Everyone who knows me knows I am non-human in the mornings until I've had my cup-a-coffee. OMG, there are few things better. As I have aged (not really all that old!!) I have become more and picky about the coffee I drink. I like the good stuff. Years ago, Folgers would do the trick. I tried all the different grinds, and found that freshness was important. One coffee maker made better tasting coffee than another, vacuum packed coffees were better, refrigerate the beans, etc. Then, I jumped to a deeper level of addiction. I began to grind my beans. Whole bean purchases from the super-market gave way to buying from Starbucks. Many times I have said, "Life is too short to drink bad coffee."Then, I began to delve into research of how the beans were roasted. One roaster supposedly makes a better taste?? Yup.Ok, call me a coffee snob. I are that.

The next step in coffee snobbery is the paying of attention to the working conditions of the coffee growers. This is something that takes a little research, and quite frankly can make little difference to the actual taste of a cup of morning brew. But because most coffee is grown in underprivileged nations, keeping an eye on the way workers are treated by their employers is just good karma if nothing else. I, given the opportunity, choose to buy coffee in which the coffee growers are treated fairly and are compensated fairly.

Wow....where am I going with this. (Hold on....I need a refill.)

I have found a coffee company that provides good coffee, has reports of the process of the bean and growers on their website, roasts a variety of beans in a variety of ways, and the best part....markets it in such a way that part of the proceeds goes to an account for a friend of mine to fund her mission trips to Peru. The coffee company isCleft Coffee. My friend is Jessica Gulley, a young lady in our RunnersWorld running group.

I ordered 2 lbs of coffee from here, and wanted to give it the crucial taste test before I hooted and hollered about it, and after a few mornings of the awesome brew, I am sold. If you wanna give it a try, I highly recommend it. It is reasonably priced, the website is great, and $2.00 of each pound goes to Jessica's fund....a very worthy cause. Click on the above link, or on the Cleft Coffee icon on the right column of this blog. mmmmmm...slurp......aahhhhhh.