Books and Coffee

At this very moment I am sitting cross-legged on my couch, covered in my grandmother’s quilt. North Texas doesn’t get snow often, but last night we were graced with a “wintery mix” – fancy words for frozen slush. I’ve got a pile of books on my left hand and a warm cup of coffee on my right. In short, this is a perfect day. (Apart from the two children who refuse to take a nap and the other two fighting over a computer game and the black lab who ate my house shoe. But we won’t talk about that – this is my happy place)

And all this coziness got me thinking about why books and coffee go together so well. Think about it: all the major bookstores now have coffee shops inside. I can’t recall a single time I’ve ever been to Starbucks and not seen at least three people tucked into corners with a book. Any of us can sip a tall Caramel Macchiato with double shot of espresso while browsing the hardbacks at Barnes and Noble. It’s the new normal.

Books and coffee, well, they’re like Tom and Jerry, or Thelma and Louise, or Adam and Eve. A perfect match.

But how often do we drink java with a purpose? Enter stage left, Saints Coffee.

Co-founded by Tom Davis (author of Scared – one of the She Reads winter selections), the purpose of Saints Coffee is simple:

“Provide our customers the best coffee they’ve ever tasted while funneling much of the profit to the most needy people of the world.”

After spending five weeks in South Africa with their families Tom Davis and Brett Irwin found themselves sitting on the banks of the Crocodile River wondering what they could do to stem the devastation caused by the HIV/AIDS crisis to the orphans of Swaziland. And the inspiration for Saints Coffee was born.

“Saint’s Coffee is a small-batch, micro-roaster offering specialty blends and unique varietals of 100% Fair Trade Certified™ and  organic coffees.  But beyond being the freshest, finest, and  fairest of them all—Saint’s Coffee is transforming the lives of  orphaned children by investing over 1/3rd of net profits from every sale into organizations helping children.”

Buying one pound of coffee feeds an orphan for a month.

To date, Saints Coffee has fed 11,836 children.

“It’s hard to shop your values these days.  But American consumers have more power than ever…why not turn that into a  powerful force for good? Saint’s Coffee is about bringing justice to orphans first.  Let’s face it, we all buy coffee.  What we individually spend on coffee is more than most people in the developing world make in an entire year.  So, what can YOU do about that?”

As I sip my coffee this afternoon, I wonder if perhaps coffee never tastes better than when you know each drop helps feed a hungry child.

If you’d like to try Saints Coffee, you can order some here. OR you can come back on Monday for our next book giveaway and we will send each winner home with a pound of Saints Coffee! Either way, we encourage you to visit their site and try their product.