Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee

In this caffeine-addled corner of the world, the bean and its brew are both blessing and curse, swirled together in a single cup.

By Colleen Mastony
Chicago Tribune staff reporter
Published March 29, 2007

JIMMA, Ethiopia -- Inside the coffee plant's corrugated metal fence, men look more like mules as they lug 100-pound sacks of coffee on their backs.

But as midday nears, a heavenly scent wafts from the corner, where Ahmed Achoumeto, 25, pounds a pile of black coffee beans in preparation for the noontime break.

"I am terribly addicted. If I don't get coffee, I can't see properly," he said, standing barefoot in the dirt, grinding the beans with a primitive 3-foot-long wooden pestle and a mortar made of a hollowed tree stump. "Almost everyone here is addicted."

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. And in this caffeine-addled corner of the world, coffee is a blessing and a curse swirled together in a cup.

Amid the lush hills and misty valleys, peasants endure bleak conditions and back-breaking labor to bring the beans to the world market.While nearly every worker detests the process -- the picking, sorting, washing, shelling and drying -- they are also hopelessly hooked on the sweet and delicate flavor of the black elixir.

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Peet's Coffee & Tea Celebrates 41st Anniversary

Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc. kicked off its 41st anniversary with two special signature blends, one of coffee and one of tea, available throughout its retail stores, home delivery service at www.peets.com and selected grocery stores nationwide, for the next eight weeks.

Customers can also purchase limited-edition commemorative merchandise and sampler gifts. Additional information is available online at www.peets.com, or by phone at 1-800-999-2132.

"Over the years, Peet's has maintained a rigorous commitment to offering handcrafted quality and freshness in every cup," said Pat O'Dea, Peet's president and CEO. "We are proud to celebrate our 41st year and continue to uphold our tradition of artisan roasting in small batches," he added.

Thirty-Cent Coffee at Coffee Beanery TODAY!

FLUSHING, Mich., March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Coffee Beanery locations
nationwide will be offering thirty-cent cups of coffee all day on Friday,
March 30th. JoAnne Shaw and her husband Julius opened their first Coffee
Beanery location over 30 years ago in southeast Michigan late in 1976. Now
there are over 150 Coffee Beanery locations throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Thirty-cent coffee day will be celebrated all day on March 30th. Some
locations will add to the festivities by having games and activities that
are reminiscent of the 70's. Coffee Beanery has encouraged all of their
franchise locations to have fun with this one-day event. The poster and
t-shirts to support this campaign have a very fun, retro look to them. The
design for the campaign won a silver award and a citation of excellence at
the Flint area ADDY awards ceremony.

The franchise chain has seen many changes in the industry over the past
30 years, but they have always kept their focus on specialty coffee. "We
found out very early that roasting each coffee variety differently was very
important to attain the best taste, so came up with the Right Roast (R)
Process. We make sure that each coffee is roasted to achieve its fullest
flavor potential. Having focused on great tasting coffee for 30 years it is
fitting to celebrate by offering retro pricing on our specialty coffee,"
said JoAnne Shaw, President and Founder of Coffee Beanery.

The stores have also changed over the past 30 years. The first Coffee
Beanery opened in a mall in 1976. Mall stores still represent the majority
of Coffee Beanery locations, but there are locations in strip malls,
airports, and stand alone locations. Coffee Beanery has also begun opening
Café locations that offer gourmet sandwiches, salads and wraps along with
the specialty coffee beverages.

Walter Pilon, C.O.O. of Coffee Beanery, said, "I am excited that the
company has reached this milestone. It is quite an accomplishment to have
been in this very competitive industry for 30 years."

Founded by JoAnne and Julius Shaw in 1976, The Coffee Beanery is a
privately held company that franchises and supports a network of upscale
cafes, retail stores, carts and kiosks that specialize in serving the
finest specialty Arabica coffee. The Coffee Beanery has over 150 locations
globally.

SOURCE: Coffee Beanery

McDonald's taste for coffee

Reuters News Agency

LOS ANGELES – Leonor Gavina-Valls's father began selling dark roast coffee to Vietnamese and Armenian immigrants in the late 1960s, seeing a niche market for strong coffee when weaker brands ruled the United States.

Decades later, the coffee is still strong, and her biggest client is McDonald's.

Sales of high-end coffee to the fast-food chain known for affordable burgers have expanded rapidly over the past year, and she sees even better times ahead, because McDonald's Corp. is testing drinks such as lattes and cappuccinos.

"Way back when, you said espresso, and people looked at you kind of funny," said Gavina-Valls, vice president at coffee importer and roaster Gavina. "Now with Starbucks, and a coffee house on every corner, it's different."

