Ground Work: Community Action (part 2 of 3)

I’ll admit it: I had a fairly bucolic childhood. I grew up in a tiny town (the horsepulling capital of the U.P!), went to a small public school with a low student-to-teacher ratio, had a lot of friends & lots of space to run around & play outside. I was fairly sheltered from the world’s ills, things like violence & drug use, bullying, abusive relationships. I was “normal,” whatever that means. I’ve had a blessed & lucky life.

Obviously, not everyone is so lucky. Children are abused every day, frequently by the people they know & trust. And my “normalcy” had nothing to do with the fact that even I was at risk for such abuse. Consider the startling statistics: one in four girls (1/4) & one in six boys (1/6) will be sexually abused by the age of 18. Only one of those children out of ten will tell anyone.

Think about it another way: nine out of ten abused children will never tell a soul.

Just pondering that makes me feel ill.

Sexual abuse is an issue that’s been, sadly, on the front pages of our newspapers in recent months. The Joe Paterno/Jerry Sandusky/Penn State fiasco has received a ton of coverage, prompting many of us to take a closer look at the world around us & perhaps keep a closer eye on the children in our lives, thinking more about what we could & should be doing to protect them. And a local Traverse City businessman was sentenced to nine years in prison last year after being convicted for criminal sexual conduct with young boys. Furthermore, I’ve been wondering lately if I even would know exactly what to do should I witness such abuse.

You likely already know about On the Ground (OTG), the nonprofit formed by Higher Grounds to work for sustainable development in global farming regions. But as I mentioned in my last blog post, OTG is just one piece of Higher Grounds’ commitment to community.

The Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center (TBCAC) is our area’s first line of defense when it comes to the physical & sexual abuse of children. Recently, Higher Grounds chose TBCAC as an outlet for the social arm of Ground Work, HG’s (newly-named!) community action program.

Here’s TBCAC’s mission:

To protect children by providing prevention & multi-disciplinary intervention in investigation, assessment & treatment of child sexual & physical abuse in an environment that is child sensitive, supportive & safe.

To break it down, TBCAC's multidisciplinary team of counselors, medical professionals, law enforcement, & Health & Human Services officials works together to provide a safe, friendly, & caring environment for children & their parents throughout the difficult investigation & trial processes.

Currently, TBCAC is running a contest for area students, challenging them to create a short film expressing their vision to spark the movement focused on Zero Tolerance for child abuse. The winner will receive a $500 Downtown Traverse City gift certificate. More details here.

Check out TBCAC’s web site and Facebook page for more information about their policies & practices, or call their staff at 231-929-4250 with any questions.

Higher Grounds, collectively, and I, personally, am proud to partner with this important organization & the great people working so hard to make our community safer for children. I have fourteen nieces & nephews. How many kids do you know?

--Jennifer

Community: It’s Greater than You (& bigger than you think)

What do you think of when I say the word community? Here’s one definition:

community |kəˈmyoōnitē|

1. a group of people living together in one place, esp. one practicing common ownership : a community of nuns.

• all the people living in a particular area or place : local communities.

• a particular area or place considered together with its inhabitants : a rural community.

• the people of a district or country considered collectively, esp. in the context of social values & responsibilities; society: preparing prisoners for life back in the community.

• [as adj.] denoting a worker or resource designed to serve the people of a particular area: community health services.

I’m willing to bet the above definition is in line with what most people would think—that community is about a geographical containment of people, individuals connected by the physical space in which they live. You might think of your neighbors down the street, the other families in your subdivision, or even others you meet in the produce aisle of your local grocery store.

But there are other definitions of community as well. Consider:

2. a group of people having a religion, race, profession, or other particular characteristic in common: Rhode Island's Japanese community | the scientific community.

• a body of nations or states unified by common interests.

(I apologize to any scientists among you who object to this depiction of cartoon figures wearing glasses & lab coats. But the image illustrates my point here.)

