St. Louis Non-Profit Turns Coffee Into Clean Water

Local organization's coffee sales support better quality of life in Uganda, Coffee roasted locally with beans from Uganda now available in select Dierbergs stores. End Quote

St. Louis, MO-IL (1888PressRelease) August 13, 2010 - Three Avocados, a St. Louis-based non-profit, has recently launched a line of coffee to support developing countries like Uganda. Using coffee beans grown in Uganda, the organization works with a local coffee roaster to create a premium coffee with 100 percent of the proceeds going to support clean water efforts in the country of origin. The coffee is now available in select Dierbergs stores.

"Children are dying every day in Uganda from a lack of clean drinking water, and young girls are forgoing an education to spend four or more hours each day fetching unclean water for their families," said Joe Koenig, founder of Three Avocados. "We are committed to sending 100 percent of profits from our coffee sales back to the country of origin to help provide clean drinking water and a better education to those in need."

Koenig, a St. Louis native, started Three Avocados after a mission trip to Uganda in January. As he prepared for his trip, he didn't expect to return to St. Louis with coffee and avocados on his mind. But, as a successful IT professional returning to his job in the U.S., he couldn't stop thinking about the villages in Africa that he left behind, places where the average person would have to save all of their income for two years to buy a computer. Koenig felt called to do something more.

"People always ask me where the name 'Three Avocados' comes from", Koenig said. "While in Uganda, we were invited to worship at a small church in the village of Bulopa. When the offering plate was passed around, a widow placed three avocados in the basket, it was literally all she had to give."

It was this simple gift that moved Koenig to start Three Avocados. The non-profit sells coffee grown and produced by people in developing countries. Profits from the coffee sales are then reinvested in projects, such as water wells, schools and agricultural training in the countries where the coffee is produced. Every penny above and beyond the cost of production and administration goes back to the country of origin. Three Avocados works with a local coffee roaster in the St. Louis area to roast the beans from Uganda to perfection resulting in a bold but smooth coffee.

"I run into a lot of people that have never heard of coffee from Uganda, but one taste and they are sold," Koenig said. "It's a premium coffee that tastes great, but best of all, it supports a better quality of life for our friends in Uganda."

Last month, Dierbergs Markets http://www.dierbergs.com/ began carrying Three Avocados coffee at its Brentwood, Chesterfield, Creve Coeur, Ellisville, and Wildwood locations. Dierbergs Markets is a fourth-generation, family-owned business with 23 St. Louis metropolitan-area grocery stores. The coffee is also available at Eckert's in Belleville, Illinois.

You can also purchase Three Avocados coffee online at http://www.threeavocados.org/.

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