Menu for Coffee Tasting

To entice you to attend this Saturday's Coffee Tasting and Speed Networking, we thought we'd share the menu with you.  Happy salivating over this delicious food and drink.

Asian Chicken Wings from Burger Point paired with Panama Honey Coffee or Japanese Green Tea

Grilled Salmon from Weather Mark Tavern paired with Rwandan Coffee or China Breakfast Tea

Veggie Quiches from Delightful Pastries paired with Natural Process Panama Coffee or Tangerine Ginger Tea

Garlic Potato Salad from Tapas Valencia paired with Brazilian Coffee or Tanzanian Decaffeinated Coffee

Chocolate Brownies from Faretta Bakery paired with Guatemalan Coffee or Bergamot Sage Tea

Italian and Flavored Soda

Water (for cleansing your palette and staying hydrated)

We'll also give you a sneak peak behind-the-scenes at Overflow, the premier of our new video and plenty of time to get to know your South Loop neighbors.

Purchase a ticket to attend at http://overflowcoffeebar.eventbrite.com/.

Extreme Poverty and Coffee

Extreme Poverty has a definition: living on less than 1.25 dollars US a day.

In 2000, 189 world leaders at the United Nations Millennium Summit made a promise and some goals. 

Goal #1 is to END HUNGER & EXTREME POVERTY through these objectives:

1. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day.
2. Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people.
3. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.

How does this connect with the coffee industry?

The 25 million small coffee farmers world-wide often live in poverty or extreme poverty.  Many of their neighbors do too. Coffee accounts for billions of dollars of export income for some of the world's poorest countries.


Paying coffee farmers a more than fair wage for their coffee is a step toward ending poverty for them.  Plus, they buy from their neighbors' business or farm and thereby help end poverty for the entire community.

Here's an example for you.  The Guatemalan coffee we use puts at least* $1.72 per pound of green coffee in the farmers' hands (his name is Edwin if you're wondering).  Our roaster buys 10,000 lbs of coffee from Edwin.  So, the farmer gets at least* $17,200 from the sale of his coffee.  Which gives him and his family over $47 per day to live on.

Compare that with many farmers who end up selling their coffee to "coyotes" who pay them way less than the C market rate (this rate fluctuates daily and widely over time).  Farmers who sell to "coyotes" can get as little as 50 cents per pound.  50 cents per pound for a 3000-pound crop would mean a family lives on $4.11 per day.  For a family of four that's way less than the $1.25 extreme poverty definition.

Do you Give a Damn?  Want to talk to some filmmakers who Give a Damn?  Check out overflowfilm.eventbrite.com for more information about an upcoming documentary film screening.

*It's a little more complicated because Edwin gets $4 per pound since he secured the coffee from farm to "free for export" (FOB).  After covering the costs of transportation and exportation fees, he gets at least $1.72.

The Stories Behind Our Coffees.

[Note: The following was in our Overflow Coffee Connections e-newsletter.  If you don't receive them, go to http://www.overflowcoffeebar.org/ and put your email address on our list.]

Every bag of coffee has a story behind it. The stories behind our coffees are ones we can all be proud of. You participate in these stories when you purchase our coffees.

Guatemala
This medium roast is grown by third-generation coffee farmer Diego Martin. Diego's father, Carlos, was an expert in coffee. Carlos and another of his sons were stopped one day on the road back to the farm, robbed, and then shot and killed. Soon after, our supplier was in Guatemala spending time with the family, bringing gifts for the children and watching them laugh and play even amidst such tragedy.

When you purchase the Guatemalan coffee, you join us in continuing to honor Carlos, Diego, and their families. The past two years, they have received $1.72 per pound of green (unroasted) coffee beans. This price is well above the Fair Trade premium of $1.26. Plus, the money is put directly into Diego's hands. This relationship goes beyond business and ensures excellence in their crop and your cup.

Honduras
This light roast is grown on a fairly new farm, Rancho Ebenezer. Rancho Ebenezer was started in 2001 as a family-style home and school for orphans and disadvantaged children from Honduras' cities to start fresh. In Honduras, coffee represents a second chance at life and also a huge part of their country's culture. Rancho is also essential to the development of the surrounding area as it provides jobs for local workers. The quality of the beans has grown alongside the children; each crop is better than the last

When you purchase the Honduran coffee, you join us in providing a safe home for children and employment for Hondurans. On a deeper level, your purchase helps to break cycles of poverty and crime.

Decaf Tanzanian
This dark roast decaf is grown by 2,500 subsistence farmers who operate in a cooperative. The men and women who bring their crops to the co-op typically own 1-3 acres and care for 300-900 coffee trees. Some of the farmers are 20 years old, some are 80. A local school teacher said she loves the co-op, "Because my kids are coming back to school." Farmers are currently paid $2.20 per pound, enough that they can again afford school fees for their children. This premium also allows for increased access and pay for health care and additional support for local farm village markets and merchants.

When you purchase this Tanzanian coffee, you join us in changing this region in Tanzania. Already, other coffee buyers in the region are increasing their prices to compete with the fair and just prices of the co-op.

Espresso Blend
This balanced espresso blend is a combination of the Guatemalan and Honduran coffees. When you purchase espresso, you join with both.

You can purchase some Overflow coffee on our website.
http://www.overflowcoffeebar.org/
Be sure to watch the video. Then, head to the "Shop" to purchase some coffee.

Overflow and You Team Up to Help Girls in Guatemala Go To School

It may seem counter intuitive that my last post was about "Money Discouragement" and in this post you'll learn about how we're giving money away but I live by the premise that our best things are meant to be given away (ex: if you want to feel loved, love someone else).  So here's what we're doing:

For every pound of coffee ordered through our website from now until April 30th, Overflow will give $2 to Seeds of Help Foundation. Currently, Seeds of Help Foundation needs donations to help Guatemalan girls go through 7th, 8th and 9th grades. These girls’ parents can no longer afford to send them to school. Your support will keep them in school and learning skills to support themselves and their families. Two girls are planning to be teachers. These girls are in the same area of Guatemala that Overflow’s Guatemalan coffee comes from! Go to http://www.overflowcoffeebar.org/shop.html to place your order.

According to Seeds of Help, Guatemalan children generally get school provided for them for the first 6 years by the government. If the child wants to continue, the family must pay for a middle school (like our junior/high school). Then past those three years, if the child wants to get a degree in a trade like shoe making, mechanical work, construction, nursing, teaching, they go for another 3 years (like our college/trade schools here) which again the family must pay for.

Most families in the rural area of Huehuetenango, Guatemala have 6+ children so they can hardly afford to feed their families much less pay to send their children to school. Women in Guatemala have an exceptionally hard time continuing their education as they are perceived as the care takers and often marry young and have to care for their families.

For more information about Seeds of Help Foundation, visit http://www.seedsofhelp.org/.