McDonald's is pushing quickly into the high-end coffee market, with its mouth-watering profit margins.

"You can't get much better profit than adding water to beans," McDonald's USA President Don Thompson said at an investor conference last week.

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Don't waste your coffee grounds!

Frugal Living

Coffee is the number one drink in the USA and other parts of the world. Do you drink it? And then put your coffee grounds in the trash? Shame on you.

A reader asked if I knew of any good uses for used coffee grounds. The question - or I should say, the answer - took me by surprise, because I can find a use for just about any garbage, but coffee grounds? Other than composting them, I was at a loss.

I'm happy to say that after some intense research and a little experimentation, I now have a much better answer!

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Coffee growers seek label rules

Pacific Business News (Honolulu)

The Hawaii Coffee Association lined up growers to testify before a state Senate committee on a measure to seek a state study on coffee labeling.

The association, which did not support other bills to set immediate labeling standards, urged members to support a truth-in-labeling resolution Wednesday before the Senate Water, Agriculture and Hawaiian Affairs Committee. The measure already cleared the House Agricultural Committee.

"The Hawaii Coffee Industry continues to suffer from frauds and cheats who are masquerading non-Hawaiian coffees as the real thing," the association said.

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Bellissimo Single Origin and Freshly Roasted Podcast

The "Bellissimo Single Origin and Freshly Roasted Podcast" is on the Air!

For over 15 years, Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup has led the specialty coffee industry in consulting, training products and web-based information. The latest addition to its coffee education arsenal is Web Podcasting.

The "Bellissimo Single Origin and Freshly Roasted Podcast" began
airing in March of 2007 and is available to listeners via three of the
company's websites, espresso101.com, coffeeschool.org and
coffeeuniverse.com, in addition to the iTunes Music Store. The intent
of the podcast is to educate listeners about current issues in the
specialty coffee industry and to give retailers the information they
need to compete in today's highly competitive market.

The premier podcast features a discussion between Bellissimo President
Bruce Milletto and Bellissimo Senior Consultant Ed Arvidson on the
evolution of the specialty coffee industry and the current role of the
independent retailer. In the future, the podcast will call on many of
the industry's leading experts, including David Griswold of
Sustainable Harvest and Connie Blumhardt of Roast Magazine, to take
part in lively discussions on issues as varied as fair trade, roasting
and blending, and on-going operations. The podcast is produced by
Jeremy Wilson of Conveyor Films in Portland.

Since we began operations 15 years ago, it has been Bellissimo's goal
to give entrepreneurs the information they need to be successful in
this business. In fact, we coined the term 'coffee education,' said
Milletto. "To further this mission, I am constantly trying to figure
out new ways to get information out to those who need it. Podcasting
is an obvious answer. Not only will our podcast be educational, but we
hope people find it entertaining as well."

Bellissimo is well known in the specialty coffee industry as the
producer of the award-winning coffee education DVDs “Espresso 101,”
“Espresso 501,” “The Passionate Harvest,” “Everything BUT Coffee” and
“Advanced Barista Training: Extreme Pours.” Bellissimo is also the
publisher of the business manuals Bean Business Basics, Opening a
Specialty Coffee Drive-thru, Effective & Essential Marketing for the
Specialty Coffee Retailer and Achieving Success in Specialty Coffee.
Bellissimo’s worldwide client list includes Fortune 500 companies as
well as American and International entrepreneurs. As a result of the
success of his company, Bruce Milletto is recognized by the press and
the coffee industry internationally as “the voice of North America’s
specialty coffee industry.”


Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup
http://www.espresso101.com
http://www.coffeeschool.org
http://www.virtualcoffee.com
http://www.coffeeuniverse.com

For more information, contact Bruce Milletto: 503.232.2222

Coffee Fest Returning to Atlanta June 1-3

Coffee Fest, Together with the Great American Dessert Expo, Returning to Atlanta June 1-3, 2007

Coffee Fest presented by Equal Brand Sweeteners, will once again co-locate with The Great American Dessert Expo to introduce the latest java trends at Atlanta's Cobb Galleria Centre, June 1-3, 2007.

Coffee Fest is designed as both an educational and marketing vehicle to the proliferation of the specialty coffee, tea, and growing alternative beverage industry, will be celebrating its 47th show and 4th appearance in Atlanta (this will be The Great American Dessert Expo's first appearance in Atlanta). The trade show is designed specifically for coffeehouse, specialty retail, and restaurant owners and entrepreneurs within the specialty coffee and related industries.

