US troops reject Halliburton's 'lousy' coffee

Washington - Coffee supplier Dean Cycon was surprised when a Halliburton employee e-mailed him from Iraq, asking him to send American troops some of his beans to replace the military contractor's "lousy" coffee.

Cycon's Orange, Massachusetts-based company, Dean's Beans, answered the call, sending dozens of bags of its gourmet organic coffee to the caffeine-starved troops. Dean's Beans Website

The 51-year-old entrepreneur's eight-employee company had already been receiving Internet orders from US soldiers in Iraq when a Halliburton employee sent Dean's Beans an e-mail two or three months ago, Cycon said.

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Could Israeli coffee tempt the Parisian palate?

By Nofar Sinai

After two years of rapid expansion and new branches popping up all over, some of Israel's biggest coffee houses are considering heading overseas.
The first to make the move is Sara and Kobi Shemer's Arcaffe, which opened a branch last week in Paris's prestigious department store Galeries Lafayette. The 90-square meter branch cost 250,000 euros (about NIS 1.4 million) to establish. The Shemers made about one-third of the investment, a third came from Galeries Lafayette itself, and the remainder was ponied up by French baker Eric Kayser.

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International Coffee Organization welcomes U.S. return

The International Coffee Organization, concluding a four-day meeting in London Friday, welcomed an announcement by the United States that it was ready to rejoin the organization after an absence of 11 years.

"This is a very important development for the organization and for the global coffee community as a whole," said Enzo Barattini, representing the European Community at the conference. "We would like to thank the U.S. administration for having taken this important decision after a long absence from the ICO."

Brazil, Colombia and other coffee producing nations also issued statements welcomed the return of the United States to the ICO, which was created under the aegis of the United Nations in 1963 and brings 73 coffee producing and consuming nations together.

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Hawaii coffee harvest has begun

Coffee processing mills are moving into high gear in the Kona districts of the Big Island, local coffee growers report, with a high quality harvest predicted.

Kauai and Molokai growers say their harvests are now under way, and the West Maui harvest is expected to begin in about two weeks.

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Tea-drinking Taiwanese take to coffee

TAIPEI : Taiwanese people, who are proud of their elegant tea culture, are flocking to smart coffee bars in droves, boosting the profits of foreign chains who are seeking to expand in Asia, industry watchers say.

Coffee outlets with fancy interior decoration have popped up along the streets of Taiwanese cities, catering to businessmen, students and housewives alike and have become the favoured haunts of young couples.

Burgeoning prosperity in Taiwan in the 1990s helped fuel the coffee-drinking fad, said Simon Shing, chairman of the Taiwan Coffee Association.

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Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition

LONG BEACH, Calif., Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Baristas, those talented
people who master espresso machines and make coffee and espresso-drink making a profession, will compete in the Specialty Coffee Association of America's
(SCAA) Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition, Oct. 2 - 3, 2004 at the Fox &
Obel Food Market, 401. E. Illinois St., Chicago. The contest is the first
stop for local baristas in a nationwide competition leading up to SCAA's 2005
United States Barista Championship in Seattle, March 2005. The Great Lakes
Regional is open to all baristas from Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan
and Ohio. The event is open to the public. Event times: Saturday, Oct. 2,
11 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 3, 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. This year's annual
Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition is hosted by Chicago-based
Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, Inc. (http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com).

According to Marcus Boni, Vice President of Retail, Intelligentsia Coffee
& Tea, "The United States Barista Championship was developed to promote the
significance of craftsmanship and highlight exceptional talent in the barista
profession. The first annual Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition
provides a venue for baristas from Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, and
Ohio to showcase their abilities and demonstrate their passion for superior
quality espresso drinks."

The competition encourages and recognizes the professional achievement in
the art and skill of espresso beverage preparation and service. Contestants
will dazzle judges with top-quality drink preparation and service. Each
challenger will prepare one espresso, one cappuccino and one specialty coffee
drink for each of the four judges in a 15-minute window.

Ted Lingle, executive director of SCAA, said that more than 32% of U.S.
adults regularly purchase coffee at a coffeehouse, where baristas call home.
"With so many Americans purchasing their desired beverage at local
coffeehouses, they've helped elevate and showcase the profession of being a
barista in America. Today there are an estimated 150,000 baristas in the
U.S.," said Lingle.

