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MARCH COFFEE NEWS
This is a picture of our son sitting in a field of young coffee trees, one of several new plots that Guillermo's brothers Avilio and Sabel and brother-in-law Alonso have been working hard to establish. If all goes as planned, these new plants will be coming "online" in the next few years, boosting our supply of coffee. Anticipating this growing production, we've been exploring ways to boost our marketing efforts. We share some of our initial promotional ideas below, and share links to a group working to promote a more positive image for the whole country of Honduras.
But first, a quick reminder that we'll doing our March coffee deliveries on Friday, March 11. If you live (or work) in Minneapolis or St. Paul and some suburbs, we can add you to our free delivery route. If you don't live in these areas, we're happy to mail coffee to you. Just get your coffee order to us before noon Wednesday, March 9 by contacting us at coffee@vfamilycoffee.com or ordering through our website. Our next delivery date will be Friday, April 8th.
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Honduras is Great!
Over the past few weeks we've been thinking hard about our marketing efforts. We've contacted a variety of designers and firms, created lists of people we want to talk with in the coffee business, and identified our priorities. We're making plans to update promotional materials and our website. And we're exploring new ways to tell our story through social media and beyond.
 Since we've been thinking so much about marketing, we were impressed with a group we discovered recently called "Honduras is Great" that is attempting to create a more positive image for Honduras by creating spaces to celebrate all the people, places and things that make Honduras great -- an important effort given the bad news that continues to flow from this hard hit country.
The group's Facebook page and website and their creator, Fernando Carías, are dedicated to showcasing beautiful images and positive stories about Honduras. You'll find gorgeous photos from all over the country, Honduran recipes, stories about Honduran scientists, culture and history. We were especially drawn to the amazing pictures of a talented Honduran artist, César Román Murillo Valladares, whose artwork is currently on display in a gallery in Nebraska. We're sharing one of his beautiful watercolors below. You can see even more here and here.
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 Lowertown Pop: 4 free tickets
Given our new marketing focus, we're especially excited to be participating in Lowertown Pop at the Union Depot in downtown St. Paul on April 9th from 10 am - 4 pm. The event features a Minnesota maker market of local artisans and craftspeople - brewers, bakers, distillers, artists and musicians. Tickets are $10 pre-sale or $15 at the door. But we have 4 free tickets to give away to whoever contacts us first!
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While Supplies Last
Also in limited supply and going to whoever contacts us first - a few last remaining bags of our holiday flavors.
- Butter Toffee (ground regular only)
- Drunken Uncle (ground regular & decaf only)
- Elf Nogg (bean & ground, regular & decaf all still available)
- Wind Chill (ground decaf only)
We also have 7 - 12 oz bags of light decaf available for only $5.00 each. Buy all 7 for only $30. For all of these items, check our website for the latest inventory before ordering.
Finally, we've had enough interest in our Half-Caf 50-50 blend that we've ordered more and have added it to our shopping cart for easier purchasing.
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New Coffee Prices
Just a reminder, as discussed in our February newsletter our new prices kick in with your March coffee orders. As of March 1, our prices are now:
- $10 for 12 oz bags.
- $7.50 for 8 oz flavored bags.
- $55 for 5 lb bulk bags.
Those of you participating in an existing coffee fundraiser, will see the same prices until the end of the school year (i.e., July 1). Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns about these changes. Thank you for your continued support.
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Direct more of your Payment to Coffee and less to the Banks - Switch to Electronic Check (ACH)
 Now over 50 of our customers use electronic check (ACH) to pay for their coffee orders directly out of their checking accounts without the hassle of putting a check in the mail. Paying through ACH lowers our credit card processing fees significantly (only 20 cents per transaction for ACH, compared to 2.35% for credit cards and 1.64% for debit cards). It is more convenient and secure for you and eliminates the need for updates when credit cards expire or change. We benefit from receiving payment more quickly and consistently. If you haven't signed up yet, we encourage you to do so. All we need is your bank routing number and account number which you can send to us with a voided check or give us a call at 651-587-5356. |
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Climate Action - Answer Questions
 Even as Climate Change is getting more coverage in the news, there are still lots of questions. Perhaps you hear them from some of the people in your life or have some questions yourself. The Climate Reality Project has put together a free climate facts e-book that you can download and share. It is full of helpful, well-documented information, easy to understand graphs and links to more resources for additional reading.
It's also not too late to Take the "Beyond Paris Pledge" to reduce your carbon footprint 50% by 2030 and join with others to make a plan to get there. When you sign the pledge, you'll receive monthly newsletters with a host of resources for reducing your carbon footprint as well as information about monthly community meetings in the Twin Cities where folks will come together to focus on a different topic including food, transportation and more and explore the solutions within that topic to reduce our carbon footprints. Resources on energy efficiency will be coming out shortly.
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Velasquez Family Coffee
Shade Grown | Hand Picked | Sun Dried | Fair Trade
Directly from our Family to You
www.vfamilycoffee.com
coffee@vfamilycoffee.com
651-587-5356
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