We use Bishops' Blend - from Episcopal Relief and Development - good coffee, good works, fair trade, shade grown, organic. Pura Vida provides the coffee - they work with farmers around the world to get the most from their crops and a percentage goes to ER-D. Also teas and cocoa.

This question raises the class issue in the church, often more hidden than gender, sexual orientation, theology or liturgical practice.

For many years I worshiped with a central city congregations whose members felt they were going broke buying "takeout" from Whole Foods (across the street) to supply a potluck. It was an urban parish with a diverse set of working adults, some low wage, some well-compensated professionals, none of whom had time to cook ahead, especially on a weeknight. As a vestry we struggled with this issue. We finally stopped asking for dishes from home, and substituted a meal cooked by a crew of volunteers--usually cornbread, soup and salad. The contribution to the meal was in the doing.

For coffee hour, the vestry allocated money so that those who could not afford the $50 or $100 it might cost to provide the usual spread (coffee, cream, juice, cheese, crackers, fruit). But sadly that rarely was spent...it seemed that people who could not afford the coffee hour spread didn't feel they should volunteer if they couldn't finance it.

Luxury vs beauty? Comfort vs mission?

Do parents expect a shiny and well-furnished room for their young children during the liturgy? Godly Play objects expensively hand made?

These are all hard questions in a society as unequal as ours..where CEOs make millions while the minimum wage is $7.25, where child care teachers with a bachelor's degree earn $10 an hour.

But contrast that with beauty in our worship--vestments, icons, colored glass, or simple clean lines, all contributing to our spiritual life, but not cheap.

What a great question, worthy of study in every parish

Gretchen B. Donart

Could be socio-economic. Could be bad tap water and perk coffee pots.
Pam Alger

Now don't be too hard on yourselves. As a Nova Scotia Scot who usually drinks way too much tea at home, I'm not in much of position to comment on how to make good java; but I enjoy a good cup of coffee on the road. You can get great coffee in France, but for my money, there is none finer than the coffee made and served in the States. If your coffee hour lacks luster, go on down to the nearest diner and ask them to help out. Having said that, the coffee at our coffee hour here is pretty good, so look us up next time you are in town.

It may not be that the church does not purchase good coffee, but other factors may interfere. As Pam mentioned, bad water makes for bad coffee. So if you do not like drinking your tap water, coffee made from it will not taste very good either.

Or no one may understand how to make proper coffee, using the correct proportions of ground coffee to water. This can lead to either over extraction or under extraction. The temperature of the water when making the coffee may not be hot enough for correct extraction. The method of brewing can also effect the quality.

The best method to brew large batches is the drip method. The correct proportion in Statesonian is multiples of 2 level tablespoons of fresh ground coffee, ground properly for the drip method, to 6 oz. of good water. The water should be heated to just off the boil before it is poured over the fresh coffee grounds. A paper filter will absorb oils from the coffee, robbing it of some flavor. A gold plate filter will not remove anything from the brew.

Coffee that sits directly on a heat source quickly looses its fresh flavor. Thermal pots are the better serving method. Remember to heat the interior of the cold thermal pots before filling them with the first batch of coffee. If you are serving coffee with ceramic mugs and cups, warming the vessels before hand keeps the vessel from robbing heat from the coffee.

Store whole beans or ground coffee in airtight containers in a dark, dry location. Only store unopened containers of both whole bean or ground coffee in a freezer. Once the containers have been opened do not return the coffee to the freezer, but store as above.

If you are purchasing a good quality coffee that is roasted properly and follow the above recommendations, then there is no reason that your church cannot be serving the Lord a good cup of brew!

Thanks Dav ed, I printed this off and pasted it my recipe book.

Rod, there are some who would argue that the correct proportions are in fact 1 level tablespoon to every 6 oz of water. To me that makes a weak cup and can result in over extraction. But for some folks, using 2 tablespoons results in a cup of Joe in which a spoon will stand upright on its own.

If you brew coffee in a drip coffeemaker at home, play with the amount of fresh coffee grounds per 6 oz until you are satisfied with the taste.

Thanks Da ved, I'll take the advice in both your posts. Besides, anything would be better than the diesel fuel I make on occasion.

We are in the middle of an effort to "boot the Folgers" out of the parish. I think we can do this in the name of three things:

1. A local roastery is wholesaling coffee to us for little more than we were buying the Folgers.

2. Enjoyment of God's good things is good and holy. It is celebration, just as the Eucharist is celebration. For that reason, good things are worth doing well.

3. Relationship. Using coffee that is too cheap (by that I mean, the cheapness comes at a hidden cost placed on the backs of others) is unfit for followers of Christ. It is walking past our neighbor who is getting mugged in the market. On the other hand, there is joy in knowing where the beans came from and who roasted them (and what care they use). Also, there is fellowship in standing with the movement of people who are trying to wake up to living more properly related lives to God's creation.

Cheap coffee, like cheap gas, cheap corn, and cheap coal is too cheap for those who live with the question, "Who is my neighbor?"

Jerry Cappel
Associate for Justice Ministries
St. Matthews Episcopal
Louisville, KY

Our coffee is good. And it wasn't that hard. We have a large Bunn fast brewing machine that brews directly into two large 'Air Pots' or dispensing thermos type containers. We have a large Bunn grinder that stores and grinds fresh for each brew. We order half-and-half. We serve coffee to several hundred people, and it's good. The key is the folks who are on 'coffee duty'. But the system is very easy.