In this case, people can belong to a community with others they might never actually meet face to face, people who simply share similar beliefs or interests. You and I, for example, are part of a community centered on coffee. I may never see you in person. I may never even hear your name. Yet we have at least one thing in common: our love for, & interest in, the humble coffee bean.

And try this one:

3. a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, & goals:  the sense of community that organized religion can provide.

• a similarity or identity: writers who shared a community of interests.

• joint ownership or liability: a commitment to the community of goods.

The common interest that you & I share not only places us in a shared “body” of sorts, but it also evokes certain results, as definition #3 states. There is a sense of community between us. We care about many of the same things. On a basic level, we care about having a positive, high-quality coffee experience, whether at home or in a coffee bar. Taking that sense of community further, you & I share attitudes & goals that translate into action: investing our personal time & often our money into Higher Grounds, a business with a mission we believe in.

What is that mission? Well, you know a little about it (hopefully!) already, having read all about our stance on fair trade. But our mission is manifest all throughout our definition of community, which extends not beyond our immediate surroundings of TC & northern Michigan but throughout them, reaching others who care about & are connected to coffee all over the world.

That last sentence is kind of complicated. But the idea is this:

Higher Grounds’ mission is to engage with & support people doing important work in three major realms: social, environmental, & international. You’ve likely heard the most about the international arm of that mission, On the Ground—which tends to get the most press due to its sometimes-exotic-sounding projects (namely Run Across Ethiopia & Run Across Palestine). Over the next few weeks, I’ll fill you in on the other arms & describe our relationship with two essential Traverse City area organizations, the Michigan Land Use Institute & the Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center. 

In addition to MLUI, TBCAC, & OTG, here are some more organizations we’ve supported in the past year, by donating money & coffee & hosting benefit concerts in our roastery:

Advent Lutheran Church

Bioneers

Child & Family Services

Disability Network

Fishtown Preservation Society

Food Rescue

Maya Vinic Farmers

MyWhat

Tart Trails

Third Level Crisis Center

Traverse City Film Festival

Traverse City Fire Fighters

Women’s Resource Center

As part of the Higher Grounds community, you should know about our commitment to supporting projects taking place all throughout the HG world, not just far but close to home as well.

--Jennifer

Maya Vinic, Here We Come!

If you read the series on fair trade that wrapped up a few weeks back, you’ll remember that I mentioned the annual delegations HG sends to the cooperatives where our coffee is grown. Tomorrow, the first trip of 2012 commences: Chris Treter (owner), Phil Hamburg (sales guru), & Karin Thompson (new head roaster) fly to Mexico to visit the Maya Vinic Cooperative, birthplace of HG’s flagship coffee. And if you’ve been a loyal HG blog reader for even longer, you may recall Chris’ report of his trip there back in September.

Chris, Phil & Karin will participate in meetings with Cooperative Coffees, our importing coffee co-op, but even more exciting (yes, more exciting than meetings!) is their delivery of coffee brewing equipment for Maya Vinic’s new café in San Cristobal de las Casas—a grand opening made possible in part by the direct social premium HG pays per pound of Maya Vinic beans. In 2011, that premium adds up to more than $5000: perhaps not a whole lot by the standards of America’s 1%, but a sum that goes a long way for our friends in Mexico. Their café will be a sustainable means of promoting Maya Vinic’s coffee in their own region as well as a way to help supplement the farmers’ income during the rest of the year (since the coffee-growing season only lasts about four months).

HG’s current crop of Maya Vinic coffee marks the 10^th anniversary harvest we’ve purchased from that same co-op. Much celebration will take place among friends in the spirit of long-term, mutually beneficial relationships. This trip combines business & pleasure in the best of ways.

What’s more, On the Ground just finished the water project that is supplying Acteal—Maya Vinic’s headquarters—with water for all houses & public spaces. The cohort from HG will be stopping in to check in on that progress as well.

Yes, I've already used this picture on the blog (back in September). But it's just so gorgeous. Maybe someday I'll get to be part of an HG delegation too.

