Haven't yet gotten a taste of the limited edition Colombia Finca San Luis? Tasted it and want to try more Good Food Award winners? Join us this weekend in Ithaca and Brooklyn, where we'll be tasting Good Food Award winning coffees from Counter Culture Coffee, Broadway Cafe & Roasting, Klatch Coffee, Noble Coffee Roasting, and (of course) Gimme!
The tastings are free and open to the public -- bring your friends!
Ithaca Tasting (Facebook invite & directions) SATURDAY 2/4, 12pm-1pm Gimme Training Lab, 506 W. State St, Ithaca NY 14850
Brooklyn Tasting (Facebook invite & directions) SUNDAY 2/5, 12pm-1pm
Gimme Training Lab, 107 Roebling St, Brooklyn NY 11211
We have joined the EPA's Green Power Partnership, a program that recognizes and supports the environmental leadership of businesses, communities, as well as college and universities across the country.
We have been purchasing nearly 100% of our energy from renewable resources, such as wind and low-impact hydro power, for almost 2 years now and are excited to be recognized by the EPA for our efforts. Check out the other steps we're taking to be environmental stewards in our communities.
Guatemala has been in the news a lot these past few weeks. First there
was the continuous eruption of Volcán de Pacaya to the south west of
Guatamala City that covered the streets in up to 8 inches of ash. Then
Tropical Storm Agatha bombarded the western coast
of the country, causing vast devastation to properties, infrastructure,
and even caused a sinkhole in the middle of the city. Meanwhile, an
international jury
of about 25 professional coffee cuppers withstood the environmental
conditions to classify the top 28 coffees of this year's Guatemalan Cup
of Excellence. Ok, so the Guatemalan Cup of Excellence may not have been
the most
interesting story to come out of Central America in May, but let me
tell you more about it anyway.
In 2009, our friends at Cayuga Compost diverted and compost over 6,788,000 pounds of waste generated in our community.
Of that 6 million pounds, here's how Gimme contributed to that:
Cayuga Street: 21,965 pounds State Street: 19,470 pounds East Shore: 4185 pounds Green Street: 1040 pounds Trumansburg: 740 pounds Krum's Roasting Facility: 486 pounds *note not all locations have been composting for the same length of time
That's almost 48,000 pounds (24 tons) we diverted from the landfill in 2009!!!
To learn more about how this happens, read my compost blog from last year.
Thanks to all of our dedicated customers and staff who helped us achieve such astounding results.
Farmer's Ball & Live Auction - 5th Annual Farmer's Ball hosted by Full Plate Farm Collective to benefit Healthy Food for All. Bid on a Gimme gift certificate and other local items. October 3, Free, Everyone Welcome, Farmer's Market Pavillion, 6pm potluck.
Chamber of Commerce Annual Auction - Plan on attending one of the biggest and best auctions around - the Great Big Chamber Auction 2009. Our CEO, Kevin, was the auctioneer at this event a few years back. We've donated some goodies to the live auction. October 29, Celebrations, 5:30pm.
Arts For All Marathon - Fundraiser for CSMA's Scholarship program. A "moveable auction" book filled with items to bid on will circulate to Ithaca venues in which artists work and perform. Sept 28 - October 24, culminating in a Gala Finale.
Cornell Cycling "Red Cross" Cyclocross - a mix of mountain biking, road cycling and motocross. We're supplying the pre-race caffeine and some beans to enjoy at home for the top finishers. This event will bring cyclists from all over the Northeast to the Broome-Tioga Sports Center. October 24, 10am.
We support many fund raising events throughout the year and I'd like to begin highlighting them here. Here are some happening this weekend:
Ithaca
Coffee Tasting Expo at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Taste different organic coffees with Smithsonian Bird Friendly certification, such as our Guatemala Asobagri. Learn about the migratory birds that depend on shade-grown coffee farms for their survival. Free. Sunday, September 20, from 11am-3pm.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology Lecture: The Science Behind Bird-Friendly Coffee, by Dr Greenberg, Director, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. Free. Monday, September 21, from 7:30pm-8:45pm.
