Sometimes a little box arrives in the mail; inside, there's a can or two of Yuban Original Roast Coffee! I know the sender immediately. This is the story of why that delightful surprise is an endangered act of kindness.

My gift-giving friend, who is a hunter/gatherer extraordinaire, once questioned why a "localvore" like myself was serving Yuban at the inn. Well ...

My parents drank Yuban. When I hit the road of life, I began drinking dark roast that I ground by hand. It was the seventies-what can I say?

We opened the inn and served locally roasted coffee in keeping with our local-food philosophy, but guests always praised Yuban and the Salvadorian stuff. Question answered, right? Maybe. Over the years, Yuban became harder to find, and the little packages began arriving.

Andrei's friend from El Salvador happened to be visiting the inn while I was writing this story. After his first sleepy sip of Yuban on Sunday morning, his eyes opened in pleasant surprise and he said the words made famous by every coffee commercial ever made: "That's good coffee!"

And it is good coffee. Unfortunately, that is not enough. Most old-fashioned companies are part of bigger corporations now. Venture into the murky waters of buying from them and you've got homework.

 After procrastinating for fear of finding the smoking gun that could end my enjoyment, I visited Yuban's website and discovered they are Rain Forest Alliance-certified and are owned by Kraft. Not great news, but I'm not against big companies just because they're big.

I followed another link and the story got darker. Coffee is a commodity second only to oil. That can't be good. It's addictive. I am not giving it up. Every turn yielded more problematic information. This simple story is anything but simple.

Still, I couldn't find an old-school, off-the-shelf can of coffee that was any better than Yuban.

Yuban is the largest supporter of Rainforest Alliance sustainable coffee beans in the world. This certification includes fair labor practices but does not constitute Fair Trade. They are building sustainability practices and are decreasing their reliance on fossil fuels. If big companies aren't rewarded for trying, they won't try at all, right?

What about local coffee roasters? There are several, and one is in my own backyard; but they never make you say, "That's good coffee!" Food snobs: Beware of the blind taste test. You love the Salvadorian stuff when we have it. Yuban gets comparable rave reviews.

Plus it reminds me of dear friends, my beloved river and my parents, and that's a pretty nice way to start the day.

Yuban. It is the quintessential good-old-American cup of coffee ... that is now owned by Kraft, which is owned by Altria, which used to be ... Phillip Morris. Smoking gun.

Andrei is definitely taking two suitcases to El Salvador next year and filling them with coffee! I know for a fact that we will buy directly from the coffee farmers.

Daytime temperatures above freezing means it's time to tap our backyard sugar maple. I collect the sap in a Yuban coffee can as it begins to rise to the leaf buds. The can catches the steady drip of sparkling clear liquid as it trickles from the spout Andrei hammered into the tree a few weeks ago. As soon as the leaves start to grow, the sap stops flowing, and another sugar season comes to an end.

Last year we tapped our tree for the first time and were mesmerized to see the sap immediately begin dripping. What is the process that turns this clear stuff into maple syrup, we wondered? We discovered that 40 gallons of sap are required for ONE gallon of maple syrup. That's a lot of fuel burned, no matter what method you choose to use.

Making your own maple syrup may or may not taste as good as your favorite brand. Next time you're here, pick up some of the local maple syrup just over Baldwin Hill at Turner Farms. They sell a great big Grade B version that is dark and sweet and maple-y delicious. If you prefer something lighter enjoy a ride up to Ioka Valley Farm in North County.

Here at the inn, we drink the stuff right from the tree. Andrei makes delicious tea with sap and last season's dried mint leaves. Maple sap mint tea would be beautiful in some of those cool Moroccan tea glasses!

This past weekend I made a pot of Yankee baked beans ... local bacon, dried beans, backyard sap, a little mustard, some onions and a few bay leaves cooked low and slow, so satisfying to smell-and I got to use the hand-thrown bean pot I bought in Vermont one year.

The sugar content of maple syrup is 66%. The sugar content of sap is 2.5%, so if you live where sugar maples grow, and you can get your hands on the unboiled sap, drink a glass a day this time of year. It contains vitamins B₂, B₅, B₆, niacin, biotin and folic acid, as well as trace amino acids (for building strong bodies) and calcium, potassium, manganese, phosphorous and my personal favorite, magnesium. Goodbye, Wonder Bread!

Our nutritionist friend Peter got Andrei filling his water bottle with maple sap when he plays soccer. With an ingredients list like the one above, this stuff is bona fide happy juice! Or, as I like to call it ... Our VERY Sweet Water ... available only in late winter/early spring.

If, at this point you are ready to run out into your backyard looking for a sugar maple, keep in mind that the tree should be at least 40 years old and at least 12 inches in diameter.

If you don't have a sugar maple in your own backyard, enjoy a spring walk instead. You can always come and visit ours.

A friend who hates the texture of oatmeal, whether rolled or steel-cut, has a method using a baked apple that I can't remember. She says it takes the viscous texture away. Maybe she'll read this and weigh in next month.

There are always a few books catching my attention, some new and some old. Here's what I'm reading this month:

by Margaret Fox and John Bear

If you have ever wanted to open a restaurant (or a bed and breakfast) this is absolutely a required read!

by Margaret Fox and John Bear

Nothing is really new. Check out page 21. Someday if I am very, very lucky, I will make breakfast for Margaret Fox.

by Francis Mallmann

Next month I am heading out of the inn ... to Argentina!! Stay tuned ...