An Anglophile's caffeine addiction

By Amber Butler
Dawgnet Columnist

I am addicted to coffee. If you know me at all, you know that. I’m the girl that squeals (and I am totally serious about this) when someone says, “Let’s go to Starbucks.”

I used to work at Starbucks, and quite frankly, I’m still convinced that I live in one. Coming to London was a bit of a worry; I did not know how I was going to be able to rip myself away from my two favorite Starbucks locations for three months. That is, until I went onto the Starbucks site and discovered that there are 166 stores in London alone.

More...

Coffee Time opens 3 outlets in Beijing

Canadian Press

TORONTO -- The Coffee Time coffee shop chain recently opened three retail outlets in Beijing, adding to an international presence that includes parts of Europe.

In Beijing, the first two locations opened this year at the international airport, the Toronto-based firm said yesterday.

More...

Full of beans about the art of coffee

By SUE ALLEN
New Zealand

When Sanjay Ponnapa, founder of Wellington-based Fuel, talks about coffee the world takes on a slightly different hue.

It stops being just coffee and becomes "like a good merlot", or "a pinot noir".

Talk quickly turns to the origins of the best beans, the relative merits of Arabica and Robusta varieties, the complex flavours of different blends and the revelation that a small amount of sugar brings out the aromatics.

Mr Ponnapa is a perfectionist. He has been known to throw away a 22-kilogram drum of roasted beans because the roasting process has gone awry.

"Every time we roast, we are looking for depth, a definite nose, quality and sweetness with a good balance, and if it doesn't come up to standard we throw it away."

More...

For Jose Leyva, marketing coffee beans is more than job

By DAI HUYNH
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

Feyley Leyva grows coffee on Pluma Mountain. Thickset and of medium height, he wears loose khaki pants, the same pair as yesterday, and a white, collared shirt under a gray button-down sweater.

His skin resembles soft parchment. On his smooth 85-year-old head is a straw hat, bleached white from the sun.

Hands in his pockets, he surveys the coffee crop and notices his grandson, José, standing near bushes planted three years ago. It will be another year before they produce enough cherries for a pound of coffee. And what will coffee be worth then? At the current international market price for unroasted parchment beans, the town's middleman -- the coyote -- would pay Leyva 38 cents a pound. It costs him twice that much to harvest.

More...

Storm in a coffee cup over ethical marketing

By Caroline Muspratt

When you reach for your jar of Fairtrade coffee this morning, the makers hope you will spare a thought for the farmers in the developing world. But a row is brewing between two of the organisations that certify ethical coffee over whose fair trade is the fairest.

A war of words has broken out between the Fairtrade Foundation and the US-based Rainforest Alliance, both non-profit organisations that certify ethical coffee.

The Fairtrade Foundation said earlier this week that it was concerned that a coffee made by Kraft, called Kenco Sustainable Development, was being mistaken by shoppers for Fairtrade. The coffee is certified as sustainable by the Rainforest Alliance.

More...

A warm 'cup of joe'

By Angie Long

Coffee (also known affectionately as 'java' and 'joe') is a beverage enjoyed by many. The demand for a variety of coffee and coffee-based drinks doesn't seem likely to diminish any time soon.

In a stressful world, a boost of caffeine served in a delicious beverage is a pleasure many almost seem to find a necessity to kick start their morning, or revive them during a long and weary afternoon.

These days major bookstore chains feature their own coffee shops so readers can browse and sip; even the little South Alabama town of Brewton has its own popular coffee-and-novel spot, "The Book and Bean."

Now Greenville has its own version of a coffee house, Jan and Julie's Coffee Café, allowing local customers to experience real espresso, cappuccino and other delights (along with a cup of basic black coffee, of course).

So, how did this bitter black beverage become such a beloved drink?

More...