Your Questions About Gardening

GardenersCardiff answers:

Well my favorite coffee doesn’t have a brand name, currently I happen to be living in the Philippines and there are some wild coffee trees growing just down the road from me that a friend owns. Pick the beans fresh, dry them, grind them and you have some of the best coffee you are going to find anywhere. Though it is a little strong for most people’s liking, a little of the fresh coffee goes a long way when being brewed.

As for favorite thing to eat along with the coffee, realistically, anything that is not still moving on my plate. 😉

However, I would like to have is a real biscuit breakfast similar to what one would get at hardee’s, carl’s jr. Or cracker barrel. Just can’t get all the “fixin’s” here.

Hope everyone has a great day or night depending on which side of the planet you are on.

And May Our Creator watch over you and your family.

GardenersCardiff answers:

Their beans are 100% Arabica Beans grown in South America. A nice thing is that McDonalds use Rainforest Alliance Certified Coffee. Next time you are in a grocery store look to see if they carry Yuban or Farmers Brothers. They are both 100% arabica (but check the label), and they both have products that have the Rainforest Alliance Certification. I doubt you can taste the difference but it’s nice to do something nice for the environment. A free trade certification is also nice to get.

If you don’t own a coffee maker, then just get a Melitta coffee filter holder which can make up to 16oz of coffee at a time. And it’s pretty fool proof. Just boil the water in a microwave.

I’m not sure if ALL Rainforest Alliance Coffee is organic, but it might say on the label. Another nice thing to look for is bird friendly and Shade Grown. Shade Grown coffee has a different taste – i think its better (but thats subjective). Shade Grown coffee is the best for the environment. It will also be more expensive than Yuban.

But anyway, McD’s beans are nothing special – just 100% Arabica, which most coffee is. Brewing a good cup is just a little bit tricky – but crucial. (filtered water might help, too). The biggest advantage of McD is because of their volume their coffee is always fresh (in the am). But that’s not even an issue at home.

Oh, and a cup of coffee at home will cost between 20 and 30 cents depending on the cost of the beans. Or about 50 cents if you use K-cups. So if you want to get an expensive coffee maker – its ok- it will still pay for itself. Not counting the coffee maker (and filters), and say you’re saving $1.50 a day…. You’ll save about $500 a year.

GardenersCardiff answers:

Seems to me that the greatest part of coffee-growing areas are in second and third-world countries which are, following production, forced to attempt to sell their goods to a market which is on a much better level than their own. This makes it easy for stronger markets (such as the U.S., even if it may be declining) to take advantage of these producers. This is where fair trade comes in. The big push now is (in addition to organic coffees) fair trade coffees which are also shade-grown (think less harm to the environment due to the aviodance of clearcutting for crop production; hence the term ‘shade-grown’). Coffees with these qualifications offer better qualities of life to those producers living in second and third world countries. Therefore, do you think that the American public, and that of other first world countries, have a responsibility to be more conscious of the products (coffees) they choose to purchase? If they were more aware, they would most likely consciously choose to better the lives of people in less fortunate countries . . . I’m sure you can take it from there ;). Good luck!