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Thank you!

Do you have a favorite coffee quote?

I recently picked-up a copy of the Coffee Lover's Bible (Jill Yates) at a bookstore. I highly recommend it as coffee table fodder for any and all Java Junkies out there. Not only will you be exposed to interesting facts about coffee, but you'll find yourself laughing and smiling as you read coffee excerpts pulled from a multitude of sources. Following are a couple of my immediate favorites....

* "Listen," I told him. "Don't be so tough so early in the morning. I'm sure you've cut plenty people's throats. I haven't even had my coffee yet."
- Earnest Hemingway, To Have and Have Not

* "One sip of this
Will bathe the drooping spirits in delight
Beyond the bliss of dreams"
- John Milton, Seventeenth-century English poet

* "After a few months' acquaintance with European 'coffee,' one's mind weakens, and his faith with it, and he begins to wonder if the rich beverage of home, with its clotted layer of yellow cream on top of it, is not a mere dream after all, and a thing which never existed."
-Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad, 1880

* Having known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.
- T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock, 1915


Do you have any coffee related "drips" worth sharing?

To Drink or not to Drink....Coffee

As a coffee roaster you can probably figure out where I stand on coffee.....drink away! But for many people that question, or rather how they answer it, has heavier implications.

There are people that need to avoid too much coffee because of caffeine. It may be because they are sensitive to the drug, or perhaps they are taking other medications that react with it. It's important to understand exactly how much caffeine is too much. Is it alright to eat chocolate? Drink a caffeinated soda? If your Doctor says it's alright, you may not have to give up your daily cup of coffee. There are some guidelines that will help you pick the right coffee. First, drink darker roasted coffees.....the longer roasts actually burn off some caffeine from the bean. Try a dark roast Sumatra, or a Central American bean that's roasted to at least a Viennese level.

If you are a heavy coffee drinker, it's important to know too much of a good thing is possible. If The signs that you have overindulged are headaches, jitteriness, heart palpitations, nervousness, irritability, and stomach distress. But you say you can't live without your cup of brew....no worries. Try a different approach:

1. Drink a light to medium roasted coffee in the morning. These coffees have the highest levels of caffeine. Really need a pick me up? Try any of the pea berry varieties. A pea berry is a coffee berry that has produced only one bean....the catch is that one bean has the caffeine of two.

2. Switch to a darker roasted coffee for your afternoon pick-me-up. As stated above, a darker roasted bean has given up some of its caffeine because of longer roast times. You may think that's why dark roasted coffee is served after dinner....that would make too much sense. The main reason is dark roasted coffees cut the sweetness of the desserts they are paired with really well. It's all about balance, the lighter caffeine is a bonus.

3. Have stomach issues? Try espresso based drinks. In a medium espresso based drink you are getting two ounces of extracted coffee with the same upside as a 12-16 ounce cup of traditionally brewed coffee. Sometimes the lower volume of coffee is easier for stomachs to handle. An often overlooked "cure" could be just consuming food with your coffee. I don't mean drinking a cup before eating breakfast, but actually eating first and then drinking your coffee. Not only will you absorb the caffeine at a slower rate (avoiding the jitters), it will be easier on your stomach.

4. Remember that it takes your body 12-14 hours to completely process the caffeine you ingest. During that time the stimulating effects of the caffeine from coffee are still active. So...consider your bed time before you drink that last cup of coffee. I try not to drink any coffee after 2:00 p.m. on afternoons I don't exercise, and 4:00 p.m. on afternoons I plan on working out. You guessed it, working out helps your body process everything better.

So here's to drinking your favorite freshly roasted coffee your way....hopefully that's freshly ground and brewed (your favorite way)....Cheers!

Another reason to drink coffee....

As if coffee lovers need another reason to partake in a morning cup of coffee, a long-term study of more than 83,000 women finds that coffee might modestly reduce the risk of stroke. Compared to drinking less than a cup a month, drinking four or more cups a day is linked to a 20 percent reduction in risk. Drinking two to three cups a day is associated with a 19 percent reduction.

Coffee, like tea, comes from a plant, so antioxidants may account for some of its benefits. It seems that one of these, methylpryridinium, may help protect against colon cancer. Another one, Chlorogenic acid, improves glucose metabolism to help prevent diabetes. Still other antioxidants in coffee may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease by improving blood vessel function, fighting inflammation, and protecting LDL's from oxidation. Consider this, some of the same antioxidants found in red wine are actually found in higher concentrations in coffee.

Now if all of this doesn't have you drinking more coffee, consider this...coffee may even benefit the brain. Studies link daily coffee consumption to less decline in memory and verbal recall.

Now no one is suggestion a pot of coffee twice a day would be a healthy choice, just like a bottle of wine a night doesn't amplify the protective nature of grape juice. But in moderation, coffee does seem to have beneficial health effects.

FOR THOSE SENSITIVE TO CAFFEINE...you'll be happy to know decaf retains many antioxidants found in regular coffee. Don't think decafs have flavor? Try a water processed decaf blend (like Slack Tide Decaf). You won't believe your taste buds.

