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NOVEMBER COFFEE NEWS
 We have new coffee photos thanks to Cathy's Dad Emil who put his fancy camera to work last week. Beyond photos, we've had several other opportunities to polish our look and explore our potential. There is a way you can help too.
Read more below, but first a quick reminder that we'll be doing our November coffee deliveries on Friday, November 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, November 9 by contacting us at coffee@vfamilycoffee.com or ordering through our website. Our next delivery date will be Friday, December 9th.
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Purpose, Progress, Potential and Partners
 This fall we were invited to work with a class in the Entrepreneurial Studies program at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. It has been fun and insightful to work with a team of passionate students to explore the story of our business and our goals for the future. With them we have thought about the Purpose of our business to sell our family's high quality coffee, the Progress we've made towards building a sustainable, relationship based business over the past 15 years, the Potential we have for future growth and the Partners that can help make that happen.
The students were quick to understand that our loyal monthly customers are some of our best partners. They have designed a quick and easy survey to gather information from our current supporters to help us better attract new folks. It only takes a minute - and there is a way to earn a FREE bag of coffee. We appreciate your help!
 Another important partner that has been critical to our success is our roaster, European Roasterie in Le Center, MN. When we discovered them well over 10 years ago, we only had a few thousand pounds of coffee, but they treated us with a great deal of respect, cupping our coffee and offering good advice. Over the years, they have provided the very best customer service, handling our increasingly complicated orders with impressive accuracy and cheerfulness. (Our November order had over 60 different variations of roasts, grinds, bags, flavors, and caffeination levels!)
Last week, we had the opportunity to stop by to check out our 2016 coffee shipment (all 37,000 lbs of it) and enjoyed a good conversation about the global coffee industry. Based on current market trends, we are encouraged by the potential of our unique, family based business with our direct-from-source, high quality coffee beans.
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 Announcing our 2016 Holiday Flavors
We've been putting our Survey Monkey account to good use this month. 140 of you voted in our 2016 holiday flavor survey (the first 50 all within the first hour!) With that kind of enthusiasm, we know you are eager to know the results, so we won't keep you waiting any longer. The Velasquez Family Coffee holiday flavor winners for 2016 are:
BONFIRE: Sweet, creamy icing swirled in spicy cinnamon and fresh bread...an amazing aroma wafting from your cup...very reminiscent of grandma's Hot Fresh Buns...perfect for chilly nights (and mornings) to warm you up!
CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CREAM: Rich Honduran beans combined with sharp dark chocolate and rich nutty taste of gourmet hazelnut. This special brew is a perfect holiday treat.
CONFUSED SANTA: Is it March? Is it December? We asked Santa for his favorite coffee flavor when he comes down the chimney...and my, Santa is confused! He wanted a delicious Irish Cream coffee, with an extra (large) splash of rum and a dash(er) of hazelnut...topped with whipped cream and nutmeg. What Santa wants, Santa gets.
DRUNKEN UNCLE: Yes, we have one too….and it’s delicious! Picture yourself around the fireplace basking in the soothing tastes of Kahlua and Irish Cream laced with Gran Marnier.
ENGLISH TOFFEE: A tad of caramel, a touch of chocolate, a spot of cream, very British, very buttery, very good.
All five of these flavors will be available in the coming 3-4 months in 8 oz packages, whole bean and ground and in limited quantities of decaf for $7.50. While we tried to order enough of each flavor, it is impossible to know for sure. Get your order to us quickly to make sure you get what you want. Respond to this email or use our new website store (the old one is still available for a bit longer too) to place your order. (And of course our regular flavors continue to be available during this time as well.)
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Holiday Events
Its the time of year for great holiday sales. Here are just a few that we know of -- many of them tomorrow!!
 PPUMC Bazaar and Art Fair - Saturday, November 5th, 9 am - 3 pm. Prospect Park United Methodist Church at 22 Orlin Ave SE, Minneapolis. A huge selection of local artists, Fair Trade items, bake sale, Twice Nice second hand sale AND Velasquez Family Coffee too of course. Stop in for homemade rolls in the morning or a great lunch at noon. For directions and links to the artists visit prospectparkchurch.org or the event page on Facebook.
Social Justice Art Fair - Saturday, November 5th, 10 am - 4 pm. 610 W 28th St, Minneapolis. The Twin Cities Social Justice Arts Festival brings together local art, films, dance, presentations, food, raffle prizes, silent auction, and more!
The World Jubilee - Saturday, November 5th, 9 am - 4 pm. Wooddale Church, 6630 Shady Oak Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55344. The World Jubilee highlights fair trade vendors and crafts from around the world, on sale to directly benefit artisans and community organizations abroad.
MN Christmas Market - Saturday, November 12th, 1-7 pm. Lake Monster Brewing. 550 Vandalia St, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55114. A holiday maker market and charity fundraiser hosted by StormSister Spatique and The VOICE Community - an online marketplace, where Minnesota companies and customers are coming together to build a better world.
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 Climate Action: Vote!
With all the coverage of this year's election, we're guessing you don't need another reminder of why it is important to vote next week Tuesday, November 8th.
But just in case, #VoteClimate wants you to know -- "Because Climate Change is Right Now, We Must Act Right Now," and they ask voters to take the following pledge: "I will only vote for climate champions who support a 100% clean energy future, and an end to taxpayer support of fossil fuels."
If you need resources to see your candidates' stances on Climate Change, here are a few that we found helpful.
So go vote, and then as Bill McKibben argues get back to work to keep up the pressure on whoever wins. After all, "Democracy isn't a sham, it's a job!" #SavetheVote.
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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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