A Vermont Mother's Day Coffee Gift

Good Morning Coffee Lovers,

Finally spring has reached Vermont! The rushing river and flooded roads attest to this fact as much as warmer weather, blooming flowers and the sound of returning birds.

I'm enjoying a cup of the Costa Rican Terrazu which also happens to be the featured coffee in this year's Brown and Jenkin's Mother's Day Breakfast Box . (It's May 8th this year!)

I am so fortunate to have a mother I love and care for still here on earth with me. I'm also lucky enough to be a mother, and a grandmother of the cutest children on earth! (I'm sure you would agree). All of whom still live reasonably close to me in Vermont. I count myself very lucky.

So, of course, I wanted to toss a Vermont coffee theme into the gift basket. So, in addition to 10 ounces of the exotic Costa Rican Terrazu coffee , we're including 24 ounces of a delicious buttermilk pancake mix and 8 ounces of pure Vermont Maple Syrup.

If you are an online coffee club customer from elsewhere in the country, this is a great way to give mom a taste of Vermont's best. Locals have been tapping maple trees and working in sugar houses for the past month or so to create this seasonal local favorite.

Vermont Coffee Connection

Thanks to everyone who showed up last night for the solar energy forum! Bill Kolisko from Eastern Solar Technologies, from right here in Cambridge, and Paul Metruk from Metruk's Electrical met with locals over coffee and refreshments to discuss this energy option. Once again, it is so great to be a part of the Cambridge coffee community!

Until our next cup,
Sandy Riggen

Vermont Coffee, Crocuses and Chaff

Good Morning Coffee Lovers,

Last week I talked about the importance of the maple industry here in Vermont and in our own Brown and Jenkins Vermont Maple Crème Coffee. That is just one sign that spring has finally made its way to the Green Mountains.

The crocuses are popping up and the customers are asking for my used coffee grounds. Sound strange? For me, it's a sure sign of spring.

Vermont coffee grounds on the ground

Every year at this time I get a flock of folks who want our used coffee grounds to use in their gardens. Apparently, the grounds deter both bugs and deer. However, the earth worms thrive and that helps your garden!

I sure don't mind. I've got the grounds if you've got the garden! Just another great example of connection to the earth via recycling for Vermonters.

Vermont coffee bean bags

I also get requests for the burlap coffee bean bags. Folks use them like for walkways in gardens. Other rub down horses with them, use them as bedding for birthing livestock, or just to hang on the walls. I guess even horses and livestock can appreciate a Guatemalan Antigua coffee!

Vermont coffee chaff and chickens

With the ever growing trend for raising chickens, people come in to ask for the coffee chaff to use for bedding in their coops. The chaff is the outer layer of the green coffee bean that comes off during roasting. It is light, fluffy and absorbent. The chicken coop smells like a coffee house and, I'd say, that's an added bonus.

Chaff can also be used as mulch or added to a compost pile. It's said to keep slugs and snails away while adding nutrients to your soil. Just don't over do it, as I'm told too much will block water absorption.

Drop me line here or at the Brown and Jenkins Facebook page to tell me how you reuse coffee refuse. Is it different in your neck of the woods? I can't wait to hear!

Until our next cup,
Sandy Riggen

Vermont Maple Coffee

Good Morning Coffee Lovers,

If you drive through the rolling hills of Vermont this time of year you are bound to see smoke billowing up from the sugar houses as this is sugaring time. You will see buckets or blue lines collecting sap from the trees. And you can visit a countless number of maple sugar houses to actually see how they make the syrup.

So, here at Brown and Jenkins, we use that real maple syrup extract to make the best Vermont Maple Crème Coffee. Master roaster Glenn roasts Columbian Supremo coffee beans and then adds a perfect amount of maple extract to make my seasonal favorite. Yum!

In fact, that's our special this month. Save a $1 on a bag of freshly roasted Vermont Maple Crème Coffee . You just have to use the code word Maple!

Maple syrup is one important component of the local Vermont economy. Folks around here are truly passionate about living a lifestyle that is close to the land. And it's evident in the fact that local farms and individuals depend on maple syrup and the products made from it each spring.

