More Hip Than Hippie #266 - Fair Trade Coffee

Do we pay a fair price for fair trade goods?

Consumers don't pay enough for coffee. That's according to Amy Louis, a wholesale coffee distributor who has experienced life at the origin of our cuppa joe. Amy makes the case for fair trade while explaining the difference between good coffee and great coffee.

Beer: Val's hubby returned from a roadtrip to the coast with a selection of beers from Six Rivers Brewery. We sampled their India Pale Ale this week, finding it pleasant but unremarkable. Rob swears it tasted better on tap.

Chocolate: Keeping with our coffee theme this week, we revisited Sweet Riot Flavor 65 dark cacao nibs dunked in dark chocolate. We like how you get loads of crunchy sweet caffeine in a cute reusable tin.

Finds:

• If it makes you hippie... Greenie Sheryl Crow releases her latest album on July 20th, followed by an eco-friendly tour. We played a clip of her new single, "Summer Day".
• Eggscellent. Slug bait? Face mask? Learn about 12 things you can do with eggshells.
• Viva Val! The Green Diva treated her pals to a decadent Chocolate Chile Cake a la Viva Daisy.

• Ray of Flight. In Switzerland, a solar-powered plane successfully completed a 24-hour flight last week. It won't replace conventional planes yet, because it landed on time and no luggage was lost.
• Yes they can! Congrats to the Washington couple who set out to pay for their wedding by recycling aluminum cans. Peter Geyer and Andrea Parrish collected 400,000 cans and now have $3800 to spend on their DIY green wedding. That's uncanny!

Teenie Weenie Greenie™

Trim your waste! According to the EPA, "yard trimmings and food scraps result in 26% of the US municipal solid waste stream." So make the committment to compost those scraps, whether it's in a pile in your yard or in a worm bin under the sink.

Do you think Fair Trade coffee is too expensive? Meet Amy Louis of Six Degrees Coffee Service, who makes the case that we're not paying enough! After visiting Nicaragua and seeing the benefits of fair trade for herself, Amy believes that a grass-roots campaign to educate consumers will make a world of difference. She also gives the Hipsters her take on beans, baristas and "cupping". (No, it isn't naughty.)

• The coffee we drink comes from two types of beans: Arabica and Robusta.
• Amy believes we'll agree to pay more for coffee when we get the facts about Fair Trade. Transfair USA is a great resource.
• Starbucks Coffee has developed its own set of standards called C.A.F.E. Practices.
• Amy's favorite coffee roasters include Thanksgiving, Equator and Peet's.
• Want to know more about coffee? Contact the Specialty Coffee Association of America, or SCAA.
• Just don't ask about the civet poop coffee.

• Margie in California is lactose-intolerant, but she and her hubby can enjoy dairy products again since they switched to raw milk.
• Elizabeth in St. Paul, MN is following the story of an e-coli outbreak linked to raw milk.
• Eileen in Dominica completely disagrees about the safety of raw milk. Val recommends reading this article by the Nourishing Gourmet. And congrats on the upcoming Teenie Weenie Greenie!
• Melanie in Lansdale. PA is full of questions! A few answers: for cars, look into the new Nissan LEAF; for pressure cookers, anodized aluminum seems to be safe; for beeswax candles, see your friends at Greenfeet!
• Greg in Lancaster, PA has advice for taking caffeine out of your tea, courtesy of the New Tea Lover's Treasury.
• Julie thinks Hipsters will enjoy the Nourished Kitchen blog, which has a page devoted to dark chocolate!
• Jenny in Ontario, Canada (eh!) fears we've fallen victim to greenwashing by Haagen Dazs. Au contraire! We just think it's a darn tasty treat.