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January 8, 2010
Ethical Bean Shatters 2009 Record and Raises $32,000
All funds from the coffee company's Kids to School Program go to help children in Guatemala
Ethical Bean’s founders Lloyd Bernhardt and Kim Schachte are thrilled to announce that this year’s total fundraising for the company’s Kids to School
program has clocked in at an impressive $32,000. A significant increase from the 2009 record of $21,949, the funds raised will be split between two organizations that will help to improve the lives of Guatemalan children.
Not-for-profit organization Child Aid is committed to battling the staggering illiteracy rate and lack of educational opportunities for the country’s youth. Thanks to Ethical Bean’s generous donation, 100 Guatemalan children will be given the opportunity to attend school for the first time. From the inception of Kids to School in December of 2003, Ethical Bean has placed a total
of 545 children into classrooms.
Project Somos will also receive a generous post-holiday gift from Ethical Bean. The Vancouver based charity is establishing a village in Guatemala for abandoned and orphaned children.This Village will be a safe and loving environment for the children to thrive and grow up in. There will be homes with Guatemalan foster mothers each raising a household of children. Education,
leadership and arts will be integral to the Children's Village. Thanks to the success of the Kids to School program, Ethical Bean will be contributing over $21,000 to help fund this ambitious and important project.
Ethical Bean founders Lloyd Bernhardt and Kim Schachte’s deep connection to the children of Guatemala began in 1999 when they spent four months in the country. During that time they toured numerous coffee farms and witnessed first hand the struggles many Guatemalan families face. From the beginning, Ethical Bean has always maintained a commitment to the people and children of Guatemala.
Ethical Bean Coffee is available at select retailers across Canada. Please visit
www.ethicalbean.com for retail locations and more information. For more information on Child Aid or Project Somos, please visit child-aid.org and projectsomos.org.
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December 1, 2009
Winter Warmups
Ethical Bean Coffee
Vancouver-based Ethical Bean Coffee's Kids to School charitable initiative donates $1 from each bag of fair-trade coffee sold to benefit children in Guatemala. A perfect stocking stuffer. Ethicalbean.com
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vanmag.com |
December 1, 2009
‘TIS THE SEASON TO BUY COFFEE
Ethical Bean partners with Child Aid’s FUNDIT and Project Somos to help aid the children of Guatemala.
Beginning December 1st, Ethical Bean Coffee will donate $1 from every unit of coffee sold to help the children of Guatemala. Now in its fifth year running, the charitable holiday initiative, Kids to School, will split donations between two organizations: Child Aid’s FUNDIT and Project Somos. Arguably the most important of Ethical Bean’s sponsorship programs, the funds raised to date have resulted in 345 elementary school scholarships and over $10,000 towards the building of a village for orphaned children in Guatemala.
This year's Kids to School program will incorporate sales from US giant amazon.com and will give the 2009 edition even more fundraising power; leaving little doubt that this December’s Kids to School will raise even more than the record $21,949 raised Canada-wide in December of 2008. The 2009 charitable holiday initiative will benefit both Child Aid’s FUNDIT and Project Somos. FUNDIT provides children in Guatemala with the finances for school registration fees, uniforms, school supplies, shoes and textbooks, and when necessary, transportation costs and health care for a year. Project Somos is a Vancouver based non-profit organization that is committed to building a village in Guatemala for abandoned and orphaned children. Once completed the village will provide homes for 49 children, complete with organic gardens and orchards. There will also be buildings for art and music workshops, a library, and of course a large playground and soccer field.
Ethical Bean founders Lloyd Bernhardt and Kim Schachte have a deep connection to the children of Guatemala. The two spent four months in the country in 1999 while adopting their daughter Mia. In the process the couple toured coffee farms, and learned about the plight that many Guatemalans face just trying to earn a living for their families. Lloyd and Kim were so moved by their experience they returned to Canada and started Ethical Bean Coffee. From the beginning the two have maintained a commitment to the people and children of Guatemala.
Ethical Bean Coffee is available at select retailers across Canada and online at amazon.com. For more information about these programs visit Child Aid’s FUNDIT or Project Somos.
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November 9, 2009
Carbon Neutral "Ethical Bean" Opens Second Café Today
Vancouver, BC | Ethical Bean Xpress, a freestanding café operated by local roaster Ethical Bean Coffee, will open its second location at the downtown Granville Street SkyTrain station today, November 9th, 2009. To celebrate opening week, the new Ethical Bean Xpress will be offering a complimentary pastry with every coffee purchase from Monday, November 9th to Friday, November 13th. Similar to its original counterpart at the Commercial Drive SkyTrain station, the Granville Station Ethical Bean Xpress will only serve 100% Fair Trade Certified organic coffees and will be completely carbon neutral.
To maintain this fair trade, organic, and carbon free commitment, only compostable to-go cups will be offered, and bags for pastries and sandwiches will be completely biodegradable. Ethical Bean Xpress has also purchased carbon credits from Plug into Green Canada to offset the pollution expelled through transport of goods to the location. No detail has been overlooked, even the sugar, chocolate, and syrups will be fair trade and organic. Combine this with Ethical Bean's fair trade certified organic coffee, and you have one of the most eco-conscious cups of java in the city — to go!
The Granville SkyTrain Ethical Bean Xpress will be located on the mezzanine level of the station. The café will be open from 6:00AM to 6:00PM Monday to Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM on Saturdays. For more information visit www.ethicalbeanxpress.com.
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scoutmagazine.ca |
November 4, 2009
Full of Beans
What's the difference between an 85- and a 90-point cup of coffee?
Inside the morning ritual of a coffee missionary.
His colleagues in the world of coffee refer to him as "the missionary." "It's apropos," says Aaron De Lazzer, Ethical Bean Coffee Co.'s director of coffee. "You're sharing an enthusiasm for the gospel of coffee." The official coffee taster for the Vancouver-based roaster, which supplies coffee shops and grocery stores from Toronto to Nanaimo, uses the word "zeal" to describe his passion, and acknowledges that his devotion to coffee often pushes the limits of good sense.
I visit De Lazzer at Ethical Bean's east Vancouver roastery early one morning in late August. "Your timing is impeccable," he says as he gives me a guided tour and explains the testing process. "I'm just about to cup the first coffee of the day." Cupping is the process by which tasters pass judgment on a coffee. With lab-like precision, he measures the coffee grains to one-tenth of a gram, ensures that the water is precisely 200 degrees Fahrenheit when he pours, then leaves the unfiltered cup to steep for exactly three minutes.
When those 180 seconds are up, De Lazzer abruptly announces that it's time to "break the crust," which, he explains, means pushing the floating grains to the bottom of the cup. I can't help reflecting on the parallel with breaking bread, the time-honoured ritual of social communion. For this missionary, the break involves dipping the spoon, bottom side first, into the cup to push down the grains. The aroma released as the crust breaks give De Lazzer his first impression of the coffee.
The next stage is to taste the cup. He spoons the coffee and sips it in noisy, drawn-out slurps. "Slurping is meant to cool the beverage," he says, "vaporize it, if you will, so the volatile aspects of the coffee are released." He records his observations on the coffee-stained pages pinned to his clipboard.
