Review and Giveaway: Gobena Coffee

If you want to drink a fine cup of coffee while simultaneously supporting a fine charitable cause, consider Gobena Coffee.

Gobena Coffee is more a ministry than a company.  Here is the story of how they came to be:

In the summer of 2007, Steve and Danae, traveled to Ethiopia to adopt their little girl, Eva. The contrast in cultures was amazing. The Ethiopians they met lived in poverty, but were rich in their sense of community and in the closeness of their relationships.

The baby had been found by a 70-year-old farmer named Gobena, who found Eva abandoned in the yard near his home. “Because she is God’s soul,” Gobena and his wife, Mulunesh, took care of the newborn baby for about a month.

During this time Gobena and Mulunesh realized that they would not be able to provide for Eva, so they traveled 150 miles to a police station to seek help. Eventually they gave the girl over to an orphanage to be adopted.

Gobena’s generosity in helping Eva connect with her new family inspired Steve and Danae to create the “coffee ministry,” which donates 100 percent of its profits (about $4 per 12-ounce bag) to care for orphans and vulnerable children. A Christian missionary group called Lifesong for Orphans partners with Gobana to turn the profits into aid.

None of this has anything to do with whether the coffee is good (I’m getting to that), but you should be aware that buying from Gobena is about more than a morning jolt. This is a social justice mission that has the potential to greatly improve the lives of children.

That’s the good news. The other good news is that the coffee itself is amazing. You can enjoy a great cup of coffee even if you’re not interested in the charity work, or you can support the charity work without having to settle for a substandard product to do so.

Gobena provided two varieties for this review, Ethiopian and Hazelnut.

The Ethiopian brews up with a strong and pleasant aroma, which makes for intense and rich flavor. Its flavor profile is complex enough to separate it from more pedestrian coffees, but not so much as to be ambivalent. Whether black or with milk, it provides a satisfying morning boost. (I don’t use any kind of sweetener in coffee, but I’m sure the coffee is just as excellent for people who prefer their coffee sugared up.)

The Hazelnut was the bigger surprise. I explored flavored coffees for a little while when I was first developing a taste for coffee in my early 20s, but never found one I really liked. All of the varieties I tried, including some premium brands, tasted fake, like the beans had just been coated with some kind of artificially-flavored chemical spray. (For all I know that might be what happened.)

Gobena’s hazelnut is not like that. The hazelnut flavor is pronounced and seems to be all natural. The nuttiness complements the coffee flavor in a way that brings out the best in both without sweetening it.  This coffee would be perfect on a cool Autumn morning.

Gobena assures customers that all of its coffee is either direct trade or fair trade; both practices ensure the people who grow and sell the coffee are paid fairly for the product. Some, but not all, of its coffees are organic.

Gobena sells its coffee for $14.99 for a 12-ounce bag, in either whole-bean or ground and they discount the price for orders of two or three bags at a time. Order three bags at $10.99 each and it doesn’t cost much more than a high-end brand at the grocery store, especially with free shipping on all orders. The company offers 10 varieties and most are available either whole bean or fresh ground.

For customers who want the freshest beans, keep track of “Gobena’s Choice,” the company’s designation for the freshest roast based on which regions are harvesting their coffee at a given time.

You can also buy mugs and gift boxes, or sign up for the Coffee Club, a subscription box that delivers your coffee at an additional discount on a schedule you set.

There’s really nothing negative to say about this company. Its coffee is excellent, and purchasing it supports important humanitarian work on behalf of children in great need. I highly recommend Gobena Coffee!

From now through the end of October 2015, you can purchase Gobena Coffee at 20% off by using the checkout discount code "lifesong". 

Additionally, Gobena Coffee is giving one of our US readers 2 bags of coffee, just like I did - one bag of Ethiopian and 1 bag of Hazelnut!  Read on to see how you can enter.

(Please note, Gobena Coffee does not ship internationally.)

http://www.gobena.org/
https://www.facebook.com/gobenacoffee
https://twitter.com/gobena_coffee
http://www.lifesongfororphans.org/ 

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment in this entry as instructed by the Rafflecopter, then leave the name you commented under and your email in the box in the Rafflecopter entry. (This allows us to contact you if you win!)  This will open up additional optional entries to increase your odds of winning.

This giveaway is open to US RESIDENTS ONLY
and will end just before midnight ET on 9-28-15. 

The winners will be notified by email within 24 hours after the end of the giveaway.  In order to claim the giveaway prize, the winner will need to respond within 24 hours of notification, or an alternate winner will be selected.

Once the winner(s) have responded and confirm, their first name will be posted on our Giveaways page. 

Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway