Things I love...Coffee Edition

This is my work mug! 

I am apparently known as "mug girl" to some of the new families at our church. If you go to my church, then this probably makes total sense to you. But for those of you who don't, the reason for this new moniker is the fact that I am rarely seen in church without a coffee mug. Rarely as in almost never.


Because I just genuinely love coffee. I'm like Lorelei Gilmore when it comes to my enjoyment of coffee.


It all started when I was a freshman in college, and started working at the school coffee shop. We used to have a "Flavor of the Week" every week, and naturally, people would ask the baristas if they enjoyed the flavor or not. And in order to answer that question, you had to drink the coffee. And that is when my love of coffee began.


But you know what I don't like about coffee? That is has the same origins in a lot of cases as chocolate. If you didn't read my post about chocolate, take a minute and do so here. (And expect a Welcome to the Dark Side....of Coffee post to be up at some point this weekend.)


So because of my stance on trying to be as ethical as possible in my spending power, I began the difficult search for fairly traded, or at the very least directly traded coffee. (These terms will make more sense after you read the coffee post, which isn't up yet. I probably should put that one up first. Hmm.)


And this is very difficult because:
I make coffee via French Press. Because it's so much better than coffee brewed through a brewer. So...
I grind my own coffee beans, because you need coarsely ground beans for a French Press. And almost all ground coffee in the stores around here are finely ground to use in traditional coffee pots. So...
I buy whole bean coffee. Which is a lot harder to find in general, let alone in a fair or direct trade variety. And every time I found a whole bean, fair trade variety that I liked, it would vanish from the stores. Ugh.


So I got really super excited when I saw that Toms started their own roasting company. I'm already a huge fan of Toms shoes, and have gotten my entire family into their awesome One for One campaign.


The One for One of Toms Roasting Company which you can check out here, gives a week of clean water for every bag of beans sold. Yay for doing good with my love of coffee! And better yet, they are committed to fair and direct trade methods. Yay for ethical coffee!


Clean water. That's something we take for granted. When's the last time you had to worry about getting diseases from unclean drinking water? When's the last time you had to travel anywhere outside of your house to get clean water?


1/3 of the world's population lacks sufficient access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation.
Every year, 3 million people die prematurely due to water-related illness in developing countries.
Unsafe water is a huge problem. Read more statistics about the epidemic of unclean water here.


It's estimated that close to 1/10th of the global disease burden could be alleviated with cleaner water in poverty-stricken areas. You can read all about the water problem in Haiti here, but this article could be about the water problem in any developing country. Clean water is essential to life. What an awesome thing to be a part of, with a simple, easy change in my daily habits.


So not only is this coffee right up my alley (no pun intended) because of it's ethical, world-changing nature, but it is also really good coffee! I am in the process of trying every single roast that they offer. I'm about half-way through my third bag. So far, the Honduras blend is my favorite, but the Guatemalan and Peruvian blends are also really, really good.


You can order this coffee in either ground or beans, so there's a variety for everyone!


If you are a coffee drinker like me, I encourage you to think about the ethical ramifications of your actions. Toms coffee is very reasonably priced, and is a quality way above what you would find in the average grocery store. (At least in my area.)


Let's get out of our little "Me" bubbles and do some good in the world through our everyday actions! What are you waiting for? Go order a bag of coffee and give a poverty stricken area a week of clean water! Order yours here, and be a part of a world-changing project!


Thankful for world-changing coffee,
-AA

Social Media can Be....

(disclaimer: This post is solely about me and a life lesson I'm learning. This is in no way directed blatantly or inadvertently to anyone other than this girl right here.)


If any of you follow me on social media like Facebook or Twitter, then you've probably noticed that I've started posting a ton of positive, encouraging, motivating type quotes and pictures. And other than the fact that I've always been a quote-appreciating person, here's the reason why.


Think of all the crap that is on social media daily. I mean seriously. People use social media as a platform for complaining. A platform to passive-aggressively jab at other people. A platform to stir up trouble, or gossip, or spread rumors. A platform for arrogance, rudeness, selfishness. A lot of the stuff floating around social media should, in reality, be kept private.


I was challenged by a situation a few weeks ago to really stop and think about the way I was using social media. Was I improving people's feeds by what I was posting? Or was I adding to the negativity and the crap that abounds?


And so began my self-appointed challenge to change the way I use social media. Because, to be honest, most people don't care that I dyed my hair last night, or that I have the coolest friends ever. But I have no idea how a quote or some positive message is going to help someone else today. Or tomorrow. Or next week.


What I do know, is that I have no chance of impacting the world for the better if I participate in the spreading of crap via social media. And it's all too easy to do. It's easy to say things on social media we wouldn't in real life. It's easy to start or perpetuate fights when we hide behind our computer screen. It's easy to get caught up in the narcissistic attitude that the world wants to be updated on my daily activities and wants to see countless selfies everyday.


And so I decided enough was enough. It's time to stop being so self-centered, and start thinking of other ways that social media can be used. And for me, it's breaking up he monotony of the crap with positive thoughts to ponder for the day. Because there is quite enough negativity in the world without me adding to it. But there can never be too much positivity in this world. What a simple way to help make the world a better place.


As I said in the disclaimer, this post is solely about me and my journey. So if you're reading this and are offended, know that that is not my intention. And if you are offended, maybe you should ask yourself why...because chances are the problem isn't the words of my journey in this post.


Determined to spread more positivity,
AA