Weekly Newsletter: Hawaiian Blend

Last night Jack, my seven year old, and I worked the coffees at SPD together.  If you don’t shop at SPD, you might not know that someone from our company is there six out of the seven days of the week, refilling the bulk coffee bins and restocking the bags.  Coffee is best fresh, and so we make sure our coffees are checked frequently.  Usually the job falls to Trace, Mike, or Will, but yesterday I was the one available.

Jack and I were doing the Thursday night orders to be delivered on Friday morning.  We had a lot of fun visiting with those of you who were shopping last night, and you were all so complimentary about how hard Jack was concentrating to get each word written correctly.  It was hard work for him. The banner picture today is of his careful writing.  I’m glad my kids are learning at a young age that you can enjoy what you do for a job.

Tomorrow we have another family event.  My niece Elyse is getting married and Trace is cooking for her wedding.  Elyse is also an employee, so we will have the fun of seeing a lot of our staff at the wedding.  Our staff often feels like a big family, and we all enjoy spending time together within or without of the store walls.

Weddings are always joyful occasions, and this is an especially fun one to attend with family visiting from out of town.  We’ve had two nights already of big group dinners full of laughter and great food.  I know that we are privileged to have the sort of family that enjoys each other’s company.

In January yet another former employee, and adopted family member, is getting married.  Do any of you remember Tiffany, Becky’s college roommate, who worked here for a few years beginning in 2006?  She went to college in California, and lived in this state for a number of years, but she is a native Hawaiian, and her wedding is in Hawaii.

Doesn’t that sound like a great excuse for a tropical vacation?  Or maybe a business trip, since Hawaii is the only place that coffee is grown in the United States.  In fact, this week’s coffee is our Hawaiian Blend.  We take 25% of our Kona Extra Fancy and blend it with our Sumatra Mandheling.  It makes for a full-bodied smooth blend, with hints of nutty flavors–macadamias perhaps?

This is the one place where I have visited coffee plantations.  The bright green leaves dot the hillside above Kona, and around Oahu, and although the elevation is much lower than most coffee farms, arabica plants thrive in Hawaii.  The volcanic soil leads to a unique bean, and our pure Kona Extra Fancy (the top grade of Kona) runs upwards of $25 per pound.

You can come try our Hawaiian Blend on us today, and raise a cup to all of our employees, past and future, who make it possible to bring you these beans each week–at least that’s what I will drink to.  Last week we gave away a gift basket in appreciation of our customers, and this week I would like to say thank you to all my employees, who keep the store running smoothly day by day.  Here’s to all of you!

–Holly Fike