Contributor

Below is a Guest Post by Jonathan Bloom from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). On April 29th, MCC awarded GMCR with its 2013 Corporate Award. 

"At the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), we work with partners across the world. By the time I arrive at the office, there are often emails from Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America that need a quick response.

That’s why the coffee pot is my first stop each morning. And that’s why a coffee addict like me was thrilled to hear that we are honoring Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) with our Corporate Award for its sustainability work to improve the lives of the world’s vulnerable populations.

The award got me thinking on a recipe for a great new drink using the products of both Green Mountain Coffee and MCC’s beneficiaries from across the world. So prepare to treat your taste buds with the Millennium Challenge Macchiato.

Millennium Challenge Macchiato

1)      Start with Green Mountain's Sumatran Lake Tawar whole-bean coffee from Indonesia and grind as fine as possible. As you brew the perfect shot of espresso, take delight in knowing that one of the suppliers of this dark roast, the Gayo Organic Farmers Association, has started a project to bring safe drinking water to more than 1,500 people. The cooperative has also saved funds to help farmers with the reconstruction of their homes, many of which were destroyed in recent fighting, and to aid in the construction of two new schools.

2)      Steam milk sold by dairy farmers in El Salvador’s Northern Zone. As the steam rises, take a moment to read how many dairy farmers are now enjoying a higher income because MCC helped about 17,500 people by providing training, seeds, equipment, and technical assistance. The agency also built or rehabilitated more than 220 kilometers of road and 23 bridges as part of a five-year, $461 million compact.

3)      Pour the milk into the espresso and top with foam.

4)      Sprinkle a bit of cinnamon from the legendary spice island of Zanzibar on top to give it a pleasing kick. As you enjoy that first sip, read a bit about how MCC is strengthening the island’s electrical grid with the aim of increasing investment and reducing poverty.  Or if you have a sweet tooth, add a bit of cocoa from Ghanaian farmers who are more effectively receiving payment on their harvest, thanks to the computerization of rural banks as part of MCC’s five-year, $547 million compact."

Jonathan Bloom is the acting vice president for compact operations at the Millennium Challenge Corporation. On April 29, GMCR CEO Brian Kelley accepted the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Corporate Award—recognition for the work that GMCR does to create a sustainable future for its farmer partners.

 

Are you a whiz on all things indulgent? Head over to our Twitter page to test your knowledge on our first Café Escapes Twitter Trivia for a chance to win a decadently sweet reward! www.twitter.com/cafeescapes

Official Rules Café Escapes® Contest – Twitter Trivia Contest (Click The Logo)

 

 

Let’s face it -- we’re all busy people. With a list of deadlines and expectations, finding “me time” during our busy days has proved to be nearly impossible. That’s why I was so ecstatic when Café Escapes first introduced their line of café blends. Nothing was more calming than knowing that I could pamper myself with rich, smooth beverage treats at the touch of a button. 

Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa comforted me with memories of a simpler time and the Dark Chocolate option gave me an air of European sophistication. I found peace in the perfect harmony of cocoa and coffee in Café Mocha and I felt tension slip away while sipping on exotic Chai Tea.

Just when I thought these moments couldn’t get any more delicious, Café Escapes most recently released two more ways for us to take a moment and treat ourselves. 

The first is captivatingly with caramel! Café Caramel is sure to make those special "me" moments even more delectable as each blissfully buttery sip is a reminder-life really does taste better with caramel on top.

Similarly decadent, Café Vanilla proves there is no such thing as plain vanilla when it comes to this inviting treat. Delicately sweet, yet surprisingly light – it's a delicious break from the common coffee humdrum that you'll want to enjoy every day.

Sadly our days may never be completely stress-free, but luckily Café Escapes is here to take us away from chaos -- if only for a moment. Which variety helps to take you away from it all and into a moment of uplifting downtime?

 

-Hannah P., PR intern

On the Panama Lerida Estate, cherries mature until red and ripe while nestled underneath thick mountain fog. Picked by skilled farmers on the foothills of the Baru Volcano, these cherries will soon be roasted to perfection- the kind of perfection that boasts 11 years of “Best of Panama” wins!