I love the way that our coffee community and the local maple sugaring community are connected. Extend that to all our online coffee club customers and the flavor of Vermont truly reaches far beyond our Green Mountains.

Coffee humor

I tried to give up caffeine, but the stress kept me up at night.

Until our next cup,
Sandy Riggen

Brown and Jenkins and Vermont Coffee

Good Morning Coffee Lovers,

Many of you either live in or have visited the Green Mountains of Vermont. This is where we run the Brown and Jenkins roastery atop our vista on Route 15 in Cambridge, Vermont.

If you've never been here, perhaps you buy coffee beans online via our coffee break club. You should know that one of the most notable aspects of Vermont culture is the commitment to buying locally and supporting the local community. We have a plethora of organic farm stands and CSAs and small family owned businesses in this area.

So a recent topic of discussion with some of my coffee community was how I, as the owner of an online coffee business, see myself fitting into that local culture.

Vermont Coffee is a Misnomer

Truth be told, most of us know that there isn't really such a thing as Vermont coffee beans. Our snowy climate is perfect for skiing the slopes at Smuggler's Notch. It's not so great for growing quality Arabica coffee beans. That is why, by necessity, all coffee roasters in Vermont import Columbian coffee beans, Costa Rican coffee beans, Brazilian coffee beans, etc…

Our community connection here in Cambridge takes on a slightly different flavor:

• Vermont Roaster- While we can't claim to grow Vermont coffee beans, we are a Vermont roaster. Stop by any time to watch our master roaster Glen bring a bag of green coffee beans to mouth watering perfection.

• Vermont Products- One of the things I love most about owning this business is that I have so many chances to interact with the small, local entrepreneurs that grow and make some of the most creative, purest and freshest products around. You can find our shelves lined with music, crafts, jams, jellies, relishes, honey and more from local growers like Claire's Country Garden.

• Vermonters- They are here everyday. Working on a lap top, debating local politics, predicting the weather…You name it and the local neighbors that make up this community are in here buying and drinking coffee alongside the skiers, leaf peepers, and maple syrup seekers who drive down from Canada and up from Boston every week.

So I guess my feeling is that Brown and Jenkins fits into Cambridge, Vermont by supporting the people and business that make up this community. In truth, I've rarely felt as connected to any community as I do this one. How do you fit in? Are you a Vermonter by birth- or at heart? Online or local, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Until our next cup, Sandy Riggen

What Vermont Coffee Prices and Foreign Fungus Have in Common

Good Morning Coffee Lovers,

As we Green Mountaineers welcome our April fool's day snow fall (no joke) the wide world around us continues to impact our local community. Our close knit Cambridge coffee community is slowly seeing the rise in coffee prices, and folks are asking me why.

Sadly, in March (that was yesterday!), the Wall Street Journal quoted the International Coffee Organization as saying that coffee drinkers have not yet seen the full rise in prices that are going to come about. So here are the main factors that might impact the cost of your coffee beans:

• Rising fuel cost- This is probably pretty obvious as we are all paying more for fuel of any kind.

• Columbian fungus- Here is the answer to the title teaser. Columbia lost 3.6 million pounds of coffee beans due to an infestation. Of course, this impacts the supply of available coffee.

• Increased demand- The other side of the coin is that the demand for coffee is growing in developing countries like China, India and Brazil. Now that the populations in these countries are a bit better off, they can afford luxuries like coffee. (I know- that first cup is truly a necessity isn't it!)

So, yes, we can all expect to see prices for Columbian coffee beans, Brazilian coffee beans and pretty much all coffee beans rise. Even large corporations like Kraft Foods are reporting being affected by the factors above.

Good News on Coffee

There is some good news on the coffee horizon. A study published by the American Heart Association finds that woman who drink a cup of coffee a day have a 25% less chance of having a stroke.

So let's just weather out these economic changes together, over a warm cup of coffee, and friendship. Come on in and join me for a cup.

Until our next cup,
Sandy Riggen