$15,000 in Donations to Local Charities

Over the Thanksgiving Weekend we sat down to start totaling all the money we raised for charity and start writing checks. As you know, we donate at least $.50 per lb of coffee sold to local charities and organizations. Every time we sell coffee we figure out the individual donation.

It gave us great pleasure to write check after check to all our friends who are doing great work to make this a better world. And as we grow, so do our donations. The most exciting news is that we raised 4 times the amount of money in November as we did in January!

These donations are only possible because of all of you who support us. Here is a glimpse of what happens with the money:

Water for People - will bring water to a remote village in Africa.

Community Cycling Center - will continue to bring bikes and education to underprivileged kids and adults.

Engineers Without Borders - will be able to bring electricity to a remote village in Central America.

Pangaea Project - will educate teens in Social Justice issues and provide a once in a lifetime travel abroad opportunity to inner-city teens.

Bicycle Transportation Alliance - will continue to make Portland and Oregon a safer place for cyclists and help reduce traffic congestion and pollution.

The Magdalene Home - will provide support for new single mothers who need it most.

World Vision - we are sponsoring a child in Brazil and we aim to add more kids every year.

University of Portland - funding an annual scholarship to a Senior who has demonstrated a desire to give back to their community not only while at college but also upon graduation.

Can we make this a better world? We sure think so! We're only in our second full year of operation and as we grow we hope to touch more and more lives. It's amazing what a pound of coffee can do. Thank you for all your support!

We Bought A Van

We did it. Kind of scary. Like moving in with your girlfriend or buying your first home. This is our first company vehicle and we're pretty excited. We do paperwork and all that stuff tomorrow and should have some photos by the end of the weekend. We could tell you all the juicy details about what it is, why it's so cute, and what we'll name her but we'll make you wait until we get the keys in our hands.

Stay tuned...

Now at New Seasons Market

We are proud to announce that by the end of this week, our coffee will be available at New Seasons Markets in and around the Portland Metro area!

New Seasons is committed to purchasing responsibly grown products and working with local companies. The focus and dedication to quality and community made it a perfect fit.

All five roasts will be carried in whole bean along with several pre-ground roasts. Find which New Seasons is closest to you and let them know how excited you are for them to carry us (available at every New Seasons except Sellwood and Raleigh Hills).

If you've never tried our coffee before, or just like free samples, make sure to swing by your local New Seasons Friday, June 15th as they will be showcasing photos from the farm and pouring some free cups!

A Ton of Coffee Ain't Nothing

A ton of coffee weighs 2,240 pounds. We moved that nearly 16 times over yesterday morning - 35,000 pounds! We brought in our first full container of coffee and unloaded it yesterday morning. It was a big step for us as we continue to grow and won't be the last. In the past we used to bring in partial shipments and 1 or 2 palets at a time. Not anymore.

With the help of our good friend Chris McBride, we unloaded each 132 lb burlap bag, stacked them 20 to a palet, and moved them into the roastery. We brought in several different types including a pulped, a pulped natural, some organic and some decaf. The FDA came by today to make sure we did in fact bring coffee. Once approved, it was released so that we can roast it up!

We won't have to do it again for a few months, thankfully. That should give us time to heel up. So while most of the hard work is done down at the farm in Brazil, every now and then we break a sweat here in Portland in helping get you the best coffee possible. Enjoy the pictures, have a laugh, and feel free to swing by next time we get a container - we'd love the help.

Delivery Van & French Fries

You should have seen our "delivery van" this afternoon. We had 3 huge brewers and enough coffee for a small army loaded in there for a delivery to Intel's Jones Farm. It's becoming more and more evident that we need to graduate to the 'next level' and buy a real delivery vehicle.

So we're begining the process and have fallen in love with Sprinter Delivery vans. They drive great, have tons of space, run on diesel and get 25 mpg! We've got a little bit of time but we'll have one sooner or later. And its got us thinking...

We try to be responsible and sustainable in all that we do. We could run biodiesel in this van. Pretty cool. But what if we ran vegetable oil? That's about as sustainable as you can get (plus it smells like french fries). And since we're brainstorming ideas - what if we picked up the vegetable oil from our coffee clients when we dropped off coffee and processed it ourselves? That's even cooler!

Of course, some copy-cat/PR coffee company machine in town will read this and steal our idea, but oh well. It's not about the PR - it's about doing the right thing. And the way we see it, doing the right thing can be a whole lot of fun. Stay tuned and we'll keep you posted on our progress.

Coffee at the Beach

This past weekend, Augusto was at the downtown REI giving out samples of coffee and gearing up for Reach the Beach. The annual fundraiser for the American Lung Association is Saturday, May 19th. With five starting points, bikers can choose to venture anywhere from 26 to 110 miles.

