Happy 7th Birthday to BCE

Our first issue of BCE was May 26, 2000. We started with an email newsletter (68 issues) and later switched to its present form on the WWW.

We get traffic on this website from all over the world, and I really enjoy keeping you informed on the wonderful world of specialty coffee. Our mission hasn't changed...

We want to promote good coffee. I want to educate, learn, and entertain about coffee. As I have said before, and undoubtedly will say again, increasing coffee knowledge benefits all of us. When you and I share our coffee experience with our friends and family, they gain a new appreciation for good coffee and coffee quality in general gets better. When folks find out just how good coffee is when bought right, roasted right, and brewed right, they are less tolerant of mediocre coffee. When more people demand better coffee, you will see the standard raised higher and higher. We have witnessed an explosion of coffee in America and while there is still mediocre coffee being sold, coffee consumers are far more sophisticated now than even a dozen years ago.

I started the newsletter with a proposal to go to Costa Rica on a coffee tour. No one was interested so I finally stopped trying to promote the trip. I finally realized my dream when I took my family to Costa Rica last December.

Thank you for your support and continued viewing.


If you would like to view the first 68 issues in their entirety, CLICK HERE and then scroll down to "Past Issues."

And Happy 100th Birthday to John Wayne, too.

Robert

George Howell Coffee Company CEO Awarded Better Coffee World Award

ACTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Specialty Coffee Association of Europe has just awarded the Better Coffee World Award to George Howell, founder and CEO of The George Howell Coffee Company. “US-based specialty coffee pioneer George Howell, was named the winner of the Better Coffee World Award, the association's highest honour.”

George proudly adds this to his other treasured prize, the Specialty Coffee Association of America Lifetime Achievement Award for his role in raising US specialty coffee quality standards as founder and CEO of the ground-breaking Coffee Connection. In 1999, after working as a consultant for the United Nations for two years, he conceived and co-founded the Cup of Excellence (with Susie Spindler, current executive director), the most prestigious and first-in-the-world coffee competition-internet auction. This program to identify and reward quality farmers is now working successfully in eight coffee producing countries. After leaving the Cup of Excellence in 2002 George founded the George Howell Coffee Company and its brand Terroir Coffee to further promote great farmers’ coffees directly to consumers.

For Those In Search of The Ultimate Cup, George’s outstanding Terroir brand coffees can be ordered direct and received within a few days of roast at www.terroircoffee.com. Commercial buyers interested in learning more about George’s GHH Select Brand produced and packaged specifically for the Café, Restaurant and Retail trade can contact us at info@terroircoffee.com.
Contacts

George Howell Coffee Company
Vince Fedele, 866-444-5282

Coffee consumption may prevent gout

Coffee consumption may lower blood uric acid levels -- The precursor of gout

High uric acid levels in the blood are a precursor of gout, the most common inflammatory arthritis in adult men. It is believed that coffee and tea consumption may affect uric acid levels but only one study has been conducted to date. A new large-scale study published in the June 2007 issue of Arthritis Care & Research (Wiley Interscience website) examined the relationship between coffee, tea, caffeine intake, and uric acid levels and found that coffee consumption is associated with lower uric acid levels but that this appears to be due to components other than caffeine.

Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world; more than 50 percent of Americans drink it at the average rate of 2 cups per day. Because of this widespread consumption, its potential effects have important implications for public and individual health. Led by Hyon K. Choi, of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, the current study was based on the U.S. Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, conducted between 1988 and 1994. It included over 14,000 men and women at least 20 years old who consented to a medical exam in which blood and urine specimens were obtained. Coffee and tea consumption were determined based on responses to a food questionnaire that assessed intake over the previous month. Researchers estimated the amount of caffeine per cup of coffee or tea using data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The results showed that levels of uric acid in the blood significantly decreased with increasing coffee intake, but not with tea intake. In addition, there was no association between total caffeine intake from beverages and uric acid levels. These results were similar to those found in the only previous study on the topic, which was conducted in Japan. Interestingly, there was an association between decaffeinated coffee consumption and uric acid levels. "These findings suggest that components of coffee other than caffeine contribute to the observed inverse association between coffee intake and uric acid levels," the researchers state.

