September Bloggers Meetup at Equator Coffee Roasters Westboro

I usually like to celebrate the first day of fall with a Pumpkin Spice Latte and a Roseanne Thanksgiving episode. Nothing beats Dan gettin’ a dang turkey stuck on his stupid ol’ head and Roseanne taking the opportunity to remind us that this wouldn’t be an issue if Dan’s head wasn’t so dang stupid.  This year, however, I had the pleasure of adding something a little more momentous to my autumn celebration repertoire: I attended an Ottawa Bloggers meetup at Equator Coffee Roasters in Westboro, where I had the opportunity to not only chat with some of the most inspiring and hilarious girls in the city, but to learn about what makes Equator Coffee a little different.

Katrina Turnbull of Oui C’est Chic hosted this month’s event and made sure the night went smoothly – not that you can really have anything go wrong in a deliciously smelling coffee shop where the lovely Equator host Shannon Hoops-Ripley graciously lays out an assortment of baked goods which we all (I) pretend to not care very much about, but find ourselves (myself) staring at with every passing minute.  Anyway, thank you Katrina!

And a thank you to Shannon for the presentation on why the work Equator Coffee Roasters do is so important.  Having originally started in Almonte, Ontario, their Westboro location is fairly new, which also explains their fresh vibe:

One time, I rollerbladed down Almonte’s Main Street and into a pole. As my eyelids dropped from an imminent concussion, I remember taking in the letters of a nearby coffee shop. I wonder if Equator Coffee Roasters is anywhere near there. Only one way to find out:  Almonte happens to be the original place where Equator Coffee roasts their beans, and where, if you happen to find yourself in town, you can stop in for a public tour of the place.

A very cool thing about Equator Coffee is that they don’t just stop at fair trade. They go direct.  Whether it’s for Sumatran, Mexican, Peruvian or any other coffee on their menu, Equator teams up with community based roasters and purchase their beans without a middle man or broker.  “Simple, direct, and respectful” was how Shannon described it, and I really liked those words. Equator also pays their farmers higher prices as their coffee minimum than those set for fair trade coffee, and truly values the concept of longterm partnership: in some communities, they’ve been buying their coffee since 1999, and they will not drop a deal with a farmer if their crop happens to be less tasty than usual. “Fair trade just isn’t gonna cut it,” Shannon said.

Oh, you know what else? They’re also building schools in Nicaragua with a portion of the revenue from each pound sold, so if you’re in the Westboro area, there’s really no reason for you to go anywhere but 412 Churchill Avenue, where you’ll find Equator Coffee Roasters, and could maybe even get a little coffee sipping (“cupping”) demonstration..

 

It was great to see some bloggers whom I already knew from past events. As always, they had a million tips from the professional, creative, technical, and social perspective, and as always, I said something that will leave my head firmly covered by a paper bag for the next thirty six years:

Laura(of The Fashion Kidd): “I have a twin sister.”

Me: “Oh, right! I think I saw her picture. It was her birthday just a few weeks ago, wasn’ it?”

Laura: “Well…it was my birthday too….”

Big thanks to Symone (of The Polished Pretties) for telling everyone that she will never forget I said that. 

There's obviously a lot going on here..

It was also great to meet new bloggers and to be reminded, once again, of just how lovely and sweet the Ottawa blogging community is.

Thanks again to Equator Coffee Roasters for having us, and for the awesome little swag bag of beans!  This fall blend will go perfectly with tonight’s Roseanne…