Coffee Fest Las Vegas Pre-Registration Closes Monday February 17th 2003.

Currently 17% ahead of last years Las Vegas pre-registration, Coffee Fest expects more than 2000 attendees to visit this year’s show.

Attendee $15 pre-registration includes:
· 150 + exhibition booths
· 35 FREE powerful & valuable classes, workshops & presentations
· (6) Hands-On Espresso Extraction Workshops*
· (5) Coffee Cupping Workshops*
· Dillanos Free-Pour Latte Art Competition presented by - Tea & Coffee Trade Journal
· New Product Showcase
· Opening Night Networking Reception at Star Trek The Experience.

All presented for coffee retailers and those whose business includes coffee, tea and or related products. All of the sessions listed in this section are included in Coffee Fest Las Vegas standard attendee pre-registration of only $15 per-person. An incredible value, don’t miss this opportunity to sharpen your skills to build and maintain market share and learn more about running your best business possible. Come to Coffee Fest to see what’s new and to network with your peers.

* denotes seating limited – pre-registration required

THE BEST COFFEE TRADE SHOW VALUE AVAILABLE TODAY

PRE-REGISTER at www.coffeefest.com

Thank you... Starbucks!!!

For much of the 20th century coffee was America's drink. According to a 1939 study, 98% of country's households drank coffee and after WWII consumption steadily rose until the early 60's when the average American was drowning in almost 50 gallons of coffee a year. Then coffee went cold. Younger consumers began to regard it, like Scotch, as a pallative for parents and squares. The arid blends sold by Maxwell House and Folgers lost ground to Coke and Pepsi. Coffee consumption plummeted.

Along came Starbucks. Starbucks proved that you could sell "gourmet" coffee to the masses, and in the process, turned itself into a seemingless recession proof enterprise. Despite the weak economy, its profits were up 9% for the year. (Perhaps rising unemployment suits Starbucks just fine, delivering an exodus of time killers and resume polishers to its comfy chairs.) The real measure of Starbuck's success, however, is that it has helped turn Americans into a nation of coffee junkies again. During the 90's, the number of coffee drinkers rose by almost 40 million and more than 7000 new coffeeehouses have opened since 1996.

Starbucks invented its own heeding the advice of the economist Joseph Schumpeter, who wrote in 1939, "It was not enough to produce satisfactory soap, it was also necesssary to induce people to wash."

In the late 1880's George Eastman invented Kodak - the first point and shoot camera. Most Americans didn't see a need for a camera; they had no sense that there was value in visually documenting their lives. Before long, it was more or less considered a patriotic duty to commemorate the notable - and not so notable - moments in your life on a roll of Kodak film.

Around the same time George Eastman came up with Kodak, Will Kellogg introduced Corn Flakes and popularized the idea of the healthy light breakfast and Colgate insisted the brushing your teeth every day with Colgate toothpaste, naturally was as necessary as sleep. Gillette persuaded men that it was proper to shave every day and that you didn't need a barber. McDonald's convinced the suburban mothers that it was O.K. not to put a homecooked meal on the table every night. Similarly, Starbucks changed not just what people drank but how they drank it. Instead of gulping down gas-station swill on the fly, people learned to desire the experience of leisurely sipping a grande latte, while eavesdropping on job interviews, at one of Starbuck's 6000 convenient locations worldwide.

The economist William Baumol estimates that innovators and their investors keep less than 20% of the economic benefits that their innovations create. The rest just spills over. This is why there are thousands more independent coffeehouses today than when Starbucks started and why Dunkin' Donuts, Maxwell House and Folgers now sell premium coffee. It is also why pretty much everyone you know has clean teeth and shoeboxes full of snap shots.

RAINFOREST ALLIANCE PARTNERS WITH PORTLAND, OREGON'S BOYD COFFEE COMPANY

New York, NY - Rainforest Alliance-certified coffee will now be widely available to restaurants, hotels and consumers thanks to a new partnership with Boyd Coffee Company, the oldest family-owned coffee company in the Pacific Northwest. Coffee carrying the Rainforest Alliance seal of approval was grown and harvested according to a comprehensive set of guidelines that protect the environment as well as the rights of workers and local communities. On Rainforest Alliance-certified farms, workers are treated fairly, soil and water quality are not compromised, waste is managed efficiently, chemical use is dramatically reduced and relations with surrounding communities are strong.