(Selected sources: "Coffee Comes of Age, with a New Look at Java's Many Health Perks" by Linda Antinoro, Environmental Nutrition 3/09 ; "Coffee Consuption and Risk of Stroke in Women" by E. Lopez-Garcia, Circulation, 2/09)

It's raining Cats and Dogs....

Well things are completely upside down right now. With all the news about multi million dollar AIG bonuses (bailout? we don't need no stinkin' bailout...we're giving out bonuses), a struggling global economy, a shrinking (and redefined) middle class and a suffering (yet still indulgently opulent) upper class, omnibus bills that promise financial stability (what credit freeze), debt relief (follow the rainbow said St. Patrick), increased taxes (energy will be a big one), programs and jobs (don't nail me down on a date), the Dow crashing (to 1997 levels), the Dow on a four day recovery (is the recession over?), (add anything you'd like in this space and follow it with a sarcastic quip)......Celeste and I decided to sell our home, grow our family, start a new business, and partner in a non profit. What's that old saying about a Carp?

Well it appears that despite all the turbulent rapids out there, people still find stretches of calm water to enjoy their favorite cup of coffee. Regardless of their motivation, we appreciate their discerning taste and generous support. We currently have customers from ten different states ordering our coffee. Those that have received orders have noticed that we try to ship in recycled boxes from our warehouse. If you get one of these boxes and can ship something else in it, please do so. Let us know about it and I'll post the story under the title "Journey of a Recycled Box." The wholesale side of our business is growing every month. If you know of a coffee shop you think would appreciate our freshly roasted beans and high level of customer service, please send me an email (or call).

E3 Collaborative, the non profit, is moving along nicely. While waiting patiently to hear about grant awards we are working to set our strategy for the next five years. More announcements will come when appropriate.

Here's to a hot cup of Mobjack Java....Cheers!

Can we unify the Chesapeake Bay Clean-up?

If you missed this article, please read it now. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/26/AR2008122601712.html



People ask me why we don't just contribute a percentage of our profits in support of existing organizations fighting the fight to clean up the Bay. There have been some people that have shared this view with me, "Don't you think you'll be taking away support (money) from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation?"



In my opinion, the answer is pretty clear. Why not start a local, grass roots based non-profit that solicits businesses to get involved? If the CBF is already garnering 20% of the populations support, and we pull in another 3%, doesn't that increase the amount of people working towards a common good? The article clearly states that what we are doing ISN'T working. Special interests rule the day in Washington. Lobbyists that protect industry interests continually throw red herrings out to confuse scientific data.


The Bay oyster population is decimated, yet groups lobby to protect native oyster species that have proven they aren't hardy enough to survive their "new" environment. I understand their fear. I grew up on the Lake Erie and witnessed the spread of Zebra Mussels (an invasive species). I also witnessed the water clarity of the lake drastically improve. Sure, there has been a lot of money invested in trying to re establish the native oysters....well that amount of money will pale in comparison to what happens if dead zones continue to grow.


Menhaden are the Bay's number two filter feeder. These fish not only help clean the water, they are one of the most important links in the Bay food chain. Yet Virginia remains the only coastal state that allows them to be commercially harvested. Think about that. Oysters are gone, yet we continue to remove the number two filter feeder out of the Bay. I understand people have jobs and lives that depend on this harvest, but what do you think will happen to their jobs when the fishery collapses? What have their representatives been doing to get other industries interested in moving into the area? Instead of fighting a losing battle (how long can we keep this up), why not offer solutions to concerned citizens? New jobs? New industries?

PA doesn't want their farmers bothered with an issue they can't "see". Introducing stream buffers and controlling fertilization, erosion, and rain water runoff could help slow the nutrient flow into the Bay.

Municipalities don't have the money to upgrade their sewage infrastructure, yet spring rains overflow infrastructure capacity all the time. Raw sewage is sent rolling down river to feed algae blooms in the Bay. Dead Zones continue to grow in the upper Bay every year.

It is time to redefine our clean up plan. It's time to redefine the priorities of counties and cities. Lobbyists count on the confusion caused when scientific and political interests clash. By dividing any unified fronts, their myopic concerns become more relevant. Unifying the citizens that care only increases the size of the stick we carry. Get informed. Get involved. Everything you do can make a difference.

Clean Water Grant Application Completed and Submitted

Hello.

Dave, Paula, Celeste, and myself are working hard to get E3 Collaborative up and rolling. We submitted a Clean Water Grant Application this week in hopes of securing funds to drive an Educational Awareness program we've developed. The program would be specific to the Chesapeake Bay watershed and boaters, but could be replicated in other areas around the U.S. with minor adjustments. There is no point in disclosing anything else until we hear word of grant awards in March. Keep your fingers crossed.

If you know of any existing grants that would drive our efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay and her watershed, please let me know.

If you are a business interested in contributing a tax deductible donation or a percentage of your profits to the cause, we are interested in talking to you. If we can get businesses to lock arms and drive change locally, we can increase the cumulative impact of every other Bay focused organization.

If you are someone who is interested in getting involved, please reach out as well. We will be looking for volunteers who are as passionate about this cause as we are.

All my best,

Jo