RABBI PLISKIN'S DAILY LIFT

Daily Lift #328 Respond To Disrespect With Dignity


Anger frequently comes from feeling that someone did not treat you with the proper respect. People tend to feel angry with someone who fails to show them the honor they think they deserve.

The solution is to contemplate how valueless honor really is.

When you react to slights to your honor with a sense of personal dignity, you gain much more than when you lose your temper. The greater your own realization that you have intrinsic worth since you are created in the image of the Almighty, the less the slights of mortals will effect you.


(Maaneh Rach, Ch.6; Rabbi Pliskin's Gateway to Happiness, p.196)

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Rabbi Zelig Pliskin is the author of 18 books on spiritual and emotional
growth, including "Happiness," "Marriage," "Kindness," and "Guard Your
Tongue." He lectures regularly at Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem.

Aish.com

Coffee - The Market (Part 1 of 2)

by Stuart Brown - Editor - FirstScience.com

Coffee is the second most valuable legally traded commodity on Earth (after oil) with global retail sales of coffee estimated to be $70 billion. Of this approximately $6 billion finds its way into the hands of the producing countries, and the rest goes to those who market it and sell it to us in various forms (and often for ridiculously high prices) in places like coffee bars. Coffee is unusual in that 70 per cent of the world crop is grown on farms smaller than 25 acres, and hence it is often a family run, and people intensive endeavour that provides a living for over 20 million people around the world. Its name is derived from the Arabic qahwa, which literally means "that which prevents sleep" and we know that it was being made in the 9th century by boiling the beans. The drinks made from coffee beans soon became known as Arabian Wine as Muslims, who were forbidden to drink wine, used coffee as a stimulating substitute. It was discovered by around the 13th century that roasting the beans produced a better flavour, and our modern drink was born.

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Unions target Starbucks

Labor, community officials stage rally at San Mateo coffee house to protest Cintas contract

By Tim Simmers - BUSINESS WRITER

SAN MATEO (CA)-- Labor and community leaders staged a rally in front of the downtown Starbucks here Tuesday, calling the coffee company's new contract with uniform-and-laundry-supplier Cintas socially irresponsible.
The demonstrators wore bandages and arm slings to dramatize what they called Cintas' poor record for worker safety, including two deaths in illegal and unsafe working conditions in recent years. They also slammed the company for paying low wages and creating sweatshop working conditions.

"Starbucks, we're asking you to wake up and smell the sweatshop," said Shelley Kessler, executive secretary treasurer and leader of the San Mateo County Central Labor Council. "Starbucks claims to be socially responsible, but using Cintas as a contractor defies these principles."

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Seven-Eleven Sued Over "Big Gulp" Coffee Burns

The convenience store chain Seven-Eleven, Inc. is being sued for $45 million dollars in medical costs and punitive damages by a customer who alleges that he received severe burns from a cup of coffee served at a St. Louis, Missouri branch of the store. "My client has sustained third-degree burns over ten percent of his body. And in a very sensitive area, if you know what I mean," said attorney Mark Offman, representing the anonymous client. "We are accusing the Seven-Eleven corporation of deliberately producing an unsafe product which puts thousands of customers at risk every day."

Spokesmen for the company denied the validity of the charges.

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Norwegian cafe offers coffee with horse milk

A Norwegian cafe owner is offering a new coffee drink - a latte that comes with horse milk.

Project chief Karianne Groev has dubbed the drink at the cafe in Valdres a "hoppe (mare) latte".

Berit Bergset developed the Stryn horse milk as a product, and is pleased to have found a trendy new outlet.

Aftenposten reports Bergset told Norwegian Broadcasting: "I think it is great. We primarily sell the milk as a health product, but if someone has, for example, an allergy to cow's milk they can have a latte this way. That can only be good."

