#CoffeeWeek (Not Weak)

Coffee Week (Not Weak) is one of the first courses to be offered in a new format at Bridgewater State University. The concept for the course came immediately to mind when the new dean of the College of Continuing Education invited faculty members to teach intensive summer courses spanning just one or two weeks (one week of all-day sessions or two weeks of half days).

I already teach two courses on coffee. One is a travel course exploring coffeelands in Nicaragua each January (and soon to be offered in Peru and perhaps Ethiopia); the other is a seminar in which second-year students develop speaking skills by working together on projects about coffee production in specific countries and by individual presentations on local coffee shops.

Coffee Week (Not Weak) offered a third option -- visiting coffee shops and roasters in our region as a group. I originally intended devote a lot of classroom time to some of the great films about coffee and some guest speakers, but I eventually realized that our region has so much to offer that a roving classroom would be best -- and speakers could meet us in cafes!

My Coffee Coach sign and the Dean's Beans bumper sticker
became temporary tattoos for our class van.
I could not resist taking a dig at the coffee nemesis that somehow
remains on our campus, despite various
 pronouncements on justice and sustainability. 

More background about the course is posted on my "main blog" Environmental Geography, which also includes scores of coffee posts that make every possible connection, from sustainability to mermaids.

We visited all of the sites shown above -- sites visited on a given day share a color. Coffee-savvy readers will notice that we did not get into Acton, Boston, Providence, Tiverton, Provincetown, Wareham, and many other places in our region with great coffee connections. This course could easily fill a fortnight of long days, just within easy day trips of our campus (which sadly has no cafe of its own).

This particular blog was created to give students (and me) the opportunity to share some of what we learned during Coffee Week. (Our #coffeeweek hashtag will also bring up some of their public posts on social media.) Because we spent most of our 40 hours together in the cafes and roasters, we did not have time to write extensively about all of them. In the posts below, each student reflects on a site visit that she (or he) found especially meaningful. I include one of my own as well. In the POTPOURRI post, I provide a brief discussion of each visit.

Throughout the week, we shared photos with each other. Explore the
CoffeeWeek 2016 Flickr Album for some sites that we did not get to include in this blog.
See the Coffee Maven's Coffee Collection for many more coffee-related photo albums. 

Stay tuned ... next summer I hope to offer Coffee Week (Not Weak) again and to introduce the New Bedford Fortnight, two weeks of afternoon sessions, each involving a different local institution in Whaling City.

Coffeelands

I have taught my computer and phone (and Blogger) to allow this word, because I use it frequently. As a geographer, my passion for all things coffee began with the land on which it is grown. When I use the word, my mind always goes to the people of the coffeelands I have had the privilege of visiting -- in Guatemala, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and especially Nicaragua. The coffeelands of  Jinotega and Matagalpa have become another home for me, and are the source of most of the coffee I brew at home.

Coffeelands is the name of a very important stop on our Coffee Week journey -- a cafe in Clinton, Massachusetts that embodies the things I value most about sustainable and ethical coffee. The shop was established five years ago as a project of the Polus Center, a social and economic development agency that does important work with communities facing severe challenges throughout the world. I learned of the organization -- whose CEO Michael Lundquist is a Bridgewater State graduate -- in 2008. Since that time, our Nicaragua travel courses have included visits to several Polus Center projects in which victims of land mines have participated in their own rehabilitation as individuals and as a community.

Polus opened the shop with the name Coffeelands World Gifts Espresso Cafe -- a name that captures all of its purposes, completely if somewhat awkwardly. The idea is that this cafe connects its customers to an entire world of coffee producers and other communities served by the Polus Center. It also sells artisanal  gifts produced in those communities worldwide. On Monday of Coffee Week, Polus Center COO Theresa Kane talked with our class about the work Polus Center does throughout the world, particularly its in coffee-producing areas. The organization is quite committed to drawing on local knowledge and values, so that dozens of projects operate throughout the world, with only five people employed directly by the organization.

