Plowshares Coffee Roasters: October 2009

Over the past couple of weeks I have found myself obsessing about water quality as it relates to coffee preparation. Most students of coffee already know that coffee is over 98% water and well as the saying goes.....garbage in garbage out.

All to often I find water filtration is not properly addressed, if addressed at all. NYC which boasts endlessly about the quality of it's drinking water has very soft water, but very salty water as well. This is great for making pizza dough, but not so much for espresso. At the roastery in Rockland County the water is very hard and I have seen TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) levels rising and realized it was time to swap out the filters for my Cirqua system so that I can maintain my target 150ppm TDS level. I also have some new wholesale customers that needed to beef up their water filtration so I have been researching cost effective solutions for them. All said, I have been giving google a workout lately with searches relating to water filtration.

I must admit, as a self professed equipment geek I have relished the opportunity to delve into a new subject matter to research, but as I dug deeper it also began to occur to me that I was taking something very basic and fundamental for granted. That something is the simple privilege to open up the tap and drink from it. I started to think about my travels in the third world and bouts of dysentary I have suffered through. I began to think about how huge of an issue access to clean water is for coffee farmers around the world. Suddenly I was reminded of a good friend who was doing some work with a new charity that was addressing this very issue. I recalled that he was very excited to be a part of a dynamic and transparent organization that raises money to drill wells in Ethiopia, Kenya and throughout the third world in an effort to bring clean drinking water to those who need it. My next google search went to Charity Water and as I clicked on to their website I was immediately impressed. It was obvious that they were on to something special that was making an immediate and tangible impact in many lives around the globe and the best part was that they created a medium and toolset for others to easily participate and make a difference as well. Click through to contribute to Plowshares 90 day build a well campaign: mycharity: water

Please take an opportunity to make a difference today and donate to this campaign and help Plowshares and Charity Water build a well for those who need it most. $50+ donations will get you a free bag of delicious Plowshares Coffee delivered to your door.