 At first, the cup presents itself with floral, perfume-like aroma but a sip reveals the blend’s true complexity. As berry sweetness melts with savory notes of vanilla, the cup finds balance and ends with a deeply satisfying finish.

Just as the success of the blend is determined by balance, so is the success of the estate itself. The tight-knit community of the Panamanian coffee farmers who cultivate this crop also work to preserve the virgin forests that help to guard it. Drawing in avid birdwatchers from around the world, the hidden footpaths, lush greenery, and picturesque waterfalls on the Estate provide shelter to some of the country’s most unique birds. Lindsey Bolger, Director of Coffee Sourcing and Relationships (and cupping expert!) commends Lerida Estate for working hard to find balance among commercial interest and environmental protection.  “They’ve created an incredibly beautiful preserve that’s home to both natural and treasures and world-class coffee.”

If you still need more convincing to at least try a cup, wait until you hear Lerida Estate’s rich history! Like many of its neighbors, the Lerida Estate can trace its engineering influences back to the construction of the Panama Canal; however, what sets this estate apart from others is that its founder, Tollef B. Mönniche, actually designed the emergency dams of the famed canal. Pretty cool, huh?

As with all of our Special Reserves, supply is limited, as we only roast one batch.  This coffee was roasted on April 10, 2012, so pick up your bag of Special Reserve Panama Lerida Estate today!

 

-Hannah P., PR Intern

One thing I love about our Company is the sheer number of opportunities we have to work hand-and-hand with our supply chain – from coffee farmers to importers to non-profits on the ground. A group of us from the Coffee team, CSR, and Marketing just got back from Peru doing that exact thing: Meeting with the supply chain, face-to-face.

With Fair Trade USA, we hosted Intercambio Perú 2012 in Lima with our entire Fair Trade coffee supply chain in Peru (our largest Fair Trade origin). The purpose? To enhance transparency and collaboration, exchange ideas and projects, and create a productive business space. It turns out we are the first coffee roaster to ever gather coffee producers, importers, and outside organizations in one space to talk about opportunities in the coffee supply chain. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

During the three day event, we covered a lot of ground. There were 155 participants representing producer organizations, importers, traders, financiers, and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) that do projects in Peru. We sponsored a Risk Management Training in collaboration with the World Bank. We held a cupping calibration with lead cuppers from co-ops. The amount of energy in the room was palpable – and not just from the amount of caffeine in our coffee cups!

If you can tell from the excitement oozing out of this post, we are very motivated by the results of this event. Can’t wait to work on similar efforts in the future.

-Derek, Green Mountain Coffee Brand Manager

Love ballads on the radio, heart shaped cookies at the bakery, and pink and red decorations everywhere. Yes, it’s that time of year again! Single or attached- it’s hard not to like the holiday of love. (Probably because of all the chocolate!) If you’re struggling to find the perfect gift for your Valentine, or you just want to take advantage of all the delicious seasonal goodies, than look no further! Here are our top picks for chocolate day - whoops, we mean Valentine’s Day!

Green Mountain Coffee® Chocolate Raspberry Truffle There's something deeply satisfying about the pairing of deep, dark chocolate and raspberries. It’s even more satisfying when you pair it with a bunch of your close girlfriends and a romantic comedy!

 

Heritage Chocolate Dipped Shortbread This sweet, flaky and over-the-top delight proves that you can never have enough of a good thing. Seriously. The 18-ct box may not be enough! But, if you find yourself searching for a richer chocolate experience, sip on Café Escapes® Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa while you’re snacking.

Green Mountain Coffee® Golden French Toast® Okay, so this isn’t exactly chocolate but it’s seriously delicious so it made it on the list. And because we left nothing out- cinnamon (check), maple aroma (check), buttery goodness (check) - it’s going to smell as incredible as it tastes! If you’re feeling creative, check out Bluebonnets & Brownies’ post for a mouth-watering Blondies recipe using Golden French Toast® K-Cup® packs!

By: Hannah P., PR intern

By: Liz Dorhman, CSR department volunteerism maven Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. offers its employees the opportunity to visit the communities we purchase our coffee from. Each year different groups of employees travel to these communities to visit farmers, pick coffee and follow its journey from tree to your cup. I was lucky to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity and traveled to Nicaragua with twelve co-workers from different departments and locations. We spent six days together learning about coffee and the communities that grow it. One of the things I’ll remember most about this trip is how much work is behind my morning cup of coffee.

