Patriotic History of Coffee and Tea

Before 1600, alcoholic beverages with enough alcohol in them to kill bacteria were the safest and most popular drinks. Water was unsafe and unpopular. Coffee and tea became very popular because they used boiled water, which killed bacteria, and they tasted good and gave a nice caffeine mood boost.

Tea became so popular in England that the government, in order to offset falling tax revenues from alcoholic beverages, licensed coffeehouses and levied a tax of 8 cents per gallon. The English East India Company had been given the monopoly on tea in 1669 and its profits helped finance the colonization of India and brought about the Opium Wars between England and China. The East India Company further strengthened tea drinking in England in the late 1700's by a "Drink Tea" campaign. Cheap tea, high taxes on alcoholic beverages, and patriotism all combined to create the British tradition of tea drinking.

America was also part of the British tea drinking tradition, at least until Parliament's greed and disregard for the American colonists' rights allowed passage of the Stamp Act in 1765. The Americans boycotted English tea in 1767 and switched to smuggled tea and increased their consumption of coffee. The East India Company was hurt financially by the boycott so the British government gave it permission to sell tea without the tax. This tax-free tea was shipped to America in several ships and would have solved the "taxation without representation" protest but for the fact that American merchants were prevented from making profit. It was the American merchants who rebelled at this tax-free tea. Their rebellion culminated when 342 chests of English tea were dumped into the Boston Harbor December 16, 1773.

The same patriotism that turned England into a nation of tea drinkers had the opposite effect in America. The choice of tea or coffee determined one's loyalty. Those loyal to the Crown chose tea, and the Americans, in their attempt to rid themselves of everything English, became a nation of coffee drinkers.

Robert

Happy 228th Anniversary, Americans

Happy 4th of July, everyone. We at BCE hope you have a safe and happy Independence Day. In case you can't get to a fireworks display, her's one you can do on your computer. Turn your speaker volume up and click on this: Fireworks over Miss Liberty.

Our prayer for America:

May God bless you and safeguard you.
May God illuminate His countenance for you and be gracious to you.
May God turn His countenance to you and give peace to you.

Take time during the enjoyment of this special holiday to think about the sacrifices made for all of us by our men and women in service to our country, past and present.

Our prayers and wishes are for the men and women facing danger right now in foreign lands. They are there for us and deserve our support.

Robert

What's the Buzz? It's a new coffeehouse

As a travel agent, Beth Wendt frequently shared the great travel opportunities she found with her three sisters. Together they have been on many cruises, trips to Europe and lots of shorter jaunts to places like New York City and Las Vegas.

These days, however, the Wendt sisters seldom get farther than Carnegie's Main Street. That's because the four Wendt sisters are working to build a new business there -- the Buzz Coffee House.

Open since March from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, the new business requires they be at work most every day of the week.

Not that they mind, though. Beth and Linda Wendt, of Carnegie, have made the coffeehouse their new livelihood, and despite the hard work and long hours, both agree that having their own business is far more rewarding than working for someone else.

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Row brewing over decaf coffee plant

TSEGAYE TADESSE IN ADDIS ABABA

A BRAZILIAN scientist’s discovery of naturally decaffeinated coffee plants in Ethiopia has landed him in trouble with Ethiopian authorities which yesterday suggested he may have taken the bushes without permission.

The discovery was disclosed last week by Paulo Mazzafera, of the Universidade Estadual de Campinas in Brazil, in the science journal Nature.

The decaf arabica plant has not been grown commercially and Mr Mazzafera did not know how productive it would be, but if it were commercially productive, naturally decaffeinated coffee could be on the market in five or six years.

"While we hail the discovery that a caffeine-free coffee plant existed in Ethiopia, the arrogance of the scientist to herald [this] to the world without the knowledge of Ethiopian authorities is unprofessional and unfair," said Hailue Hiwot, president of the Ethiopian Coffee Exporters Association (ECEA). "The ownership of the plant is Ethiopian. The scientist should have informed Ethiopian authorities first before making any such announcement, as if it belongs to Brazil."

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Arabica coffee area to be expanded for export (Viet Nam)

Ha Noi (VNA) -Viet Nam will expand the acreage of Arabica coffee in regions having suitable ecological conditions in an attempt to maintain the annual coffee output ranging between 750,000-800,000 tonnes.

That is one of a series of solutions discussed at a conference held in Ha Noi on Tuesday by the Ministry of Trade to seek measures to boost coffee exports.

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Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Ranked #9 on List of "Best Medium Companies to Work for in America"

WATERBURY, Vt.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 29, 2004--The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Great Place to Work(R) Institute, Inc. (GPTWI) announced that Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) has been ranked number 9 on their list of the 25 "Best Medium Companies to Work for in America." This list was unveiled yesterday in New Orleans, Louisiana at the SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition that annually attracts more than 10,000 human resource professionals.
This is the first year that small- and medium-sized companies in the U.S. have been eligible for this recognition. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters was selected from over 400 initial nominees for this prestigious award using the same selection methodology used for international "Best Companies to Work For" lists compiled by GPTWI for the European Union and many countries around the world. Companies were selected for inclusion on the "Best Medium Companies to Work for in America" list based on the results of the Trust Index(R) employee surveys, and the Great Place to Work Culture Audit(C), a two-part management questionnaire.

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CAMPIONATO MONDIALE BARISTI

Si è svolto a Trieste, dal 18 al 20 giugno 2004, il 5° Campionato Mondiale Baristi 2004, organizzato dalla Speciality Coffee Association of Europe, con la partecipazione di concorrenti provenienti da 38 Paesi di tutto il mondo.

La competizione che comprende la preparazione, in 15 minuti, di quattro espressi, quattro cappuccini e quattro cocktail analcolici a base caffè, si è svolta per la prima volta a Montecarlo nel 2000, a Miami nel 2001, a Oslo nel 2002 e a Boston nel 2003, mentre l’anno prossimo si trasferirà a Seattle.

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India Tops Medals Tally At Paris Coffee Awards

Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd

BANGALORE, JUNE 26: Tata Coffee Limited has won the gold medal for best robusta at the Grands Crus de Caf‚ contest in Paris. The Robusta Parchment from Tata Coffee’s Merthikhan Estate was adjudged the best coffee in the world and won a gold medal.

India had six entries at the 2004 Grands Crus de Caf‚ International cupping competition at Paris and topped the medals tally with 3 medals, a gold, a silver and a bronze. More than 16 countries including Colombia participated in the competition and India was the overall winner as no other country managed to get more than one medal.

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Now Prince Charles backs coffee cure for cancer

Angry doctors warn of dangers as Prince of Wales lends support to controversial alternative treatment. Health Editor Jo Revill reports

Sunday June 27, 2004
The Observer

Prince Charles has never made a secret of his love affair with alternative medicine. Now he has infuriated the medical profession by backing a controversial cancer treatment which involves taking daily coffee enemas and drinking litres of fruit juice instead of using drugs. Charles gave an enthusiastic endorsement last week to the Gerson Therapy, which eschews chemotherapy in favour of 13 fruit juices a day, coffee enemas and weekly injections of vitamins.
Cancer specialists have told The Observer that there is no scientific basis for the theory and that it can be dangerous because patients who are seriously ill often come off their normal treatment to try something unproven which may leave them badly dehydrated.

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