Coco's Debuts Organic Coffee
Coco's organic premium coffee from Mexico debuts in seven Southern California restaurants; buying a cup builds a sustainable business for Mayan farmer collective in Chiapas, Mexico.
-- Chain Leader, 10/13/2009 8:33:00 AM
PRESS RELEASE: CARLSBAD, Calif., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Just sipping a cup of a new, 100% organic, shade-grown coffee at one of seven Southern California Coco's Bakery Restaurants (www.cocosbakery.com/coffee) will help support indigenous autonomy to create peaceful communities free from poverty for the Mayan people of Chiapas, Mexico. Starting October 13, 2009, Coco's Bakery Restaurants in Mission Viejo, Laguna Nigel, Laguna Hills, Corona Del Mar, Newport Beach, Brea and El Cajon will offer coffee brewed from beans harvested from underneath the jungle canopy of the remote mountainous area. The coffee retails for $2.49 and will be available for a limited time. For a special coffee break, a muffin or cookie can be added to the coffee for $1.00.
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The tropical, high-altitude mountain region of Chiapas in Southern Mexico is one of the best places in the world to grow coffee, due to its wealth of natural resources. Coco's has created a partnership with family farmers within Chiapas to purchase coffee, roasted specifically for Coco's guests.
"Coco's Bakery Restaurant, an old-standard coffee shop, is changing the way people think about their coffee," said Catalina Restaurant Group President, Kazumasa Ogawa. "The 100% organic, shade-grown coffee comes from a small co-op of mainly indigenous farmers. It is hand-selected and harvested using sustainable farming methods. The high-altitude arabica coffee is freshly roasted to give it depth and richness."
"We have partnered with native farmers from the Chiapas region of Mexico to bring coffee to our restaurants that is fair trade certified," said Coco's Executive Chef Heather Gardea. "If the coffee is a hit in our Southern California Restaurants, it's our hope to offer it in all Coco's throughout California, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado. This is not your mother's cup of coffee, but part of a broader story," adds Gardea. "Our company philosophy is to better connect our customers with the origin of their food. We believe you can have a better cup of coffee and also contribute to better lives."
This year, Ogawa and Gardea have each spent time in the Chiapas region meeting with villagers and working with farming technicians. Their goal is to partner with the villagers to expand the 100% organic coffee program and assist them in providing a steady income to stabilize a hard-working community's economy, thereby improving their quality of life.
About Coco's Bakery Restaurants: It all began back in 1948, with one little restaurant along Pacific Coast Highway in Orange County, California. Today, there are over 110 Coco's Bakery Restaurants (www.cocosbakery.com) in the Western United States including California, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado. More than just a restaurant offering signature entrees, salads and soups created by Chef Heather Gardea, Coco's is a bakery priding itself on delivering the tastiest, most mouth-watering freshly baked pies, cakes, muffins, cookies and biscuits in a 'warm and cozy little place with the nice people and amazing pies.'
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