De Lazzer is looking for problems with the coffee: a taint or an off flavour. He pegs this cup of dark roast at 86 points out of a possible 100. What he looks for is a coffee that scores between 85 and 90. In terms of making a buy, this cup has shown promise, but it's on the borderline.
"I think that professionals can be extreme to the point of irrelevance," he admits. "Ultimately, I'm applying a number to something that doesn't lend itself well to numbering. That's why I like cupping with lay people. You can say things like, 'That's just lovely.'"
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bcbusinessonline.com |
November 2, 2009
Bikes faster than cars during rush hour commute
Four out of five cyclists prove bike commuting is faster than driving
or taking public transit
Why bike?
That's exactly the question the Share the Road Challenge sought to answer last week, as five teams of cyclists and drivers competed to see which was the faster mode of transport during the morning rush hour.
Participating in the road race—the second this year—were teams from COPE (Coalition of Progressive Electors), Ethical Bean, Grey Media Vancouver, Vancouver City Councillors and the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition.
One driver and one cyclist comprised each team, both launching from a chosen start point and racing each other to the final destination, downtown at the Vancouver Public Library, simulating a "typical" Vancouver morning commute.
Four out of the five cyclists arrived first to the library ahead of both car drivers and transit users.
"The fifth cyclist," says Erin O'Melinn, the Bike to Work program manager for the VACC, who produces the event, of the only cyclists not to win the challenge, "took a wrong turn on the Central Valley Greenway." She said it was beautiful and she got distracted. Apparently, it was a new route for her.
"But she did arrive in good time considering her detour, which was quite long!"
Of special note, the Ethical Bean team's cyclist, Jeff, arrived from Burnaby in half the time of Viren, the car driver, even with a coffee jet pack on his back!
"The key takeaway is that cycling is definitely the quickest way to get to work no matter where you start from," says Rebecca Irani, cyclist for the Grey Vancouver team. "The weather can cause me to question whether I should cycle or not, particularly in the winter. However, the sense of freedom and accomplishment I feel, will ensure that biking becomes my main mode of transport come rain or shine!"
And how were the winners rewarded? "The winners received recognition at the finish line to show that their companies are sustainable and progressive," says Erin. And in these progressively greener times, such is the stuff of marketing gold,as consumers increasingly seek out companies who are actively reducing their footprint and forwarding a more eco-friendly agenda.
The main objective of the event was to raise awareness for Bike to Work Week, which begins today and runs through November 8, to show people they can bike to work in any weather and not take any longer than in their car or on transit.
Sign up for Bike to Work week at www.biketoworkmetrovan.ca and discover a faster, healthier and more rewarding way to work!
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granvilleonline.ca |
July 20, 2009
Ethical bean iced coffee concentrate
Forget brewing. The best way to prepare iced coffee involves cold-steeping the grounds. Both Bodum, which makes French presses, and Ethical Bean, a Vancouver-based supplier of Fair Trade and organic coffee, sent me some handy how-tos recently. Now that cold-steeping is trendy, special equipment is being sold for the process. You don't need it.
Ethical Bean Iced Coffee Concentrate
Adapted from an Ethical Bean Coffee Co. recipe. Use a fairly coarse drip grind. I made this with the company's Ethiopian blend, but it will work with any type of quality coffee. You can even use decaf. The concentrate is rich and dark, but not bitter. Pour some over ice and add cream or milk, along with simple syrup to taste. Or add a 300-millilitre can of sweetened condensed milk and 1 to 2 cups skim milk to the full amount for a sweet, strong drink. For frappuccinos, whirl the ingredients in a blender with ice cubes.
1-1/4 cups freshly ground coffee
4 cups cold, filtered water
Put coffee in large French press jug. Pour water over top. Let sit overnight.
Carefully skim coffee sludge off surface with large spoon and discard. Put on lid and slowly push down plunger.
Pour concentrate into clean container with tight lid. Discard grounds. Keep concentrate refrigerated up to 3 days.
Makes about 3 cups.
Star-tested by Susan Sampson.
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thestar.com |
June 17, 2009
Iced Coffee: The Secret
It's sunny and warm and I'm sitting here with a mug of hot coffee. How smart is that?
Next time you're quivering for caffeine and it's June or July or August, you might consider a temperature-appropriate cuppa. Try iced coffee. You get the same wakey-wakey sensation without the sweat streaming down your face.
And as it happens, I got an email from Aaron De Lazzer, the guy with the super-duper taste buds at Ethical Bean Coffee Company, with a trick up his sleeve for really good iced coffee. I haven't had the chance to try it yet but De Lazzer's got a Q-grade palate for coffee, so he can be trusted. (It means he's taken the international Coffee Quality Institute week-long palate testing and passed.)
He says the secret to the best iced coffee is to use a french press and to make the coffee with cold, filtered water instead of making hot coffee and cooling it down. You make a strong concentrate with which to make several cups. Use a light roast, coarsely ground for the french press. He likes the Ethical Bean's Ethiopian blend for iced coffee.
"The character is different," he says of iced coffee made with cold water in a press. "The quality of the acid is more attractive, crisper, cleaner, and there's depth to the flavour that you get. To some extent, it's a little different every time, but there's a real vividness, sweetness and caramel flavour. People seem to be geared towards iced lattes. This is a nice alternative."
Here's how to make it, courtesy of De Lazzer.
Add 100 to 120 grams coarse, freshly ground coffee to a 1-litre french press. (That's about 1/4 pound coffee.) Fill the french press with cold, filtered water and let it sit overnight at room temperature (about 10 hours).
Once the flavour has infused, skim off the coffee cap that's formed on the surface, then slowly press the plunger down. This will make about 3/4 litre concentrate which can be used right away or stored in the fridge for up to three days. It'll make 4 to 6 glasses of iced coffee, depending on how strong you like it, or whether you like it straight or with cream and sweetener.
To make the drink, fill a 6 to 8-ounce glass with ice. Pour coffee concentrate over the ice, leaving a little room to finish with cream and a simple syrup or maple syrup or other sweetener. And you can make it 'long' by adding filtered water.
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vancouversun.com |
June 14, 2009
Toddy Coffee
Aaron De Lazzer, Ethical Bean's Director of Coffee and Canada's only licensed Q-Grader provides a How to Guide on making Toddy Coffee. As summer is now in full-swing, Aaron is suggesting a recession-savvy solution to beating the summer heat in caffeinated style.
Ethical Bean has chilled their fruit and floral punctuated "Exotic" Ethiopian blend to create their version of Toddy Coffee. Although there are many ways to make iced coffee at home, Aaron recommends using the cold-soak technique−most simply achieved by combining freshly ground coffee and cold filtered water in a French Press and then allowing it to sit overnight for maximum extraction.
Citing a lighter roast as key, Aaron claims that this summer-sipper lends a sweetness and clarity of flavour that is difficult to reach by simply icing brewed java. Put simply, Aaron says "the Ethiopian blend provides a well structured cup with a sparkle of acidity and overtones of caramel that you're going to love served over ice."