Coffeelands continues to embody the most important message of the Polus Center:
People are More Alike than Different

This great map table puts the LANDS in
COFFEELANDS!

She described how the Coffeelands World Gifts Espresso Cafe was established to compliment and extend the world-wide work, operating as it does near the central-Massachusetts headquarters of the organization. This deep background on #coffeeweek Monday was excellent preparation for our visit on Tuesday, where we met Rhonda Messer, who had officially become the owner of the renamed Coffeelands only a few days before.

We had a nice discussion with Rhonda -- the new owner of the cafe who had been hoping to open a fair-trade cafe when she found that this one was going to be available. This transition is a win for Polus -- which needs to focus on other projects now that this is established -- for Rhonda, for the community, and of course for the farmers who can continue to supply excellent coffee and other products through Deans Beans and Equal Exchange (see student posts about our visits to these fair-trade leaders).

One highlight of the cafe for me is the mural by Massachusetts artist Greg Stone. It features people with whom the Polus Center has worked in many coffeelands around the world, including one barista I met at the original Ben Linder Cafe in Leon, Nicaragua. The mural provided us with a great way to review the geography of coffee, as it illustrates all of the major steps involved in moving coffee from the field to the cup -- along with the skilled workers who make that movement happen.

Seeing the mural is bittersweet, of course, because it is a reminder of what could have been accomplished at Bridgewater State University. When the university administration rejected a student-led proposal for a second Ben Linder Cafe on our campus, it offered to commission a similar mural in the Conant Science & Mathematics Center. Greg Stone and Polus Center officials visited the campus, and proposed a triptych mural, but unrelated artwork was installed in its place.

Hundreds of students, alumni and community members continue to hope for a cafe on our campus, and Coffeelands continues to inspire us. But for the visual impact of Greg Stone's work, it will be necessary -- and worthwhile -- to travel to Main Street in Clinton.

An Unlikely Story

Standing across the street from An Unlikely Story- located in Plainsville, Ma, I found myself getting lost in the aesthetics and design of the cafe bookstore. The bookstore was built by author Jeff Kiney who wrote the Diary of a Wimpy Kid chronicles. The bookstore has about a year since its opening and has become a place that cultivates education and emphasizes community. 

From the outside you can see that there is something special about this place. It grabs your attention and makes you curious of what you might discover by going in. From the inside it becomes a relaxing and welcoming spot for kids, teens, and adults.

#CoffeeWeekBSU

This location was our first stop of the day. Here the manager Deb told us a little bit about what the environment was like. They have such great opportunities for the people of the community. They have reading with younger kids and also have an open mic night in the upstairs in order to showcase talent. A great addition to this bookstore cafe -- for the adults anyway -- is that they serve beer and wine and also do wine nights! It is such a great environment for anyone that comes in! 

I absolutely loved our visit to Plainsville. The employees were great and even took the time out of their busy day to take photos of our group. I can't wait to return and show my friends and family what an Unlikely Story has inside its doors.

Somethin's Brewin' Book Cafe

My favorite coffee shop of the entire coffee week experience was Somethin's Brewin' Book Cafe located in Lakeville, Massachusetts. The reasons why I choose this coffee shop as my favorite place was because of the atmosphere, the style and design of the building, the waitresses, the shop was welcoming and warming, and of course the coffee and food were delicious. This coffee shop is a great place if you just wanted to relax, read a book, or catch up with some friends while enjoying your favorite kind of coffee beverage. If you are looking for a great coffee shop and or a local book store I recommend Somethin's Brewin' Book Cafe.

Somethin's Brewin' Book Cafe is in an historic Carnegie Library building,
leased from the town of Lakeville. The landscaping is an example of the cafe's partnerships with
local business, in this case Stephanie's Perennials.

Inside Look

Posted by Erin 

Lagniappe from the Coffee Maven

Somethin's Brewing owner Lorraine was so pleased with our visit that she insisted on a group photo on the cafe steps -- even though her crew was busy closing the cafe for the day. She is proudly holding a #CoffeeWeek certificate that we remembered to present to most of our hosts. (Certificates are in the mail soon to a couple we missed!)

