Land of a Thousand Hills

Hat-tip to a friend of mine from church who introduced me to Land of a Thousand Hills coffee. The story behind the coffee is worth reading. This guy was in genocide-ravaged Rwanda and decided to help them learn to work together peacefully and productively in growing coffee.

So they've got the good cause going for them, but is the coffee any good?

Apparently the soil in Rwanda is similar to the soil in Ethiopia, so looking at other companies websites, you will see Rwanda coffee grouped in with Ethiopia and Kenya. I ordered a pound of Rwanda Blend and a pound of Rwanda Medium. I've been drinking the Rwanda Medium in the mornings all week, and it's really good. I like it a lot.

For a while there, I had regressed into a bad habit of laziness and was spending $2 every morning for coffee on my way to work. Now, I'm getting back into the good habit of setting up the coffee maker before I go to bed at night. My wonderful wife got me an awesome new thermos that conveniently fits in my backpack, so I have been using it to take my coffee in to work with me in the mornings.


The price for Land of a Thousand Hills coffee is comparable to several Starbucks varieties and it's cheaper than Caribou or Kona coffee. I did a quick inventory of the price for 1 pound of whole bean coffee on the internet and found:

Kona coffee on Amazon.com - $29.99
Caribou Kenya - $16.95
Caribou Columia -$13.99
Green Mountain Ethiopian Fair Trade - $13.58
Starbucks Rwanda - $12.95
Starbucks Kenya - $11.95
Starbucks Ethiopia - $11.95
Green Mountain Our Blend - $11.32
Land of a Thousand Hills - $10.95*
Starbucks Verona - $10.95
Dunkin Donuts - $7.99

Okay, yes, it's more expensive than the Dunkin Donuts coffee we normally get, but it supports a good cause and the coffee tastes good, right?

* Note: You can bring this price down to $9 per pound if you buy either a 3 or 5 pound bag.

So hey, if you would like to try some good flavorful coffee and support a good cause, you might want to give Land of a Thousand Hills a try.

Disclaimer: As always, these are MY own opinions. NOBODY PAID ME to write this.

Save the Date: Dulles Day Plane Pull

Dulles Day Plane Pull is 3 October.

Think you can pull together 25 of your closest friends or coworkers and pull a big FEDEX jumbo-jet across the Dulles tarmac? Sign your team up for the Dulles Plane Pull on 3 October!

It's for a good cause!

Even if you aren't entering a team, it's kinda fun to watch, and they have lots of static aircraft displays and antique cars to check out. Last time I took my boys, we became local celebrities by virtue of the fact our picture was in the newspaper and coworkers of mine noticed. (Yes, yes, I'm famous. Sorry, no autographs.)

Or better yet, lend a hand! Special Olympics needs volunteers of all ages to help out the day of the event.

A Worthy Cause

I'm going to post this on my blog for two reasons.  First, it's from an awesome fellow bubblehead who happened to be my COB on the Mighty MSP.  Second, it's another great example of using "shipmate" in a NON-derogatory context.  :-)

Friends and Shipmates,
  On 7 February, 2009, I will be racing with my team, "The Navsubscol (N6) Bubbleheads" up 82 flights of stairs (41 floors) in the Race Up Boston Place at the Mellon Financial Center in downtown Boston.  The event is a fundraiser to help raise money for the American Lung Association.  Additionally, it is a great opportunity for us to promote Navy physical fitness as well as participation in the community. 
  This particular race in Boston is the first of a series of 6 races up various skyscrapers throughout the New England area in 2009.  If we survive this first race without too many injuries  :)    then the Navsubscol Bubbleheads intend to proceed to the other races as well.  Aside from developing huge thighs by the end of the last race, we hope to earn some money for a very worthy cause and even have some fun while doing it. 
  Please join me in the fight against lung disease and please support my team as we Race Up Boston Place.  For more information on the event and the American Lung Association, please visit the website: climbofyourlife.org  .  The following link takes you directly to our team page:  http://www.mrsnv.com/evt/e01/team.jsp?id=2160&tid=3846    We would be extremely grateful for your support.  Please give what you are able; every dollar makes a difference.
  Thank you for your support as me and my teammates challenge ourselves by participating in the Race Up Boston Place event and in raising money to put an end to lung disease.  Please join me in our mission to fight lung disease by making a personal, tax-deductible donation.  We know that during this period of grim economic news, as well as the close proximity to the Holidays, it's tough for all of us to come up with spare change for the many charities asking for money.  But, we don’t need much - even just one dollar from every one of our friends could go a long way to making a difference.  Thanks for your consideration and have a GREAT Holidays!!!
Sincerely,
Gaylord Humphries