could have a brand new income stream.

The fabric is also “quick-drying, odor controlling,  and uv-protective.” Totally organic and produced in an environmentally responsible fashion the only other thing you could possibly want would be to drink the water it is rinsed in…but alas..technology has not yet come that far.

You can read more at the  SCafe site.

Still. It will be interesting to see how this markets, what the cost will be..and most important of all…..will your sweat smell like coffee?

image:marye audet (those vintage magazines and books have to be good for something)

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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.

The problem with those small green companies is that the big companies that pretend to be green run them out of business. People prefer to save a buck here or there and in this economy who can blame them? And it isn’t just that. If you have ever owned a small business you know that all of the various regulations, inspections, permits, and taxes work together to maintain a high level of stress and frustration. You are expected, as a business owner (at least in a small town) to be nice, friendly, always available, always compliant, and always ready to give your product away for free to friends, neighbors, and city officials.

Companies like Starbucks are corporations. That is an entirely different set of rules. It is sort of the difference between being a work at homemom and a work at an office mom. Both work really hard, and both may be equally talented and successful but the work at home mom will be expected to babysit for neighbors, make cookies for the class party, and keep an eye on all of the latchkey kids for two miles. Different standards apply.

There is a point that you have to choose between your budget and your commitement to green-ness. Pretending like a corporation is green is like pretending a president or other government official really will do something about the environment. They won’t. As long as there are private jets using gallons of fuel, and multiple domiciles with staff I can’t be comforted that they care as much as I do about environment.

Starbucks will always be more interested in growth and profits than environmental concerns. If that wasn’t the case ALL of their coffee would be organic.

image:sxc

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

Make floating homes out of them. These homes are so cool.  They are made from panels that are created from recycled coffee cups, packing material, and the styrofoam thingies your hamburger comes in.

The homes are actually afloat on  a lake, connected to the shoreline by a winding walkway.  This sounded beautiful to me until I thought about the amount of groceries that I buy…first of all, the idea of carrying all of them from the car to the house down a winding walkway that floats on water is not that cool to me.  Second, I realized that you would  always know which one of the homes was mine..it would be partially submerged from the weight of said groceries..

However…

These homes are covered in vegetation which  I imagine helps to insulate them, as well as releasing oxygen into the air…and I guess a mound of green plants looks better floating on water than a giant coffee cup?

Water from the lake will be pumped through the stucture to water the plants.

You can read more about this and see a video at  Treehugger.

What do you think?  Would you live in one if given the chance?

Image:AnnHoltrop

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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.

So, I know I kid around about Micky D’s alot…and their quest to grow up to be like Starbucks, but I am sort of impressed that they are doing this. What I am not impressed about is that it is so obviously a marketing strategy. If they cared about the environment the coffee would be being used world wide..not just in an area that tends to be more environmentally concerned than other areas.  I guess I will give them half a kudo.

What do you think? Should they just bite the bean and go green world-wide?

Image:Morguefile (photoshopped by Marye Audet)

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