The winner of the Great Lakes Regional Barista Competition will go on to
compete in the Specialty Coffee Association of America's United States Barista
Championship, March 2005. During the competition, baristas from across the
country will create some of the world's finest coffee concoctions while vying
for the coveted title.

To participate, baristas may contact Michelle Campbell, 562-624-4100,
mcampbell@scaa.org.

About the SCAA

Founded in 1982, SCAA is the world's largest coffee trade association with
over 2,800 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 business
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.


SOURCE Specialty Coffee Association of America
Web Site: http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com

Caffeine Withdrawal: What to do when you fast.

If you are reading this, you are most likely a coffee addict, which means that when you abstain from coffee, you get a whopper of a headache from caffeine withdrawal. There are several reasons to avoid coffee and caffeine, but the most common are surgery and Yom Kippur (and other religious fasts). Hopefully, you won't have to contend with surgery too many times in your life, but if you are Jewish, "the holidays" come around every fall, ready or not. Yom Kippur is a complete fast day; no water, no food, and no coffee, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday (more or less).

The best way to avoid caffeine withdrawal headaches is to gradually reduce your caffeine intake to zero before the fast. You will still get the headaches as you taper off, but you can take aspirin or ibuprofen and you won't have the discomfort caused by not eating or drinking. Read the label on your pain reliever because many contain caffeine.

Yom Kippur is on Saturday, September 25 this year, so start reducing ahead so that the withdrawal is gradual and relatively painless.

I usually drink about 4 cups coffee per day, so I will start the Wednesday (today!) before Yom Kippur getting ready. I will drink 2 cups Wednesday, 1 cup Thursday, and no coffee Friday. Yom Kippur begins Friday evening. I will get headaches during that time, but at least I can still eat and drink and take ibuprofen. By Saturday, I will have almost no headache. Be careful not to ingest caffeine from any other source, such as soft drinks, candy, or pain pills while you're withdrawing. Read the label to be sure.

I have been doing this routine for many years and I urge you to try it. Please let me know how it works.

L'Shana Tovah,
Robert

We hope for a great 5765

L'shana tovah (a good year) to all our friends.

We wish for all of you a good new year, filled with good health, peace, happiness, and contentment. Happy is the person who is content with his lot.

Most of us are truly blessed with so many good things--we have family, friends, food for our table, and good health. We are very fortunate and we need to remind ourselves often of our blessings. We also need to thank God for all these blessings and for our good life.

Give a big hug to the people in your life who make you happy.

Robert

Coffee may brew trouble for teens

By ADAM GRAHAM
Gannett News Service

Kayla Belgiano is the future of the coffee industry. And in her hands, the future is bright. It's Friday night, and the 14-year-old, high school freshman is sitting with her friends at a back table inside Caribou Coffee in downtown Birmingham, Mich., where she's nursing a Chai Tea Latte. In the bottom of her cup is a honey deposit so thick it's a wonder it doesn't clog her straw every time she takes a sip from the frothy concoction.

Kayla has been a coffee drinker for three years, since she was in sixth grade.

"I used to think it was gross," Kayla says of coffee in general. "But now I love it."

Kayla is one of a growing number of teenage coffee drinkers who are boosting the $18 billion per year coffee industry but alarming health professionals, who worry that teenagers are unaware of the adverse effects of coffee's strong caffeine content and its impact on their still-growing bodies.

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Boise-based Moxie Java looks to a future worldwide

The Associated Press

BOISE -- Customers of Moxie Java are very familiar with the local company's slogan, "Take a moment to moxie."

But owner Rick Dean is hoping coffee drinkers around the world will take advantage of the moment.

Dean is putting up a million bucks for a new world headquarters building for Moxie Java International in the Boise area and hopes to be serving up cups of coffee with the quirky name at more than 300 new franchised locations worldwide by 2008.

It is a lofty goal when one considers the company has only 70 locations now -- including a location in Twin Falls' Red Lion Canyon Springs Hotel -- while on almost every street corner in America there lurks an 800-pound caffeine-charged gorilla that goes by the name Starbucks.

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