Ethical Bean Toddy Coffee
Short, Sweet and Intense
To Brew
- Using a 1L French Press, add 100-120g of coarse freshly-ground Ethiopian blend coffee.
- Fill your French Press with cold, filtered water and allow it to sit overnight (approximately 10 hours).
- After allowing the flavours ample time to incorporate, carefully skim off the coffee cap has formed at the surface of the liquid and then slowly press the plunger down.
- This will yeild a flavourful cold coffee concentrate, which can be used immediately or stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To Drink
- Fill a 6-8oz glass of choice with ice.
- Pour the coffee concentrate over ice, leaving a little room to finish with cream and simple syrup, adjust to taste. Note: use sweetened condensed milk an indulgent alternative.
- Serve and enjoy.
About Ethical Bean Coffee Company
Ethical Bean Coffee Company is one of Canada's leading suppliers of 100% Fair Trade certified and certified organic shade grown coffee. The Vancouver, BC, based company prides itself on maintaining fair prices for coffee growers while mending the environment and ecosystems involved in coffee production.
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thecafeguide.com |
February 27, 2009
Fair-trade coffee goes mainstream
When Kim Schachte and her husband Lloyd Bernhardt decided to adopt a baby from Guatemala in 1999, they didn't know their entire life was about to change. But change it did, and it wasn't just the typical adjustments new parents have to make.
"Our first trip down there was just to go and meet Mia, she was three weeks old by the time we got down there. And we just fell in love," says Schachte. For many parents who adopt kids internationally, the connection with the child's birth country tapers off early.
But not for Bernhardt and Schachte, who have since turned their personal and professional lives towards Guatemala.
Schachte, who left her job as a graphic designer just before adopting Mia, talks about their desire to "find something that was more meaningful, for work, and also some way to connect ourselves to the community, the Guatemalan community."
After some research, the couple stumbled across coffee. It seemed like a natural fit: The caffeinated beans are Guatemala's most important export, and the most popular drink in Canada, after tap water.
"I think at that point, we weren't really that familiar with fair-trade coffee, and we started learning more about that and it kind of all just fell into place," says Schachte.
In 2003, the couple founded Ethical Bean, an organic, fair-trade coffee company that buys green coffee beans from cooperatives in Guatemala, Nicaragua and Peru, and roasts them in Vancouver.
According to the Canadian Coffee Association, drinking coffee is a daily activity for 63 per cent of Canadians, who drink most of their coffee at home, in the morning. The association has also found that awareness about fair trade and organic coffee has grown significantly since 2001.
Schachte's and Bernhardt's push into the coffee market was in synch with changing consumer attitudes, and Ethical Bean has been part of what's moved organic, fair-trade coffee in British Columbia from a niche commodity to a mainstream product.
Fair-trade coffee is certified though an international monitoring program, and guarantees prices that permit producers to cover their costs and make a small return. Shade-grown organic coffee means workers are not exposed to toxic chemicals and pesticides, and that there is less soil contamination and erosion.
Bernhardt estimates that in 1999, when they first started to look into importing coffee, producers were paid about 80 cents a pound, even though the finished product was selling for $14 on the shelves in Vancouver. Today, the minimum price per pound of fair trade organic coffee in Central America sits at $1.56, which represents an incremental improvement on the free market price. "All of our coffees are purchased well above the fair trade organic minimum price," says Bernhardt.
"The cost wasn't that much more, so we could still be competitive with conventional coffees and have a fair-trade, organic alternative," says Bernhardt.
"Kim's a graphic designer so we looked at this as a branding exercise as well, and wanted to make a fair-trade, organic coffee more accessible to a mainstream audience," he says.
Not to say the couple hasn't faced any hurdles in the quest to bring quality coffee to British Columbians.
"Roasting coffee is more than just buying coffee, making it brown and then packaging it," says Bernhardt, who traded a fast-paced technology career for the coffee world.
"I spent almost 20 years dealing with virtual products, so you know, feeling, touching, smelling, tasting coffee is amazing, because it's both an art and a science," he says.
Finding just the right coffee roast was among the challenges Ethical Bean faced when the company first started out. Today, it employs one of Canada's top coffee graders at its East Vancouver roastery.
Ethical Bean has grown rapidly over the last five years, and it now employs more than 20 people in the Lower Mainland. The coffee is sold at close to 1,000 retailers throughout the province, including Costco, Safeway and London Drugs. Bernhardt estimates that the company sold 600,000 pounds of coffee last year.
The coffee business isn't the only thing that's grown: Mia is a healthy, energetic nine-year-old, and she has a younger brother named Samuel, whom the couple adopted from Texas. He's six, almost the same age as Ethical Bean.
"We thought we'd, you know, adopt our second child and start a new business at the same time..." starts Bernhardt. "Because we don't have anything else to do!" interrupts Schachte, laughing.
Guatemala's population sits at just over 13 million, many of whom are landless or unemployed, and living in poverty. The country was the site of a 36-year internal conflict that ended in 1996, leaving more than 200,000 people dead; more than 50,000 have disappeared.
In December, Ethical Bean donated $1 for every pound of coffee sold to children's education projects in Guatemala, splitting the $20,000 proceeds between an organization called Child Aid and another called Project Somos.
Giving to children's organizations is more than just charity for Bernhardt and Schachte. It's also a chance for their daughter to connect to her roots.
"We hope to take them down there and visit Project Somos when it's up and running, so that she can put some of those pieces together, some of the adoption pieces, but also her culture," says Schachte.
Among the couple's future plans are to grow the business east of the Rockies, expand south of the border and try to get their product into more food service establishments.
The company already supplies coffee to the University of B.C., providing a fair trade fix for students on the Point Grey campus.
"From our perspective, it's been a very good shift simply from a business perspective, from a communications and public relations perspective, and also it feels good to be buying something that we know is supporting a positive, healthy and fair work environment," says Andrew Parr, the director of UBC's food services.
Would the university consider going back to free-trade coffee? "Absolutely not," says Parr.
Peter Kent, Canadas secretary of state for foreign affairs, recently visited Guatemala to push for the continuation of free-trade agreement negotiations between Canada and Central America. But when it comes to a free-trade deal, "I don't think it's going to affect us," says Bernhardt.
"The fair-trade movement is global already, and it's an understanding between the trading partners in the different countries," he says.
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vancouversun.com |
February 25, 2009
Q&A With Ethical Bean's Aaron De Lazzer
One or twice a week Scout poses 60 questions to a local who has made life in BC that much more interesting. They pick and choose which ones they'd prefer to answer, with a minimum response rate of 20. A Rorschach test, for sure...
In 2008, Aaron De Lazzer, Ethical Bean's Director of Coffee, became Canada's only Certified Q Grader. The designation is bestowed upon professional coffee graders and cuppers who have undergone a rigorous three-day testing of their senses and skills to become the industry's most eminent coffee sommeliers.
Three things about your neighbourhood that make you want to live there: Let's call it NOHA, North of Hastings by Nanaimo. I can walk to work; the view; and the Roundel Café.
The thing that you eat that is bad for you that you will never stop eating:
ice cream.