New York City
The Mia Abides: Fundraiser for the Ocular Melanoma Foundation at the Living Room. An Evening of joyful music in celebration of Mia Jarlov, featuring Adam Levy & the Mint Imperials. $10. Sunday, September 20, doors at 7pm.
As you may recall, we've been working for months to
increase our recycling efforts as part of our participation in the
Tompkins County ReBusiness Partner Program.
Next week, in
all upstate stores, we'll begin expanding our composting program by
leaps and bounds! Stores will begin to collect and compost nearly all materials we use. This will mean way less trash and, literally, tons more compost.
In fact, our Cayuga Street store began a little pilot project a few months back and they have decreased their trash to 1 bag per week - that is about a 90% reduction in waste! They went from a full to overflowing dumpster to one little bag, above. Cayuga Compost turns our diverted waste into fertile soil, which gets used by local farmers, landscapers, and wineries.
Please, when you patronize our stores, be conscious of our efforts and sort your waste into our compost bins. Thanks for your helping us do our part. You'll feel good about it, I promise.
Welcome the Gimme Pint! This 16oz pint will be available for sale in stores beginning June 8. All for-here iced and blended beverages will also be served in these glasses to reduce waste.
For the past few months, we've been working with the Tompkins County Solid Waste Management Division to become certified as a ReBusiness Partner. Through our collaborative efforts, we are able to implement programs at
each location to enhace the 4 R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rebuy).
Escape your cubicle! Run away from your boss! Wheeee! Don't these 1970s pictures from the Hartmann family make you want to seek challenge and adventure? Okay, so creating a coffee finca isn't merely a jaunt in a jeep, but some days the thought of living closer to the land and being self-sufficient has its appeal. We received the snapshots with our shipment of the delicious Panama Hartmann Honey. I think that might be Ratibor Jr. in the back with a snack.
Panama Hartmann Honey beans ship in space-age mylar. The opaque, air-tight, puncture-resistant bags lock in freshness and repel the stray odors of neighboring freight.
This is a mylar bag which once contained our vacuum-packed Brazil Daterra. Vacuum-packing green coffee at country of origin preserves freshness and locks in all the goodness, ensuring coffee remains airtight until the beans are
roasted, which can be a bit after they arrive at port and then at our Roastery.
Gimme customers and staff were treated recently to a meet-and-greet with Alejandro Cadena and Giancarlo Ghiretti, founders of the Las Mingas Relationship Coffee Project, who work directly with the farmers that produce our beautiful Las Mingas beans. Our special guests from Bogotá lectured one night in Ithaca, and the very next night in New York City. That NYC lecture hadn't been scheduled until Jenni, our Manhattan manager, asked Giancarlo and Alejandro if they could do a repeat talk the next night before leaving the States. Very gracious of them to oblige.
Brazil is a beautiful country with beautiful people, beautiful food and most importantly: beautiful coffees. We are very happy to bring two new offerings on board from the number one coffee producer in the world, and some of the finest people on earth.
We produce a lot of coffee grounds. Our upstate stores are diverting about 24 tons per year from landfills and putting them to good use. Cayuga Compost, a local food waste collection & composting business, has been hauling away our grounds for nearly 3 years.
Last night before a crowd of 50 people at our State Street cafe, Gimme Roasting Manager Colleen Anunu gave an introduction to our work with the Las Mingas Relationship Coffee Project. In the audience were Las Mingas founders, Alejandro Cadena and Giancarlo Ghiretti, as well as staff and customers. Gimme Manhattan manager Jenni Bryant and colleagues came all the way from New York City. It was great to rally so many people around a common interest.
Colleen and I went to Geneva, NY to pay a visit to the Food Research Lab for Cornell University. She was giving a talk about our involvement with the Las Mingas project. We will be giving our own presentation this coming weekend, check it out!
