Opportunity to help children of Costa Rica

We are traveling to Costa Rica in December. We will enjoy the great coffee, awesome mountains, Pacific beaches, and kind hospitality of the Ticos.

We usually pack fairly light when we travel, but this trip we will carry several large suitcases. The extra bags will be packed with donated items for needy school children in Costa Rica. We need your help to fill these extra bags.

We will be in the Turrialba Coffee region and will donate items to the Casa Milagro Foundation. Take a look at its website to learn more about their projects.

We will also visit Ginnee and Phil Hancock, who are very active in assisting the school children at the Cabecar Indigenous Reservation and the Mission Voz Que Clama. They are good people and they need our help for their good works.

When we see a good cause in the US, we usually reach for a checkbook or go online to make a contribution. It's not so easy in Costa Rica because the items are not as available as in the US. Shipping needed items to Costa Rica is very expensive, so we will be carrying as much as we can cram into several large suitcases.

You can help by either sending money to help us purchase items or you can gather or purchase the items and send them to us so we can take them with us. Try some of your area merchants to see if they would be willing to donate needed items. Many companies have budgets for charity you could help them use for a good cause. I have listed below the items needed.

Please email me with your plan to help so I can coordinate the donations and make sure I have enough suitcases for the trip. robertbadgett@comcast.net

This is a partial list of needed items. Scroll to bottom of list for a link to a website that explains the needs of the children much better than I have.

• 3-ringed binders


• Anything and everything educational


• Art paper and supplies


• Backpacks or small/medium duffle tote bags. Waterproof is good. Different colors would be fun for the kids.


• Blow up beach ball globes of the world (they have never seen the world round, only flat)


• Book bags


• Books: Used/new books in both English and Spanish, for adults, teens & kids


• Chalk


• Coloring books and crayons, markers, watercolors


• Colored paper


• Colored pencils


• Craft paper


• Craft type items


• Crayons


• Dictionary: Spanish-English (not English-Spanish)


• Face paint


• Finger paints


• Flash cards


• Games (Educational): memory/matching games/cards/coordination


• Geometry set


• Markers


• Notebooks


• Paintbrushes


• Paper - plain white, lined and construction


• Pencil sharpeners


• Pencils (either pre-sharpened or please send sharpeners)


• Pens


• Powder craft paint


• Rulers (metric)


• Science kits (must be in Spanish)


• Scissors


• Socks - all sizes, any color for everyday, most schools require NAVY or "Marine Blue"


• Tape


• Tissue paper

For more info and more ideas to help these kids, please visit A Broad in Costa Rica. Our friend Sally writes a very informative and entertaining website about living in Costa Rica.

Colombia Juan Valdez Coffee-Shop Chain To Open Cafes In Chile

BOGOTA (Dow Jones)--The Colombian Juan Valdez coffee-shop chain has signed a deal to open about 20 stores and distribute Colombian coffee in Chile, the company said in a report this week.

The deal was reached between the Chilean Falabella group and Procafecol S.A., the holding company set up to manage the Juan Valdez brand. Procafecol is the Spanish acronym for "promoter of Colombian coffee."

The new operations include the creation of Procafecol Chile, in which the Colombian shareholders will have a 35% stake and Falabella a 65% stake, Procafecol said in a report filed to the Colombian securities regulator. A copy was obtained by Dow Jones Newswires.

Procafecol is 83.9% owned by Colombia's National Federation of Coffee Growers, or Fedecafe, and 15.19% by local coffee growers, according to Fedecafe figures.

The company currently operates 65 Juan Valdez outlets in Colombia, as well as others in the U.S. and Spain, according to the Juan Valdez Web site.

More >>

ICE Coffee Review: Advances From 6-Wk Low; Shorts Cover

Pit-traded arabica coffee futures rose Friday on ICE Futures U.S., recovering from six-week lows touched early after industry buyers lent support and shorts covered while traders watched weather for Brazil's spring bloom.

Kraft Foods (KFT) raised coffee-list prices Friday, following hikes by other major U.S. roasters this week.

ICE pit December closed 85 points higher at $1.2145 a pound after sagging to $1.1980.

"Some people may have bought because Brazil's weekend will be mostly dry, though more rain is expected next week," a desk trader said. Other buyers were spurred by the latest roaster-price increase, he said, but added "these roaster price changes are like the caboose on a train" and reflect a reaction to past market activity.