Groev is also pleased with the unusual drink, but says that not everyone dares to give it a try.


www.ananova.com

Seattle's Best Coffee Joins with Culinary Conceptualists to Create Cafe-Quality Flavored Coffees

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 12, 2003--

Cinnabon Flavored Coffee One of Six New Creations Debuting on Supermarket Shelves

Seattle's Best Coffee(R) (SBC) has combined its signature specialty coffee with new, complex flavor creations to produce six indulgently flavored coffees. Debuting on supermarket shelves this month, each cafe-quality blend is designed to capture the intense aroma and flavor of the dessert for which it is named.
The new specialty flavored Arabica coffees were created and perfected after intensive research by a team of the nation's top flavor experts, including Kathy Casey, prominent Northwest food and beverage conceptualist and chef. The culinary flavorists, along with the SBC team, spent numerous hours analyzing the sweet nuances of each dessert taste to create highly complex, aromatic coffees unique to the flavored coffee category.

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Coffee Republic plans deli theme

Simon Bowers

The Guardian (U.K.)

Bobby Hashemi, founder and executive chairman of Coffee Republic, plans to transform the chain into New York-style delicatessens and remove comfy sofas
to prevent low spending customers lingering in his stores.
The proposed transformation comes after Coffee Republic made it clear last year that its balance sheet could no longer take the continued strain of competing for market share with Starbucks, Costa Coffee and Caffe Nero.

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Soy-coffee vendor is stirring up interest

New brew is a hot seller with consumers who want health benefits, less caffeine.

By Priya Abraham

Past the soy ice-cream sandwiches and the soy crayons and across from the dancing soybean mascot is the coffee.

Soybean coffee. In French vanilla, Swiss chocolate almond and four other flavors.

The new product, called JavaSoy and developed by Adler Seeds in Sharpsville, is making its debut at the Indiana State Fair.

"It tastes like coffee," said Jeannie Hilland of Rockville, Park County. "I knew they used soybeans in a lot of things, but I didn't know they used it for coffee."

The drink isn't all soybean: It's blended with Colombian Arabica coffee. Brands that have attempted to use only soybeans haven't worked out so well.

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Giuseppe roasts up an elixir for coffee lovers

Sydney, Australia Business Review

Giuseppe Di Stefano is releasing a signature blend for coffee purists. It has been five decades since he roasted his first coffee bean under his father's tutelage in the small Italian town of Abruzzo.

'Caffé Di Stefano' uses only the finest organically-grown Arabica beans from around the world which the 67-year old maestro torrefattore sifts, sorts and roasts with pinpoint precision.

Because of its labour-intensity, the patriarch of Primo Products at Wetherill Park can only produce a limited amount of 'Caffé Di Stefano', so it will be offered to a small number of exclusive restaurants and retailers in Sydney on a first-taste basis.

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Parasites prevent ants from protecting coffee plants

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Azteca ants are voracious predators that live on coffee plants and aggressively defend their territories. That’s generally good for the coffee plants, which are protected in the process against all sorts of insect pests.

But the whole system goes awry when parasitic flies called phorids enter the picture. When they get the chance, the flies lay eggs in Azteca ants’ heads, but they also influence the ants’ behavior, with far-reaching results, a University of Michigan graduate student has discovered.

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Plan to keep workers in Mexico proves costly to coffee farmers

TESSIE BORDEN
The Arizona Republic Mexico City Bureau

JACK KURTZ/The Arizona Republic

EL AZOTAL, Mexico - In the two years since 14 migrants died in the desert near Yuma, friends and relatives in these poor mountain settlements formed a coffee growers' cooperative in their honor, hoping to earn a decent living so they wouldn't have to risk their lives.
The idea was to get more money for their product and help end the hemorrhage of migrant workers to the United States from Veracruz state. But they say a transnational import-export company that promised better-than-market prices for their crop instead bilked them of almost $50,000, more than half their money.

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Blueberry Coffee Cake Recipe

1/4 cup each sliced almonds and firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
cup butter
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9- inch tube pan. Sprinkle with mixture of almonds and brown sugar; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Lightly stir in blueberries.

In a small bowl, beat egg lightly with milk and vanilla. Stir milk mixture into blueberry mixture just until combined. Spread batter gently in prepared pan.