Stay tuned for a report of the trip next week!

--Jennifer

It’s Not Just For Drinking Anymore

I love a great cup of coffee, straight up. Occasionally I’ll add cream, & sometimes I'll even indulge in a little sugar or a splash of HG's house-made ginger or vanilla syrup. But the truth is, there’s a lot more you can do with your HG coffee beans than simply grind & brew. I’ve discovered a few excellent recipes that make use of coffee differently. As Marcel the Shell says, read on!

Nieman Marcus Cookies

I’ve made a few small edits to this recipe, though you can find versions of it (and even an urban legend) all over the Internet. While the amount of coffee in these cookies is admittedly small, they wouldn’t be nearly as delicious without it. And of course, use organic ingredients when possible. I like to bake just one pan & pre-form & flash-freeze the rest, so I can pull a few at a time & bake them as needed.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
3 T. granulated sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. HG Mayan Magic Espresso, ground on the finest setting
1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

flaky sea salt (such as Maldon) for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F.

2. Beat the butter & sugars on medium speed (or with some elbow grease if mixing by hand) for about 30 seconds, until the mixture is fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla for 30 seconds longer, until well combined.

3. In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, & salt. Add these dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mix & beat slowly until fully incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips & coffee, & mix for 15 seconds longer.

4. Drop the dough onto a lightly-greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet in 2-tablespoon-size dollops about 3 inches apart. Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into 2-inch circles; there should be room on the sheet for six or eight cookies at a time. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over the top of each cookie.

5. Bake for 16-20 minutes or until the cookies are nicely browned around the edges. Bake for a little longer for crisper cookies, or shorter if you’ve made your cookies smaller.

Kahlua

You can go to the store and buy a bottle for $25, or you can make your own at home (with organic ingredients!) for a lot less. Make a double batch & pour into pretty little bottles for holiday gifts – you’ll be everyone’s favorite cousin in no time. Again, there are several recipes floating around on the interwebs, but I chose to make this one because, well, it was the least complicated. And the result was delicious.

Ingredients:

3 c. organic cane sugar

3 c. brewed Higher Grounds coffee (I used Justice Blend, but your favorite will do)

3 c. organic vodka (I used Prairie, made in Minnesota)

3 tsp. organic vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk sugar into the coffee. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat & simmer for several minutes, stirring until sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat. When cool, stir in vodka & vanilla. Voila!

As the above recipes prove, coffee is a great complement to sweet flavors, but savory dishes can also benefit from its rich & earthy undertones. Here’s a recipe I haven’t tried but plan to very soon.

Late Night Coffee Brined Chicken

1 4-5 lb whole organic chicken 

2 1/2 T. brown sugar

1 1/2 T. unsalted butter

2 c. milk

For the brine:

1/2 liter hot, freshly brewed HG coffee

3 oz. kosher salt

2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
3 star anise
1 tsp. whole cloves
2 navel oranges, halved
15 oz. ice


1. Combine salt, peppercorns, star anise, & cloves in a small pot. Lightly crush spices with the back of a large spoon. Squeeze orange halves over mixture, & then add halves. Pour hot coffee over mixture, stir, & cover pot with lid. Allow brine to steep for ten minutes.

2. Meanwhile, pat chicken dry, removing giblets & neck. Place chicken in a 2 gallon sized zip lock or other plastic bag.

3. Place the ice in a large bowl. Add coffee brine & stir until ice melts. Pour brine in bag with chicken (including oranges), seal, & allow mixture to sit at room temperature for 2-3 hours. Then pat chicken dry & let it dry out for an hour in a bowl placed in the refrigerator.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

5. Remove chicken from refrigerator, pat dry & rub both sides with brown sugar.

6. Heat butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat, brown chicken on both sides. Add milk, cover, & transfer to oven. Cook for an hour with the lid. Remove lid. Continue to cook for another 30-40 minutes, or until internal temperature of chicken is 165 degrees.

