I'll have to stop by the nature center one of these days (we're out of the 100°F weather for now), as I'm a little concerned about the availability of the bird-friendly coffee they sell (+organic, +worker-friendly). it's the best coffee I've ever had, by a significant margin.
the last time that I was in there, we had a 10-minute (or maybe 15) conversation about the coffee (I am their biggest customer!), with topics ranging from whether they should change the blend, to how many raw beans they import from honduras, to the packaging. they weren't sure that they were going to continue selling it, despite running out of their stock. the current packaging focuses on the indigo bunting, and features a map of its migration from the source of the coffee to nashville. I suggested that they not only bring it back, but perhaps they add another bird to spotlight. offering it pre-ground might also help, along with selling it in the traditional coffee bag, rather than a tin, though I don't believe I mentioned that.
in any event, I believe I've tracked down how to replace it if needed. I know exactly which co-op farm [COMSA] the beans are from. the only trick would be to find the right blend/roast (original, natural, or melado; likely one of the first two — melado refers to honeydew melons — are the ones that they sell in roasted/ground form, but that would be international shipping/customs, and I don't want to risk it being seized by authorities for being a potential drug smuggling operation; yes, I'd be paranoid about that despite the low likelihood).
there are a number of roasting companies in the United States that offer pre-ground beans from the region — dean's beans; grumpy mule, red rooster, new harvest, flat black, bowers lake, marlton, gato diablo, birds & beans, chesapeake, ampersand [okay, it might not be hard to find] but some of them don't specify COMSA. those don't sell locally; I would have to order online. and again, I'm not sure they would be the correct roast; some describe the flavour notes differently (hazelnut and dark chocolate feel right; cherry; but one describes it as mango?? I personally taste blueberries). some of them offer a dark roast (why the fuck would they do this? they are excellent beans. don't burn them until they've got no flavour... I blame starbucks).
I can alternatively buy the beans on amazon it would seem. I could roast those myself if I learned how.
I'd prefer buying from the nature center to help support them financially.
I'm overthinking this, aren't I? [ed. note: yes]
