Zoka Blog

Earth Day was a great day for Zoka Coffee. For those of you who couldn't join us, we posted our travel photos on the Zoka Coffee Page on Facebook. Fans had to guess the locale. Before we reveal the local of the mystery photos, let's announce the randomly selected winners!

• Debra Nicholson
• Julie Craves
• Taylor T. Black
• David Likosky
• Adrienne Vernon
• Min Luo

Congratulations, you've won a gift set filled with an Organic Tatoosh Blend Coffee, Organic Espresso Quatro Coffee, and a Chambord 4 Cup French Press. Claim your gift sets by emailing your full name, email address, and mailing address to zokablog@portent.com within one week. While you're sipping your organic coffee, fresh from the French Press, day dream about visiting all these places.

Photo 1: Nicaragua

Many of you guessed Costa Rica and we know why (a little Wikipedia work would reveal a second place with the same name in Costa Rica). But we snapped this photo in Nicaragua! It was taken at the Finca la Minita in the Matagalpa region - we frequent this region often on our quest for delicious coffee.

Travel tidbit:  Nicaragua is larger than Ireland and Poland put together.

Photo 2: Japan

We couldn't fool you guys. Most of our friends and customers know we have three Zoka locations in Japan. This image is from Nagareyama Zoka at the grand opening in 2007.  Check out Jeff's wide smile - what a happy day!

Travel tidbit: The term karaoke means "empty orchestra" in Japanese.

Photo 3: Costa Rica

Costa Rica should be nicknamed "Land of the golden beans." It's home to many of the world's best coffees. This image was taken in Tres Rios, a region that has produced many Cup of Excellence award winning coffees. 

Travel tidbit: What's in that bottle? Coffee! In Costa Rica, it's widely accepted to give coffee to babies and young children.

Photo 4: Rwanda

We snapped this beautiful image at the Rusenyi growers coop in Lake Kivu, Rwanda. No exaggeration, some of the best coffee in the world comes from this region. It's one of our favorite spots to find delicious brews and we've been purchasing coffee from the region for many years.

Travel tidbit: Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa

Photo 5: Sumatra

A stunning shot from Sumatra. There's no coffee quite like Indonesian coffee - sample our Organic Sumatra Permata Gayo and taste the essence of the Pacific Rim of Fire.

Travel tidbit: The ancient name for Sumatra was Swarna Dwipa, which in Sanskrit means Isle of Gold. It's a fitting name - especially when it comes to their coffee.

Photo 6: Panama

Panama, Pan-namaha-ha. We can't resist humming that Van Halen song every time we think of this wonderful coffee growing region.

This pretty picture was snapped on the outskirts of the Hacienda La Esmeralda farm.  High on the slopes of Mount Baru in Western Panama, the farm has produced many Best of Panama auction winners and the priciest coffee Zoka has ever purchased ($135 per pound -green).

Travel tidbit: Panama is the only region in the world where you could see the sun rise in the Pacific and set in the Atlantic. How cool is that?

That's all fellow coffee folks! If you didn't win, don't worry. Zoka had so much fun doing this contest, we'll host more contests in the future.