7. Pull meat off the bones & serve with wilted greens and rice. Be sure to spoon some of the sauce over the meat, if desired.

I’ve also seen several recipes for chili that call for a splash of coffee – sounds like a great idea to me. If you have coffee recipe ideas to try, drop me a line so I can give them a try & share them with everyone else. Happy Holidays all around!

--Jennifer

Gifts for Coffee Lovers

If you wrap your gifts this beautifully, you are my hero.
Photo courtesy of katiebrownblog.com.

Last week I talked about a handful of holiday gift items available in our coffee bar. But only one of those items was coffee-related. Now it’s time to dig a little deeper into the realm of gifts for your coffee-obsessed friends. For your amusement convenience, I’ve categorized said friends accordingly:

1. The one-cup-a-day drinker.

I’m actually in this category myself, at least when it comes to at-home sipping. For folks who just drink a single cup of coffee at a time, for reasons ranging from living solo to simply being the smartest sole coffee drinker in the household, there exists a handful of excellent brewpots for single-cup coffee preparation:

12-oz Bodum French press: $17. Brew time: 3 minutes. Result: a bold, viscous brew.

Bodum travel French press: $20-23 (plastic), or $30 (stainless). Same method & time, packaged in a cup to go.

AeroPress: $30. Brew time: 1-2 minutes. Result: fairly close to espresso. Add water for an Americano, milk for a latte, or sip straight up.

Stovetop moka pot: $30. Brew time: 5+ minutes. Result: between espresso & Turkish, with the rich mouthfeel of French-pressed & the bold punch of espresso.

15-oz Chemex: $30. Brew time: 5+ minutes. Result: akin to auto-drip, at a lower temperature, which releases more nuanced flavors.

Stainless insulated 12-oz Bodum French press: $50. Same result as your standard French press, but this sleek pot will keep your brew hot longer.

2. The small-scale sharer.

For brewing more than just one cup but less than a whole auto-drip pot, my favorite method is the French press. The 34-oz version ($20 for glass, $80 for insulated stainless) produces about two average-sized cups—perfect with breakfast for two. The 64-oz pot ($25 glass, $100 stainless) gives you about four of those cups, so it’s good for either two thirsty friends or four less-eager sippers.

At first glance, the stainless ones seem pricey, I know. But for the combination of extra insulation (if you’re not going to drink it all right away) & sleek good looks (classy!), I think they’re worth the premium chunk of change.

Another option for more than one serving is the 40-oz Chemex ($36). Only slightly more labor intensive than a French press (since it requires a slower, more precise pour of hot water over the grounds), the Chemex method boasts a cleaner result, because it filters out the sediment & oils that remain in French-pressed coffee. Those who are used to traditional auto-drip brewing will likely prefer the Chemex.

3. The party host(ess).

When I need large quantities of java, I go for a percolator. Unfortunately, we don’t sell one in the coffee bar, but I’m willing to bet your local Goodwill or Salvation Army has a couple on the shelf. And usually, the older ones work just fine, as long as they have all their requisite parts & have been kept clean.

But since we’re talking gifts here, your best bet for the quality-concerned host is the largest French press (64 oz). Brew a few pots in advance of the party & pour them through a sieve (to avoid clogging the spigot--sorry, couldn't find a photo to show this, but you're a smartie so you can figure it out!) into an insulated thermos or an airpot, & the coffee will stay hot for a few hours. But my auto-drip brewer keeps the coffee hot, you might say, as long as I leave the burner on. Here’s the problem, friend: that burner scorches your brew, tinging your coffee with over-cooked bitterness. And if you’re the type who’s okay with warming up your coffee in the microwave, well, I guess I have nothing to say to you.

4. Accoutrement.

For any & all of these folks, accessories beyond the brewpots themselves abound. My favorite from the HG collection is the Airscape canister, a brushed-stainless storage vessel designed to keep air & light away from your beans. This baby has two covers: one inside, to press down onto the surface of the coffee, & of course the airtight lid on top. At $23, the Airscape is a fine investment that will lengthen the freshness of those ever-sensitive beans.

