Name: Java Taman Dadar Union

Roast: Medium

Flavor Profile: Big, bold low-acid (molasses and maple-syrup accented) body, balanced by light notes of jasmine, melon and spice with a seductive, savory finish

This is the first Java we’ve offered; produced mainly by government controlled mills Java’s are typically pedestrian and overpriced. Taman Dadar (flower garden) is the exception, not only is it the only certified organic coffee on the island, it is painstakingly grown and prepared by a “Union” of small-land holders whose farms dot the Ijen Plateau in eastern Java.  Shade cover is primarily Erythrina, Albizia and Leucaena trees for shade with some intercropping of Parkia beans, Avocado and timber trees for sustenance, diversified income and as a source of food for their livestock, which provide a critical fertilizer ingredient.

Under normal climate conditions, harvesting takes place between May and September.  After picking, the Union prepares the coffee using a modified “wet-hulled’ process (Sumatra style): pulping then fermenting the remaining fruit, parchment and interior coffee beans (two seeds per cherry) for 24-36 hours, before washing and sun-drying on bamboo mats to around 35% moisture content.  Once compete, the parchment is transported to the dry mill for hulling, final drying (12-13%) and sorting before export.

Certified Organic & Rainforest Alliance

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TINY FOOTPRINT COFFEE

Name: Christmas Morning Blend

Roast: Medium

Flavor Profile: Our favorite Central American, South American and Ethiopian coffees blended and roasted to a satisfyingly rich, full-bodied medium roast with a sparkle of jammy red-fruit laced acidity.

We created the Tiny Footprint “Christmas Morning Blend” to capture the joy and magic of Christmas morning and add an extra touch of good feeling to the holidays. This coffee will easily become a staple to your holiday traditions alongside a glass of egg nog and a plate of sprinkled sugar cookies. Even Santa Claus wouldn’t pass up a hot, freshly brewed mug of this tasty coffee.

Tiny Footprint Coffee’s “Christmas Morning Blend” is truly a good karma win-win. The more coffee you drink, the more trees we plant and wouldn’t you know, it’s the perfect gift for the coffee lover in your life (even if it’s you).

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TINY FOOTPRINT COFFEE

To check out the complete article and list of winners, click on “Nibble 2011 Artisan Food Awards”

You can also shop for coffee online, and check out the other great products featured on the Nibble’s Gourmet Market online.

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TINY FOOTPRINT COFFEE

To read the full post and enter the giveaway, check out “The Nutritionist Reviews: Tiny Footprint Coffee Review & Giveaway”

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TINY FOOTPRINT COFFEE

Name: Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Worka Cooperative (Dry Processed)

Roast Level: Light

Flavor Profile: Hailing from the same region as the Biloya wet-processed Yirgacheffe we featured earlier this year, dry-processing (the whole coffee cherry is dried on raised screens–see additional images) by the Worka cooperative results the coffee equivalent of the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir that teaches you why without the too dear to consume as often as you’d like price:

jammy red fruit with nuanced layers of honey dew melon, spice, orange zest and a viscous long, sweet finish.

Just a couple of mouth-watering bags of this mark passed through our hands at the end of the last crop the crop cycle, packed in GrainPro (protective poly-bag liner inside the traditional jute export sack-) it still cupped amazingly well. Much to our chagrin the importer “lost” our last few bags in their warehouse precluding us from offering it widely—gone as soon as it arrived. This year we were able to secure a small amount forward and will look to buy more if it becomes available, there are no guarantees, enjoy it while you can.

Certified Fair-Trade & Organic. 100% Shade-Grown Arabica Bean Coffee.

About the cooperative:

Worka is a micro-cooperative producing boutique coffee for the much larger Yirgacheffe Farmers Union.

The unwashed Yirgacheffe-3 is coming from the Yirgacheffe region, sub region Gedeo located in southern Ethiopia.  The coffee is a natural mixture of minimum 4-5 types local varietals and is growing around 1500-2300 meters above sea level.

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To view the full article and more, you can use the interactive Artful Living online magazine, click here.

We’d also like to congratulate “James Murphy,” the winner of some free coffee that we donated to the blog as well to inspire karma goodness among readers. To read the full article, click on this link – Tiny Footprint Coffee Review & Giveaway

Green Solutions is an on-line magazine designed to report information about environmental solutions and services, expert recommendations, best practices, products, tools and other solution-based news and resources to help economies, communities, businesses and individuals with alternative options that they can implement to create sustainability, prevent destructive impacts on or improve the quality of life and the environment.

Check out the actual article here to find out what other amazing groups are up to.

Flavor Profile: Full, round cocoa-laced Bourbon-style body, sweet up-front citrus notes (black cherry, orange zest) and a luscious wet finish.

Roast: Light-Medium

Santa Elena is located in Palo de Campana, Santa Ana on the Santa Ana volcano 1450-1800 meters above sea level.  Volcanic soil is famous for creating an extremely fertile environment for coffee growing.  In fact, volcanic ash frequently rains down on the plantation and maintains high levels of fertility in the soil.  Due to these conditions, Santa Elena has been considered one of the best farms in El Salvador for many years.  Santa Elena El Salvador has participated in several Cup of Excellence programs, and recently won the Cup of Excellence for 2011.

Abundant flora and fauna are found in Santa Elena, since a large portion of the farm is preserved as a natural forest, right beside a national forest reserve called “Parque Nacional Los Volcanes”.  There are more than 60 species of shade trees grown in Santa Elena.

The coffee production process is considered to be traditional; coffee is grown under shade trees, mostly Ingas (tropical genus of trees).  There are different coffee varieties planted on the property, mostly Bourbon, Pacamara, Kenya and others which are still under testing and observation.

More information about the Santa Elena farm and its coffee can be found here.

You can find Santa Elena El Salvador for sale in our online store for a limited amount of time!

As of April 1^st of this year, Fairtrade International (FLO) has reacted to this crisis by increasing the minimum price and premium paid to farmers for their crops.  The premium has increased from USD 10 cents per pound to USD 20 cents per pound.  The minimum for wash Arabica coffee has risen from USD 1.25/lb to 1.40/lb.  FLO has also attached some stipulations to the minimum price and premium increase to ensure that it generates sustainable growth instead of solely funding immediate, monetary relief.   The Premium of USD 20 cents per pound is generally used to fund development efforts within the farming cooperatives related to social works projects and business growth.  These efforts provide not only a financial safety net for farmers and their families, but also strong community ties for support.

FLO has also implemented a variety of training programs for producers and traders to be more informed about contracts and risk management strategies which are extremely important when dealing with commodities and unstable prices.  All these efforts are ultimately focused on increasing productivity and quality in spite of the bleak situation that is currently plaguing coffee producing nations.

To read more in depth about FLO’s changes to the Fairtrade coffee program visit the press release here.

I think it’s important to comment on our commitment to sustainable sourcing here at Tiny Footprint Coffee.  We buy Fair Trade certified coffees as often as possible, but we also have a lasting promise to quality that we do not compromise. Sometimes, we find coffees from small, family-owned farms that exceed the quality of neighboring fair-trade coops. Because these farms also product organic, shade-grown sustainable coffees, we purchase from them too, helping to support the independent families that also commit to sustainability and quality, but are not eligible for fair-trade certification.  We still pay a premium to those families for their delicious, high quality coffee.  Sustainable sourcing and quality are two of our most important values here at TFC!

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The more coffee you drink, the more good you are doing in the world.

Photo credit: Copyright © 2011 Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International. All rights reserved.