What exactly is specialty coffee? Specialty coffee is categorized as the premium 5 percent of coffee grown, which possesses distinctive flavors in the cup and is free of defects. This specific segment of the international coffee market reached $8.47 billion in 2003, and continues to grow. The total value of the global coffee industry reaches $60 billion annually, making it the second-most heavily traded commodity in the world, surpassed only by oil. Next to tap water, coffee is the most popular drink worldwide with an estimated 1.4 billion cups consumed each day. With such a strong global impact, it is no wonder the specialty coffee industry is so popular.

With more than 250 exhibiting booths, Coffee Fest strives to showcase everything the specialty coffee and tea industry needs; from allied products such as biscotti, flavoring syrups, and smoothie mixes to coffee, tea, and brewing and serving equipment. Coffee Fest Atlanta will feature a strong emphasis on attendee education with more than 50 different free seminars available in Coffee Fest's signature Red Cup Series, ranging in topics that aim to address all aspects of the specialty coffee retail industry from starting a business to keeping it growing.

The International Academy of Specialty Coffee (I.A.S.C.) is the leading international industry source for training and education, and is exclusively found at Coffee Fest trade shows. The I.A.S.C. roster of classes features the Specialty Coffee Business Seminar, specifically designed to help entrepreneurs enter and succeed in the business. The three-day course has taught over 2,000 students how to successfully open, compete and profit from a specialty coffee cart, kiosk, drive-thru, or cafe. The I.A.S.C. also offers programs such as the popular 4-hour Hands-On Barista Training Workshop, Barista Certification Testing, Hands-On Latte Art Training, and Specialty Coffee Cupping.

“We are pleased that the Great American Dessert Expo will be joining us in Atlanta,” noted David Heilbrunn, show manager for Coffee Fest. “It is only natural that pastries, ice cream, chocolate and dessert wines should share a venue with the best in specialty beverages.”

The Great American Dessert Expo was launched in Las Vegas in 2003 by New York-based IMC Events and Exhibitions. IMC also produces the highly successful Kosherfest, an annual trade show for the kosher food industry. For more information, visit www.dessertexpo.com.

Hours of the trade show are 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday, and 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Children under 13, including infants, are not admitted entrance to Coffee Fest. Admission to the trade show is $20.00 per person with Early Bird Registration (Before May 11th), or $30.00 per person at the door, which is good for all three days and includes admission into all Red Cup Series seminars. Onsite registration closes one hour prior to the show floor. For more information, please visit www.coffeefest.com.

Opinions: Don't blame Starbucks for success

by Seth Pate
Arizona State University Web Devil

What's better than visiting the political center of the 5,000 -year-old Chinese culture? Being able to get a Grande Iced Caramel Macchiato while doing so. Welcome to the new China.

Rui Chenggang, a news anchor for Chinese Central Television's English channel, recently wrote a blog article titled, "Why Starbucks Needs To Get Out Of the Forbidden City." It's a sentiment that many Chinese appear to share; the Palace Museum, which administers the site, has been flooded with complaints that it has become a "slave to money."

Can one reasonably expect anything else in a country where everything is being thrown out the window in a headlong pursuit of wealth?

Not that I don't have a personal affinity for the occasional Frappe or Venti Pumpkin Spice Chai - quite the opposite, I've even been known to order the indulgent Creamice. But this particular Starbucks is a reminder that the twin gods of industrialization and globalization hath their prices.

On a recent trip to the Forbidden City, my buddies and I were dumbfounded by the beauty of the site and the history it held; we were welcomed by an actor dressed as an ancient emperor, we rubbed the enormous brass gate for good luck, we inspected the dragon-shaped water basins, whose gold coatings the Japanese had scraped off when they occupied Beijing in 1937.

And, at the very heart of the Forbidden City, which is a United Nations World Heritage site and was home to the emperors, there was a Starbucks. It wasn't a particularly big one; there weren't even any signs outdoors indicating it was there. But you could smell it.

The Starbucks in the Forbidden City draws fire because of its location - imagine a tamale stand on the lap of the Lincoln Memorial, or a guy selling eggrolls in Washington's mouth on Mt. Rushmore. It's also crucified as a symbol of the big, mean, nasty imperialist West.

But the Starbucks corporation isn't to blame; it's a product of the situation in China today.

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Espresso: The Romance Factor

Written by Bill Soukoreff
Published March 21, 2007

While no one was looking and under the cover of darkness, the magnificent Italian hand-built La Marzocca machines were replaced, one by one, with fully automatic computerized press-a-button versions. This took place in thousands of Starbucks across the land. This is the day when the romance and theater of Starbucks died.

