As of Monday, August 16th, 2010, we will begin limiting online sales at AlterraCoffee.com to whole bean and ground coffee only.  At that time, brewing ware, serving ware, gifts and wearables will no longer be available from the website.  We encourage customers to place final online orders for non-coffee items no later than Sunday, August 15th and apologize for any inconvenience. 

Please note that orders for anything other than whole bean or ground coffee must be received before midnight (CST), Sunday, August 15th. After that time, customers can visit Alterra cafes in the metro-Milwaukee area where all of our regular retail items will be available for purchase.

Thanks for your continued business and we look forward to bringing you exceptional coffee offerings for years to come!

Sincerely,
Your friends at Alterra Coffee

Alterra is proud to be a founding member of Our Milwaukee, a business alliance that advocates for locally owned, independent businesses. 


July 28th - August 7th, join Our Milwaukee in celebrating our city’s outstanding independent locals by:

1. Learning what local really means
2. Discovering Milwaukee’s best local businesses
3. Supporting the businesses that make Milwaukee unique!


AND ENJOY 2 FREE EVENTS!

Movie Screening of
 Independent America: Rising From Ruins

Sunday, August 1st, 1:30pm
 @ Times Cinema
5906 West Vliet Street

Shop the Our Milwaukee Vendor Fair 

at Fish Fry & a Flick on 
Friday, August 6th

Join the Our Milwaukee email list, pledge to buy local, and you’ll be entered to win great prizes from Our Milwaukee members, including a 6-month coffee subscription from Alterra!

Click here to enter or to view the full list of prizes. 



10 GREAT REASONS TO SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESSES:

* Buy Local - Support Yourself
Several studies have shown that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned business, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms - continuing to strengthen the economic base of the community.
* Support Community Groups
Non-profit organizations receive an average of 250% more support from small business owners than they do from large businesses.
* Keep our Community Unique
Where we shop, where we eat and have fun - all of it makes our community home. Our one-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of this place. Our tourism businesses also benefits. “When people go on vacation they generally seek out destinations that offer them the sense of being someplace, not just anyplace.”
* Reduce Environmental Impact
Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases requiring less transportation and generally set up shop in town or city centers as opposed to developing on the fringe. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.
* Create More Good Jobs
Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and in our community; providing the most jobs to residents.
* Get Better Service
Local businesses often hire people with better understanding of the products they are selling and take more time to get to know customers.
* Invest in the Community
Local businesses are owned by people who live in the community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the community’s future.
* Put Your Taxes to Good Use
Local businesses in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services as compared to nationally owned stores entering the community.
* Buy What You Want, Not What Someone Wants You to Buy
A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.
* Encourage Local Prosperity
A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.

Alterra is proud to announce that we now sell and serve Rishi Tea’s Masala Chai Concentrate in all of our cafes! This delicious chai is blended and brewed just down the road in Bay View, Milwaukee, and we are thrilled to be teamed up with such a fantastic local company.

Rishi Tea’s Masala Chai Concentrate is an all organic and Fair Trade Certified™ microbrewed blend of energizing spices and rich vanilla, infused with a full-bodied single origin forest grown black tea. Rishi uses ethically sourced, wild-grown black tea leaves from an ancient tea tree forest harvested in Yunnan, China – the birthplace of tea. The Fair Trade Certified black tea helps support more than 220 families living and working in the tea growing villages. Ancient wild-grown forest tea comes from a sustainable, biologically diverse ecosystem. Less than 2% of the world’s tea is harvested in such a low impact and truly organic manner.

To make this delicious concentrate, traditional Indian spices are slow brewed in small batches for more than 20 hours and carefully infused with the tea leaves. Slow brewing results in a more authentic and complex array of richer and fuller flavors. Each box of Masala Chai Concentrate also supports the Jane Goodall Institute and Roots & Shoots – its environmental and humanitarian global youth program.

Click here to view a video of the Rishi Tea Chai launch party with Dr. Jane Goodall!

Click here to read more about Rishi Tea’s Masala Chai Concentrate or stop by one of our cafes and try some today! Also, some folks from Rishi will be at two upcoming events at Alterra at the Lake. Swing by Musica del Lago with Orquesta Veneno on Thursday, July 15th or Florentine at the Lake on July 22nd for some great music and Rishi Masala Chai samples!

Last summer, the Bliffert family opened its doors to a new hardware store at their North Side Lumber Yard location across from Alterra’s Humboldt Boulevard café. This Saturday, June 12th marks Bliffert Hardware and Lumber’s one-year anniversary and they’ll be celebrating with food, demos, giveaways and live music by Freddy Bliffert. Festivities start at 10am with Fred playing at 1pm. Most items in the store and greenhouse will be 10% off on Saturday!

Please help celebrate a fantastic first year of business with our friends and neighbors at Bliffert!  The store is located in Riverwest at 1014 E. Chambers St.

Thank you for supporting this family owned, local hardware store and lumber yards. See you Saturday!

Alterra Coffee is proud to support Milwaukee Bike To Work Week 2010!

For the past several years, Alterra has been a sponsor of the Bike Federation of Wisconsin’s annual Bike To Work Week here in Milwaukee. The event helps spread awareness and support for those who chose to pedal to their jobs each day, making for less pollution, healthier people, and a fun, relaxing way to start and end your day.

Bike commuters are welcome to stop by our commuter station at the Alterra Foundry, June 7th - 11th from 7am -9am for free coffee and bakery samples to make the morning ride even more enjoyable. A bike mechanic will be on hand from Crank Daddy’s plus there are a number of events being hosted around town throughout the week by the Bike Federation of Wisconsin. Visit their website for more details.

Another great way to get involved with BTWW is by signing up your workplace and staff for the Commuter Bike Challenge. Alterra has entered some friendly competition with our pals over at Diablos Rojos Restaurant Group to see whose staff can log the most miles - winner gets a staff party hosted by the other team! Join in some competitive commuting of your own and check out the Commuter Bike Challenge page to sign up.

We are excited to have begun sourcing our Peru coffee from select communities in the Chirinos cooperative in northern Peru. These farmers share our passion for quality coffee and we look forward to offering it to you for years to come. Check it out here!

The Chirinos cooperative of Northern Peru, which was founded in 1968 with just 36 farmer-members, has grown to roughly 280 members from several communities in the Cajamarca region. This year, the coffees we selected from Chirinos came from 3 groups in the cooperative - Balcones, La Lima and Cordillera - that are at the highest elevations and produce the highest quality coffees. Harvested from mostly Typica variety trees (with small amounts of Caturra, Pache, Catimor and Bourbon) at elevations upward of 1,600 meters, this certified organic coffee is a delicious example of successful efforts in cooperative farming. This is a layered yet drinkable coffee with delicate floral and berry aromas and sweet, balanced acidity.  Enjoy!