A New York desk manager said "we're higher but there doesn't seem to be much upside from here, with more rain in Brazil next week and pictures of healthy flowers there circulating." In 15 days, the ICE December liquidation will pick up, he noted.

More >>

Healthy Coffee - The Next Trend?

You won’t find the latest trend in coffee at Starbucks, or at your local grocery store. The most likely way you’ll come across it is by hearing one of your friends ask, “Do you drink coffee? Good! Here’s a new brand for you to try.”

That’s right. The newest twist in your morning pick-me-up is being sold by direct marketing. It’s an MLM business model to be exact. Some people might shy away from that, but while the business model might have a bit of a bad rep, the product doesn’t.

Smooth, rich and full-bodied, this slightly bitter blend is a gourmet, organic Arabica from Brazil, but that’s not it’s claim to fame. This, say the makers, is no ordinary coffee. It’s the world’s first “Healthy Coffee.” They’ve added Ganoderma Lucidum, or Reishi mushroom extract to infuse it with, “more than 300 nutrients, 250 of which are antioxidants.”

Malaysia based Gano Excel, the original creators of Reishi Coffee go on to tell us that Reishi is an adaptogen, helping your body to combat any stress related problems you may have.

So does it taste like mushrooms? Not really. They are the origin of the slightly bitter taste, but the coffee masks the mushroom flavor quite effectively. Blind tests have shown that the mushroom is imperceptible.

Gano Excel coffee comes in little packets of powder, but it’s not instant. It needs to be added to cold water, and heated slowly to thoroughly dissolve the Reishi.

How much traction this new trend will achieve is anyone’s guess. Gano Excel is a 12 year old company with branches in over 40 countries, and a global sales volume of over $500 million, so it’s probably not going anywhere any time soon. This does sound impressive, but it’s still just a tiny piece of the pie as far as coffee goes, since coffee is the second largest commodity in the world, second only to crude oil.

Oh, by the way, do YOU drink coffee?....

Find The Silver Lining

"When things don't work out the way you wish, always look for some positive outcome to the situation working out the way it did."

Rabbi Zelig Pliskin
Aish.com

Is Starbucks Kosher?

Halachic Musings - Director, Tiferet Chaya Program for Girls
By: Rabbi Yair Hoffman

Jews like coffee. The practice of Jews drinking coffee dates back well over a thousand years, since its exportation from the Arab city of Kefa. Its appearance in the responsa oeuvres of the Rishonim and Acharonim attests to the fact that it is a drink of Jews.1 The practice of coffee consumption continues until today with many Jews drinking coffee at that “cool” and “hip” number one coffee chain in America—Starbucks.

Enter the halachic component, however. Is every coffee in this store permitted? The stores are under no hashgachah. “But, it’s only coffee!” some protest. “What could be wrong with coffee?”

More >>

Peruvians outline benefits of fair-trade coffee

By Rebecca Lerner
Special to The Ithaca Journal

ITHACA — In the Peruvian valley of San Fernando, at the historic site of Machu Picchu, fair-trade coffee is making life better for farmers.

That was the message from coffee grower Beltran Leguia Masias, who came to visit Ithaca on a trip sponsored by Equal Exchange, the company that roasts, packages and distributes coffee beans for the San Fernando Cooperative. Its product is sold at Ithaca Bakery and Collegetown Bagels.

“Before we were organized as a cooperative, we were exploited by the middlemen. They would offer whatever price they wanted. During this period, there were a lot of problems. Our children had poor nutrition, and the majority of our kids were illiterate. Now it's changed, and it's still changing,” Masias said, speaking through a translator.

More >>

Iran clamps down on coffee shops

Robert Tait in Tehran
Thursday October 25, 2007
The Guardian

They have become a haven for modern bookworms everywhere - a place to combine a love of the written word with the pleasures of cafe society.

But now the trend of opening coffee shops inside bookstores has fallen foul of the authorities amid a general clampdown on social and intellectual freedoms.

More >>

Coffee Naturally Grown with Only 1% Caffeine

Press Release

Introducing the World’s First and Only Coffee Naturally Grown with Only 1% Caffeine: Daterra Coffee’s Opus 1 Exotic

Following twelve and a half years of intense breeding and cultivation, Daterra Coffee of Brazil announces Opus 1 Exotic, the first 100% Arabica coffee grown to be naturally lower in caffeine. With less than 1% caffeine, Daterra Coffee’s Opus 1 Exotic is the first naturally grown low-caffeine coffee available to Specialty Coffee roasters.