Drink you'll never have again: Vodka and Grapefruit juice. Don't ask...
The one place you'd move to: Cinque Terre.
Favourite wine varietal: Sagrantino from Umbria. Tastes even better when you can drink it there.
One thing you'd like to change about Vancouver: Vancouver is perfect.
Book you're reading: The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry,
by Kathleen Flinn
Last place traveled: Last cool place was Nicaragua
Best sneaker in the world: Do Blundstones count? They're the only shoe
I wear.
Place in BC that you love escaping to: Nelson.
Under what circumstances would you join the army: None whatsoever.
Your paternal grandfather's personal story: A stone mason by trade who came over from Fruili to work in the coal mines of Cape Breton. Settled in Niagara working as a carpenter. Could do beautiful things with wood.
Dumbest purchase ever: Ever? Geez. How about just recently? A little Minolta Hi-Matic rangefinder camera that I thought I could nurse back to life. It has cost time and money and it still doesn't work!
What are you proud of: My little boy.
The thing that makes you the angriest: People who are disingenuous.
Saddest thing about Vancouver: You just can't get a good doughnut in
this town.
Best fine dining restaurant in the city: Not to be anti-Vancouver but I have never had a meal locally like I had at Café Juanita in Kirkland, WA. The flavours, the service, the whole thing have yet to be matched by anything since. Try the rabbit, it will change your life.
Talent you wish you possessed: The abilities of a great orator.
The trend you wish you never followed, but did: skateboarding in high school
Musical instrument you long to play: I'd have to say drums.
Sport you gave up: Cycling. I miss it. Racing on tubular tires is a religious experience.
Foreign politician you most admire: Bernard Kouchner.
The number of fist fights you've been in: Pretty close to zero. I got kicked in the nuts by Glen Barr back in grade in Grade 6. Does that count? I was never into fighting.
Aspect of your personality you wish you could change: My wife says I'm practically perfect but I do wish that I could be a little more relaxed when something hasn't been done well. Less particular, more forgiving?
The dish you're most proud of: Chicken curry courtesy of a recipe that Vij posted in the paper a couple of years ago. I do a mean side of Naan bread too. If you or your family needs a meal, that's what I'm bringing.
The thing that makes you the most nervous: Ironically, too much coffee. Makes me wicked anxious.
Town you were born in: T-dot, yo.
Old television shows you can tolerate re-runs of: G Force anyone?
Quality you admire most in yourself: I can keep a secret.
Album that first made you love music: I don't love music. Not even a little bit. I did have a crush on the women from Abba though. Remember on the Greatest Hits Vol. 2 album cover...?
Default junk food of choice: Vanilla Swiss Almond Haagen-Daz. I have very poor boundaries with this ice cream.
The career path you considered but never followed: I have a BSc Kinesiology from Waterloo. I was going to do something with that at one point.
The one country that you have no interest in ever visiting: Africa, the whole damn continent. My wife wants to go though. I told her to have a great time and that I would miss her dearly...
Your top 3 films of all time: the, Usual Suspects, Aliens and Man on Fire.
The thing you're addicted to: Photography blogs.
Biggest hope: That some day in BC we will have a decent selection of wines. More varied, less Australia and reflective of all the interesting varietals and producers that I can currently only read about.
Luckiest moment of your life: Getting hit by a car on my bike and being able to walk out of the hospital four days later.
Favourite book as a child: Watership Down.
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scoutmagazine.ca |
January 29, 2009
B.C. spawns a hotbed of ethical coffee entrepreneurs
In an industrial wasteland just on the Vancouver side of Boundary Road, in the shadow of Highway 1 north of First Avenue, a lime green storefront stands out conspicuously against the monotonous grey warehouses and low-rise office clusters. Steam fogs the windows inside the Ethical Bean Café on this January morning as the espresso machines and milk frothers work double-time to serve up lattes and macchiatos to a lineup of customers that doesn't seem to diminish, no matter how fast the twenty-something servers dish up the steaming drinks.
The lineup and the buzz of activity will remain constant throughout most of the day, Ethical Bean owner and president Lloyd Bernhardt tells me, shaking his head in disbelief. When he and partner Kim Schacte decided to expand operations into a new LEED-certified, carbon-neutral roastery, the café wasn't envisioned as a social hub serving the warren of surrounding industrial buildings. The idea was more a sampling bar and training centre for the independent café owners who are Ethical Bean's clients.
The café's unexpected success is testament to Vancouver's seemingly insatiable demand for premium coffee. And, more specifically, Ethical Bean is catering to a niche within that market for ethically sourced, or fair-trade coffee. It's a niche that has mushroomed throughout B.C. over the past decade: turn over a rock in B.C.'s backcountry, and you're likely to find a free-spirited entrepreneur who has devoted his or her life to not only pursuing the perfect cup of coffee, but to redressing the balance between rich countries, where we happily pay upwards of $15 a pound for premium coffee, and the developing countries that grow it, where farmers often realize only pennies on the pound.
more...
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granvilleonline.ca |
January 8, 2009
ETHICAL BEAN RAISES RECORDS FUNDS IN DECEMBER
Thanks to generous support from consumers, children in Guatemala will be given new opportunities
As it does each December, Ethical Bean donated $1 from every unit of coffee sold to its Kids to School program. In December of 2008, a record $21,949 was raised from the sale of Ethical Bean coffee across the country. The funds translate into 100 scholarships and over $10,000 towards the building of a village for orphaned children in Guatemala.
Ethical Bean founders Lloyd Bernhardt and Kim Schachte's deep connection to the children of Guatemala began in 1999 when they spent four months in the country adopting their daughter. During that time they toured numerous coffee farms and witnessed first hand the struggles many Guatemalan families face. The couple was so moved by their experience they returned to Canada and started Ethical Bean Coffee. From the beginning, Ethical Bean has always maintained a commitment to the people and children of Guatemala.
Ethical Bean will split the Kids to School funds between two non-profit organizations: Child Aid's FUNDIT and Project Somos. FUNDIT provides children in Guatemala with the finances for school registration fees, uniforms, school supplies, shoes and textbooks. Thanks to Ethical Bean's generous donation of $11,840, a record 100 Guatemalan children will be given the opportunity to attend school for the first time in 2009. Project Somos will also receive a cheque from Ethical Bean. The Vancouver based non-profit organization intends to build a village in Guatemala for abandoned and orphaned children. Once completed the village will house 49 children in seven houses complete with organic gardens and orchards. There will also be buildings for art and music workshops, a library, and of course a large playground and soccer field. Thanks to the success of the Kids to School program, Ethical Bean will be contributing $10,109 to help fund this ambitious project.
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December 10, 2008
BEANS TO SCHOOLS
Ethical Bean Coffee will donate $1 from every bag of coffee sold to help children in Guatemala as part of its Kids To School Program. Donations will be split between two charitable organizations. So far, over 245 Guatemalan children have been able to attend elementary school since the program began in 2004. Ethical Bean coffee is sold in dozens of outlets across Metro Vancouver, including some Safeways, IGAs, Save on Foods, Choices, Capers and Whole Foods.
