Crimson Cup, AVI Foodsystems and Kenyon College Teach Students about Sustainable Coffee Sourcing
COLUMBUS, Ohio (PRWEB) August 30, 2018 -- Columbus, Ohio coffee roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea recently partnered with AVI Foodsystems and Kenyon College to teach students about transparency in the coffee trade.
Students in Associate Professor Jennifer Johnson’s Sociology of Food class traced the steps by which their morning cup of java ended up at campus coffee shops. The project culminated April 9 through 11 in Coffee Week, when the Sociology of Food class engaged the campus community in an educational and entertaining dialogue.
“Crimson Cup and Kenyon College Dining, managed by AVI Foodsystems, worked with Professor Johnson and her students to give campus consumers information they could use to make conscious decisions about what they are consuming,” said Jill Chuha, higher education team leader for Crimson Cup. "The students learned how their purchases and consumption choices have social, economic and environmental impact around the globe.”
Christopher Wisbey, Resident Director for AVI at Kenyon, noted that sustainability is top of mind for many Kenyon students and faculty members. “AVI at Kenyon works with many small farmers, giving back to the local community, and Crimson Cup does the same thing with farmers in coffee-growing countries,” he said. “Our partnership delivers high quality, sustainably sourced coffee on campus at an affordable price.”
Through its Friend2Farmer direct trade program, Crimson Cup works to develop sustainable coffee harvests and a better quality of life for smallholder coffee farmers, their families and their communities.
Crimson Cup has been working with coffee farmers in Siguatepeue, Honduras, since 2011. “The direct-trade coffee served at Kenyon represents the work of over 40 growers who have committed to biodiversity and land and water conservation,” Chuha said.
“Cutting out the middlemen and forgoing costly certifications helps us provide the best possible coffee at the best possible cost while achieving economic stability for local families.”
As part of the project, students visited the Crimson Cup Innovation Lab in Columbus, Ohio to learn how coffee is imported and roasted. “The students asked a lot of thoughtful questions,” Chuha said. “Their Coffee Week presentations did an amazing job of teaching other students about sustainability and transparency in the coffee trade.”
Wisbey noted that Crimson Cup coffee has earned rave reviews on campus. “Our students love the coffee and thought it was an immediate upgrade over the previous vendor we were using,” he said. “Kenyon was very excited that we partnered with Crimson Cup because many of the faculty and staff are familiar with this award-winning Ohio coffee roaster.”
About Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea
Columbus, Ohio coffee roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea is Roast magazine’s 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year. Since 1991, Crimson Cup has roasted sustainably sourced specialty and craft coffee in small batches, which it sells directly to consumers and as wholesale coffee beans. The company also teaches entrepreneurs to run successful coffee houses through its coffee franchise alternative program, which includes a coffee shop business plan. Crimson Cup coffee is available through a community of more than 350 independent coffee houses, grocers, college and universities, restaurants and food service operations across 36 states, Guam and Bangladesh, as well as the company’s own Crimson Cup Coffee Houses. To learn more, visit crimsoncup.com.
Cheryl Claypoole, Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea, http://https:/www.crimsoncup.com, +1 614-361-5023, [email protected]
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