A Year of Partnerships and Giving

Nearing the end of the year, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the many partnerships we've had in building the community around us and supporting those in need. In this season of giving, we want to thank all that have supported our team of baristas, roasters, educators, local vendors, and coffee producing partners.

To help fund quality coffee production while improving the livelihoods of producer families, we contribute a portion of all green coffee purchased to World Coffee Research. In this same spirit, we created Mujeres Unidas, a new year-round offering sourced exclusively from women coffee farmers. These producer groups have been selected from a list of associations by Café Imports. It is a valuable program they have created to help pay members a gender-equity premium on top of the quality-based initial price for their coffees.

We also renewed a relationship with our Whittier location neighbor, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, to exhibit the work of students, alumni, and instructors—offering more opportunities to share art with new audiences. And we were thankful to form new partnerships with groups like Racial Equity Minnesota and AMAZE for meaningful staff training and support.

As citizens of our local and coffee communities, we felt it important for us to contribute to organizations supporting natural disaster relief, child education and welfare, the arts, civil rights, humane animal care, and more. Some of our charitable contributions this year included: Red Lake Nation, Twin Cities Pride, Domestic Abuse Project, ACLU, and Golden Valley Humane Society.

While 2018 may have brought a feeling of divide or doubt to many, we encourage you to join us in looking forward to 2019 with hope as we continue to support our communities and find that common thread of human kindness in all. In this season of giving, we want to thank all that have supported our team of baristas, roasters, educators, local vendors, and coffee producing partners.