This coffee is listed as a medium body and the beans are not over roasted or oily. They are a light brown nut color with a pleasant aroma.

The coffee was quite a surprise. The aroma was the first thing that got my attention. It was sort of flowery, but still, had a full coffee aroma. The flavor was quite amazing for a medium bodied coffee. Sweet, nutty, and sort of flowery. I do all my tastings black, but admit that after tasting I do usually put a drop of cream and sugar in my coffees. This one however, I drank the pot black.

I like this equally compared to Reunion Island’s French Roast fair trade coffee. The French Roast is good if you are looking for something darker, whereas Reunion Island’s Ethiopia Oromia fair trade organic coffee is for those medium coffee lovers.

This would be a great everyday coffee!
 

Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars

You can buy Reunion Island coffees online from Amazon.com or in Canada from CulturedCoffeeBean.com.

Enjoy
Ian

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When I opened the package, I first noticed a nice dark aroma, but also that some of the beans seemed overroasted.

It is a full dark roast, so I put that thought aside for now.

The coffee seems less full bodied and thinner than I was expecting. It had a full roasted flavor, however it was somewhat bitter, a little burnt, and slightly acidic. All things considered, it still is a reasonable cup of coffee if you are looking for a full roasted flavor with a thinner base.

Privateer definitely finishes behind Reunion Island’s French Roast fair trade coffee when compared side by side.

This might be a good coffee to brew for friends, after dinner and just sitting down for some cards.
Rating: 3.7 out of 5 stars

You can buy this coffee online from Amazon.com or in Canada from CulturedCoffeeBean.com.

Enjoy
Ian

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 The Carmelite Monks of Wyoming roast coffee, under the Mystic Monk name, to support their life of prayer. Brother Paul Marie was kind enough to send me a sample of one of their fair trade organic coffees, the Midnight Vigils Blend.

The beans are a dark french roast, a little oily, very rich smell. The flavor is pleasant and smooth. Its dark, but not too rich. There’s maybe a slight chocolate flavor and call me crazy, but a wonderful almost sponge toffee like aftertaste. I took many quick sips just to get to the aftertaste!

There are also many gift and sample packs, flavored coffee, monk hoodies, mugs and other gift ideas available.

Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars

Midnight Vigils Blend fair trade organic coffee by Mystic Monk , a heavenly idea!

Enjoy
Ian

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If you are dragging your butt out of bed and need a real kick start, try some Shock fair trade organic blend! This blend contains almost double the caffeine as a regular cup of coffee. They also carry an Energy blend contains even more caffeine (however, this is not made from fair trade coffee beans).

As Shock says: Whether you want to cram more stuff in your brain or add more hours to your day, you need some Shock therapy.

Admit it. Sleep is overrated. So brew up some Shock and crank it up a notch.

The taste is not overpowering and is certainly not bitter. I was half expecting something quite shocking, but it is quite smooth and enjoyable. If you need a rich creamy coffee, this is probably not for you, but it would be a great option for people that are looking for a more middle of the road, great tasting cup of coffee.

There are also gift sets for Christmas, canned iced latte drinks and for those that like to snack on their caffeine during the day (and who doesn’t), they have Shock-a-lots which are chocolate covered, candy-coated, hyper-caffeinated, Shock coffee beans.

All of their coffee is Kosher too.

Rating: 3.8 out of 5 stars

Hyper-Caffeinated Coffee? Yes! Best tasting cup of coffee? You better believe it! http://www.shockcoffee.com

Enjoy

Ian

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Rich and creamy! There are mornings when you need a thick, rich, creamy coffee, well this coffee can certainly fill that bill. Full bodied, wonderful aroma, a very good deal for around $19 for a 1.75 lb bag.

Rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars

For those of you that would like to try some, updated William Spartivento roadshow dates are at the following Costco locations:

• Until October 25th: Chicoutimi PQ, Pointe-Claire PQ, St Catherines ON, and Etobicoke ON.
• October 27th to November 8th: Sainte-Foy PQ, Laval PQ, Ancaster ON, and Brampton ON.
• November 10th to 22nd: Brossard PQ, Boisbriand PQ, Burlington On, and Vaughan ON.

They still have the free shipping promotion in Canada with a $35 purchase. Click here for more info on their roadshow or to purchase online.

Enjoy
Ian

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In the coffee growing mountains of Columbia, there is a co-op of 270 farming families called APCO (Asociación Pequeños Caficultores de Ocamonte) that was formed back in 1994. The primary goal of the association is to assist members in improving their quality of life through the commercialization of coffee.

Cooperative Coffees is a roaster-owned (comprised of 22 Canadian and American roasters), coffee importing cooperative that has partnered with APOC and other farming cooperatives like them, in direct, fair trade relationships.

Cooperative Coffees works with individual farmers in APCO to help them achieve fair trade certification. They also buy beans from APCO at 9 cents / pound above the fair trade rate (which also has an additional premium for organic beans). This can work out to about 40 cents per pound premium for their coffee and if a small farmer produces 3000 pound that would work out to $1200 per year.

APCO farmers can then invest that extra money in diversification on their farms, such as raising chickens and cows and producing eggs and milk to sell at the market to earn more income. They can also invest in building and improving schools or healthcare to improve the next generation’s standard of living. Maybe they just invest the money in improvements to their own farm or house to improve production and provide better comforts.

Click the following for more information on Cooperative Coffees or the complete story of their visit to APCO.

All in all, for a few cents a cup, lives can be changed and brighter futures can be realized.

Enjoy!
Ian

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Fair trade coffee producers are required to farm with sustainable farming techniques. The rules are intended to improve the community and well being of the workers and less on the coffee product, which organic coffee’s main concern is. So fair trade is a little looser on the restrictions to their farming techniques than organic coffee.

Fair trade farmers are encouraged to farm organically, through a premium paid if they are organically certified. Every year fair trade certified farmers are converting over to be organic certified as well. I saw a statistic recently that suggested a little over half of fair trade coffee is also certified organic. From looking around online, it would seem like that is a close enough estimate.

I would think anything to get chemicals out of what we ingest has to be a good thing. If we can make it a cup of fair trade organic coffee, then even better!

Enjoy!
Ian

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Many bags were purchased and our espresso machine was revving on high octane for a while!

Well, for those of you that would like to try some, they currently have booths until Sept 27th at the following Costco locations:
Mississauga Heartland, London North Wonderland, Montreal 300 Bridge, and Saint-Jérôme 1001 Boul J.Baptiste Rolland.

They currently have a promotion of free shipping in Canada with a $35 purchase.
Click here for more info on their roadshow or to purchase online.

Enjoy

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