Bake until coffee cake is well-browned and a long skewer inserted in thickest part comes out clean (45 minutes to 1 hour).

Let stand in pan for about 5 minutes, loosen edges, and invert onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 1 coffee cake.

Guild for Coffee Roasting Professionals Announces Apprenticeship Program

Those Who Complete Apprentice and Journeyman Requirements Eligible for Title of "Master Roaster"

LONG BEACH, CA — The Roasters Guild announces the coffee industry's first accreditation program for coffee roasters. A core principle of The Roasters Guild is to provide educational opportunities to coffee roasters, and present the craft and science of coffee roasting as a professional occupation.

The educational component of the program provides training and instruction on a broad range of coffee related topics. The accreditation component is a formal qualification program that recognizes coffee knowledge, industry-wide expertise, and confers credentials at the completion and mastery of the educational curriculum.

"We received a clear mandate from our membership that an individual accreditation program was what The Roasters Guild should focus on," says Mike Ebert, Chairman, The Roasters Guild Executive Council. "We have identified a dynamic team of coffee professional to design a complete program, build alliances with industry experts, and create an infrastructure within The Roasters Guild to implement this program."

"The Roasters Guild has a responsibility to both educate novice coffee roasters, and continue the training of the experts in our field," adds Spencer Turer, Accreditation Board Chairman. "We have designed a very comprehensive curriculum, including practical training and educational classes that will bring value to coffee roasters of every size and in every segment of the industry."

The educational program will coordinate the collaborative efforts of The Roasters Guild and The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) and present a curriculum for coffee roasting, product testing, manufacturing, farming and processing, and other coffee related topics. These educational lessons will be presented at Roasters Guild events and at SCAA conferences in the form of seminars, lectures, workshops, and also self-directed home study. The course syllabus will be presented in graduating levels of challenge with a logical progression of basic classes as prerequisites for advanced topics.

The accreditation component is a multilevel program consisting of formal testing and qualification designations. Candidates actively pursuing an accreditation level will follow a specific course of study and evaluation, while accredited roasters will be required to continue their educational and professional development to maintain their qualification level.

The Apprentice Roaster level is for individuals in the investigation phase of their career. The Journeyman Roaster accreditation is for individuals who are employed to roast coffee, and have completed the training required to perform their job requirements. Classes at this level are designed to be more challenging and of a higher educational level then the Apprentice. The Master Roaster accreditation is for experienced, highly skilled coffee roasters who are regarded as experts by their peers. This Master Roaster accreditation level is designed to be particularly complex and multifaceted, and requires substantial individual learning related to coffee, manufacturing, and business topics.

"Our goal is to elevate the status of coffee roasters from skilled laborers to skilled professionals; our desire is that the Master Roaster designation enjoy the same recognition and honor that Master Chefs and Masters Sommeliers receive," says Spencer Turer.

About The Roasters Guild and SCAA
Originally conceived in 1998 by top industry professional, The Roasters Guild was formally chartered in 2001 and began membership registration in 2002. Currently The Roasters Guild has over 200 members worldwide, and includes coffee roasters from all aspects of the coffee business: farmers, exporters, importers, commercial roasters, and retailers. The Roasters Guild is a Specialty Coffee Association of America Trade Guild. Visit The Roasters Guild at www.roastersguild.org.

Founded in 1982, SCAA is the world’s largest coffee trade association with over 2,500 member companies. SCAA members are located in over 40 countries and represent every segment of the specialty coffee industry, from coffee growers to coffee roasters and retailers. The SCAA’s mission is to be the recognized authority on specialty coffee, providing a common forum for the development and promotion of coffee excellence and sustainability. The SCAA’s dedication to excellence in coffee is realized through the setting of quality standards for the industry; conducting research on coffee, equipment and perfection of craft; and providing education, training, resources and services for members. The SCAA’s annual conference is held in a different U.S. city each year and is the coffee industry’s largest gathering and exhibition.