You Need A Schtick To Sell Coffee These Days
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 05.13.08
We don't mean a schtir schtick, either. A few years ago Fair Trade coffee was hard to find; now every decent store will have a couple of brands with fair trade, shade grown, organic, bird friendly, rainforest alliance and whatever other stickers they can fit on the pack, and it is pretty hard to stand out from the crowd.
Peace Coffee is one that does: They deliver their coffee by bicycle. In winter. In Minnesota. Their motto is "Roast beans, not fossil fuel." A driver recounts his experiences this winter: "Everyday I encounter people who seem concerned about the rationality of my chosen profession.... Though it seems like bragging to admit it, for me this winter has been full of revelatory moment regarding my own physical capacities, like riding 40 miles on a day that barely saw negative 15 degrees. A day so cold that my breath froze into a five inch long icicle that dangled from my face mask."
Oh, and their coffee is Fair Trade, Organic and Shade Grown. ::Peace Coffee
More Coffees with a schtick below the fold...
Toronto's Merchants of Green Coffee says that coffee is like fresh baked bread- best just roasted and with a shelf life of only five days, regardless of packaging. "99% of all North Americans are drinking stale coffee! " You need a watch and a calendar to deal with their coffee- it "must be consumed within five days after roasting, 3 hours after grinding and 15 minutes after brewing." Treehugger on Merchants of Green Coffee
Larry's Beans in Raleigh, North Carolina is "Considered by many to be the leading exponent in the US of how to smoothly blend sustainability and cool in one brand." They publish a document trail on their website that lets you check the provenance of your morning cup of coffee right back to the producer co-op. Larry’s says, “Once you get hip to the ways that everyday actions can improve the world, you want to know more and it becomes addicting. “ Just like the coffee then!
TreeHugger on Larry's Beans
Pueblo, Colorado's Solar Roast Coffee is 100% carbon neutral in its roasting activities. "When the sun shines, we rely our patent-pending solar coffee roasters. The large solar concentrator (above left) uses mirrors to focus light onto a receiver. (Think giant magnifying glass!) The receiver heats air to nearly 900 degrees F. The super-hot air then moves through an insulated pipe into the roaster house (above right) and into our custom-built H-4 roast head. " ::Solar Roast Coffee
Really guys, smile; you have a great schtick going. Raymond of Toronto's Balluchon café bottles his beans in Mason jars and charges a two buck deposit for them. No waste, no garbage, good coffee. :: Treehugger here
Read also: Thank Your Lucky Bat for Shade-Grown Organic Coffee
How to Green Your Coffee & Tea
Hey! Click the link on my name to read my article on alternatives to disposable cups.
One of the local places delivers by bike. They're also host to the local bike co-op (the workspace is located in the garage).
Frankly, though, I'm more interested in the co-op than the coffee, never being a coffee drinker myself.
Sounds great!
Looks to me like Peace Coffee needs to invest in a few XtraCycles for their "drivers". That coffee on his back looks like it'd hurt after 40 miles.
Talk about Greenwashing. This has got to be the most pointless exercise i have ever heard off. Ship the beans half way around the world and serve them to SUV driving uber-consumers. And they are trying to be green by delivering roasted beans a few miles by bike???
JJ, that's the typical eco-elitist mentality that gives Treehugger and the green movement a bad image.
There are lots of people who like coffee that don't drive SUVs.
Sorry, but North America is not going to give up coffee. Also, most Americans aren't going to give up driving and convert to a totally walkable lifestyle. But we make the planet greener by making little steps here and there. And what Peace Coffee has done is a pretty big step.