Seattle, WA, October 25, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Developed through natural breeding methods, Opus 1 Exotic is not genetically modified; rather it has been meticulously bred from ancient Ethiopian varieties of Caffea Arabica, the finest coffees in the world. Opus 1 Exotic is not a GMO product and poses no threats that are so often associated with GMO products. All Daterra Coffees, including Opus 1 Exotic are Rainforest Alliance certified, ISO 14001, and Utz Kapeh certified.

Daterra Coffee has successfully cultivated and brought to maturity this extraordinary new coffee. It is ready to ship to roasters worldwide. Opus 1 Exotic has 30% less caffeine than traditional Arabicas making it the perfect coffee for afternoons and evenings - and its taste profile is one of a kind.

For more information on Daterra’s Opus 1 Exotic in North America, contact Linda Smithers at lsmithers@embarqmail.com or contact the company at Andreza@daterracoffee,com.br.

**Note: Friday November 9th there will be a media breakfast and tasting in Seattle, WA. Please contact Linda for details and to RSVP.

About Daterra Coffee
Daterra started 20 years ago as a project of premium and sustainable agricultural products. Today, 100% of the agricultural business of Daterra is coffee. Its vision is to preserve the planet and protect its people. These are the seeds for a better world and great coffee. Daterra’s values revolve around massive investment in research, quality improvement, solid partnerships and responsible governance, environmental protection, and social development. Daterra grows its own seedlings and uses organic composting in 100% of the plantation. Daterra coffees participated as finalists in two Cup of Excellence competitions and were the coffee of choice of the 2005 and 2006 World Barista Champions.

###
Contact Information
Daterra's
Linda Smithers
330.697.2151
lsmithers@embarqmail.com
www.daterracoffee.com

Taking coffee to China

Article from: The Daily Telegraph

A NICHE coffee-roasting company in Sydney is taking on the extraordinary task of selling coffee to China, which is a nation of tea drinkers.

Erskinville-based CoffeeMasters will be part of a blitz by 19 Australian companies organised by Austrade, to raise the profile of Australia's food and beverages in China at the Shanghai Food Hospitality China 2007 convention, next month.

But coffee to China? Surely that's like trying to convince Spaniards to replace their paella with pavlova.

Managing director Geoff Suranyi admits the company is starting from scratch by telling the Chinese what to look for in coffee.

More >>

October

"OCTOBER: This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks in. The other are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August, and February." Mark Twain

ICE Coffee Review: Eases; Brazil Rainfall Monitored

INO News

Pit-traded arabica coffee futures ended lower Friday on ICE Futures U.S. after speculators took profits when origins clipped a rise through Thursday's high, brokers said. Brazil's weather outlook has improved with rain in the forecast, but it's unclear if the nation will get enough moisture for a successful October-November tree blossoming.

ICE pit December closed 40 points lower at $1.25 a pound after an early rise to $1.26.

"Speculators did some selling today and the screen weakened after the pit closed, but it's in much lighter volume than yesterday," a New York desk manager said. "No one can make any pronouncements about Brazil's crop yet because we don't know how much rain they'll get. I've seen pictures of trees that look good and pictures that look bad."

Meanwhile, a growing portion of Brazil's coffee production is irrigated - possibly as much as 30% of groves, he estimated.

More >>

Ever feel like black coffee in a Frappuccino world?

John Norberg

We recently got a great new coffee shop near our house.

On Saturday and Sunday mornings, there's a parade of cars driving out of our neighborhood and over to the coffee shop, where we all stand in line to place our orders.

"I'll have a grande cinnamon dolce Frappuccino and a cheese and marmite panini please."

"Oh, that sounds delicious. But I'm going to have a grande dulce de leche latte and a scone."

"Grande caramel macchiato and a muffin, grazie! Pronto per favore!"

"Two grande raspberry mocha Frappuccinos with extra raspberry and double mocha! And some passion cheesecake."

Waitress: "Yes sir, what can I get for you?"

Me: "Can I have a cup of black coffee and a piece of toast?"

More >>

Vietnam adopts stricter coffee export standard

The Economic Times

HANOI: The Vietnamese government has imposed a higher quality specification for coffee exports as it moved to improve coffee standard. The new specification coded TCVN 4193:2005 will replace the old requirement TCVN 4193-93 and take effect immediately for all shipments, the government said in a report on Saturday.

Customs will test all coffee exports before shipping to find out if the exports meet TCVN 4193:2005 standard, the report said.

More >>