Enjoying Great Coffee and Feeling Good About It

"Hmm, time to pick up some more coffee," I thought to myself as I was fixing a pot Sunday morning before I left for choir practice.  No problem, I'll just pick some up after church and maybe get something to fix for lunch while I'm at it.

 

But wait, after choir practice, there's coffee outside the Founders' Room. Alright! It was brought by Hilary King, who spoke to the Adult Formation Class for the second session on Food and Faith.

 

Hilary gave a very informative presentation on Fair Trade coffee and had a lot of interesting tidbits on the background and history of coffee.

 

I know we are all called to be a Christian witness to the world and a lot of times it's tough, like trying to find a Farmers Market that's nearby, (plus the fact that I don't really like grocery shopping). Or, I could react to global catastrophes by writing a check to Episcopal Relief & Development.

 

But how about this?  I can do something about my quality of life, namely drinking good coffee.  And while I am doing this, I can have a positive impact on (an admittedly small) part of world.  This would be relatively easy, just look for Fair Trade, Organic, Shade-grown, etc., coffee.  Or buy coffee from a company like Liga Masiva, Hilary's company, which sells Direct Trade coffee.  Liga Masiva works directly with smallholder organic farmers in the Dominican Republic, cutting out the middlemen.

 

So I learned about the business of coffee and how it's grown, and I learned how I can help improve the quality of life of some organic farmers while I'm enjoying a great cup of coffee.  Win-Win!