If you don’t have any coffee-obsessed friends, then go ahead and categorize yourself. Got it? Good: now you know what to put at the top of your own wish list.

Joy & peace,

Jennifer

The Holiday Clock is Ticking!

I’ll be honest. I haven’t done a lick of holiday shopping yet. Here we are with only eleven shopping days until Christmas, & all of a sudden I’ve realized how incredibly behind I am. Sure, I don’t have that many people to buy for—my husband, a handful of immediate family, a couple of my closest friends, & a Secret Santa gift—but even so, I’d better get cracking.

Luckily, I have a host of uber-cool gifts to choose from, waiting for my perusal just down the hall in the HG coffee bar. Here are some of the fairly traded items (plus one coffee-lover's must-have) I’ve been eyeing up:

Animal hats for kids, from Minga Imports. I’m not going to lie; I wish my head were just a teensy bit smaller so I could fit into one of these babies. (image) The most likely recipient, though, is my godson Caleb, who recently moved to Texas. Sorry kiddo, your new home doesn’t get nearly cold enough to justify a fuzzy tiger hat.

Palestinian cuisine by Canaan Fair Trade. A mission-based Palestinian fair trade company, Canaan seeks to empower small, marginalized, conflict-ridden Palestinian producer communities through organic agricultural production & fair trade. Also, these olives ROCK. 

Fingerless gloves by Partners for Just Trade. I love the mustard-colored ones in particular (not pictured here), & they’re super soft. What’s extra cool is that PJT builds partnerships between producers living in extreme poverty & consumers in North America, helping to address the root causes of poverty through fair trade sales, education, solidarity & a commitment to trade justice.

Giraffe keychain by Swahili Imports. A perfect stocking stuffer! Since 1994, Swahili Imports has been building a network of artisans across Africa, focusing on fair & sustainable profit generation; artisan advancement; & modern, earth-friendly product development.

Baby rattles by Yellow Label Kids. Lordy, these are cute. Luckily my best friend is having a baby soon, so even though it’s not a Christmas gift, I had an excuse to buy one (a carrot!). The creator wanted an alternative to mass-produced, commercial toys & clothing: items that would celebrate the beauty & simplicity of childhood. She joined with global artisans, mostly mothers themselves, who earn living wages from the handcrafts they produce: whimsical products with minimal packaging, made with sustainable, natural & non-toxic materials. Awesome.

Bodum Bistro burr grinder. I already have a burr grinder at home, but I know a lot of people whose at-home brewing would benefit from the uniform grind that burrs provide. Sure, $100 is a bit pricey, but can you really afford to drink sub-par coffee that’s not meeting its full flavor potential? I got one for my brother a couple years ago & I’m confident he’d agree that it’s changed his life. Seriously! Ask your friendly neighborhood HG barista why you (er--your friends--since this is a gift, after all... right?) need one of these excellent products.

Okay, all this shopping talk has gotten me in the mood to browse. I’m off to start crossing names off my list. How about you? See you in the coffee bar soon!

--Jennifer

Field to Cup: Going Beyond Fair Trade (Part 5)

Dear readers, it’s time for me to show you our boots. 

That probably doesn’t make sense to you at the moment. Don’t worry—it will.

You’ve heard me say that Higher Grounds is not your typical coffee company. We weren’t built because someone wanted to make a profit, & we don’t believe that simply slapping a “fair trade” sticker on our coffee bags makes us a good company. In fact, fair trade doesn’t even begin to describe our philosophy.

Higher Grounds believes that the finest coffees are grown by the best of friends. That’s right: friends. I don’t use that term loosely. While I may occasionally insert a “my friends” here & there in this blog, you & I don’t have the kind of relationship that Higher Grounds has with our growers. I don’t know your name; I’ve never been to your house.

