A Post About Coffee

Our awesome, well-caffeinated partners at Boston Stoker Coffee Co. have done the legwork to sponsor the Ohio premiere of a new movie about specialty coffee. The best news... it's right here in Dayton! Next month Heart to Honduras will join Boston Stoker to present A Film About Coffee in downtown Dayton's favorite independent film venue, the Neon Theater. With portions of this film shot near where we live and work, we are excited to see it on the big screen. See the bottom of this post for the showtime, trailer and information on how to purchase tickets.

In honor of this news, the self-appointed coffee experts here at Heart to Honduras have decided to review the Honduran brews offered by Boston Stoker, our favorite Dayton coffee roaster. Since Gordon was unable to attend the testing, dedicated readers will have to put up with the unrefined palates of the decidedly less-experienced, although only marginally less-passionate testers, Matt and Kaleb.

Thoughts on the Honduran Immigration Crisis

Photo by Peter Haden / by CC

Not dozens, not hundreds, not thousands, but tens of thousands of Hondurans are expected to emigrate from Honduras to the US in 2014 alone, shattering previous immigration records. Tens of thousands of husbands, mothers, sons, and daughters will leave family and home behind to seek opportunity, safety, and freedom from fear. Some come purely on selfish terms, seekers of fame and fortune that the Fat North has to provide. Others will arrive scarred from near-misses -- carrying jagged white lines on arms, legs, and faces, their eyes and hearts unable to maintain contact. Children seeking parents. The elderly craving rest. Gangsters fleeing a rapidly falling hatchet. Battered girls chasing promises of love and safety like so many vanishing butterflies. Young men hunting the Almighty Unicorn- the American Dream - find only a nightmare.

Alive and Well in Lomitas

During my week-long visit home (Honduras) in June, I drank more than a few cups of Honduran Hospitality (not to be confused with Southern Comfort), especially my first few days. While sipping the coffee-flavored sugary liquid known locally as coffee, the conversation immediately turned towards their Gringos' offspring. Once the pictures of Stacey+Tiny White Baby made an appearance, I ceased to exist for a little while. Once news got out to the community at large that I was in possession of pictures of Stacey+Tiny White Baby, visitation to the house to visit the pictures of Stacey+Tiny White Baby dramatically increased. I acted as priest and gatekeeper of the sacred objects to the pilgrims young and old that arrived to pay homage to the wallet-sized likenesses. Even after nightfall they arrived (dim flashlights bouncing down the path), asking to borrow the pictures to take to show to some grandma out in the sticks. Without fail, Stacey+Tiny White Baby were returned within 15 minutes, gingerly carried by the designated child errand-runner which expressed profuse thanks for their visit.

Mechanic Work = Flowers

About a year and a half ago, Humberto broke down in Las Lomitas on a Sunday afternoon. He had a classic Honduran work truck, a 1980-something 4-cylinder Nissan pickup - frame bent , headlights busted, metal cage around the bed, exhaust constantly emitting a cloud of varying color and rhythm, leaf springs suspiciously unspringy. However the real problem was the front right wheelbearings... or sudden lack of them. The wheel in question would not be turning any longer. I brought down my socket set, and set to work with about 5 other quasi-mechanics. Between the 6 of us, we the managed the know-how, muscle, and colorful Spanish euphemisms necessary to remove the offending rusty thing within a couple of hours. Triumphantly clutching his rust ball in one hand and a motorcycle's flimsy grab bar in the other, Humberto putted on towards Los Caminos on the back of a friend's little one-cylinder motorcycle, promising to return early the next morning.