Green Mountain Cafe – The Green Mountain Coffee Blog

The President’s Day holiday weekend is typically one of the busiest skiing and riding weekends at resorts across Vermont.  This year proved to be no different, as thousands of visitors chose to learn what those of us who live here have known for generations — for winter sports in the East, you just can’t beat what Vermont has to offer.  We’ve been a little light on the white stuff so far this season, but all the ski areas were geared up, groomed, and ready to go nonetheless.

To join in the fun, we had a sampling team take to the slopes at Killington, where they dispensed hundreds of samples of, among other offerings, our delicious Fair Trade Winter seasonals — Wicked Winter Blend and Golden French Toast.  Many of the samples came from K-Cups, brewed on the spot using Keurig B60 Special Edition Brewers.

Many more samples were distributed by mobile brand ambassadors, armed with special beverage-dispensing backpacks.  This intrepid coffee infantry was able to bring fresh, hot Green Mountain Coffee right to folks in lift lines and around the base lodges…right where people needed it most.

You know what they say about Vermont — it’s ten months of winter and two months of really poor sledding.  So don’t worry if you haven’t made it up here to frolic in nature’s playground yet this winter, there’s still plenty of time to do so.

See you on the slopes….

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The holiday season is a little nutty around here.  Excited regular, decaf,  Fair Trade, organic, flavored, and seasonal blend-lovin’ people are buying coffee for the holiday crowd like there’s no tomorrow and we, of course, are as busy as an one-armed paper hanger.

So, as I said, nutty.

But today a true depiction of our holiday wackiness made itself apparent in a little something called Ugly Christmas Sweaters.  Everyone has one and some wear them in public – even in our office.

May I present our top two favorites?  To ease you into the ugliness, our silk-screened runner-up:

Nicole modeling the “Christmas Goodies” sweatshirt and antlers.

Then there’s The Ugly Christmas Sweater.  Yes, “The” Ugly Christmas Sweater – a piece of red, green, and tinseled apparel so hideous that it deserves its own zip code, let alone a “The” in front of its name.  It’s hard to describe this lovely woolen beauty, so let’s hear from Chris, the wearer of this repugnant sweater, as he describes his auction find:

The events committee of my graduate program decided to use a “tacky holiday sweater theme” for our annual winter gathering and give a prize to the person with the ugliest sweater…guess who won?

Chris modeling his Scottish terror/pom-pom/stuffed reindeer/tinsel attire AKA The Ugly Christmas Sweater.

Happy Holidays from us!  Hope you find beauty in the holidays – even when events are as homely as our sweater collection!

-Kristen

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Now that the trees have shed their leaves, up here in Vermont we really start thinking about snow – and lots of it!  With this in mind, we’re pleased to announce that we’re adding a little “win” into your winter!

Visit your nearest convenience store that serves Green Mountain Coffee and earn discounts on ski lift tickets, daily prizes and enter to win a grand prize of a $2500 Vermont Ski Weekend!  While you’re there, get an entry code and visit our Rewards Site to rack up virtual ‘cups.’

• Earn 10 cups and you’ll get $15 OFF a lift ticket at one of the 14 participating Ski Vermont resort locations.
• Plus, every entry is another chance to win the grand prize ski vacation and lift tickets, or a Rossignol Raider bag, courtesy of Ski Vermont.

Visit one of the 2000 convenience stores that are participating in the Green Mountain Coffee Rewards program.

For more information, please visit our Green Mountain Coffee Rewards site.   Good luck and happy skiing!

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“Forgiveness is for you, not for the offender.”

It’s been a little over a week since Jean-Paul Samputu spoke these words at the Green Mountain Coffee visitor center’s Rwandan Storytelling, Song, & Dance: An Evening with Jean Paul Samputu & Friends.  And yet, Samputu’s sentiment and story still hangs in the air on campus – heartbreaking and uplifting all in one beautiful moment.

As singer, songwriter, musician, and genocide survivor from Rwanda, Samputu has established himself as one of the most prominent African artists on the world stage; winning the prestigious Kora Award (the “African Grammy”) in 2003.  The fact that he has these accolades to his name is more than enough to draw in a crowd on a Friday night, but his words… they keep you there for the duration.

Of course, the night was filled with song, dance, and stories from Samputu, as well as students from the Rwanda Educational Partnerships at Harwood Union High School who ventured to Rwanda in 2008. The packed house gladly danced the night away, celebrating life and new beginnings.

To learn more about the Rwanda Educational Partnerships at Harwood Union High School, click here.

To hear more about Samputu’s campaign of forgiveness, see here.

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By Kristen Mercure

This past week has been big for cleaning at Green Mountain Coffee.  Not only did our crew tackle our fifth year of River Cleanup  and I cleaned up my desk,* but a devoted group of Green Mountain Coffee employees also got down to the business of transforming dirty cars into clean ones.

That’s right: Last Thursday was our third annual Grounds for Health Carwash.

 See more picures from the event on our Flickr account

But, of course, you knew that, because I think I helped to clean your car, right? ;)

Over 40 Green Mountain Coffee and Grounds for Health volunteers, known as the “Clean Team,” rolled up their sleeves for a full day of washing, detailing (à la Gigi’s Cleaning & Detailing), and, for some of us, disjointed dancing to raise money to support Grounds for Health, an international nonprofit based in Waterbury, Vermont that provides vital cancer screening and treatment for women in coffee-growing communities. 