Our first day in Nicaragua we traveled to a sustainable coffee estate called Selva Negra. Selva Negra was the first place most of us had ever seen a coffee tree. Picking coffee is more challenging than you might think. Each cherry (the coffee bean is inside it), needs to be the perfect shade of red. When picking that perfectly ripe cherry you had to be careful not to remove the stem. The stem is where the next flower and then cherry will grow. Remove the stem, remove the chance for a new cherry and bean to grow. Picking was done by hand on each farm we visited, no matter the size. Most workers can fill a basket in an hour. It took me 45 minutes to just cover the bottom of my basket.

 

After picking, the pulp or fruit of the coffee cherry needs to be removed. Then the coffee needs to be washed and is partially dried at the farm. Next, it’s transported to a dry mill and spread on large cement patios where it is periodically turned to ensure uniform drying. It’s then bagged and moved to a warehouse where it needs time to rest. Throughout this rest period, samples are taken from each bag. The coffee is roasted and tasted on site at a lab, where cuppers can tell if it needs to rest for longer. Once it’s ready, the coffee is sorted by size and quality and re-bagged for export.
 

This past Saturday we held the grand reopening of the Green Mountain Coffee^® Visitors Center and Café - and what a great success it was!  All day long folks stopped by to check things out, see our revitalized space, and warm up (it was only 25-degrees out) with a steaming cup of coffee. Some lucky customers even walked away with great prizes including gift bags full of Green Mountain Coffee goodies (and even a Keurig® brewer or two).

We have to say: The Café staff did a spectacular job reopening the doors. Their friendly greetings and glowing faces really added to the enjoyment of the day. To say the least, we are so happy to see them back in action – particularly when they walked around with a selection of tasty treats was provided by Joan Grenier of Grenier’s Home Bakery.  Yum!

What’s a celebration without music?  Harwood Unions High School’s own a capella group, I Cantori, stopped by and captivated listeners with a selection of holiday favorites on the front porch. True professionals, the group sounded perfect - even in chilly temperatures!

Inspired by the occasion (and by the joyous music), Megan Smith, Vermont’s Commissioner of Tourism & Marketing, spoke about Waterbury and the importance of small towns in Vermont. Revitalizing Waterbury presented Ernie Pomerleau with a community services award for his work in Waterbury – thanks, Ernie!  Missy Gorham, the Café’s Manager, also got the chance to speak, sharing how very happy she is to be back in business after three months of hard work to get everything up and running again. Finally, the group raised their mugs in a toast to the Café staff, commemorating the reopening, the Visitor Center’s 5th year in business and Revitalizing Waterbury’s 20^th year.

We are so fortunate to be part of a community that looks out for each other and rally when times get tough. We hope that the Café will continue to embody a sense of community spirit and that locals and visitors alike will come see us to enjoy a warm cup of coffee and the company of family and friends.

Thanks to all those who joined us on Saturday!  We hope to see you again soon. And for those of you who didn’t have the chance, come visit us any day of the week between 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. You’ll be glad you did.

By: Alexa Mucklow, PR Intern

In the wake of Tropical Storm Irene, our Visitor Center was left in rough shape. Flooding damaged some of the building's core systems and the Visitor Center team had no choice but to close shop and make repairs.

But now, after three months of hard work, we are excited to announce that the Green Mountain Coffee Visitor Center and Cafe is back in business!  Our doors are open once more!  While we were away, we made some enhancements to the building, such as additional indoor seating, and have a revamped menu that we think you’ll love. Our new hours will be 7 a.m.-5 p.m., 7 days a week!

Tomorrow, Saturday December 17th, you're invited to join us at the Visitor Center & Café located at the Historic Waterbury Train Station for our official reopening. We’ll be celebrating all day with live music, food, and community spirit.  At 3:15 p.m.(after Santa in the Park) there will be a toast to commemorate the Café’s 5^th anniversary of business, as well as the 20^th anniversary of Revitalizing Waterbury.

If you're in the area, make sure to  come on down and see us!  We'll welcome you with open arms, holiday spirit, and lots of coffee!

