Seattle Coffee Gear announced today that it will donate 5 percent of all online and in-store sales of Lavazza Tierra! coffee until January 15 to the charity Coffee Kids.

Seattle Coffee Gear has been involved with Coffee Kids since the summer of 2008 and is excited to help grow their contribution-base by donating a portion of its Tierra! proceeds to the organization. The company selected Lavazza’s Tierra! coffee because of its unique mission as a Lavazza-supported sustainable development project in Honduras, Peru, and Colombia.

Founded in 1988, Coffee Kids is dedicated to improving the lives of coffee-producing families in Central America by supporting projects focused on healthcare, infrastructural improvement, micro-credit, and education. Their work has helped develop and sustain many community-based programs that enrich the lives of the families working in the coffee industry.

“With coffee as the No. 2 export in the world, it’s sometimes amazing to think that the people harvesting it are receiving as little as 4 cents per pound,” says Victor Gehlen, Seattle Coffee Gear’s founder. “Here in Seattle, we often see over $4 for an espresso drink, so the disparity is a bit unbelievable. Supporting Coffee Kids and promoting Lavazza’s Tierra! coffee are a small part of how we can contribute to the growing sustainability of the international coffee industry.”