Coffee for our Troops

More than 1.5 TONS of Coffee Being Shipped from Sacramento to Our Troops Overseas

Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) December 12, 2004 - The Sacramento-based program that sends warm holiday greetings to our troops overseas - “Coffee for Our Troops” - is turning into a massive success!

More than 1.5 tons of coffee is being shipped from Sacramento to our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan – and that number is steadily on the rise.

The "Coffee for Our Troops" program is run by two Sacramento-based entities: non-profit Move America Forward (www.MoveAmericaForward.org) and specialty coffee roaster, Cornerstone Coffee Company (www.CornerstoneCoffee.com).

Individuals log on to www.MoveAmericaForward.org and "sponsor" a bag of Cornerstone Coffee. They get to enter a personalized message of support for our troops.

The coffee – along with the sponsors name, address and message of support - is then shipped to active duty units serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq) and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan). It only costs $11.95 to sponsor a bag of coffee that includes the postage to have it shipped overseas and your personalized message!

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Nutrition: Learn ground rules about caffeine

December 13, 2004
By Hollie W. Best
Gannett News Service

How much coffee is too much? Your caffeine sensitivity depends on the amount you drink, the frequency, your weight, physical condition and other factors. For most healthy adults, 200 to 300 milligrams of caffeine per day -- about two to three cups of coffee -- pose no physical problems.

Caffeine is a natural chemical found in tea leaves, coffee beans, cacao (the stuff used to make chocolate) and cola. It has been in foods that humans have eaten and drunk for hundreds of years. Caffeine exists in our diet from a variety of sources -- primarily coffee, tea, cola drinks, and both prescription and nonprescription drugs.

Caffeine acts as a stimulant. Stimulants may make us feel more alert. Caffeine can cause your heart to pump faster and your breathing to quicken. It only takes 15 to 20 minutes to get into your blood and the effect lasts for 31/2 hours.

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Coffee Prices Perking Up 14 Percent

Tue Dec 14, 2004
By Jeff Coelho

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Coffee lovers are digging deeper into their pockets for their daily fix of the black brew.

Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) raised the price of its Maxwell House coffee brand by 14 percent for a 13-ounce can, becoming the second major U.S. roaster to hike prices in a week due to the rising cost of raw beans.

The new list price, retroactive to Dec. 10, will be $2.29 per 13-ounce can, up from $2.01, a company spokeswoman said on Tuesday. Maxwell House is Kraft's leading retail coffee brand.

"The price advance reflects the increase in green prices," said Abbe Serphos, the Kraft spokeswoman.

Kraft, which last raised coffee prices on its Maxwell House brand in November 2002, followed a 14-percent hike in roast and ground coffee prices by roaster Folgers, a brand of Procter and Gamble Co. (PG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , on Dec. 9.

Sara Lee Corp. (SLE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) may follow suit for its Chock full o'Nuts brand, if past price moves are any indication. A spokesman for the company was not immediately available for comment.

Specialty retail coffee chain Starbucks Corp. (SBUX.O: Quote, Profile, Research) increased beverage prices in North America by 11 cents a cup on average on Oct. 6.

Analysts said rising prices reflect a fresh change for an industry which had suffered a crisis from years of overproduction and low prices, forcing thousands of coffee growers in developing countries out of business.

"This is the first time in two years that we've had a sustainable rally in the futures market that warranted an increase," said Judy Ganes of J. Ganes Consulting, a commodities analyst. "The years of oversupply are behind us. It was long anticipated."

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Perfecting the drip

The coffee business booms as consumers demand specialty drinks

By TINA REED

The State News, Michigan State University

The specialty coffee craze is sweeping East Lansing's local coffee shops and students are flocking to order their own personal favorite.
Tall or Grande. Latte or Americano. Chai or Yerba. It's all part of a vocabulary that's become as American as the term "supersize."

While the American coffee craze is nothing new, the specialty coffee industry has exploded in the last decade and the Lansing area is no exception as people of all ages, especially students, flock to the same hangout: the local coffee shop.

MSU graduate student Jiyoung Hwang typically gets a regular cup of coffee when she studies at Beaner's Gourmet Coffee, 270 W. Grand River Ave., but when she wants to treat herself, she often buys her favorite beverage there, a Mocha Mocha.

The specialty beverage contains a mixture of different chocolates, coffee and whipped cream.

Hwang said she goes into the shop at least four times a week and night after night the place is packed with students. It's the "Starbucks generation," Hwang said, a specialty coffee culture of people willing to pay extra cash for the exact drink they want - and they do it often.

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Venture produces self-heating container

By Joseph Pryweller, Plastics News

Talk about instant coffee.

North American java lovers are about to discover a new way to get their midday caffeine fix. A development company has teamed with Sonoco Products Co. Ltd. to launch a plastic container that heats automatically upon opening.

The container, in stores this January under the Wolfgang Puck gourmet coffee brand, looks like a standard plastic cup with a metal, button-top cap.

But push down on that button, and the coffee inside the container heats up to 146 degrees. It stays hot for 30 minutes and keeps warm up to an hour. No need to go to the microwave or the 7-Eleven store to find that hot cup of joe.

The idea has been brewing for a long time. In Europe, some metal containers can self-heat, said Jonathan Weisz, president and CEO of OnTech L.L.C., the San Diego company that developed the plastic alternative to the hot metal can. Others have tried a mix of materials to create the same result but with limited commercial results.

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