By: Alexa Mucklow, PR Intern

We’ve been talking a lot about October being Fair Trade Month. It also happens to be National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. Wholesale and our Business Coffee Express service are proud to support the “Pink on Purpose” campaign of the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR).

The AICR was founded more than 25 years ago on a simple but radical idea: everyday choices can reduce our chances of getting cancer. They were the first organization to focus research on the link between diet and cancer, and to translate the results into practical information for the public.

AICR’s Pink on Purpose Campaign encourages workplaces to “get pink”: Employees dress in pink, trick out the office in pink decorations, and raise funds for breast cancer research. Once you sign up to host Pink on Purpose, you'll receive an event toolkit that contains pink decorations, promotional materials and breast cancer materials, as well as planning tools and fun ideas.

As prizes for the offices that raise the most money, our Digital team is  is donating Keurig® brewers, K-Cup®portion packs, and coffee gift baskets.

So, wherever you work, please consider getting Pink on Purpose this month. With your help, AICR can have a greater impact on emerging breast cancer research, treatment interventions and prevention programs in labs, clinics, and communities across the country.

Pink on Purpose > Get started

-Tom

This week marks our 7^th annual River Cleanup, and in my opinion it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Living in Vermont, you grow used to the Spring Thaw, the inevitable “mud season” and roaring brooks that go along with the snow melt (and it always is a lot of snow that is melting). This year’s Spring Thaw turned into Spring floods though, and devastated many parts of our state. Not only were people’s everyday lives affected by these events, but our fragile ecosystem was as well. From dumpsters disappearing in Barre, to entire docks floating into the depths of Lake Champlain, our waterways have become more polluted than ever.

All this week, Green Mountain Coffee Roaster’s employees will be helping to clean parts of the Winooski River as a sponsor and participate in American River’s National River Cleanup™, a nationwide effort to help keep America’s waterways clean. For the last seven years, employees have dedicated a portion of their work week through our CAFE Time volunteer program to clean up our local waterways, pulling things such as bikes and loveseats out of the Winooski.

Today’s efforts have already seen six shopping carts and a newspaper stand pulled out of a section of the river running past Montpelier High School. While it’s sad to see all the trash accumulating in our waterways, by flood or by littering, it’s refreshing knowing that people are truly dedicated to fixing this – in fact, river cleanup is one of our most popular volunteer efforts. Last year alone over 150 people helped to clean up.

River Cleanup isn’t just an issue of how many tires are pulled out of the river in a week (though employees managed to remove over 130 last year) – clean water is an important resource for everyone. It’s essential to life, good health, and to the quality cups of coffee many of us rely on in the mornings. For 20 years now, American River’s has dedicated time and resources to connecting people with their local rivers and streams, and encouraged river cleanup efforts such as this one. In fact, since National River Cleanup’s launch in 1991, more than 960,000 volunteers have participated in these programs. Volunteers have removed more than 10 million pounds of litter and debris from rivers and streams, like our local Winooski.

Over the course of the week, we will continue cleaning along the river, in the places that need it most. We know we can’t reverse this spring flooding’s effects in a week alone, or change America’s river littering habits overnight, but participating in the River Cleanup event continues to inspire us, and hopefully our community too, to care for our waterways, and to strive to keep them clean.

-Molly (PR intern extraordinaire - according to Kristen :))

When I joined Green Mountain Coffee at the beginning of January as an intern in the Public Relations (PR) department, I had no idea what the next few months would bring. I came into the company with only a vague idea about the type of PR work I would be involved with. Now, a few months later, not only have my expectations for Green Mountain Coffee been met and exceeded, but I have developed a passion for the company that goes far beyond my PR role.

Growing up in Vermont, I’ve always known Green Mountain Coffee. As a Vermonter, not being familiar with this company would be like not knowing what real maple syrup tastes like or failing to own a pair of winter boots. After being employed at Green Mountain Coffee for about three months, I’ve discovered that it’s much bigger and much better than I thought. Here are some general things that I’ve learned:

• I have yet to meet one unfriendly Green Mountain Coffee employee.


• There’s so much more to the company than producing and distributing coffee.


• The time and energy that employees put into volunteer work and corporate responsibility is truly impressive and in my mind, very unique.


