'Black gold' coffee leaves a bitter taste for some

by Robert Booth
The Guardian
Saturday March 22 2008

This article appeared in the Guardian on Saturday March 22 2008 on p26 of the UK news section. It was last updated at 13:10 on March 22 2008.

Two thousand feet up in the mountains above Kingston, the locals call it "black gold". The most expensive coffee in the world grows here on the misty slopes around the Mavis Bank coffee factory.

Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee sells for a staggering £66 a kilogram in Britain, four times the price of a good espresso blend. It is a £20m a year business in Jamaica and its clean, refined taste and hint of natural sweetness is so popular in Japan that coffee aficionados there buy up 70% of the harvest.

But not everybody benefits. More than 200 women sort the beans for up to 14 hours a day, often six days a week, for no more than £10 a day. Their role in picking out substandard beans is vital. But it is piece work and the women complain of being underpaid. One manager admitted they should be paid more, but they are not unionised and the lack of other opportunities keeps them there.

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Starbucks Coffee Company To Acquire The Coffee Equipment Company

Starbucks Coffee Company To Acquire The Coffee Equipment Company And Its Revolutionary Clover Brewing System
3/20/2008

Seattle, WA - Starbucks Coffee Company recently announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire The Coffee Equipment Company and its proprietary Clover brewing system. The Coffee Equipment Company is a privately held coffee equipment developer and manufacturer based in Seattle, Wash. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Coffee Equipment Company is best known for developing the revolutionary Clover system, one of the most significant innovations in coffee brewing since the espresso machine. The Clover�s specialized brewing process allows a barista to quickly deliver one freshly brewed cup of coffee at a time. This technique, which blends the best of the vacuum pot and coffee press methods, further develops and unlocks the unique flavor nuances of specialty coffees.

"Strategically, this acquisition will demonstrate our commitment to provide Starbucks customers with individual brewed cups of the rarest and most exotic Starbucks coffee using the Clover brewing system," said Howard Schultz, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "In my over 25 years at Starbucks, the Clover machine unquestionably delivers the best cup of brewed coffee I have ever tasted and we want to share this experience with our customers."

"Coffee is as complex, rich and distinctive as fine wines," said Zander Nosler, co-founder of The Coffee Equipment Company. "The Clover brings out amazing and distinctive coffee flavors -- like the earthy, woodsy flavors of an Aged Sumatra or the bright citrus tones of an Ethiopia Yergacheffe -- with the depth of the coffee press and a clarity that was formerly only found at the professional coffee grader's cupping table. It puts the coffee front and center.

"We are thrilled to be a part of Starbucks Coffee Company, given its brewed coffee heritage and passion for specialty coffees," Nosler said. "Personally, I'm delighted to unite our innovative technology with Starbucks� amazing influence from origin to consumer. Starbucks is uniquely positioned to change the way the world thinks about brewed coffee."

"The Clover brings drama and theater to the brewing process and enables our baristas to have emotionally rich conversations with our customers," added Schultz.

Starbucks expects to accelerate the roll out of the Clover machines to select domestic and international markets. Currently, they are in use in some Seattle and Boston area stores.

The Coffee Equipment Company was founded in 2004 by Zander Nosler and Randy Hulett. In 2007, the Company was the recipient of both the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) "Coffee Excellence" and Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) "Best New Product" Awards. Additional information on The Coffee Equipment Company can be found at www.Cloverequipment.com.

SOURCE: Starbucks

Starbucks wants to bring back coffee aroma

By Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) - Starbucks is introducing a new automated espresso machine and getting back to grinding beans in its stores as the coffee retailer seeks to re-energize its slumping business.

Facing thousands of shareholders eager to hear the company's plans, Starbucks Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Schultz on Wednesday announced the arrival of the Mastrena, a new machine designed to leave a smaller margin for error in pulling shots and steaming milk.

While likely to disappoint some longing for the return of old-school manual machines, the Mastrena is about seven inches shorter than the machines in stores now, which will make it easier for baristas to interact with customers.

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The king of coffee in exile

Pet jaguars, prison escapes and a tragic kidnapping: How a world coffee baron came to Charlotte
JEFF ELDER
jelder@charlotteobserver.com

Today you're having coffee with Mariano Ospina.

Oh no, no, no. You will not be dashing into Starbucks for a cardboard cup. You will not slurp through a little hole in a plastic lid.

That's the American version of coffee.

The scion of Colombia's most famous coffee family does not dash. He does not slurp.

Ospina, 54, wears a mane of salt-and-pepper hair and the beard of a king. He invites you to sit in a booth of a restaurant in Charlotte's Elizabeth neighborhood. He gently eases pressure upon the plunger on a French press coffeepot, brewing his family's $70 a pound coffee.

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Generosity at Starbucks

By Rudabeh Shahbazi

RICHLAND, WA-- One person's kindness ballooned into a chain of generosity at Starbucks today. That chain was more than 200 links long, all Starbucks customers who started the day with one random act of kindness.

Groggy Starbucks regulars start their day by getting a little pick-me-up handed through their car windows in the mornings. Today one person decided to treat the car behind him at around 8 AM.

"I think it's a great idea," said Missy Cartmell, the 102nd person to continue the chain. "What a cool thing."

"It's a nice little surprise," said Jason Bailey, a Hanford teamster. "I was most certainly not expecting anything like that to happen, so I'll give someone else a nice little surprise."

The line of generosity caught on like wildfire, giving 209 people a good start to their day. Even when the stream of traffic stopped, the last car left money for the next person who pulled up.

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