Happy Holidays to all of you caffienophiles out there! The holiday season really is my favorite time of year, not only in life, but also in coffee. Why, you ask? Well, there are several reasons. First, I really love getting to talk to all of you fabulous mail-order customers. I mean, I see your names on my production sheet all year long, but during the holidays, you guys call us up with all your questions and special requests, and I like that! I'd also like to let you know that due to a large number of requests last year, we are debuting our Holiday Gift Box! Check it out in the store. Second, this time of year marks the beginning of harvest season in Central America! The harvest starts in mid-November, and continues through mid-February, and this means new coffees for you starting in February and March. This year, Jocelyn and I will be travelling to Nicaragua to explore a direct trade relationship with a coop there. Direct Trade relationships are always exciting to me, because not only do they yield a greater return to the farmers, who are able to cut out all sorts of middle-men, but also increases quality for consumers. Jocelyn and I will keep you posted on our journey! Along that vein, the third reason that I love the holiday season is that things are beginning to get underway for our second season in Cameroon! Several other roasters in the northeast have partnered with us this year to purchase over 100 additional bags of coffee from our producers. That's over 12,000 additional dollars directly in the hands of Cameroonian farmers this year. Hot Cha!

Those are just a few reasons that I love the holidays, and I hope you all have had a great start to the season. One last thing I would like to mention (on a logistical note) is that if one of the reasons  YOU love the holidays is sending Mocha Joe's coffee to your friends and loved ones, our store is not working correctly in Internet Explorer. If you are viewing it in Internet Explorer and wondering why you can't scroll past Rwanda, this is the reason. We have a web guru coming in this afternoon to try and fix the problem, but until then, I recommend either calling us to order (802-257-5637) or viewing the page in Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome.

Best,
Jackie

Greetings from Vermont! Foliage is in full swing here, and the mountain outside our office is alight with reds and oranges. And, in the true spirit of New England, it is just after Columbus day and we have already had several snow sightings. How time flies.

And time is marching away here at Mocha Joe's! We are again welcoming (back) a new (old) roaster! Joe Motika, the newest (oldest?) addition to our roasting team worked for us from 2002 to 2007, when he left for the open road and greener pastures. Well, evidently there are no greener pastures than Mocha Joe's, and after a two year haitus, Joe is back again and in full swing. We are all excited to have him back, and you should be too! Joe is a professional chef and an excellent roaster... the care and attention that he shows the coffee along with his appreciation for subtle flavor nuances are already yielding some exciting results. We hope you think so too. Welcome back Joe!

In addition to welcoming Joe, I would also like to call your attention to another feather in our cap this autumn... our new Kenya Kiamabara is now available in the store. This coffee is truly as good as it gets, with notes of ripe cherry and vanilla bean. It is a very special offering and only available for a limited time. It will be one in a series of three "Super Kenyas" this year. Get it before it's too late!

There are also several other new offerings in our store that I would like to call your attention to. Ethiopian Yirgacheffe is back and better than ever. Really, this new Ethiopian is absolutely delicious. We also have a kind of new, exciting offering from Bali (who knew?). It is a really complex and different coffee-- with hints of vanilla bean and black licorice. Different enough to keep you excited, but not so different that everyone can't enjoy it. It's my current favorite, and I reccomend that everyone give it a try.

I hope that you all ejnoying your autumn... and our coffee!
Best,
Jackie

French Roast

Cameroon ‘Boyo’ Peaberry

~ FARMER DIRECT TRADE ~

~ ORGANICLY GROWN ~

Retail Price $12.50 per lb.

Mocha Joe’s is proud to announce our original Farmer Direct Trade program with the premiere of our French Roast Cameroon Peaberry. This phenomenal new offering is the first specialty grade coffee to be produced in the West African nation of Cameroon. Mocha Joe’s employees are working side by side the farmers, helping to build new milling facilities and instituting specialty grade sorting methods. This new endeavor is guaranteeing that the individual coffee growers receive nearly double the price for their coffee.

Oh the times, they are a-changin'. It's been an exciting few months for Mocha Joe's. First and foremost, we have a new baby roaster. Jocelyn Peknik, a long-time former barista from our cafe has joined our team, and she is a natural talent! If you order on a Wednesday or Thursday, she'll be roasting your coffee. Keep an eye on our staff bio's page for more juicy (?) details about Jocelyn.

Second, our Direct Trade Cameroonian coffee has just arrived! In case you're wondering why this is so exciting, Pierre Capy (our owner) and Ingrid Burrows (another long-time employee of the cafe), travelled to Cameroon in March in order work with farmers to improve the quality of their coffee. They were in Cameroon for the milling and sorting operations, and the work that they did there resulted in the FIRST EVER Specialty Preparation coffee imported into the United States from Cameroon. Another exciting thing? Farmers this year received more than DOUBLE the price for their coffee than they would have if they had sold in the local markets. We're roasting it as a french roast, and it has a great, medium body and super-caramel sweetness. It should be appearing in our online store any day now.

In addition to the above excitment, you should begin to see some changes here at Mocha Joe's-- changes for the better. This includes a pending switch from 1lb heat-sealed packaging, to 12oz heat-sealed packaging... WITH A ZIPLOCK!!! You'll see in the online store when we make the switch. We've got  a bunch of other things in store, so please stay tuned!

In celebration of all this "change," and in the spirit of "out with the old, in with the new," I would like to offer you a GREAT deal on our Kenya Kangocho. Our finest Kenyan offering has been selling this year for 17.95 per pound. With new crop Kenya on the horizon for the fall, and in light of my infinite benevolence, I am reducing the price on our last 2 bags of Kenya Kangocho to 13.95. I hope you will all take advantage of this huge discount to taste this great coffee before it's too late!

Hope you all are having a great summer!
-Jackie

Rwanda – Buf Coffee Mills

$13.00 per lb.

A decade and a half ago Epiphanie Mukashyaka was struggling to survive the horrific Rwandan Genocide. Today she owns and operates the Buf Coffee Mills, a rising star in the Specialty Coffee Industry. Mocha Joe’s is proud to have acquired some of her amazing coffee, not only to support the rebuilding of Rwanda, but for the feast of flavors each Rwandan bean contains, including dark & creamy chocolate, carmelized pecan, and notes of sweet red cherry.