This disturbing trend is taking place on many levels of society. Many argue that removing the human (error) factor makes for a more consistent product and increased customer satisfaction. Really though, truth be told, it is because of training costs, speed of service, and efficiency. These are not bad things in themselves from an overly worked barista’s point of view. The solution for a busy store is to have two to four machines and double the staff, like they do in Buenos Aires. Really, they do. However, they are ignoring the romantic factor. Where is the romance and theater of pushing a button? Where is the skill and passion of the barista?

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Latest office perk? Gourmet coffee

Some companies are upgrading the java to keep workers on the grounds

By Anjali Athavaley
The Wall Street Journal
Originally published March 26, 2007
The coffee break refuses to die.

As more workers flee their cubicles to get a latte fix, the office coffee machine has become a forgotten stepchild. Of people who drink coffee at work, the percentage who drink the in-house brew dropped to 52 percent last year from 64 percent in 2003, according to the National Coffee Association, an industry group.

Now, in hopes of keeping their employees on the premises -- and sparing them the pain of a $4.95-a-day habit -- some companies are trying new measures. First and foremost: upgrading the java.

Employers ranging from Microsoft Corp. to law firms and plumbing contractors are ditching their old suppliers and hot plates and switching to Starbucks Corp. and its competitors. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., a wholesaler based in Waterbury, Vt., says it saw a 29-percent increase in its office coffee sales in 2006. In the past year, offices have surpassed supermarkets and convenience stores as the company's largest customer type.

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British kitchens go into a spin as coffee culture takes hold

Latest research from Mintel highlights a rise in sales of coffee machines

Britain might be known for its tea traditions, but it's coffee which is increasingly steaming ahead in the hearts and minds of consumers as sales of coffee makers double.

More than from 1.2m were sold last year - up from 520,000 in 2001. The market value is also twice what it was in 2001, having hit the £50m mark last year (a figure which includes tea makers).

Market research company Mintel says the now ubiquitous coffee shop has raised consumer expectations about the quality of the coffee we drink and how we make it.

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The coffee war mars globalisation

Amitava Basu
The Financial Express
3/25/2007

IT is amazing the way wild berries in one corner of Africa grew to transform into a popular, international beverage. Coffee plants were first located growing wild in the highland forests of Kaffe in Ethiopia, from where it derived its name. No one knows when exactly coffee was discovered. However, there is evidence to suggest that sometime between 575 A.D. and 850 A.D., a nomadic mountain tribe called Galla used to ground coffee seeds and mix with animal fat and ate it.

From its birthplace in Ethiopia, coffee berries were transported to the Arab world. From there, coffee travelled to Turkey. It was here that coffee beans were roasted for the first time over open fires. The roasted beans were crushed and then boiled in water, creating a crude version of the beverage enjoyed today. Later, the Venetian merchants brought coffee to Europe. It was only in the 18th century that coffee found its way to the Americas, when a French infantry captain brought one small plant that he nurtured during his long journey across the Atlantic. This one plant transplanted to Martinique in the Caribbean, became the predecessor of over 19 million trees on the island within 50 years. It was from this humble beginning that coffee plant found its way to the rest of the tropical regions of South and Central America.

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In a Coffee-Mad City, the Bitter With the Sweet

John Maier Jr. for The New York Times

IN Rio de Janeiro, every street corner offers an opportunity for refreshment: juice bars, açaí stands, open-air bars and of course botequins. These neighborhood institutions are part café, part lunch counter and part bistro; the place for a quick salgadinho, one of the salty snacks like fried balls of salt cod, and a cafezinho, the little cup of coffee beloved by Brazilians.

Bright with mirrors, cool tile and loud signs in red and yellow lettering, the botequins have a retro feel. Café Gaúcho, in downtown Rio, is a classic. It opens to a busy street corner, making the most of the city's joyful culture and tropical air. Commuters step off the sidewalk to the cashier, offering a few coins in exchange for a chit, which they then take to the coffee counter.

At Café Gaúcho, the counter is a circular island where patrons stand, a typical arrangement that is said to have been invented here. A man in a crisp white shirt stands in the center, working a stainless steel contraption of pipes and tanks, one tank for coffee and one for milk, kept warm by a bath of hot water. Cups and saucers steep in the water too, and after he takes the chit, the operator opens a steel door and pulls out a set, placing it, wet, on the stone countertop. Then he fills a stainless steel pitcher with dark, steaming coffee from a tap at the base of the tank, and with a fluid motion, splashes it into the tiny cup.

Coffee in Brazil has always been a world unto itself. For more than a century, Brazil has been by far the planet's largest coffee producer. And Brazilians themselves drink coffee enthusiastically: total consumption is second only to the United States. But quantity and quality are different things: nearly all the best coffee is exported.

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