No matter what you chose, you will end up at Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City. There you can enjoy your meal, a beer, and some great Nossa Familia Coffee. Check it out and we hope to see you there!

CBI = Farmer Brothers

Just the other other day it was announced that Farmer Brothers Coffee out of California had purchased Coffee Bean International of Portland. If those names don't pop off the page with familiarity, that's okay. They don't have much in common with us. Farmer Brothers is that coffee you've seen at truck stops and diners where you feel like somebody should be paying YOU for drinking. CBI isn't exactly in the same market as Farmers Brothers but has a huge capacity and has found success in going after institutional business and private labeling.

Supposedly Farmers Brothers will be investing heavily in the Portland plant to increase capacity. Sounds good for the local economy, but do I want to drink the coffee?

Can't Sleep

It was probably a combination of too much caffeine and too much good news but I could not sleep Tuesday night. The last week and a half have been a whirlwind of good news and success and I think it finally caught up to me. The previous week, we had our first meeting with a very large account (who will remain uknown at this time) that was quite promising. The scope and size of this is pretty incredible.

Last Friday we installed a bunch of brewing equipment and signage out at the Intel Jones Farm campus. Tuesday brought with it two more large contracts and a very successful meeting with a local grocer. Needless to say we're on a bit of a hitting streak.

And for whatever reason, I couldn't get it all out of my head. Which is why I woke up at 2:30am Wednesday morning...and never fell back asleep. The funny part of it? I had an email from Augusto at 3:30am. He had the exact same problem. The joys of success I guess. Sign up for our newsletter so that we can let you know who all of these 'mysterious accounts' are once it becomes public. It should be very soon!

Hopefully we'll have many more sleepless nights: either from the caffeine or the success.

We Stand With You

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Virginia Tech and everybody affected by the tragedy.

Black Gold Movie Trailer

This documentary is a must see for anyone who truly cares about their cup of coffee. Together with Utz Kapeh, Fair Trade and consumers, we can end the international coffee crisis but it begins with education and informed purchasing. www.blackgoldmovie.com

Giovani St.Onge Carneiro

Baby Giovani St.Onge Carneiro was born on February 8th, at a healthy 8lbs and 4oz. to proud parents Augusto and Carissa.

Professional photos courtesy of www.sugarplumphoto.com, focusing on Black & White photos of newborns, families and pregnancies.

Baby Lesh Doing A Little Lounging

Baby Lesh is due September 19th and it's proud parents Kerri and Jason can't wait. In the photos below, you can see the kid lounging around and cheering on the Ducks in the NCAA Tournament.

When Can We Ride?

This past Sunday was the "Worst Day of the Year Ride" in Portland for all of those crazy bike people this town caters too. So we thought we'd help everybody brave the rain, and yes, crowds, by serving coffee and espresso drinks. We had a blast and I think the 1500 riders did too.

Packing up the van and warming up the espresso machine brought back some memories from just a few months ago. Cycle Oregon! And while it's only February and the ride doesn't start for another 7 months, we're already licking our chops and refining our barista skills.

This evening, the 20th Anniversary Cycle Oregon Route was announced at the Tiger Woods Center and what a route it is! Welcome to the Cascades Backroads. It's looks like one of the best routes ever and we can't wait to be a part of it. So check it out and make sure you register early as the ride is capped (and if you want that tent & porter service, then get moving).

Now if only we could train some folks to make latte's at 5am then we could ride the whole thing this year. Note to self...

From Brazil to The Cove: Alumni turn faith into action

Just yesterday, the Director of the Office of Volunteer Services at the University of Portland wrote a nice little story about Nossa Familia Coffee and our involvement with our alma mater in yesterdays campus newspaper.

UP is a great account for us in so many ways. Obviously, we love the fact that so many people are being exposed to the coffee and brand on a daily basis. It's served in the main dining hall, the cafe in the student union, staff dining room, at the sporting venues and at two espresso stands. As a result, we donate back $.50 per lb to a scholarship at the school that will begin in the fall of 2007. More importantly though, being on campus allows us the opportunity to educate the end consumer on the importance of drinking sustainable coffee from a responsible company.

Life & Nossa Familia Coffee

Great outlook on life...that just so happens to involve coffee. :)

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

"Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.

"Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

"God brews the coffee, not the cups...Enjoy your coffee!"

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

Great Testimonial

Got a great testimonial today from a food buyer where our coffee is sold at:

Hi -- I just want to tell you how much we love your coffee. My husband and I live here in Portland and of course, like most Portlanders, we are snobs about our coffee. We were fairly convinced that Stumptown was the best there could be -- and we do still enjoy it -- but last week I brought home Teodoro's Roast for my husband to try (I work at [market name removed] and we sell your coffee) and he was in awe! He thinks it's the best coffee he's ever had. I am not sure what it is that you do differently but this is just such great coffee. Thank you very much!

Suzi