A recent study found that coffee was associated lower C peptide levels (a marker of insulin levels). The researchers in the current study suggest that because there is a strong relationship between insulin resistance and elevated uric acid levels, the decreased insulin levels associated with coffee consumption may lead to lower uric acid levels. Coffee is also a major source of chlorogenic acid, a strong antioxidant, which may improve insulin sensitivity. Chlorogenic acid also helps inhibit glucose absorption in the intestine; in another study decaffeinated coffee seemed to delay intestinal absorption of glucose and increase concentrations of glucagon-like peptide 1, which is well known for its beneficial effects on insulin secretion and action. The researchers note further that their results could be due to an effect of non-caffeine components found in coffee, which would also explain why coffee affected uric acid levels but tea did not.
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Article: "Coffee, Tea, and Caffeine Consumption and Serum Uric Acid Level: The Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey," Hyon K. Choi, Gary Curhan, Arthritis Care & Research, June 2007; 57:5; (DOI: 10.1002/art.22762).

Kenneth Davids and The American Barista & Coffee School

Kenneth Davids and The American Barista & Coffee School Join in Presenting Intensive Workshops in Coffee Cupping, Roasting and Blending

(Drinks Media Wire). The subtleties of coffee cupping, sourcing, blending and roasting, particularly for espresso, will be the focus of two intensive back-to-back workshops offered this July 10 through 14 by well-known coffee cupper, writer and consultant Kenneth Davids at Portland’s American Barista and Coffee School (ABC's) founded by Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup.

The first workshop, running for three days July 10 through 12, is designed as an-depth beginning introduction to coffee cupping, blending and roasting for those food service retailers who want to know more about the coffee they buy or who may be considering taking the first steps in setting up their own roasting operations.

The second workshop, July 13 through 14, is a more advanced two-day experience focusing on how to better evaluate and produce distinctive espresso blends. It is designed for those professionals who are already involved in coffee roasting and for those who have completed the first, introductory three-day workshop. Participants will systematically taste and evaluate espresso blends, cup coffees for espresso blending, review some roasting issues in regard to espresso, and then take the first steps in designing their own espresso blends.

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BREAKING NEWS: Coca-Cola FoodService Partners with Juan Valdez

2007-05-20 — QSRmagazine.com

CHICAGO—Coca-Cola has struck Columbian gold with a famous coffee farmer and his donkey.

Coca-Cola FoodService today announced it will offer restaurant operators The Juan Valdez Coffee System, a branded liquid coffee system.

The beverage giant announced the new solution at the National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show May 20. A national announcement will be made May 21.

"People are getting their picture with the brand over here. That's unusual with a coffee business," says Jim Dinkins, vice president of marketing for the Coca-Cola FoodService Division, referring to the number of show attendees who stopped for photo ops with a costumed Juan Valdez spokesperson

Dinkins says Coca-Cola does not intend to take shares away from other coffee suppliers. Rather, "we are trying to grow the whole coffee category," he says. "We've been in the coffee business in packaged can and the bottle form before, but this gives us the ability to become a one-stop coffee solutions provider."

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Shanghai coffee shop finally changes name after long Starbucks dispute

A Shanghai coffee shop that was found to be infringing on the trademark of the U.S.-based Starbucks coffeehouse chain has finally changed its name after a four-year legal battle.

Staff at the newly-titled "Fangyun" cafe on the Nanjing Road refused to comment on the outcome on Friday, despite the fact that it is still listed in directory enquiries as "Xingbake", the Chinese term for Starbucks.

A statement from the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court said, "It is the first case in Shanghai in which a company was forced to change its name because of a trademark infringement."

The court had also ordered Fangyun to make a public apology and pay 500,000 yuan (62,500 US dollars) in damages.

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