HG knows our growers. We go to the farms; we meet with the growers--even if that means traveling dirt roads, past washed-out bridges, through riverbeds & up mountainsides (as we did in Nicaragua). We sit around their tables & drink coffee together, talking about the best ways to keep their farms sustainable & profitable. But you’re a business! you might say. Don’t you want to keep yourself sustainable & profitable? Well, sure. But we’re not so worried about ourselves. Our friends in coffee-growing regions, like those pictured to the right with Chris in Mexico, have long struggled to stay afloat—small-scale coffee farming isn’t exactly a lucrative livelihood. Coffee farmers put in countless hours for an average yearly income of less than $300: that’s less than 2% of what a full-time worker on minimum wage in the U.S. makes in a year. Go ahead, read that again. It’s worth your attention. $300 is pocket change compared to what many of us spend per year on coffee alone[i]. (Those two $3 lattes a week? Take a second to appreciate the luxury.)

Global fair trade standards dictate a “living wage” for these farmers, which means they’re guaranteed a certain price for their product despite fluctuation in the market. But that price isn’t enough. It’s not enough for families to afford access to clean water. Not enough for children of growers to attend school. Not enough to implement sustainable methods & develop communities with models for growth, not just models for hanging on by a thread.

Higher Grounds goes beyond fair trade to be direct & long-term in our relationships (with people, not just company names on paper) & transparent in all our business transactions. You can go to fairtradeproof.org & follow the path each of our beans travels from field to cup. And you can trust us to work for growers’ benefits far beyond what that minimum standard can provide.

For example, Maya Vinic in Mexico is the first cooperative we purchased from when we opened our doors, and they’re still our biggest producing partner. And each year, before harvest, we pay a 15 cent per pound social premium to the cooperative above the contracted price. The cooperative tells us how the funds will be used, and there must be a benefit to the overall structure of the cooperative to support the sustainable livelihoods of its growers.

In the past, Maya Vinic has used the premiums to build a restaurant, replace the engine in the truck they use to collect coffee from producers, & purchase land for an organic test plot to learn the best methods for producing coffee organically. This year, they’re using the funds to open a cafe in the city of San Cristobal de Las Casas (pictured below). The cafe will enable producers to highlight their product domestically & bolster national sales – the best way for producers to get the highest price for their coffees.

To maintain a framework for our international projects, we formed On the Ground as our nonprofit wing. One tagline attached to OTG is “Get your boots on”: an appeal to our friends & neighbors to get involved & be part of our mission.

Our work here is holistic: not only do we travel physically around the world helping global communities make beneficial changes (via On the Ground), our mission takes place here in our community as well. We believe our profits belong in the hardworking hands of local environmental organizations like the Michigan Land Use Institute and the Grand Traverse Bay Watershed Center, local social-justice-driven groups like the Traverse Bay Community Advocacy Coalition, & globally-focused nonprofits like On the Ground. We work hard not only to provide you with the best cup of coffee around but to provide support for solidarity & development, locally & globally, through our Coffees for Change line & other projects.

FairTradeUSA has defended its recent withdrawal from FLO by arguing that the benefits from working with large scale plantations and trans-national corporations will trickle down to marginalized farmers. Echoing Cooperative Coffees’ stance[ii], HG “categorically rejects” that theory.

We’ve heard about “trickle down economics” before. Progress doesn’t happen that way. Prosperity is built from the ground up, & in order to achieve real change & real benefits for our small-scale coffee-producing friends, we need to get our hands dirty. We need to work with people not just on paper but by meeting human beings with faces & names, learning their stories & lifting them up out of their struggles.

Here at HG, we’ve got our boots on. And we always hit the ground running.

--Jennifer & Chris

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[i] http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/producers/coffee/oromia_coffee_farmers_cooperative_ethiopia/default.aspx

[ii] http://coopcoffees.com/committees/fair-trade-task-force/navigating-fair-trade/coop-coffees-position-on-fair-trade