My mom has done a lot for me over the years. She's been just great. Giving birth to me. Helping to raise me right. Encouraging my spiritual growth. Packing my lunch in a Victoria Secret bag. She's been wonderful.

One of the new roles she has taken on recently is that of my personal coffee shopper. I didn't even have to ask her to take on this position. Boy howdy, am I glad she did though.

I'm getting to the point in life where there are very few things that I really really miss about Portland. My family is certainly one. The ocean and mountains will never be replicated. The West Coast vibe won't migrate. And neither will the coffee culture. A culture that I was born and raised in and that was a big part of my formative years. I was going to Starbucks after school before the store even entered the Kansas City market. That's just how we roll.

Now, especially with my conversion to fair trade only coffee, I have craved a more robust coffee culture in Kansas City. There are two local roasteries of quality, but they don't have the best fair trade selection. A handful of samplings, but not really enough to satisfy my desires to branch out and experiment.

Enter mom. Grade A west coast coffee importer. First, she introduced me to Cafe Mam and their fantastic Tengo Blend. Just recently she sent out some fantastic coffee from Sleepy Monk Coffee. This particular roastery works its magic at Cannon Beach, OR, and specializes in Fair Trade and Organic products. I really enjoyed the Monestary Blend, and was impressed to see how many different dark roasts they carried on their website. Plus, this particular roastery has to have one of the most fantastic names I have every come across.

So props to mom for sharing her fine coffee taste with me.

Fair Dinkum