"For some time now we have been searching for an organization that supports all aspects of sustainably grown coffees - social, economic and environmental," said Randy Layton Coffee Company's coffee master and vice president of coffee operations. "The Rainforest Alliance is just such a partner, and this is a tremendous step toward making high quality certified sustainable coffee available while helping to conserve the rainforest, protect wildlife, and sustain farming communities."

"Consumers are looking for socially responsible products, and visionary market leaders like Boyd Coffee Company are choosing ethically sourced beans," stated Sabrina Vigilante, the Rainforest Alliance's marketing coordinator. "It's now easier than ever for consumers to make a difference and support sustainable farming practices through everyday purchasing decisions."

Boyd Coffee Company's Rainforest Alliance-certified coffees will be available online at www.boyds.com or by calling (800)223-8211.

About The Rainforest Alliance

Since its inception 16 years ago, the Rainforest Alliance has pioneered the certification of sustainably managed forests, a movement that has protected more than 72 million acres of forest worldwide. Building upon this success, the organization has created programs in sustainable agriculture and tourism, which are now setting global standards for these industries. The Rainforest Alliance's work enables businesses and local communities to protect the natural resources on which they depend, while providing consumers with environmentally and socially friendly choices in food, wood products and tourism. For more information, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org.


About Boyd Coffee Company

Boyd Coffee Company has been serving the Pacific Northwest and beyond since 1900. The privately held family company provides coffee, espresso, rare estate coffees, teas and related equipment for restaurants and other foodservice operations nationwide and abroad. Boyd Coffee Company offers more than 650 coffee and food items, and is headquartered on a 30-acre site just east of Portland, Oregon.
--
Sarah W. Obraitis
Program Associate
Rainforest Alliance
665 Broadway, Suite 500
New York, NY 10012
Tel: 212-677-1900 Ext. 1972
Fax: 212-677-2187
sobraitis@ra.org

Become a member of the Rainforest Alliance.
Click on http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/join/index.html
today!

Stove Top Roaster

By Chet

This is my first attempt at a stove top roaster. It is 90% stainless steel. I purchased a miniature spiral bevel gear set and machine the parts. All the wear points have bronze bushings and are replaceable. The crank can be turned by hand or it can be motorized. There is a slight coating of rust, this will be eliminated by a coating of cooking oil. The first roast I did filled a qt. canning jar. I may motorized it later in the week, but it turns easily with the precision gear set. I made provisions for a thermometer, but the readings are confusing because the probe is not directly into the beans. It works great!!!

Click here for pictures

How Coffee Works

by Debra Beller

Introduction to How Coffee Works
Catching the Buzz
The Bean Belt
Red Cherry to Green Bean
Pop, Pop
Everyday Alchemy
Coffee Around the World
Lots More Information!
Shop or Compare Prices

If your morning routine includes a cup or two of coffee, you may know a few things about it. It's a stimulant drink, it comes from beans that are roasted and ground and, for many of us, it's a staple of life. But do you know where coffee grows and how it gets to America? How a French roast differs from an Italian roast? What a coffee cherry is? Or how decaffeinated coffee is made?

There's much more to that morning cup o' Joe than you may realize! In this edition of HowStuffWorks, we'll look at coffee's origins and how it spread, where it's grown, how it's harvested and processed and what roasting is all about. We'll finish by learning how to make a really great cup of coffee.

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Taste test for coffee bars

By Laura Birkin
10 February 2003
Britain's love affair with coffee bars has seen them spring up on almost every street corner with sales worth an estimated £400 million a year, a new survey reveals.

But most of us are left distinctly unimpressed when we are handed our frothy lattes or cappuccinos - believing the quality is poor.

More than 60 per cent of consumers who visited branded coffee bars have admitted they think the product is well below average.

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Coffee-making has evolved over the years

By Chris Fennimore
FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, February 9, 2003

The other day, my son asked me what coffee tastes like. As I was trying to describe the slightly bitter, musty but rich flavor of my morning ritual beverage, I realized that coffee is one of those unique tastes. Other things might be like coffee, but coffee is not like other things.

As I was growing up, my father always put the pot on in the morning. Like 99 percent of all Americans, he used a little stovetop percolator. The method was quite simple. Water boiled up from the bottom of the pot, hit the top and sprayed down over a basket of ground coffee.

The longer it perked, the more the coffee brewed and the stronger it became. You had to keep an eye on the pot to make sure you lowered the heat when the water began to boil and shut it off when the coffee was dark enough.

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