Coffee lovers rejoice!
September 28th is National Coffee Day, and Grace Hightower and Coffees of Rwanda are gearing up to celebrate in an extra special way.
If you’re in the New York City area, you’re in luck! Today and Saturday, September 28th, Grace Hightower & Coffees of Rwanda have brewed up an extra special Coffee Day celebration.
“We’re going to be everywhere! We’re going to be all over NYC,” Grace says emphatically.
They’ll be driving around New York City in a branded food truck giving coffee addicts their fix – for free! That’s right, y’all. Free delicious fair trade coffee.
All of Grace’s coffees are hand crafted in Rwanda. Coffee farmers hand select the best beans for each roast, ensuring that only the best beans go into your delicious cup ‘o’ joe.
“They handpick, that way you really get the really healthy beans. There are a lot of unhealthy beans that are sorted out which can really change the taste of the coffee,” she says.
The concept for Grace Hightower and Coffees of Rwanda came after a visit to the country.
“I started reading more articles about how quickly Rwanda was progressing even after such atrocities and I was inspired by this, so I decided to take trip to Rwanda.”
Hightower says:
“I just fell in love with the people and the farmers and the life that you see in their eyes. You know that they’ve gone through this, but what I see is gratitude of living in their eyes. It was so profound. I just came back and said, you know what? I want to do something here and I came back and created this company. I had to.”
All of the coffees sold by Grace Hightower and Coffees of Rwanda are fair trade. This means the company pays the farmer a set price for the product, ensuring that farmers cannot be taken advantage of. Fair trade creates a minimum price per pound for coffee. If the price goes way down, they still can depend upon the minimum price that has been set.
Grace’s company has cut out the middleman, working directly with washing stations pumping out the caffeine filled beans every day. Hightower prides herself on paying a premium two to three times higher than fair trade prices.
Hightower’s company’s aim is not just to provide tasty coffee to the masses, but to create a lasting legacy for and empower the people of Rwanda.
“What I’m really looking to do is make a commitment to the farmers so they can depend on getting that amount each time and to create a long term relationship, rather than to have it be a quick deal. There’s no middleman involved. The more sustainable that I can make my business, the more reliable it becomes for them,” she says.
Along with their food truck, Grace Hightower and Coffees of Rwanda will have 8-10 standing locations all throughout the Big Apple!
For more information about Grace’s coffee or their Coffee Day celebration, check them out on twitter @CoffeeOfGrace (https://twitter.com/coffeeofgrace)
Grace’s favorite roast is the medium dark roast – which will you choose?