Lorraine is so committed to the idea of excellent, independent coffee shop that she has begun to network with people who run such shops elsewhere in order to help promote each other's cafes.

The Nook Coffee Shop July 13th, 2016

      As the first Coffee Week class of 2016 comes to an end, we as a class looked back to our favorite places we saw this past week.  We as a class went all over Massachusetts and in part of Rhode Island to visit local coffee shops and roasters.  We witnessed how coffee is processed and how it is packaged and sent out to everyone.  One of my favorite places that we went to was The Nook, located at 58 Washington Street Fairhaven, Ma 02719. 

This coffee shop is owned by Paul Menard and his wife.  An interesting fact about this coffee shop is that it had been open for only twelve days when we visited.  While we were sitting in his coffee shop, he let us taste his cold brew coffee that is starting to become a big way to make coffee.  The drink that he had us taste test was the "Local Buzz".  The "Local Buzz" is an iced coffee drink with honey and maple syrup in the coffee.  This drink is very creamy and very good.



The Nook is also a bakery that serves cookies, cupcakes, pies, linguica rolls and so many more! Everything is freshly made that day!  This is a locally owned business with a loving couple running it and wanting to bring good coffee to everyone. Come in and Enjoy! This is the place Where Coffee Matters!!

https://www.facebook.com/nookfhvn/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vlnJw-6VDo

http://wbsm.com/fairhaven-buzzing-over-the-nook-coffee-shop/

Deans Beans

     During Coffee Week we got the privilege to visit Dean's Beans in Orange, MA. They are an amazing company who offers whole bean specialty coffees that are certified organic, fair trade and kosher. We got to hear part of there story as well as a tour of there faculties. I decided to write about Dean's Beans because they are a small company that does so much through direct development, activism and outreach.

     Dean's Beans has done several projects in the coffelands to help the local communities. Every project is different as different areas need different things. They have placed wells and distribution systems in villages to help farmers get water. They have also given farmers equipment and animals to help make there jobs easier and more efficient. These are just some small things we take for granted, yet in the coffeelands these small things help create a connection and a huge difference.

     One thing that I thought was really amazing was the coffee wall. Not only was it painted with a beautiful picture it also had a spot for every type of coffee that they use. They are definitely a place worth checking out. Even if you can not make it out to Orange, MA you can purchase coffee directly from their website. You won't be disappointed.

Coffee Wall at Dean's Beans

The Life of a Bean

Some excellent wall art!!

The Best Sticker ever!!!

Follow Dean's Beans on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/DeansBeansOrganicFairTradeCoffee/

BSU Coffee Week: Equal Exchange

BSU Coffee Week: Equal Exchange

July 11, 2016

As Coffee week concludes, I want to reflect on all of the things I have learned during this insightful experience. Our class was fortunate enough to observe coffee culture first hand. Fair Trade is an important topic we focus on during this course. I was surprised to find an organization that supports fair trade so close to our university. Our class had the opportunity to tour Equal Exchange in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts. I decided to focus on Equal Exchange because I truly fell in love with their story and what their mission is. They found a way to trade coffee in a way that is fair and honest, which benefits both the consumer and the farmer themselves.

 The first thing I observed when I walked in was the family-like atmosphere. All of the members of the Equal Exchange team were there because they truly believe in this company and what they stand for. Each person we met along the way was extremely informative and educated in what they do. Not only did we get to tour their amazing facility, where they explained to us each step from seed to cup, we also got to experience cupping. Each step in the making of coffee truly is an art. After experiencing this myself, it made me appreciate the difficult, time consuming, and dedicated work that goes into this ongoing process.

As a consumer, it is easy to get drawn into the cheap prices without knowing and understanding the story behind each product you are buying. Equal Exchange is just one example of an organization that ensures the people behind your cup of coffee are receiving fair pay and good working conditions. Educating ourselves and others is the first step we all can take in making a difference.