Thursday, November 27, 2014

Counter Culture Coffee Announces Limited-Edition 2014 Holiday Coffee

Photo courtesy of Christy Baugh

From our friends at Counter Culture Coffee...

Portion of Proceeds from All Coffees Sold During the Holidays to Benefit Coffee-Growing Communities Worldwide Through the Roaster’s SEEDS Program

Counter Culture Coffee has announced its annual, limited-edition Holiday Coffee featuring harvests from Peru and Ethiopia with a smooth, approachable flavor profile of brown sugar, bittersweet chocolate, and pecan. The coffee is 85% Cenfrocafe from JaĆ©n, Peru and 15% Idido Washed from Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia. Priced at $14.25/12oz. box and available as of November 1 on Counter Culture’s website and at all retailers, the coffee is packaged in a sleek recycled paper box printed with linseed oil-based inks conceptualized by Counter Culture’s in-house design team. This holiday season, Counter Culture will collect a nickel per pound of all coffees sold - including the 2014 Holiday Coffee - to fund forthcoming coffee-growing community betterment initiatives through their SEEDS program (Sustaining Environmental and Educational Development at Source). This holiday allocation reflects a significant increase from the penny per pound Counter Culture donates throughout the year to support improvement projects in coffee-producing communities around the world, including agricultural training and research programs, through SEEDS.

Counter Culture’s SEEDS (Sustaining Environmental and Educational Development at Source) program was created to structure and define the company’s monetary contributions to projects benefitting their coffee-producing partners and families, that may not be directly related with the coffee itself. Since 2011, SEEDS has supported 12 projects in eight countries and contributed more than $65,000 (not including sales from Holiday Coffee) to coffee-growing communities.

Counter Culture's strong relationships with the farmers and communities who create their coffees epitomize their commitment to environmental, social, and fiscal sustainability. The company is proud to work with some of the most progressive and environmentally responsible farms in the coffee trade. Under Coffee Buyer & Sustainability Manger Kim Elena Ionescu's leadership, Counter Culture encourages all coffee growers to practice organic agriculture on their farms. The company supports farms and co-ops willing to pursue organic certification, which requires effort, money, and a full three years of transition time before the coffee can be labeled organic. Eighty-five percent of the coffee that Counter Culture purchases is certified organic, and they are constantly working to increase that percentage.

Last year, a portion of Counter Culture's Holiday Coffee proceeds helped to jumpstart the process required for organic certification for coffee producers from Burundi whose coffee the roaster has purchased for a number of years. Two years ago, the proceeds funded a two-day organic composting workshop in Ethiopia that was attended by 30 farmers from Haru, Idido, and Biloya villages.

About Counter Culture Coffee:
Since 1995, Counter Culture Coffee has been dedicated to finding and bringing to market the most exciting and delicious coffees in the world. The North Carolina-based roaster sources its beans from farmers with whom they have long-term relationships. The company's vision is to pursue coffee perfection by creating partnerships dedicated to environmental, social, and fiscal sustainability throughout the coffee chain, improving the natural environment and operating efficiently to minimize environmental impact. Counter Culture has eight state-of-the-art training centers across the country with locations in New York; Chicago; Boston; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Asheville, NC; Atlanta; and Durham, NC, and a new training center and roastery set to open in Emeryville, CA, early next year. Served in more than 200 of the country's top restaurants, Counter Culture Coffee is also available in coffee shops, specialty grocers, and online at counterculturecoffee.com.

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