Today's Cup of Coffee 3/14/2013

As most of you know I am a runner, so I was especially keen to try "Runner's High" from Just Coffee Cooperative. The cooperative is based in Madison, WI, and of late have been especially vocal about "fair trade" coffee. They are vocal about this, because they believe we need to be even fairer to coffee growers. 

Transparency is a must for Just Coffee Cooperative. With every bag of coffee, you get a code on the back, which allows you to trace the coffee. Transparency is a difficult issue in the coffee world, because not all coffee companies want to reveal what they are truly paying for a pound of coffee. The cooperative puts it all on their bag, and you can check everything out on their website. Typically, they are paying farmers between $2.50-$4.50 a pound. Latest prices are in the $1.40 a pound area. Also the cooperative posts all of their financials and talks freely about contract with their farmers on their website. In the future, I will write more about the issues at stake that Just Coffee is working on. 

Today though it's about "Runner's High" coffee. Here is how they describe the coffee:

Medium roasted fair trade and organic coffees from Mexico, Colombia and Ethiopia. 

Tasting notes: Runner's High will prep you for miles with it's sensational flavor notes including golden raisin, vanilla rooibos tea, pumpkin, cayenne pepper and toasted hazelnut. It hits the palate with enough acidity to provide the energy for a run and the root beer-esque sweetness and body to satisfy your coffee jones.

When we opened the bag, the aroma of this coffee was intoxicating. I don't get to us that phrase too often, but really it was. We brewed a pot, and began to drink. Now if all of the flavors listed above mean it has a woody taste, that is how I found it. It is a strong coffee. Yes it could get a runner running. This was an interesting mixture of bitter and sweet. This coffee was terrific. I would drink it any day. It's $11.99 for a bag, and worth more in my opinion. I loved it. 

To learn more about Just Coffee Cooperative go to - 

http://www.justcoffee.coop

Charlie