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November 10, 2008
ETHICAL BEAN RESUMES ITS KIDS TO SCHOOL PROGRAM
New partnership with Project SOMOS will help build a village for orphaned children in Guatemala.
Vancouver, BC — Beginning December 1st, Ethical Bean Coffee will donate $1 from every unit of coffee sold to help the children of Guatemala. This year's donations will be split between two charitable organizations, Child Aid's FUNDIT and Project SOMOS. Kids to School is arguably the most important of Ethical Bean's sponsorship programs. Through Ethical Bean's contributions, over 245 Guatemalan children have been given the opportunity to attend elementary school since the program's beginnings in 2004.
This year Ethical Bean will be sharing donations between two non-profits, Child Aid's FUNDIT and Project SOMOS. FUNDIT provides children in Guatemala with the finances for school registration fees, uniforms, school supplies, shoes and textbooks, and when necessary, transportation costs and health care for a year. Project SOMOS is a Vancouver based non-profit organization that is committed to building a village in Guatemala for abandoned and orphaned children. Once completed the village will have seven homes for 49 children, with organic gardens and orchards. There will also be buildings for art and music workshops, a library, and of course a large playground and soccer field.
Ethical Bean founders Lloyd Bernhardt and Kim Schachte have a deep connection to the children of Guatemala. The two spent four months in the country in 1999 while adopting their daughter and in the process toured coffee farms, and learned about the plight that many Guatemalans face just trying to earn a living for their families. The couple was so moved by their experience they returned to Canada and started Ethical Bean Coffee. From the beginning Bernhardt and Schachte have maintained a commitment to the people and children of Guatemala.
Ethical Bean Coffee is available at select retailers across Canada. Please visit www.ethicalbean.com for retail locations and more information. For more information on Child Aid's FUNDIT or Project SOMOS, please visit child-aid.org and projectsomos.org.
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October 2008
101 Things to Taste Before You Die
Fruity, earthy, smoky, and nuanced — not only are these locally roasted coffees complex and delicious, but they are 100 percent certified fair trade. Widely available.
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vanmag.com |
October 14, 2008
Coffee (or Tea) on the Go...
 I'm more a tea than a coffee drinker, but no matter which beverage I decide to imbibe, portability is always an issue. It's sad to admit, but I'm one of those horrible multi-tasking drivers you read about, who talk on the phone (albeit through a hands-free unit), eat, drink, apply mascara (only at red lights) and make lists, all while singing songs to my daughter in the backseat and speeding (only a couple of miles over the limit) down Main. In an effort to be a good role model for my child (yagh, did I just write that aloud?), I am trying to eliminate a few things (like the mascara...and the speeding...and the eating), but in the meanwhile... it helps when nice companies like Ethical Bean send me coffee cups that don't need any twisting/snapping/pulling/popping to open and close. This cup simply has an ergonically-designed button at exactly the place where your fingers would be when you grip to sip. Your fingers press in as you drink, and tea/coffee comes forth. As soon as you let go, it's sealed like permafrost in winter, so if your child decides to make a grab for it in order to play cowgirl roundup, at least you know neither you nor your demon seed will be burned beyond recognition.
There are many similar cups by assorted manufactures on the market. This one retails for $29 and can be found at Ethical Bean stores and at Donald's Market on Commercial Drive.
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metronews.ca |
October 3, 2008
Ethical Beans Top Million Pound Mark
In 2003, Lloyd Bernhardt and Kim Schatche created the Ethical Bean Coffee Company, selling Fair Trade Certified and organic coffee, roasted in a 100% carbon neutral facility built to LEED CI standards. Recently, they celebrated this milestone sold with a large celebration, at which they presented their very first customer, Chris Danyliw with the millionth pound.
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metronews.ca |
October 1, 2008
On the burner
MUG SHOTS
Here's a portable coffee mug with great ergonomics, doesn't leak or spill, and is manufactured under fair labour practices. Ethical Bean's Good Mug can be found at Ethical Bean roastery cafe at 1315 Kootenay St., at Ethical Bean Express at the Commercial SkyTrain station and at Donald's Market on Commercial Drive. The stainless steel mug costs $29.
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canada.com/vancouversun |
August 2008
Catch the Buzz
A new generation of passionate baristas and bean aficionados is bringing coffee's Third Wave to the West.
Aaron De Lazzer, a self-described "coffee missionary" with Vancouver's Ethical Bean Coffee Company, tells me that some farmers aren't aware that their coffees can garner higher prices. De Lazzer recently became Canada's first Q Grader licensed by the Coffee Quality Institute (and one of about 340 worldwide) after a rigorous three-day exam.
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westernlivingmagazine.com |
July 10, 2008
Festival a go-go
Some go to the Vancouver Folk Music Festival (July 18 to 20) for the cool beats, others for the food. This year, the Rocky Mountain Flatbread Company, Taste of Thailand, Noah's Fish Tacos, Jamaican Mi Juicy, and more will be fuelling festivalgoers. The Ethical Bean Coffee Company has stashed weekend passes for the festival, Willy Wonka-style, in specially labelled bags of Ethical Bean Vancouver Folk Music Festival Blend, available at Choices Market, Capers Community Market, Donald's Market, and London Drugs.
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straight.com |
May 8-14, 2008
Trip to Guatemala leads to ethical coffee
The next time you make your way upstairs to a skytrain platform you may notice a small coffee window off to the side with the name "Ethical Bean" above it. Perhaps you'll stop and grab yourself a cup of joe, lured by he delicious scent of freshly brewed coffee.
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epoch-archive.com |
April 24, 2008
Vancouver Sun Business Section
Done that: SkyTrain riders began receiving extra jolts Tuesday. But not from TransLink's Taser-toting trolley coppers.
What opened their eyes on the Commercial Drive passenger platform was coffee. And the stand-alone kiosk serving it was launched that Earth Day morning by Lloyd Bernhardt and wife Kim Schachte, who get their beans where they got their first child: Guatemala. In fact, it was the four-month residency required to adopt Amelia — they call her Mia — in 2000 that led to the 2003 founding of the Ethical Bean Coffee Company.
How come?
"What do you get when you've got all the that time?" asked Bernhardt, 43, who was born into a Prince George lumber-business family, graduated from BCIT's Administrative Management program and co-founded the Motion Works software firm. "You go see a coffee farm."
He saw "people earning 60 cents a pound for picking beans on a hillside and packing them out on their backs. And I'm drinking a lot of coffee that costs $15 a pound."
As a high-tech veteran associated with outfits like Apple, Lemming Software, CRM Industries and Synchropoint, he knew what it meant "to take a heap of investors' money and piss it away." Instead, he and graphic designer Schachte resolved to found a business "that linked to Mia's birth country and had a social-enterprise component."
Which isn't to say a well-meaning but profitable component.
"The right reasons can be the wrong reasons," Bernhardt said. The two were determined to offer organic goods that benefited their source economy by meeting fair-trade principals. But they also wanted to sell ecologically respectful product in a market characterized by slick, branded goods.