• At Green Mountain Coffee, it’s about more than just making money. It’s about spearheading industry-wide campaigns and solving challenges in the coffee world.


• The company really cares about each individual customer and does whatever it can to make everyone happy.


• There are so many different balls being juggled that, some times,  it’s a real challenge to keep up with everything.


• Having an endless supply of coffee is very helpful for getting through an eight-hour work day.


• There are so many company buildings dispersed throughout Waterbury that I sometimes think GMCR is the town.


• An iced Wild Mountain Blueberry® Maple Supreme (a drink made at our own Green Mountain Coffee Factory Outlet in town) is my new favorite afternoon sweet.


• The interactive presentation at the Visitor Center and Café makes me think of The Lion King.


• Watching the machine-operated K-Cup production line in the manufacturing plant is mesmerizing.

For someone like me with a big heart and an open mind, it’s easy to become passionate about a company quickly. However, I never imagined that I would learn to love Green Mountain Coffee as much as I do. It’s truly a great company that cares about its customers, the planet, and its employees. As a previous outsider, I saw the company’s dedication to social responsibility and the awards it was receiving, but I never knew the whole story behind this publicity. Now, after being on the inside, I can confidently say that the positive press surrounding Green Mountain Coffee is true— all of it.

By: Arianna Bolotin, beloved PR intern

With all of the new Brew Over Ice Tea K-Cups rolling out, we interns thought it would be nice to take some time to remember two go-to favorites: Half and Half Perfect Iced Tea and Southern Sweet Perfect Iced Tea.  John, my product marketing intern-in-arms, and I, an exuberant, coffee-tasting Public Relations intern, took our cool tumblers to a favorite park in Waterbury and reminisced on exactly what makes these delicious brews so reliable (and refreshing) in the taste department.

First, a little Half & Half.  Just like Vermont weather, I sometimes can’t seem to make up my mind! That’s why I often reach for Brew Over Ice Half and Half: half lemonade, half iced tea. Two great beverages in one, so I don’t even have to make a decision! Now, if only the weather had an easy way of deciding what it wants to do…

John spent some of his growing years in Atlanta, Georgia, so when he feels nostalgic for his childhood, he jumps for a tumbler full of Southern Sweet Tea.  Swings, sunglasses, and a refreshingly familiar cup of sweet tea make for a very happy intern!

We at Green Mountain Coffee can’t get enough of these updated classics. What is your favorite summer standby?

I love everything about coffee- the smell, the taste, the nice buzz it gives me after my morning cups. So as soon as I began my internship with Green Mountain Coffee this summer, I knew I wanted to know everything I could about it! Luckily, Lindsey Bolger and her team of happy cuppers in the Coffee Lab let a group of us “Green Beans” sit in on one of their daily cuppings.

The smell of coffee was so strong in the cupping lab that I felt that we were walking into a giant vat of coffee. It took me a minute to process what exactly was going on: there were three or four professionals zooming around on stools, their noses poised dangerously close to hot cups and every once in a while leaping up to jot down notes. They were just starting the cupping process, and I already wanted to join in!

The Coffee Lab does blind cuppings, so they only identify each coffee’s country of origin and apply a numerical code to it. This is a play-by-play of what goes on at a cupping:

1. Separate beans into bowls , label each one with its origin country and numerical code, and then  grind the beans.

2. Set up 6 cups for each coffee to be tested. They use these cool circular tables that have tops that swirl around, making it easier to get to each cup. I had a lot of fun with these tables!

3. Hot water is then poured over the grounds to brew.

4. The cups need to cool for 4-minutes. This gets them to the optimal temperature, the one that brings out the aroma and flavors of the beans.

5. Time to smell! The water added to the grounds brings out the aroma of the brewed coffee, and you can actually smell the difference between the fragrance of dry beans and the aroma of these brewed grounds.

6. We then “broke” the grounds by sticking our noses mere centimeters away from the cup, placing our special cupping spoons into the cups, and swirling. This released more gases and got the cup ready for tasting, which was good because I was not about to slurp up coffee grounds!