Finca Hartmann is the origin of our new Panama Hartmann Honey coffee (famed in song and legend). The farm sits right next door to the Parque Nacional La Amistad, and the park's old-growth forest spills over onto the farmland. The Hartmanns have preserved much of their property for giant old trees like this one, which in turn shelter hundreds of species of bird and animal life.
In an effort to recirculate $3000 worth of Ithaca Hours, we've made large contributions to the Tompkins County SPCA and the Ithaca Health Alliance, Ithaca non-profit organizations that use Ithaca Hours to buy products and services for the people and animals they serve.
The Las Mingas Program is one of the most responsible and direct source models available to specialty coffee roasters throughout the world.
Still, it only represents 0.025% of Colombia's annual coffee production.
Chris and Kathy Beatty have been coffee hardcore aficionados for years.
So when they heard my wife and I were moving back east for me to work for Gimme! Coffee again, they were stoked. As were we, because Gimme! feels like a family, and I feel at home here on the east coast for sure. Living in the Bay Area taught us an immense amount about the importance of food, beer, wine, and cooking. For my in-laws, these things were always important and played a significant role in their lives, even in a small town in Ohio. For them, knowing where their food comes from, sourcing things as locally as possible and supporting small businesses is something they live their lives by.
At one point in China, I found myself at the C. Straight Café, a 5000+ square foot coffee bar / restaurant located on the second floor of a strip mall. Through the giant windows overlooking the street there was a parade of über bicyclists.
This special lady is our newly acquired 1950 Probat LG-5. A beauty found in UP-upstate New York and beautifully restored by our machine techs Thom and Tomas. It's been awesome to watch her come back to life. In new color.
Just got our invitation to Coffee: The World in Your Cup at the University of Washington's Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. We can't make it out to Seattle next weekend, but the exhibit will be on display January 24 - June 7, 2009. If you want to deepen your understanding of coffee, and you're in town, don't miss it.
Gimme! Coffee, along with several other Ithaca retailers, is participating in the Local Lover Challenge, an initiative that encourages shoppers to buy locally and keep holiday dollars in the community.
If you haven't browsed Mimi Wysong's splendid photos from Mesa de los Santos, Colombia, here are the photo gallery and travel report. Mimi has a naturalist's eye to match her knack with a camera. She also manages our Cayuga Street espresso bar — the original Gimme location and a perennial favorite of Ithacans.
In case you missed us in this month's issue of Barista Magazine, I'm quoted in the sustainable cafe series talking about the energy decisions we're making. This summer we switched to renewable energy at our 6 espresso bars and Roastery.
The families at La Union wrote to say, "Gracias!" and included a colorful enamel cup too. I thought I'd share this hand written note on behalf of the Vindas-Camacho family. They're keeping it real.
Hillcrest Dairy is the new milk vendor for our upstate espresso bars. 70 Holstein cows graze on lush grasses and exercise on 20 acres in the fresh air and sunshine.
Before the Coffeelands presentation at the 2008 Barista Jam in Easton, I wasn't sufficiently aware of the problem of land mines in coffee-producing countries. Upon returning home, I did some searching and found 2 videos on the subject. After watching them, I decided to go one step further and donate to the Landmine Victims' Trust.
Black Gold is a "vivid and galvanizing" documentary (Time Out New York) that explores the international coffee trade and its effect on Ethiopian farmers.
The Gimme blog is a collaboration that gives voice to people across our company. Opinions expressed by our authors are uncensored, and are not necessarily the opinions of Gimme! Coffee. If you need a company statement, or any other type of response, please contact us.
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Haven't yet gotten a taste of the limited edition Colombia Finca San Luis? Tasted it and want to try more Good Food Award winners? Join us this weekend in Ithaca and Brooklyn, where we'll be tasting Good Food Award winning coffees from Counter Culture Coffee, Broadway Cafe & Roasting, Klatch Coffee, Noble Coffee Roasting, and (of course) Gimme! 
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