The Honorable Matthew Cameron Earley has been commissioned a Kentucky Colonel!!!

Join Just Coffee in welcoming our own Matt Earley to the distinguished ranks of such pomperosers as Barry Manilow, Ronald Reagan, and Dr. Hunter S. Thompson.

This venerable achievement ushers in a new era of prestige to Just Coffee as well as to the entire fairtrade coffee roasting industry, as Matt is, we believe, the first coffee roaster to have been bestowed this estimable title.

When reached for comment, Matt slowly set his mint julep on the railing of the veranda while his misting eyes looked out over his vast estate surveying all that was his. He then thoughtfully straightened his string tie, brushed the dirt of the shoulder of his seersucker suit, and cleared his throat in a classy southern way. What he said next was lost in the loud chirping of a thousand cicadas and the syrupy goodness of his stately Kentucky drawl.

Then he smiled widely, tipped his white hat, and sauntered into the humid evening to find another refreshing bourbon drink.

read more

On June 5th the Dane County Board of Supervisors adopted the following resolution (below), establishing the official relation of Dane County with the Municipality of Andres Eloy Blanco in the State of Lara in Venezuela. Many thanks to all of you who have supported and advised the process so far.

The exciting work begins now, it is the hope of the organizing committee to have a delegation to visit Andres Eloy Blanco within the next year. Much will need to happen in the meantime to build a more formal organization and explore the possibilities that are now open to our communities. We will keep you posted of upcoming meetings and events to further this effort.

Sincerely,

DASA, the Dane-Andres Eloy Blanco Sistering Alliance

read more

Check out this trailer for "Voice of A Mountain". The film is about Santa Anita La Union-- the co-op featured all over this site. Our relationship with the people of Santa Anita is one of the strongest that we have with any farmer co-op. Please watch this and, when you want to see more, visit the film site here.

This is a truly moving look at an amazing group of people.

read more

Just Coffee introduces our latest blend: Early Bird Summer Blend, and we couldn't be more excited. This incredibly rich blend pairs together our Harrar and Colombian coffees with artwork by our good friend Rebecca Peebles. This blend will only be available for a limited time, so get it while you can. Look at more of Rebecca's work here, and check out her finish time here!

read more

With summer's heat imminent Just Coffee is releasing our Ice Coffee Blend. This full city roast is a pre-roast blend of Dominican, Bolivian, and Mexican coffees. Our preferred method for cold brewing results in a thick, viscous, ultra smooth full flavoured beverage that titillates the tongue and consciousness: add 1/2lb of medium ground Ice Coffee to 5 cups of room temperature water, allow to sit for 12 hours, pour through a coffee filter and refrigerate. Serve mixed 1 to 3 with water or milk, and be sure to use coffee ice cubes. This method produces a more stable extraction than hot water brewing, resulting in a refrigerated shelf life of up to 2 weeks.

Try using your french press: use twice the normal amount of grounds, room temperature water, and let it sit overnight.

You can also brew double strength coffee, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate. And don't forget the coffee ice cubes.

read more

Check out this great article by Susan Kepecs on La FEM's Jitzy Ruiz in this week's "Isthmus"-- Madison's weekly arts and news mag.

"Organic feminist coffee? Check."

Pretty cool, eh?

As Just Coffee's 2008 delegation to Guatemala begins, so too does Fair Trade University's trip to Guatemala. All seven of this year's FTU students arrived safely and with a great deal of enthusiasm for the educational week to come.

read more

Today is the last day of our Nicaragua delegation and I think the trip was very worthwhile and successful. All of the delegates have expressed how much they have enjoyed the trip, how much they have learned, and how profound their experiences have been. They are also extremely impressed with Just Coffee and the work that we are doing in collaboration with LaFEM. I feel proud to be part of further cultivating and strengthening this relationship and the ideals and values of Just Coffee.

read more

Below is a journal of La FEM's Jitzy Centeno Ruiz's time in Wisconsin with JC.

Please continue to check back to follow her adventures...

The Jitzy/Just Coffee Journals

Friday, May 2

Jitzy Centeno, a 22-year-old female coffee farmer for Jocote, Nicaragua, takes her first ride on a airplane to land in the cold, windy city of Minneapolis. Nora Bacher, daughter of Just Coffee's Susan Moon Bacher, greets Jitzy at the airport and accompanies her on her first train ride into the city for the SCAA Annual Convention.

Saturday, May 3

read more

Check out this story by Nathan Greenhalgh in the Reedsburg Times Press on the farm tour that we helped organize with the visiting coffee farmers and Family Farm Defenders.

The farmers and farms activists met with dairy farmers, toured the Cedar Grove cheese factory, and spent time on an Amish farm as well. By al accounts it was a powerful experience for everyone involved.

Look for more on the tour from Colleen Coy in the near future. And know that it is not to late to sign up for one of our delegations heading to coffee country this summer. Please see the story above for more information.

The photo is also by Nathan Greenhalgh

read more

We've had some good parties before. And yeah, we've thrown some clunkers. However, the festivities last night were an all time best for the Just Coffee Co-op crew.

Jitzy Centeno Ruiz, Policarpio Cruz, Elmer Pena, Carlos Reynosa, and Jose Vazquez-- growers from 5 different grower co-ops in Latin America-- graced us with their presence for the evening. Food was lovingly prepared by Underground Catering and other people from our excellent community. We had beer from Furthermore Brewery, salad from Gotham Bagels, iced coffee from Escape Java Joint, and sweets from Indigo Coffee and Tea and Java Cat.

The night was punctuated by stimulating conversation, incredible music by Madison's Son Mudanza! , and a very long and engaging talk from and with each of the growers present.

I want to express how incredibly lucky I feel to be in a community where people support us and the growers that we partner with. I have been to events to meet growers that are a little awkward and segregated, but this event was full of people getting over their shyness and openly engaging people that they do not normally hang out with.

Thanks 1000 times to Lori, Greg, Sarah, Lucas, Susan, and Jeff for putting so much time into setting up and making JC look less like a coffee roastery and more like a purty party palace.

Thank you Madison and Dane County (and our peeps from Milwaukee, Chicago, and elsewhere) for loving the JC and what we do. We owe you our existence and we would not be doing this-- or want to be doing this-- if it were not for y'all.

SALUD!!!

read more