Some Ohioans might want to warm up during the next bout of frigid temperatures and snow flurries with a warm mug of coffee. Others might already drink a cup or two every morning. For many people, coffee is a daily part of our lives, but pouring a morning cup o’ Joe rarely makes us think about where those beans were grown, harvested, and roasted.

The owners Dirty Girl Coffee, based in Glouster, Ohio, think about their beans’ origins for their customers. They also have written within their name a social mission to encourage environmental stewardship and economic development, especially for women, who can often be hit the hardest by poverty.

Their coffee comes from organic, fair trade sources, often from female producers who are paid fairly for quality product. And it supports ethical practices worldwide. In Ethiopia, the birthplace of arabica beans, deforestation threatens coffee crops, as wild, shade-grown coffee plots lose their protective forest canopy. The government of Ethiopia, and several nonprofit organization, are making great efforts to reverse and slow the deforestation that took the country from about 40 percent forest to just over 4 percent.

Learn more about Ethiopian reforestation efforts and the production of coffee that may one day end up in your cup by checking out this origin report from one of Dirty Girl’s suppliers.

Dirty Girl has three different Ethiopian varieties available, including their heirloom Gugi roast, which has notes of caramelized sugar and a bright floral flavor.

The Winding Road Marketplace stocks: Ruby Roast, a free-trade organic Ethiopian Sidamo; Highlander Groggin’, a rich butterscotch and rum flavored blend; Yirgacheffe, a free-trade, organic Ethipoian light roast; Ascend, a bold, free-trade organic dark roast; and Kanepe’, a free-trade organic, balanced roast from El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, one of the world’s most biologically diverse natural reserves.

Dirty Girl Coffee serves as a great example of one of Southeast Ohio’s quality, sustainable assets. Their work to grow the Glouster area with their business is key in the Winding Road’s goal of sustainable development.