Hugh Jackman Archives - The Espresso Chronicles

If you are a coffee person, and/or a humanitarian, or both, watch Dukale’s Dream. This is a documentary from World Vision hosted by Hugh Jackman (World Vision Ambassador). In it, Hugh visits Ethiopia to understand the work that World Vision is doing, and specifically meets a coffee farmer named Dukale.

Dukale is a success story for World Vision as he has taken the help received and transformed his life to be better than before. He’s almost carbon neutral in his farming AND he’s teaching others in his community how to do the same. Hugh is quite inspired by Dukale, and as a coffee enthusiast himself, makes a pledge to only drink Fair Trade coffee so that people like Dukale can continue to thrive and rise out of poverty.

Hugh helps out Dukale on his farm for a day. Probably the funniest moment is when Dukale says he has no idea who Hugh Jackman is, but for a supposed famous person, he worked very hard and made a good farmer. Then there’s the kids in the village who recognized him as Wolverine. Yes, kids in a remote Ethiopian village know Hugh Jackman is Wolverine.

You’ve probably heard of Fair Trade coffee. In simplest terms, it’s like Direct Trade (in which you buy directly from the farms), but ads a guarantee to you, the consumer, that your money is going back into the farms to promote sustainability and that the farms are treating their workers ethically as well. So, rather than Starbucks going in and offering pennies on the dollar to farmers, they get a fair wage for their work, and they can survive.

Hugh was so struck by this, that he not only pledged to drink only Fair Trade, but he started a coffee company to directly help as well. He has the resources to do something tangible. Speaking at the UN and using his fame is nice, but actually buying thousands of pounds of coffee from these farmers is putting real money into the economy. And, the shop (and his Laughing Man organization) is donating 100% of profits back into programs to help eliminate poverty.

Laughing Man Coffee & Tea has two locations in New York and serves the Dukale’s Dream flagship Ethiopian coffee. It’s very good.

I finally got down to Tribeca to Hugh Jackman’s place Laughing Man Coffee & Tea. If you saw his documentary “Dukale’s Dream”, this is the place that came out of the coffee journey he documented.

Located at 184 Duane St (there is now another location further West by the water as well), the place is tiny and had a healthy line on a Saturday at noon. One might expect this give the fame of the founder, but they make a very good cup of coffee! And, it seems there’s a good supply of “regulars” as the baristas acknowledged several folks as they walked in the door.

I had a flat white, a favorite in Australia, Hugh’s native land…how could I not (Hugh even has a note on the chalk board behind the bar suggesting it’s his favorite.)

The espresso, a blend of Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Costa Rica (according to the barrista) shines through nicely. The winey pop of the Dukale’s Ethiopian comes through the milk very well. It is honestly one of the better milk based drinks from a bar I’ve had in New York.

Even though the inside is tiny, just outside is a small city project called Street Seats. If the weather is nice, it’s a wonderful place to enjoy your coffee. It’s an easy walk from either the 1,2,3 or A,C Chambers Street stops. If you are in the area, give it a try.

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