7. Taste time! We were equipped with aprons, spoons, and mugs to spit out each sip, if we liked. Some people do not spit out; it depends on personal preference. We dipped our spoons in sideways, slurped as hard as we could but still couldn’t match the amazing slurps of the professional cuppers, but that will be a goal for my next cupping! After slurping, we spit  or swallowed.

Cuppers use a special form to evaluate each coffee. The evaluation is based off of the fragrance of the bean (how it smells before it is brewed), aroma (how does it smell the cup? Woody? Smokey?), flavor (does it have chocolate undertones? Is it spicy or nutty?), acidity (does the flavor burst in your mouth or lay flat?), body/mouthfeel (is it a ‘heavy’ coffee? Does it stay in your mouth or leave right away?), and finally aftertaste (is it dry, bitter, sweet?). This is on a 1-10 scale, with 6 being the baseline for quality. After these points are added up, special “cuppers points” can be given or taken away. Add up the total points, add 50, and there is your score! Green Mountain Coffee only uses coffees that have a score of 80 or above.

The most interesting part of the cupping was the discussion afterwards. These guys are true professionals, they could instantly describe a coffee they had cupped and understand all of its idiosyncrasies. The most amazing thing was that they put aside personal preference to evaluate each cup for what it was. During the evaluation, they found out which farm each one came from, whether or not it was organic or Fair Trade, and what its intended use is, that is if flavoring will be added, if it will be part of a blend, etc. The cupping team is extremely knowledgeable, and it was awesome to learn more about the process.

A big round of applause and thank you to the Coffee Lab, seeing exactly how a perfect cup of coffee is created was so fascinating, and now I think about that process every time I drink coffee, which is frequently! I don’t know whether it was from the amount of caffeine I accidentally consume or the fact that I LOVED the cupping experience, but I was definitely buzzing from it for rest of the day!

-Gaby

by Alex Aldrich

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Revelation Statement campaign!  Over the past several months, a message on our eco-friendly cups encouraged our fellow coffee lovers from across the nation to text in their own revelation while enjoying an inspirational cup of Green Mountain Coffee.  After all, with a coffee experience this good, it’s worth sharing the enthusiasm!  We have been overwhelmed and delighted with all of your responses.

The following Revelation Statements came into Green Mountain Coffee, and we loved them so much we decide to print them on our 10, 12, 20, and 24 ounce eco-friendly cups!

Congratulations to the following winners!

“I realized action is the only cure for fear.” – Autumn C., N. Bennington, VT

“I realized quality coffee improves quality of life.” – Matthew M., Sarasota, FL

“I realized it’s all about the company you keep.” – Caitlin B., Madison, WI

“I realized happiness can be found in the most unlikely places.” – Marisa T., Hingham, MA

“I realized I am the change I wish to see in the world.” – Ali W., New York, NY

“I realized you have to speak your mind even if your voice shakes.” – Meagan H., N. Bennington, VT

“I realized it would be a great day when I awoke to find the kids had made the coffee for me!” – Rebecca B., Waterbury, CT

You can find all these revelations on eco-cups wherever Green Mountain Coffee is sold.

Fair Trade Month Quiz:

Question 12: What is GMCR’s bestselling Fair Trade coffee on our website?

Answer: Wild Mountain Blueberry ™

 

Haven’t answered our Fair Trade Quiz question of the day, yet?  Well, why not?  The answer’s right there!  If that isn’t enough for you, the first 100 participants* get a sample of Green Mountain Coffee’s Fair Trade Certified™ Organic House Blend and all answers get entered to the grand prize drawing of 12-months of Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Certified™ Coffees.  Go here to enter: http://www.eatdrinkandbefair.com/quiz.php. 

 

*Sorry, employees and their immediate family members of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. are not eligible. But keep an eye out for our internal Fair Trade quiz. 

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Wild Mountain Blueberry™

Say the name and you may just hear the whispered chorus of contented sighs from this coffee’s legion of fans.  People are absolutely passionate about its sweet flavor of juicy, sun-kissed blueberries.  So passionate, in fact, that this coffee made the move from seasonal to year-round availability.  Today, blueberry is easily the bestselling Fair Trade and Flavored coffee.

The good news?  Wild Mountain Blueberry™ makes a refreshing iced coffee, too.  Try this mouth-watering Fair Trade recipe:

Iced Blueberries ‘N Cream

·          Double brew a pot of Fair Trade Certified™ Wild Mountain Blueberry™ . (Usual amount of water, twice the amount of coffee.)