Clad in splash-tastic yellow and blue carbon-neutral shirts from Aurum Organics, the Clean Team left no mud flap, grill, or ski rack unturned.  After enforcing our “No Idling” policy by pushing cars into place, the team attacked the dirty vehicles with Seventh Generation environmentally-friendly soap until the cars (and, on occasion, bikes) were aglow.  We were even treated to a special in person appearance by Ben and Jerry, who took their turn pushing a few cars, as well. 

Making the day even better was the killer combination of music, ice cream, and prizes.  The Growlers provided the rockin’ soundtrack to our cleaning efforts while the Ben & Jerry’s scoopmobile doled free ice cream and the event’s signature drink (and biggest hit) the C³ – a daringly delicious combination of Green Mountain Coffee’s Fair Trade Organic Sumatran Reserve, Ben & Jerry’s Fair Trade Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz, and Coffee Extracts & Ingredients’ Cappachillo.  The day ended with a raffle featuring prizes from fine Waterbury establishments like Video King, Vermont T-shirt Co., Arvad’s, and, a personal favorite, the Moretown Landfill. 

Sadly, I missed the wagon on this one – there’s always next year.

Thank you to all who came out to the carwash, our energetic volunteers, and our fearless co-sponsors: Ben & Jerry’s, Gigi’s Cleaning & Detailing, and Barry T. Chouinard, Inc.

“But what about the money?” I hear you ask.  The numbers are still being tallied.  The funds will help to support the organization’s mission to create sustainable and effective cancer prevention programs, with a focus on the early detection and treatment of cervical cancer — a leading cause of death among women who lack access to healthcare in developing countries.  Grounds for Health was founded by members of the specialty coffee industry who discovered that women in Mexico and Central America have high rates of cervical cancer, which is preventable and treatable if caught early.

To support Grounds For Health and learn more about this organization, visit http://www.groundsforhealth.org/donate.html.

*…okay, that’s a bit of a fib.  My desk is clean, just in a state of cleaned chaos – organized in piles, mounds, and boxes.  There’s a system, mind you, and if you tell me what it is I’ll happily give you a virtual pat on the back.

-Kristen (Finally all dried out)

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If you own a Keurig Brewer, you’re probably familiar with the word “variety”. Here at Green Mountain Coffee, we’re proud to offer over 80 varieties of coffee, tea and hot cocoa in K-Cups. With so many choices, it’s easy to change up your taste from week to week, or even day to day.

But if you’re looking to try something new, our K-Cup Samplers are the way to go! They’re a great way to explore new coffees before committing to buy one roast. For example, if you haven’t tried the Tully’s brand, our newest sampler, Tully’s Coffee House Collection is a perfect introduction to their coffees. With a selection of Tully’s medium and dark roast, you can get coffee house quality java in the comforts of your home. The sampler includes 22 K-Cups: French Roast,  House Blend, Italian Roast and Kona Blend.  All of our Tully’s coffees are considered extra bold, with 20% more coffee than regular K-Cups.  Expand your taste  today.

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As we announced this morning in a Press Release, Green Mountain Coffee has joined a nationwide effort to keep America’s waterways clean for a 5th year. As a sponsor of American Rivers’ National River Cleanup™, employee volunteers will use paid time off to clean a section of the Winooski River from July 20-24, 2009.

Green Mountain Coffee Employees pull tires & trash from Winooski River.

For me, this will be my third year helping coordinate and participate in the cleanup. The first year, we had beautiful summer weather, making a trip into the river a welcome experience. I got to meet fellow employees, many from production, who I hadn’t had an opportunity to interact with before. That is just one of the many benefits of having a company volunteer program – employee camaraderie. I experience this every time I’m lucky enough to participate in our company volunteer program called CAFE (see my blog post’s from our volunteer work at Bonnaroo). Last year, as the rain kept pouring down on VT, we could not get on the river, but helped cleanup the damage it made in Little River State Park and Hancock, VT.

My co-worker, Jasna Brown, coordinates the volunteer program at Green Mountain Coffee and the River Cleanup is a large undertaking to coordinate. Planning involves coordinating the sign-ups for over a hundred employees, transportation to and from clean-up sites, ensuring the safety of employees (especially educating folks on how to avoid poison ivy), disposing of the waste, feeding volunteers, and finally creating a commemorative t-shirt for all participants. Of course, she has the help of other passionate company volunteers.

Paul Comey, VP of Environmental Affairs, has been involved with the cleanup since it’s inception and revels in the opportunity to whip out his kayak. water-shoes and waterproof -camera. Paul also works with the folks at Umiak, who help us out by donating canoes for the cleanup. Others from Corporate Social Responsibility, Facilities, Production and a host of other departments all work to make this event a success. Thank you and let’s hope for dry, sunny weather for next week!

Green Mountain Coffee Employees cleaning up flood damage in Hancock, VT. (Photo: Gordon Miller)

If you’re interested in learning more about the National River Cleanup, visit the American Rivers’ website for ideas on how to coordinate your own event.

To learn more about our company volunteer program, CAFE, visit the Employee Volunteerism section on our Corporate Social Responsibility website.

Learn more about the history and other events on the Winooski River, check out the Friends of The Winooski River.

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