KONA COFFEE AND TEA COMPANY SELECTED AS KONA'S FINEST COFFEE

The Kona Coffee & Tea Company won the coveted Gevalia Kona Coffee Cupping Competition during the 33rd Annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival. Cupping judge John King stated, "Besides the nice balance between the acidity and body, it was the floral fragrance that set it apart from the competition…. It stood out as the most ‘Kona’ among the entries."

Over seventy Kona coffee farmers submitted entries into this year's Gevalia Kona Coffee Cupping Competition. The blind-taste competition, a signature event of the Kona Coffee Festival, was sponsored by Gevalia Kaffe of Sweden.

It is no mistake that Kona Coffee has a reputation worldwide as a superb coffee. The combination of the elevation, the volcanic soil, the morning sun and the afternoon cloud cover make ideal conditions to produces a coffee with all of the best characteristics of a high elevation, shade-grown coffee. Gevalia Kaffe rates Kona coffee among its elite three of the world's most sought-after Island Mountain Reserve coffees. According to Gevalia, 100 percent Kona Coffee is best described as "smooth with buttery and nutty overtones, rich and velvety without heaviness."

Newcomer to the industry, The Kona Coffee & Tea Company’s 200-acre estate is in the world-famous Kona Coffee Belt, 2500 feet above the Village of Kona, on the slopes of Mt. Hualalai. Even in draught conditions that plagued Kona this year, the qualities of this exquisite coffee came through. The Kona Coffee & Tea Company Farm trees were planted 6 years ago and the Showroom-Espresso Bar opened last Spring, making it the first of its kind. Strategically located between the Kohala Coast Resorts and the Village of Kona, this Specialty Shop offers a complete line of Kona Coffee, Island Teas and Hawaiian Gourmet Foods as well as a complete coffee tour away from the farm. The candy-apple red coffee roaster goes into action every day while the Master Roaster tells the Kona Coffee Story. Guests enjoy the show while sipping a Peaberry latte or sampling Kona’s finest coffee.

www.KonaCoffeeandTea.com

Farmers of Ethiopia turn to khat as world coffee prices tumble

By William Wallis in Nairobi

Farmers in Ethiopia, where the drinking of coffee originated 3,000 years ago, have begun cutting down coffee bushes and replacing them with the drug khat, according to research by Oxfam, the British aid group, which says the slump in world coffee prices is boosting the global drugs trade.

The research - published on Tuesday to coincide with a crisis meeting of coffee farmers, industry officials and international institutions in Geneva - says production has dropped by 17 per cent since 1998 in the Ethiopian province of Harar, an area reputed by tasters to produce some of the world's finest Arabica beans.

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A Cup of Joy

Send a cup of joy to your friends. Tell them if this doesn't put a smile on their face, they should go back to bed and start over.

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Globalisation hits Vietnam where Starbucks mutates to Starblacks

December 7, 2003

By Bloomberg

Needing a late-day Java jolt in Ho Chi Minh City, you spot the ubiquitous circular green-and-black logo. You step inside, saunter up to the counter and suddenly realise: this isn't Starbucks!

Welcome to Starblacks, a Starbucks clone popular with this city's young hipsters. There aren't any Starbucks outlets here, and that's just fine. Vietnamese coffee is way better than the stuff served up by those Seattle-based outfits.

Vietnam has seen its share of Western clones. There's the chain of fake 7-Eleven stores that's come and gone in recent years. And if you think you've happened upon a Pizza Hut, look closely - while the sign may look identical, it's Pizza Inn. Locals hawk Hard Rock Hanoi T-shirts, although Vietnam doesn't have a Hard Rock Cafe.

All this says much about how this nation of 80 million is embracing globalisation on its own terms. Walking through Vietnam's cacophonous cities leaves little doubt folks are hungry for their share of global prosperity. They want the benefits that come from the increased movement of capital, goods and people.

They just don't want a McDonald's on every corner.

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Move over Starbucks...

Move over, Starbucks. There may be a coffee bar coming to a Wal-Mart near you. The discount chain is testing the idea in its Plano, Texas, store. But is there really a demand for a gourmet (read: tres pricey) cup o' joe at the bargain haunt? Ah, but there's a catch. In true Wal-Mart tradition, Kicks Coffee Cafe, the vendor renting the space, offers prices 7 to 10 percent cheaper than those at Starbucks. There's espresso, latte . . . hot chocolate, chai tea, and goodies like muffins and sandwiches. The setting is most un-Wal-Mart like: dim lights, wood tables, armchairs, soft music. Early reviews? "One hundred percent positive," says manager Greg O'Hagan. Kicks Coffee cafes are set to open in as many as 10 more Wal-Marts next month.