·          Pour hot coffee into a glass of ice.  Chill until ice melts.

·          Add more ice, half & half, and simple syrup to taste.  Mix well.

·          Top with whipped cream.

 

For K-Cup^®

·          Brew two Fair Trade Certified™ Wild Mountain Blueberry™ K-Cups^® (on smallest brew setting) into a glass of ice.

·          Add half & half and simple syrup to taste.

·          Stir and top with whipped cream. 

 

Happy brewing!

 

-Kristen

Fair Trade Month Quiz:
Question 11: What is the bestselling Fair Trade product worldwide?
Answer: Bananas

Haven’t answered our Fair Trade Quiz question of the day, yet? Well, why not? The answer’s right there! If that isn’t enough for you, the first 100 participants* get a sample of Green Mountain Coffee’s Fair Trade Certified™ Organic House Blend and all answers get entered to the grand prize drawing of 12-months of Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Certified™ Coffees. Go here to enter: http://www.eatdrinkandbefair.com/quiz.php.

*Sorry, employees and their immediate family members of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. are not eligible. But keep an eye out for our internal Fair Trade quiz.

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Fair Trade bananas.

…just watch the video.

-Kristen

Fair Trade Month Quiz:

Question 8: Which of the following are the 5 core goals to becoming a Fair Trade Town?

Answer: Local council passes a Fair Trade resolution, Fair Trade products available locally, organizations support and use Fair Trade, media coverage, Fair Trade steering group.

           

Haven’t answered our Fair Trade Quiz question of the day, yet?  Well, why not?  The answer’s right there!  If that isn’t enough for you, the first 100 participants* get a sample of Green Mountain Coffee’s Fair Trade Certified™ Organic House Blend and all correct answers get entered to the grand prize drawing of 12-months of Green Mountain Coffee Fair Trade Certified™ Coffees.  Go here to enter: www.eatdrinkandbefair.com/quiz. 

*Sorry, employees and their immediate family members of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. are not eligible. But keep an eye out for our internal Fair Trade quiz. 

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We’re throwing a party.  A Fair Trade party, to be precise. 

 

On Wednesday, October 21 we’re hosting an evening shindig in Boston to support TransFair USA and Boston Faith & Justice Network in their efforts to make Boston a Fair Trade Town in 2010. 

 

But this isn’t just any get-together: it’s Eat, Drink & Be Fair, a cook-off among four prominent Boston chefs, who will be challenged to create a dish using Fair Trade Certified™ ingredients.  We’ll be partying at the Artists for Humanity Epicenter, Boston’s first LEED-certified building, while munching on samples of each chef’s dish with cocktails, and crossing our fingers to win the Fair Trade raffle.

 

The point: What’s a party without the best partygoers?  We want you to be there, too. 

 

Green Mountain Coffee is putting out the call for people to Be Fair by pledging, whenever possible, to look for and buy Fair Trade Certified™ products.  By pledging, you’ll be entered for a chance to win a pair tickets to the event and schmooze with the best Fair Trade food Boston has to offer on the 21^st.  One lucky pledge will win the GRAND PRIZE: a VIP spot on our Eat, Drink, & Be Fair Judging Panel! 

 

Drawing date is October 14, so pledge at http://www.eatdrinkandbefair.com/ today!

 

[Fair warning – We’ll get you past the velvet rope, but you have to get to Boston on your own.]  

 

Hope to see you at the party!

 

-Kristen

 

By Kristen Mercure

 

This past week has been big for cleaning at Green Mountain Coffee.  Not only did our crew tackle our fifth year of River Cleanup  and I cleaned up my desk,* but a devoted group of Green Mountain Coffee employees also got down to the business of transforming dirty cars into clean ones.

 

That’s right: Last Thursday was our third annual Grounds for Health Carwash.

 

 See more picures from the event on our Flickr account

 

But, of course, you knew that, because I think I helped to clean your car, right? ;)

 

Over 40 Green Mountain Coffee and Grounds for Health volunteers, known as the “Clean Team,” rolled up their sleeves for a full day of washing, detailing (à la Gigi’s Cleaning & Detailing), and, for some of us, disjointed dancing to raise money to support Grounds for Health, an international nonprofit based in Waterbury, Vermont that provides vital cancer screening and treatment for women in coffee-growing communities. 