"You don't wear a hemp shirt all the time," Bernhardt said, referring to some organic marketers' overtly homespun image. "That's Business 101, right? Don't do something people hate; do something people like."
The two figured people would like stylishly packaged, high-quality coffee. So they put up $50,000, rented a 1,600 square-foot Burnaby office-warehouse for $1,600 a month, budget a seven kg capacity roaster, and began cold-calling clients.
"That's when we found out coffee is the most competitive product in the store," Bernhardt said. But the East End Food Cooperative signed on. Capers, Choices and SPUD markets followed, and Ethical Bean ended its first June-to-June fiscal year with $40,000 in sales. Year two brought in $100,000 and two new employees, year three $250,000 and eight staffers.
Then things began percolating.
Finding a new 7,000-square-foot locale on Vancouver's Kootenay Street, Ethical Bean signed for $12,000 monthly rent and spent $600,000 on equipment, half of it for a 45-kg roaster.
"Now we're looking to replace it with a 140-kg roaster," Bernhardt said. That's because 26-employee Ethical Bean should take in $4 million this year and $8 million in 2009 from 500 outlets across Canada.
Meanwhile, Bernhardt and Schachte have a 45 per cent interest in Ethical Bean Xpress, which operates a kitchen-café in the Kootenay Street plant. Barnhart's former BCIT classmate, Luciano Anjos, owns 45 per cent and two senior employees have five-percent holdings. A Granville SkyTrain-station coffee shop will open in June and it and eight other high-traffic locales should each have million dollar receipts by 2010.
Last year, Ethical Bean funded the schooling of 245 Guatemalan children. But Bernhardt had his eyes fixed more firmly on Mexico. Not on coffee plantations but on the Baja Peninsula highway seen from his BMW R1200 GS motorcycle when he toured there with city BMW-Ducati dealer John Volk.
"If I'd had one when I was 17, I'd be dead now," Bernhardt said of the 100-horsepower machine BMW says is just the right thing for "bombing down fire roads, ripping around twisties and snacking on unsuspecting sport bikes."
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April 22, 2008
B.C. seeing green for Earth Day
Other companies are making it easier to reduce your environmental footprint, starting right at breakfast. Vancouver-based Ethical Bean opened its first carbon neutral café this morning at the Commercial Drive Skytrain station.
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ctv.ca |
April 21, 2008
JAVA TO THE PEOPLE!
Ethical Bean Express Opens to SkyTrain Riders on Earth Day.
Ethical Bean Xpress, a freestanding carbon neutral café, will open on Earth Day, April 22nd, at the Commercial Drive SkyTrain station. The platform level coffee bar is an offshoot from Vancouver based coffee roaster Ethical Bean, which provides fair trade certified organic coffee to cafés and grocery stores in the lower mainland and across Canada. A second Ethical Bean Xpress is slated to open on the Granville Street SkyTrain platform in June.
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cityfood.com |
February 5, 2008
2007 Kids to School Program: 130 Child Aid Scholarships provided!
This past December was an exciting time for Ethical Bean Coffee Company with the great success of this year's Kids to School program. One dollar from every unit of coffee sold was contributed to sending kids to school in Guatemala. Thanks to your purchases, 130 children were sponsored through Child Aid, which was more than the past three years combined! The Child Aid FUNDIT program includes education, uniforms, books and health care: the resources needed for the healthy development of children and their families in El Tejar, Guatemala.
In March 2007 Lloyd, Kim and their family went to Guatemala where they spent some time at the school where the scholarships have been provided. They had the great opportunity to watch a beautiful presentation the children had put together which included a cultural dance.
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child-aid.org |
November 8, 2007
Kids to School
Every year in December, Ethical Bean contributes a dollar for every unit of coffee sold to provide scholarships for Guatemalan school children via the Child Aid FUNDIT program that provides the healthy development of children and their families in El Tejar, Guatemala.
Over the past 3 years, consumers of Ethical Bean Coffee have helped provide tuition for 115 children.
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child-aid.org |
September 6, 2007
Ethical Bean is a supporting sponsor of the Vancouver International Fringe Festival September 6-16, 2007.
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vancouverfringe.com |
July 11, 2007
Ethical Bean raises the bar for sustainable coffee
Local coffee roaster goes carbon neutral
Green coffee never tasted so good. Ethical Bean announced today it has
gone carbon neutral, making its 100-per-cent certified fair trade organic coffee more sustainable than ever.
The Vancouver-based roaster has invested in carbon offsets, balancing all carbon emissions for warehouse-to-store activities including roasting, facility operations and shipping.
"Reducing our carbon footprint is an important step along our continuing path to greater sustainability," says Lloyd Bernhardt, owner of Ethical Bean. "We only roast 100-per-cent fair trade organic beans and now we've taken our operations to the next level. We have purchased carbon offsets to ensure that all of our beans are delivered to customers through carbon-neutral operations."
Carbon offsetting is a system of overall emission reduction where the production of carbon dioxide in one area is cancelled out by a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions elsewhere. Ethical Bean's carbon offsets will support the production of biomass, wind and solar energy production in Western Canada. These new energy sources will be added to the local power grid, reducing B.C. and Alberta's reliance on non-renewable energy sources and helping to fight global warming over the long term.
"Our customers have always looked to Ethical Bean to provide great tasting coffee through sustainable operations," explains Bernhardt. "We've also applied for LEED gold standard certification for our roasting facility and we won't stop there. We will continue to push the standards for excellence in sustainability."
The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold standard certification is a nationally accepted benchmark for green building design issued by the Canada Green Building Council.
Ethical Bean roasts only the finest 100-per-cent certified fair trade organic coffee beans from around the world. Their coffees taste great and ensure small-scale farmers in origin countries receive a fair price for their efforts, giving them every opportunity to sustain their businesses and provide a decent standard of living for their families.
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June 23, 2007
Pound for Sound
Buy a pound of Ethical Bean coffee and you might find a pair of weekend tickets to the Vancouver Folk Music Festival nestled inside.
Three pairs of tickets have been placed in bags of Festival Blend coffee and placed in retail stores. The tickets are valued at over $300 per pair.
Participating stores include Choices Markets, Capers Community Markets, East End Co-op, Donald's Markets, Drive Organics, East West Market, Mainly Organics, Stongs and 10,000 Villages (Commercial and West Broadway stores). The 30th VFMF takes place July 13 - 15.
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canada.com/vancouversun |
June 18, 2007
Ethical Bean Receives Spirit Award from Adoptive Families Association of BC
May 30, 2007 (Burnaby)−AFABC is pleased to announce the nominees and recipients for its 2007 Adoption Awards. All nominees are being recognized for the significant contribution they have made to adoption, pre- and post-adoptive families and children, and the AFABC.
"The Committee selected from an excellent slate of nominees," says P'nina Shames, Chair of the Awards Committee. Nominees were selected for one of five awards, including this year's new award, the Adoption in Action Award, honouring AFABC's pick for BC's best adoption employer of 2007.
The Spirit Award−Corporate
Recognizes a corporate donor who has made a significant and meaningful financial contribution, in cash and/or gift-in-kind donation, to AFABC.
