We also participated in this year’s Christmas Fair at the Bei Chen Fortune Center and braved blustery days by warming ourselves and our customers with a hot cup of Hani Coffee. We are excited to see our Chinese customer base continually expanding and this weekend was another opportunity to introduce our coffee to a new culture of coffee drinkers!

As we reflect on this past year, we can’t help but be thankful for all that you have helped us accomplish. From providing clean water to mountain villages to dental hygiene training to young children – none of this would be possible without our customers and friends around the world. Thank you for believing in making a difference, and believing in Hani Coffee. We are looking forward to enjoying more of the journey with you in the New Year!

Also - check back soon for an update on how our Christmas bag proceeds will be making a difference in Somalia!

A few months ago, we were made aware of the nutritional crisis unfolding in Somalia and in the refugee camps of Kenya and Ethiopia. Although our work is focused in China, we could not turn away from the needs of so many. As we began to learn more of what is happening because of drought, wars, and climate change, it became clear that we had to make a difference.

Over the last 4 months, well over 30,000 children have died due to starvation and malnutrition related illnesses. Thousands more are sick and dying from treatable illnesses due to a lack of vaccinations, and countless people have been devastated by the lack of food and water. Many families walk for weeks in an attempt to reach the overcrowded and under supplied refugee camps along the Ethiopian and Kenyan borders of Somalia.

As our team began to hear of this unimaginable suffering, we felt a need to be a part of saving lives. Though we are a small company with limited resources, if we can bring life and hope to a few, we are all about taking that opportunity! This passion and desire has led us to support the efforts of another organization, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Over the next 3 months, every dollar we give will contribute to Doctors Without Borders relief efforts in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. Pretty amazing! We believe we can literally save the lives of children with just a few bucks!

How does it work and how can you join in?

We have created some cool new packaging that will be coming out during the holiday season. On top of our regular percentage of profits going to Hani work, we are going to give $1.00 per bag of coffee directly to the Somalia crisis relief via Doctors Without Borders. We know our profits will take a hit, but we believe the true profits of Hani Coffee Co are much more than dollars!

We are inviting you to be a part. Write us, call us, go to your favorite Hani Coffee retailer, or get online and purchase some beans and know you are making a difference literally around the world.

Look for Tim’s post with more information on our support of Doctors Without Borders relief efforts in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. I’ll be doing another post on the opportunity I had to visit one of Doctors Without Borders’ projects at a refugee camps last month during my travels to Ethiopia. And as always: Enjoy the Journey! - Craig

Prices: 10oz Holiday bag $13.00
Traditional 8oz gift box $12.00
Regular 16oz bag $15.00 (add 1.00per bag for ground coffee)

About Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, and exclusion from health care in nearly 70 countries.  In 1999 the organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  For more information please visit doctorswithoutborders.org.

This past month, we put that vision to action as we partnered with Kids Across Cultures to provide over 1,000 village kids with dental hygiene training. Like most Hani villages, the three schools our team visited were situated high in the mountains where most families are sustenance farmers.  A few months ago, we learned that in these areas a majority of children are raised by their grandparents or a single parent, as many parents leave home as migrant workers. We learned that many of these children do not learn basic hygiene that would allow them to grow strong and healthy and immediately felt that we could step in to help.

Over two full days, we taught the children how and why brushing their teeth is so important and provided each child with a new toothbrush and toothpaste. We also taught them the importance of only drinking boiled water, using appropriate restroom facilities, and washing their hands.  Its simple information like this that we hope will allow these children to avoid preventable illness and to grow up healthy. Through colorful posters, demonstrations, coloring books for the younger kids and an English lesson for the older kids, we trust that what they learned will have a lifelong impact.

Chef Kevin has been working with Hani Coffee Company of SW China to create and introduce fine chocolate to the Chinese market.

As fall approaches we are looking forward to new promotions, discovering the best beans Yunnan has to offer, and finding new ways to introduce people to the best tasting specialty coffee in China. Want to taste for yourself? Contact us today!

Now, we also took the opportunity to visit the warriors and had a great time with friends as we took in the sights and sounds of Xi’an culture and city. Hani Coffee quickly became a favorite of the warriors themselves, as well as the local friends! Check out some of the pictures and keep in mind we want to be in your city too. If Hani Coffee is not in your city, then drop us a line, and we will see what we can do.
Keep on making a difference and keep in touch!

Salvador’s Coffee House has been a standard of excellence in Kunming for nearly eight years. Their delectably extensive menu, unique atmosphere, and commitment to rural development make for a natural partnership with Hani Coffee.

We have worked with the owners and operators of Salvador’s to create a roast of Hani Coffee that is specific to their taste and agree the results are outstanding! A full body flavor with splashes of chocolate makes this roast truly one of a kind. Salvador’s signature roast is an exclusive experience that can be found nowhere else – so make sure and swing by Salvador’s soon to experience their new signature roast. It’s like we so often say and whole-heartedly believe, THIS cup of java is well worth the journey!

Now available due to popular demand, the flavor you’ve come to know and love is available GROUND! The Hani Coffee DARK roast is available for your drinking convenience in 10 oz. bags, so to all of our China customers, check out your local Hani Coffee retailer today!!

“First off, kudos to your team for picking and roasting the beans to make a mean cup of coffee =) I was at Laughing Lotus Inn in Dali, Yunnan last week and had ordered a cup of coffee, expecting mediocrity. Instead, the coffee that came was fresh, aromatic, flavourful!” – Dali, China customer

“I would love to be working with a socially-conscious company like Hani Coffee. Also, we are all very impressed with the quality of the beans.” – Colin

“I very much buy into your brand of corporate social responsibility - it should not be mainly about donating money or about executives giving time to do tasks they are wholly inexperienced with to feel good about themselves. It must, at the heart of it, be about conducting the company’s core competency in an ethical and sustainable way.”  – Toi

“I really enjoyed Hani coffee after being in China about a year in a city with no good coffee beans.  I got done with that bag and then got pregnant and couldn’t stand the thought of coffee for 9 months :-). Now my baby is 7 months and I NEED Hani coffee again!  I want to buy from you guys because I’m all about sustainability and support local business.” – Rachel

Thanks for all of the kind words, and if you’re reading and wonder what all the fuss is about – see for yourself! Order your bag of Hani Coffee (now available in China with GROUND beans) today!!

Hundreds of rural students and their families in SE Asia received HIV Aids awareness training to help stop the spread of aids in high risk areas. Mothers with small children received nutritional and basic health care education. We have purchased equipment that will allow us to be able to begin vision testing and provide eye glasses for people on the island of Zanzibar. These are just some of the projects that the 2010 ride provided for! 

Amazing how those of us with a common passion for cycling can come together and make a difference in the world while doing what we love! 

Get online! Register yourself, your friends, and your family! Get on the saddle and let’s make the 2011 Tour De Pepper the biggest yet!