Coffee Tips

Buying Tip

When purchasing coffee, always ask when it was roasted. Many common misconceptions exist when it comes to judging the freshness and optimum time to experience a roasted coffee at its peak of perfection. Generally coffee is best if used a day or two after roasting, and if kept in an air tight container, flavor should not diminish significantly until after seven to ten days. Old coffee beans may appear very oily, will have little or no aroma, or will take on a somewhat unpleasant aroma.

Source: coffeeuniverse.com

John Weaver: The art of making coffee

SAN FRANCISCO - By Tiffany Maleshefski
Special to The Examiner

Master coffee roaster John Weaver drinks his coffee black, and this is why.

One fateful day, Alfred Peet — the founder of Peet’s Coffee and Tea — knocked a steaming cup of coffee out of the hands of the then-20-something Weaver, who was simply doing what most coffee drinkers do: adding milk to the brown-black brew.

“You will not pour milk in my coffee!” Peet bellowed, according to Weaver, not because he was a tyrannical boss but because he strove for perfection.

“He was a great guy, but he made his point quickly,” Weaver said. “What he was trying to get across is you got to taste the coffee.”

And taste it Weaver did, for 27 years, under the astute leadership of the pioneering Peet and Sal Bonavita, former owner of Peet’s Coffee and Tea.

Now a master roaster in his own right, Weaver has struck out on his own. He founded Weaver’s Coffee & Tea just last month, only three months after the entrepreneur launched Wild Card Roasters with Michael Brown and Bryce Inouye.

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Nicaraguan coffee exports increase

Nicaraguan coffee exports percolate in first two months of harvest

Nicaraguan coffee exports are up 46.6% during the first two months of the 2007-08 harvest in relation to the same period last year, according to the government's Export Processing Center (Cetrex).

Coffee exports from last October and November, the first two months of this year's harvest, totaled $23.4 million, compared to $15.9 million from October and November of the 2006-07 harvest, Cetrex reported.

The increase is being attributed to a rise in international coffee prices as well as greater productivity.

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Café Britt Peru Exports Gourmet Coffee Beans and Chocolates

(LIP-ir) -- Café Britt Peru plans to export this year roasted and packed gourmet coffee beans and chocolates to Uruguay, Argentina and Spain due to the great demand for these products in such countries, reported today the company's general manager, José Vásquez de Velasco.

He stated that Café Britt Peru currently exports to Chile, Curacao, United States and Costa Rica. In 2007, sales registered an 80 percent increase compared with 2006.

This number includes online sales of roasted and packed gourmet coffee beans, chocolates and handicrafts.

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Trouble brewing at Seattle's coffee giants

Oh, how the caffeinated crash.

Just one week after Starbucks announced it was firing its CEO to reverse a stock dip and save its image, Seattle's only other large coffee company -- Tully's -- is out at least five executives, including a CEO and a CFO.

It's enough to make one wonder about the health of Seattle's coffee empire, not to mention the staying power of our distinction as the country's coffee capital.

But you can't judge this city's coffee love by its corporations.

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Dispelling the myths of coffee

The right way to start your day

Colin Kennedy

The Daily Evergreen

Published: 01/15/2008 00:00:00

The occasional stop at Starbucks or quick pick-up at The Daily Grind drive-thru may do more than settle that irresistible craving for a peppermint latte (which happens to be the greatest part of the winter next to the “Home Alone” soundtrack).

Coffee products often receive a bad rep as caffeine is an addictive drug with side effects from excess consumption that include increased blood pressure and nervousness. However, recent research suggests that coffee may offer abundant health benefits, ranging all the way from cancer prevention to decreased pain perception.

With all of the recent hype about the importance of consuming antioxidant-rich foods such as blueberries and green tea, coffee often slips under the radar for its powerful antioxidant properties. In fact, a 2005 University of Scranton study found that coffee is a primary source of these disease-preventing compounds.

According to Scranton professor Joe Vinson, the leading researcher of the study, “Americans get more of their antioxidants from coffee than any other dietary source. Nothing else comes close.” Additionally, according to WebMD.com, the antioxidants and magnesium in coffee may also contribute to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. An antibacterial compound found in coffee may even aid in preventing tooth decay and cavities (although coffee does stain teeth).


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Tully's Forms Asia Joint Venture with Founder of Tully's Coffee Japan

Seattle, United States -- Business Wire (Business Wire India)

Tully's Coffee Corporation (Tully's) announced that it has established a new joint venture for development of the Tully's business in Asia and that it has settled the lawsuit with its former licensee for Asia.

On January 7, 2008, Tully's Coffee Asia Pacific, Inc. (TCAP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tully's, and Asia Food Culture Management Pte, Ltd (AFCM) entered into a limited partnership agreement that established a new joint venture called Tully's Coffee Asia Pacific Partners, LP (Tully's Coffee Asia). The new joint venture will seek to develop the Tully's brand in Asia (excluding Japan), Australia and New Zealand through franchising and licensing activities, retail store operations, coffee roasting, wholesale distribution and other business activities. AFCM is a newly established enterprise managed by Mr. Kouta Matsuda, the founder and former chief executive officer of Tully's Coffee Japan.

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Eco-friendly coffee boat believed sunk

By Rhiannon Meyers
The (Galveston) Daily News

Published January 12, 2008
GALVESTON — Somewhere in the murky bottom of the Gulf of Mexico lies nearly 4,000 pounds of coffee that Joe and Terry Butcher had spent the past two years saving to buy.

After Joe, Terry and Doug Butcher were rescued from their sinking sailboat Red Cloud on New Year’s Day, they vowed to return to salvage the boat and the coffee onboard so they could sell it for a profit. But, last week, they tracked the boat’s beacon hundreds of miles offshore and found nothing but open water. They assume the Red Cloud has sunk, Terry Butcher said.

“Our life savings and investment was in the boat,” she said. “It was our home and business.”

Joe and Terry Butcher, owners of El Lago Coffee Co., along with Joe’s brother, Douglas Butcher, had planned to ship the coffee from San Pedro on Ambergris Caye in Belize to Galveston Bay to promote eco-friendly coffee trading.

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