Ethical Bean Coffee Company (2007 Co-recipient)
Pattison Outdoor Advertising
Safeway Burnaby Heights
Scotiabank (2007 Co-recipient)
The Steve Nash Foundation
Vancouver Courier
Congratulations to all nominees and recipients!
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bcadoption.com |
March 1, 2007
Ethical Bean participates in Enginneers Without Borders
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ewb.ca |
March 1, 2007
Fair trade is improving coffee farmers' lives
In 2003, North Shore resident Lloyd Bernhardt cofounded the Vancouver-based Ethical Bean Coffee Company with his wife, Kim Schachte. He told the Straight he spent some time talking to VanderHoff and felt it was important for local coffee connoisseurs to start making the connection to the farmers.
"What fair trade essentially does is get rid of a lot of people who don't supply value," Bernhardt said. "It's tough work [for the farmers], who are typically in a co-op, each member with his own family farm of one to two hectares, while a group will get together and share a mill where they do the harvesting [from November to March]. It's lots of work and it encourages cooperation because individual farmers cannot afford their own mills."
Bernhardt said he was in the software business but spent four months in Guatemala when he and his wife adopted their seven-year-old daughter from that country. He began to make "instant connections" in his head while observing the Guatemalan coffee farmers.
"There are approximately 25 $4 double espressos in a pound of coffee," he said. "That's $100 of product. As a wholesaler paying $40 a pound, that looks pretty good. It also looks good to a roaster."
Until a few years ago, the farmer's share of that pound of coffee was US60 cents, Bernhardt said. Since that time, a minimum of US$1.46 has been installed to help the farmers avoid the vagaries of price fluctuations and to get them a fair price. It also proves that, as Zelmer and VanderHoff believe, there is flexibility along the chain to help farmers at no extra cost to the consumer.
"Of the local coffee sold in Vancouver and Canada as a whole, we're probably talking about one to two percent being fair trade," Bernhardt said. "Look at Starbucks and the institutional side; most of that is not fair trade. Starbucks has one product line, and another that is organic. Otherwise, they sell all that [non-fair-trade] coffee, so that's not a whole lot. But we are growing and we have to make sure that we do it in a way that is sustainable."
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straight.com |
February 1, 2007
Not Just a Hill of Beans
In British Columbia, many of the available fair trade coffees fall into the non-certified category, leaving The Vancouver Fair Trade Coffee Network (VFTCN) supporting both sides.
When faced with this dilemma, Ethical Bean—a Vancouver-based coffee company which boasts 100 per cent fair [trade] coffee—decided to sell only the TransFair certified product.
Part of what fair trade does is it gets rid of a lot of the middle men," said Ethical Bean owner Lloyd Bernhardt. "If you get rid of a lot of those guys, the price for the consumer stays about the same."
"The cool thing about this is the [roaster] pays for the certification and not the farmer," he said.
"It's not meant to be a charity or aything like that," he added. "It's meant to level the playing field."
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vancouver.24hrs.ca |
February 2007
Caffeine Consciousness
When you sip your morning cup, are you plagued by the thought that Third World farmers may have been exposed to DDT and are paid next to nothing? Even if you're a simple hedonist focused on your quality caffeine fix, Ethical Bean is for you. Its organic, fair-trade, pesticide-free coffee is grown using traditional methods that, unlike big agro-business, do not cause soil erosion or harm human beings and wildlife. The company's smaller footprint includes its new Vancouver "green" headquarters and compostable packaging for the coffee. In addition, the Festival and Family blends benefit the Vancouver Folk Music Festival and the Adoptive Families Association of B.C. Surprised that doing the right thing can taste so dark, rich, and full-bodied? Now you'll never know if that post-latte buzz comes from the caffeine or your contented conscience.
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shared-vision.com |
January 7, 2007
2006 Child Aid Scholarships
This year we raised enough money thru our Gift of Education program to provide scholarships for 45 children in Guatemala. The scholarship includes tuition, books, uniforms, food and other school supplies.
Over the last three years Ethical Bean has provided 115 children with the opportunity of education. Thank you all for making this a success. Lloyd, Kim and their children are planning a trip to Guatemala this March to visit the school we support and the coffee co-op we buy from.
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child-aid.org |
November 7, 2006
Ethical Bean Coffee wins B.C. Organic Harvest Award
Folk Festival Blend is Best Non-Alcoholic Organic Beverage
For the second year in a row, Ethical Bean Coffee Company received top honours for Best Non-Alcoholic Organic Beverage by the Certified Organic Associations of British Columbia. The award was granted at the second annual B.C. Organic Harvest Awards specifically for the company's unique Folk Festival Blend, which provides partial proceeds directly to the Vancouver Folk Music Festival.
"We're honoured to be recognized as a leader in B.C.'s organics industry," says Ethical Bean owner Lloyd Bernhardt. "This award is particularly significant because the Folk Festival Blend represents a strong community partnership. Consumers can enjoy a great-tasting cup of coffee that's fair trade, organic and directly contributes to a leading local cultural event."
B.C. Organic Harvest Awards were granted in 15 categories to companies who displayed innovation and leadership in B.C.'s growing organics industry. All products entered were required to be certified organic in British Columbia by a recognized certification body. Hosting organization Certified Organics Associations of B.C. is the only government-approved body responsible for overseeing the B.C. Certified Organic Program.
Ethical Bean roasts only the finest 100-per-cent certified fair trade organic coffee beans from around the world. Ethical Bean coffees taste great and ensure small-scale farmers in origin countries receive a fair price for their efforts, giving them every opportunity to sustain their businesses and provide a decent standard of living for their families.
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October 12, 2006
Ethical Bean Nominated for the
2006 Ethics in Action Awards
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September 21, 2006
Locals have much to learn about espresso
While in Guatemala in 1999, the Ethical Bean's Bernhardt, his wife, Kim Schachte, and their adopted Guatemalan daughter visited coffee plantations and found that the farmers were paid just 66 cents a pound. The same beans often retail for $15 a pound or more at boutique stores around Vancouver. Middlemen and high markups, the family found, led to the price inflation, and they vowed to do something about it.
"It's embarrassing," Bernhardt said, "when you find you're doing something harmful in the world. You want to change that."
So he did. Ethical Bean, along with a handful of other local coffee roasters, including Jones's 49th Parallel, offer coffee that is independently certified by TransFair Canada. (Some outfits sell beans that claim to be fairly traded but have not been independently certified.)
The best coffee in Vancouver, Bernhardt said, should include the idea of best practices. This city is a leader in ethical purchasing, in trying to make the world a better place, he said. And fairly traded, organic coffee can be a part of that in Canada's coffee capital.
Read the full article.
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straight.com |
July 10, 2006
Ethical Bean Community Partnerships
Ethical Bean is excited to launch a new Community Blend program to benefit local
non-profit organizations.
Our chosen partners provide invaluable community services with small budgets in an increasingly expensive world.
Our existing 'give-back' program (via Child Aid) benefits children from a region in Guatemala where we source our coffee. Every December, $1 from every 1lb of coffee sold goes to sponsor kids through primary school (35 students in 2005).
