Much like the craft beer, whiskey/bourbon, and cigar movements in recent years, coffee has likewise seen a shift from “big box” to craft-minded offerings. No longer is it acceptable to simply roast the hell out of your beans in a deceptive ploy to have consumers equating “dark” to strong and enjoyable (we know who we’re talking about here…).

SEE ALSO:

PSA: Craft Coffee for the Cigar Enthusiast

With the craft coffee movement, the modern coffee scene is akin to local breweries, where customers enjoy their coffee at the roaster itself. This is in contrast to the coffeehouses most casual consumers are familiar with—which, in keeping true to our analogy, would be more on par with a traditional bar or liquor store. If you’re in a region with a good selection of breweries, you’ll know there is no comparison. This is our feeling towards craft roasters as well.

Lucky for Cigar Dojo (being based out of Denver), we have our fair share of both breweries and roasters. One in particular—Queen City Collective Coffee—has been occupying our morning drinking vessels for quite some time, and we’ve since partnered with the roaster to share a sampling (or three) with DOJONATION.

This week’s contest is sponsored by Queen City Collective Coffee

Contest Theme: What’s Your Craft?

Since Cigar Dojo launched our app in late 2012, we’ve held nearly one cigar contest EVERY WEEK! You could build a small house from the cigar boxes we’ve given away. Therefore, this week we’re switching things up, offering one of our personal favorite selections of craft coffee instead!

In the spirit of all things craft, we’d like to see your craft this week. This could mean woodworking, knitting, metal fabricating, or anything else CRAFT. Hell, if you’re coming up short, we’d even like to see the crafts you enjoy—beer, wine, whiskey, and yes, sweet sweet coffee…

Get creative and have fun with the concept—bend the rules, do what you gotta do to make us laugh, cry, cringe, etc…

Use #myCraft with entries

We will award one winner every day for the next three days!

To enter the contest:

Take a craft-related photo involving the contest theme
Post on Cigar Dojo app & include hashtag #myCraft
Share your entry on social media » see how

Prize #1

Our first prize is a 280 gram bag of Queen City’s Nezif Sherfu // Ethiopia. Queen City describes this blend as, “Reminds us of — tropical fruits, sweet citrus & black tea.”

“The Nezif Sherfu CWS is found deep in the Limu Gera district. The highland climate of Gera is cool and wet, receiving 8 months of rainfall. This high-altitude rainfall results in well-irrigated coffee that is bursting with flavor. The coffee trees here grow under a natural forest, allowing the beans to develop more slowly and take on fuller flavors. This coffee is hand-picked by small farmers, then pulped, washed, and laid out to dry. This region has historically produced natural dried coffees, but many are turning their efforts towards specialty washed coffee – with delicious results. After drying, the washed beans are then carefully sorted to remove any defects, allowing the natural flavors of heirloom coffee varieties to carry through into the cup.”

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Prize #2

Our second prize is a 280 gram bag of Queen City’s Los Venteños // Colombia. Queen City describes this blend as, “Reminds us of — milk chocolate & yellow apple”

“This classic Colombian coffee comes from the high mountains of La Unión in northern Nariño. Brought to us by our friend Herbert Peñaloza, this lot is a collaboration with 16 farmers in the region. Herbert, a notable farmer and roaster in Colombia, consults with farmers through the project of La Real Expedición Botánica. His vision is to increase environmental stewardship, and refine coffee growing practices and processing techniques in order to increase quality and make farming a more stable livelihood for the community.

Los Venteños is one example of Herbert’s extraordinary project. This washed coffee was dry-mass fermented for 36 hours, which produced a clean, sweet and balanced cup. The premium placed on buying this quality coffee directly from Herbert allows him and La Real Expedición Botánica continue their important work.”

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Prize #3

Our third prize is a 280 gram bag of Queen City’s Hingakawa // Rwanda. Queen City describes this blend as, “Reminds us of — baking spices & vanilla”

“The Hingakawa Women’s Association is the OG inspiration for Queen City. Formed as a farmer’s association within the Abakundakawa Cooperative, Hingakawa is designed to give revenue premiums back to the women who are members of the group to empower them at the household level. Such grassroots development, based on quality coffee production, is a meaningful tool for building gender equity in the coffee sector of Rwanda.

We first dreamed up starting a roasting company while visiting the ladies of Hingakawa and their export partner, Misozi Coffee, in 2015. The idea was to import directly from the farmers, sell their roasted product to woke consumers like you, and provide an additional revenue dividend back to Hingakawa for the farmers to use for association needs (like buying goats, organic fertilizers, and even a community center). And, check it, this is what we’re doing now.”

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CONTEST TIPS & INFO

Our contest this week will run from Friday, July 27th at 7pm (EST) until Wednesday, August 3rd (one full week!). The winners will be announced next Friday night on Smoke Night LIVE.

Please, no Google images!

Yes, you may photoshop images together to create your own creative entry. Just don’t flood the Dojo with memes you found on the web.

*Contest winners will be picked by the Cigar Dojo staff based on creativity and best overall image/statement fitting the contest theme.

Entries are limited to 2 per person per day

CONTEST RULES

Contest presented by CigarDojo.com. This contest and other contests on the Dojo website and Cigar Dojo app are NOT sponsored by Apple inc. or any of it’s partners in any way. Estimated retail value of prizes $50.00. No substitution, transfer, or cash equivalent of prizes by any winner. No purchase necessary. Winners MUST email their name and shipping address to sensei@cigardojo.com – failure to claim prize within seven (7) days from the win date shall be deemed null and void and shall result in forfeiture. Must be 21 or older to participate. Odds of winning depend on number of customer entries, winners picked at random contestants may have multiple entries. Taxes and fees, if any, are the responsibility of the winner. Employees of CigarDojo.com are ineligible. This contest is void where prohibited by law and subject to local, state and federal law. Only original images or original compositions will be considered in the final selections. We are not responsible for prizes that may become lost or damaged during shipping. Many will enter, few will win.

Please note that to enter tobacco related product giveaways you must be 18 years old (or the minimum age in your local jurisdiction, whichever is higher).

SOCIAL SHARING

Create your own status update for Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram

Post your entries on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram (as well as Cigar Dojo of course) and try to include these four elements:

@CigarDojo
@QueenCityColle1
https://cigardojo.com/?p=37997
#myCraft

An example might be….

My craft is closely tied to whatever my wife happens to be researching on Pinterest... #myCraft -- post your craft with @CigarDojo @QueenCityColle1 for a chance to win craft-roasted coffee from Queen City: https://cigardojo.com/?p=37997

Or…

Want to try Denver's finest craft coffee? Post your favorite CRAFT on @CigarDojo app using #myCraft for a chance to win a bag of premium-roasted goods... https://cigardojo.com/?p=37997

Include TWO of the FOUR elements above to enter!

Short Link: