 |
Disloyal Boston In case you’ve yet to hear, we are being very disloyal in 2012. Equal Exchange is teaming up with seven other local cafés to celebrate the city's incredible café landscape and the art of brewing up high-quality, artisanal coffee. Buy a drink and receive a stamp at each of these eight independently owned cafés. Then redeem the completed card for a free drink at the café of your choice between now and March 15, 2012. Imagine how happy your wallet (and caffeine addiction) would be with one of these tucked in its pocket. Have fun with it! Turn this into a scavenger hunt or a mini Brevet. Race your friends and see who can collect all the stamps first and then proudly display your disloyalty. Then what do we recommend? Share your café experiences on Facebook or Twitter, with hashtag #DisloyalBoston. Download the app for your iPhone at www.punchmyapp.com to get a digital copy of the disloyalty card on your phone. Visit the Disloyal Boston webpage at disloyalboston.com for locations of all participating cafés. |
 |
61 Beans Coffee-of-the-Month: February Las Nubes returns! This microlot comes from Puno, Peru, and Equal Exchange Quality Control Manager Beth Ann Caspersen describes it as "fruit-forward and sweet, with a big, juicy mouthfeel." This delicious Medium Roast represents a decade of collaboration between Equal Exchange and the farmers of CECOVASA co-op. You can try it at the café now. |
 |
Don't Forget, We Want to Make a Deal! We still don't like paying credit card fees. Remember if you add $25 to your Customer Card we will give you a FREE 8oz coffee. Add $50 to your card and you can have a FREE 8oz espresso drink. |
 |
The Weakening and Betrayal of Fair Trade On October 23, 2011, Rink Dickinson, the co-founder and co-president of Equal Exchange, gave a speech reflecting on the Fair Trade movement. He described Fair Trade as something for "small farmers and small producers who are democratically organized." The process of organizing honorable Fair Trade supply chains was years in the making. This hard work and determination is now at risk as larger corporations are flexing their ability to move product and lowering the standards of Fair Trade, often undermining the exact people Fair Trade was meant to help. In the world of tea, plantations are already considered Fair Trade; something Equal Exchange disagrees with and has been working to build a small farmer-focused tea supply chain. Tea gardens are similar to a feudal system of one landowner with numerous workers that our bound to the land and have little or no say in their product or work life. Rink's speech is moving and educational. The development of Equal Exchange, the rise of Fair Trade coffee, and the threats and opportunities for Fair Trade can all be read in Rink's speech at the Small Farmers Big Change blog. |
 |
Meet Your Barista: Hannah Where do you call home? For me, home is more of a recognized feeling than a physical place. It can be found at 6 a.m. in the Arnold Arboretum, walking down Centre Street in my neighborhood, Washington Street on my bike, the Boston Public libraries, or even sitting in the widow seats at City Feed & Supply. Last book you read? Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories by Sandra Cisneros. Her writing is so visual and can encompass each character's experience with honesty that’s alluring. Also the themes in here reflect those in my life: culturally diverse families, relationships, self-exploration, being a young, powerful, artistic, exploring Latina. All-time favorite movies? My movie taste fluctuates depending on my current interests. I tend to gravitate toward movies that investigate family, self, internal struggles... However, the Sex and the City TV series is a guilty pleasure anytime. What's currently on your iPod? My music taste is curiously eclectic and varies depending on the activity I am doing. I've been into Nortec Collective lately, but I also have an affinity for reggaeton, and, R&B for dancing or working out. Most influential role model? Hard question! I would say, as a whole, the Hispanic community. It's something I always come back to, and feel most connected to. Favorite Boston eatery? Life Alive in Central Square, Ula Cafe for scones, and JP Seafood for some Idaho maki. Espresso drink of choice? I don't typically drink espresso, but I'd say an iced soy mocha. Ideal vacation? Latin America. Peru, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador. Or, if I had to stay in the States, NYC. Best time of day? Mornings before the sun is out, or just when it's breaking the skyline. Reverse that, too. So, transitional times in the day. What are you doing on your day off? Riding my fixie, journaling, working out, reading, exploring, library browsing. I participate in a theater company called True Colors a couple times a week. It’s for LGBT youth 15-22 and their allies. Honestly, it’s the hardest thing ever for me at times since I am way out of my comfort zone, but I love using my body to create art. If you were an animal what animal would you be and why? I usually answer domestic Himalayan cat when asked this question because I can often connect to its gracefulness, shyness, fragility, calmness... Perhaps I'm something else though at this point... Get back to me. Name one (or more) of your artistic talents? Origami, free writing, oil painting, and drawing. I hope to get into sewing this season. Furthermore—I wouldn't say it’s a talent yet—but I'm working on improv and dance. Favorite Youtube video? I'm not on the computer that much, except to check e-mail, but I've used Youtube in the past to learn to French braid, dance "perreo" and for those Top 40 music videos I just need to see. |
|
Check It: |
|