Locally we wanted to acknowledge a few of the great organizations that we support by creating a blend in their honor. Secret blend ingredients are selected by the organizations by enduring lengthy, delicious coffee tasting sessions.
Each time you purchase our Festival Blend or Family Blend, a portion of the proceeds go directly to the host organization (details below).
Festival Blend: benefits the Vancouver Folk Music Festival
Family Blend: benefits the Adoptive
Families Association of British Columbia (AFABC)
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July 6, 2006
Ethical Bean partners with Vancouver Folk Music Festival
"Times change, and the price of everything goes up," Chirinos told the Straight, noting that the festival's future depends on becoming more financially viable, partially through attracting youth and seeking sponsorships. One immediate change is the festival's partnership with the Ethical Bean Coffee Company; all profits from the organic, fair trade 'festival blend', which will be sold on-site, go directly to the festival. That, she said, is the kind of philosophically friendly sponsorship deal the festival is looking for."
Read the full article.
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straight.com |
January 25, 2006
Results are in: Ethical Bean's annual scholarship program to send 35 Guatemalan children to school in 2006
Ethical Bean made its largest-ever contribution to the Child-Aid scholarship program by donating $1 from every one pound bag of coffee purchased last month.
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January 24, 2006
Local coffee company grows with
new hires
Burnaby-based Ethical Bean Coffee Company has hired two senior
managers in new positions to meet the needs of its expanding
business. Ethical Bean welcomes Elaine Arrowsmith, Director
of Business Development, and Jason Rennie, Production Manager.
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December 5, 2005
Your morning cup could help send a Guatemalan child to school
For the third year running, Ethical Bean is donating $1 for
every one-pound bag purchased in December to Child-Aid, a non-profit
organization that provides literacy programs and scholarships
for children in Latin America.
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November 23, 2005
Ethical Bean Coffee Company wins at B.C. Organic Harvest Awards
Ethical Bean coffee received top honours this November as the
Best
Non-Alcoholic Organic Beverage at the 2005 B.C. Organic Harvest
Awards.
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November 8, 2005
Local coffee company spearheads Guatemalan relief effort
Local coffee company Ethical Bean is providing people throughout the Lower Mainland with an opportunity to help victims of Hurricane Stan in Guatemala.
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June 29, 2005
Ethical Bean, changing the way people think about their cup of tea
Ethical Bean Coffee Company, B.C.'s only roaster of 100 per cent certified fair trade organic coffee, now offers a new ethical option for tea drinkers. Five varieties of Ethical Bean tea - Earl Grey, Assam, Darjeeling, Chai and Green - are all certified fair trade organic and have hit the shelves in Vancouver.
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April 12, 2005
Locally roasted fair-trade coffee beans Kosher, too
Ethical Bean Coffee Company, B.C.'s only roaster of 100-per-cent certified fair trade organic coffee, is also certified Kosher and Pareve by the Orthodox Rabbinical Council of British Columbia.
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Proceeds from Ethical Bean's holiday season promotion sends
28 children to school
We are ecstatic that we were able to surpass
our goals and provide an education for these children. Thank
you very much for your support . |
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Read what The Vancouver Courier
has to say about Ethical Bean
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vancourier.com |
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Twelve Stores to Match Ethical
Bean's donation to Child-Aid to turn
$1 per pound into $2 per pound
Participating stores include Choices Community Markets, East End Food Co-Op, JD Farms, Gourmet Warehouse, Queensdale Market, Ruddy Potato, SPUD and Stong's.
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Ethical Bean
to repeat last holiday season's Guatemalan
scholarship donation
Ethical Bean will donate $1 per pound sold
in the month of December to Child-Aid. Last year we were able
to provide scholarships for seven children and this year we
hope to raise enough to send twenty! For more information or
to donate online, please visit child-aid.org
to learn more about this program.
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child-aid.org |
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December 16, 2004
Coffee for a Cause
Vancouver's Ethical Bean has your time-strapped, guilt-ridden self in mind with this holiday deal.
Buy a pound of their fair trade, organic coffee in December (from $14) and Ethical Bean will donate a dollar to Child-Aid, a non-profit organization that helps send children to school in Latin America.
So now unfortunate children are going to school, you feel like a million bucks, and you've got the perfect hostess gift for Christmas breakfast or Boxing Day brunch.
Giving doesn't get much better than that.
Last year's fundraising efforts purchased books, tuition and uniforms for seven Guatemalan children. This year, Ethical Bean aims to school 25 children. A year's education costs just US$100.
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vitaminv.ca |
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December 22, 2004
Buy a coffee, send a child to school
Throughout December, one dollar for every pound sold is donated to Ethical Bean's Tuition Fundraising Campaign for school-aged children in Guatemala.
It costs about $115 to send a child to school. That includes tuition, books and clothing. Last year's initial campaign (a partnership with nonprofit Child-Aid) raised enough money to send seven children who otherwise would likely have received no education. This year's effort aims to triple that number. The chances look good, with several key players matching every dollar donated.
You can help too, of course-but there's more than just altruism at play here. The coffees are worth tasting. Ethical Bean produces excellent blends, including a nicely balanced, quite rounded, medium dark roast; and a wickedly good, assertive espresso blend.
"We're thrilled to have so many local retailers supporting us in the Tuition Campaign," says Bernhardt. "There's a very good chance we can send more than 25 children in Guatemala to school this year."
You can find Ethical Bean at the following conscientious stores or provisioners, all of whom are matching the Tuition Drive's efforts: Choices, SPUD, Queensdale Market, East End Food Coop, JD Farms, Gourmet Warehouse, Ruddy Potato and Stongs.
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vancourier.com |
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| Hear what Don Genova has to say about Fair Trade May 19, 2004 |
pacificpalate.com |
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February
7, 2003
Read about Ethical Bean in Burnaby NOW
Search for child leads to coffee biz.
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burnabynow.com |
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Hear what Don Genova has to say about Ethical Bean
"good taste and good conscience"
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pacificpalate.com |
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| Ethical Bean provides scholarships for seven Guatemalan children
Ethical Bean raised enough money in December to send seven children to school for an entire year. In Guatemala, where children attend only three years of school on average, having an education is the key to moving out of poverty. To this end, the scholarship program enables students to attend grade school rather than work. Each scholarship finances school registration fees, uniforms, school supplies, shoes and textbooks, and when necessary, transportation costs and health care for a year.
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child-aid.org |
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December 25, 2003
Read about Ethical Bean in the North Shore Outlook
More beans,
please 
(requires acrobat reader)
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northshoreoutlook.com |
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| This holiday
season help Ethical Bean send Guatemalan
children to school
Ethical Bean is donating $1 per pound
to Child-Aid through the month of December so that needy children
in Guatemala can attend school next year. |
child-aid.org |
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Ethical Bean and more, fresh to your
door
You can now order from
the entire selection of Ethical Bean coffees through Small Potatoes
Urban Delivery at www.spud.ca. Ethical Bean coffee and more
delivered to your door throughout the B.C. Lower Mainland, Whistler,
and the Sunshine Coast.
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spud.ca |
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