 

 

 

Clad in splash-tastic yellow and blue carbon-neutral shirts from Aurum Organics, the Clean Team left no mud flap, grill, or ski rack unturned.  After enforcing our “No Idling” policy by pushing cars into place, the team attacked the dirty vehicles with Seventh Generation environmentally-friendly soap until the cars (and, on occasion, bikes) were aglow.  We were even treated to a special in person appearance by Ben and Jerry, who took their turn pushing a few cars, as well. 

 

 

Making the day even better was the killer combination of music, ice cream, and prizes.  The Growlers provided the rockin’ soundtrack to our cleaning efforts while the Ben & Jerry’s scoopmobile doled free ice cream and the event’s signature drink (and biggest hit) the C³ – a daringly delicious combination of Green Mountain Coffee’s Fair Trade Organic Sumatran Reserve, Ben & Jerry’s Fair Trade Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz, and Coffee Extracts & Ingredients’ Cappachillo.  The day ended with a raffle featuring prizes from fine Waterbury establishments like Video King, Vermont T-shirt Co., Arvad’s, and, a personal favorite, the Moretown Landfill. 

 

Sadly, I missed the wagon on this one – there’s always next year.

 

Thank you to all who came out to the carwash, our energetic volunteers, and our fearless co-sponsors: Ben & Jerry’s, Gigi’s Cleaning & Detailing, and Barry T. Chouinard, Inc.

 

“But what about the money?” I hear you ask.  The numbers are still being tallied.  The funds will help to support the organization’s mission to create sustainable and effective cancer prevention programs, with a focus on the early detection and treatment of cervical cancer — a leading cause of death among women who lack access to healthcare in developing countries.  Grounds for Health was founded by members of the specialty coffee industry who discovered that women in Mexico and Central America have high rates of cervical cancer, which is preventable and treatable if caught early.

To support Grounds For Health and learn more about this organization, visit http://www.groundsforhealth.org/donate.html.

 

*…okay, that’s a bit of a fib.  My desk is clean, just in a state of cleaned chaos – organized in piles, mounds, and boxes.  There’s a system, mind you, and if you tell me what it is I’ll happily give you a virtual pat on the back.

 

-Kristen (Finally all dried out)

By Roger Garufi

This time of year always brings with it a plethora of special events and community gatherings.  As we sweep out our mud rooms, wash winter’s grit off our cars, and welcome summer back into our lives (a late-emerging and all too brief occurrence in Vermont), we also make time for the many local and regional sampling and sponsorship opportunities.

Green Mountain Coffee started the busy events week last Thursday at the Vermont Ski Areas Association Annual Meeting.  Held this year at the Killington Grand Hotel, we were on hand to show support for our marketing partners at the VSAA, and to distribute K-Cup samples of, among other things, our new seasonal offerings, Summer Safari ™ Blend and The Perfect Peach™. 

Saturday kept two sampling teams busy at two different events.  One team helped our friends at Cabot Creamery celebrate their 90th anniversary, at a special community event at their original Cabot location.  Closer to home, the other team provided free coffee to the attendees of the Waterbury Kids Fest /Green Mountain Coffee Safety Day, an annual event held in the park directly in front of our Visitor’s Center and Café.

On Sunday, at the beautiful Shelburne Museum, a row of Keurig machines and a huge selection of complimentary K-Cups awaited volunteers and participants of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation annual fundraising walk.

Next weekend, I’m off to Hague, NY, to help the volunteers and the racers at the Northern Country Triathlon jump-start their day.  On the same day, a crew of local Green Mountain Coffee employees will be rolling down Main Street on our custom-built float, tossing hundreds of bags of coffee and travel mugs to the crowds gathered for the Waterbury 4th of July Parade.  On Sunday, June 28th, a remote sampling team will be sharing our fine offerings with folks at a special ‘Edible Garden’ event at New York City’s Botanical Garden.  Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse will be in attendance…hopefully they’ll be enjoying their very own Summer Safari.

Hope to see you at an event sometime soon….

Roger