Made in China coffee anyone?

BEIJING - STARBUCKS has launched its first coffee to be made with beans grown in China, the company said.

The South of the Clouds Blend is made with coffee grown by farmers in the southwestern province of Yunnan and will be sold in Starbucks stores here until February 19, said a statement posted on the company's website on Wednesday.

'We are proud to offer our customers the opportunity to experience a truly world-class coffee from China,' Martin Coles, president of Starbucks Coffee International, said in the statement.

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US FDA warns against China-made coffee and milk tea products

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 09/28/2008 10:31 AM

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Saturday alerted consumers that seven Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products are being recalled by the Taiwanese company, King Car Food Industrial Co. Ltd., due to possible contamination with melamine.

According to the FDA, King Car Food Industrial Co. used a non-dairy creamer manufactured by Shandong Duqing Inc., China, which was found to be contaminated with melamine.

The recalled products are:

Mr. Brown Mandheling Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)

Mr. Brown Arabica Instant Coffee (3-in-1)

Mr. Brown Blue Mountain Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)

Mr. Brown Caramel Macchiato Instant Coffee (3-in-1)

Mr. Brown French Vanilla Instant Coffee (3-in-1)

Mr. Brown Mandhling Blend instant Coffee (2-in-1)

Mr. Brown Milk Tea (3-in-1)

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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.

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China's Web 'monster' bares its teeth

Hiroyuki Sugiyama / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

Whenever visiting Beijing's Forbidden City--a UNESCO World Heritage site that represents the glory of the Qing dynasty--I always used to end by popping into the Starbucks that lay within the city's walls.

After tiring myself out exploring the huge historic site, it was nice to enjoy some familiar flavors in the coffee shop that stood in a busy part of the world tourist destination.

But when I visited in July, the Starbucks had gone.

Some self-proclaimed patriots regarded the Starbucks shop in the Forbidden City as a Western invasion of Chinese culture. Others said this was nationalistic, xenophobic prejudice, and a vigorous debate on the question raged over the Internet. The issue was even discussed by the National People's Congress.

Most Chinese try to stay out of politics, however, as they know well how dangerous it can get in this country. So the body managing the Forbidden City compromised by allowing the Starbucks to stay, but saying it was no longer allowed to be independently managed. In response, Starbucks decided to close the branch, deciding that protecting its brand identity was more important than saving that particular store.

Encouraging Starbucks to voluntarily shut down the shop and thus avoiding any political fallout was an expected and normal solution in China.

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4th China International Coffee Festival

Guangzhou International Convention & Exhibition Centre, May 12-14, 2008

Nowadays, Coffee consumption is being increased by 15% in China every year and the Chinese coffee market is expected to grow by 70% in total volume sales between 2003 and 2008 to reach 11,073 tones. Moreover, tariffs on coffee imports are going down, with World Trade Organization commitments calling for the 2003 tariff rate come down to 10.4% and reach 8% in 2004. As a result, experts have reason to believe that, with market growth continuing apace from its small base, coffee will become an integral part of the country's daily life in one to two decades.

The 4th Coffee Festival focuses on the same date of Interbake China 2008, which is one of the largest and most influential exhibitions in Asia. With a total area of 36,000 square meters, this great event attracted over 63,072 professional visitors and 632 exhibitors from 62 countries, which included 5 national pavilions and other absolute exhibitors from different countries, such as Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, TRUNG NGUYEN COFFEE,VINACAFE BIENHOA JOINT STOCK COMPANY, Union Commerciale ( French Instant Coffee), Chen Ao Coffee Ltd, Coffee Bag China, SANTOS CAFFE E AFFINI s.r.l、ORIENTAL ENGINEERING CO . , LTD . PREGEL CHINA, Turkish Hazelnut Promotion Group (FTG), Sandvik Process Systems (Shanghai) Ltd., Al-Hamdani For Yemen (Mocha) Coffee, Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Societies Union, NUTRI FOOD & BEVERAGES INDUSTRIES, Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperatives Union (YCFCU), Ozmer Fruit Concentrates Cocktail Sauces Industry and Trade Ltd, Australian Trade Commission , Italian Trade Commission（ICE）／China-Italy Chamber of Commerce (CICC), S.C. RUBINKING 2000 S.A., PROBAT-WERKE, Rwandan Coffee Commission etc. were very popular in this event. The professional buyers came from food & beverage store owner,- Roasters & Packagers,- Department & grocery store buyers,- Consultants,- Chain store buyers,- Industry executives & buyer, Distributors and - Office coffee buyer etc.

Adam Chen
Project Representative
Canton Universal Fair Group Ltd
Website: www.faircanton.com