Ahmed Legesse of Ethiopia accepting the top prize at the 1st Ernesto Illy International Coffee Awards gala in New York. Illycafé photo.
Last week, the espresso-focused Italian coffee giant Illycafé presented its first annual Ernesto Illy International Coffee Awards, recognizing the top quality producers in its supply network.
Held at the Delegates Dining Room of the United Nations in New York, the event notably pulled the mask off Illy’s signature blend, while more importantly recognizing and promoting the individual producers behind it in the spirit of quality through collaboration. The company has been holding a similar awards program annually in Brazil, yet in UN-fashion, decided to expand the program to include a number of additional major producing countries.
From its quality lab in Trieste, Italy, Illy identified the three best lots from the 2015-16 crop year from each of nine countries that have regularly contributed to Illy’s signature blend, before an international jury selected the top lot from each country. The awards gala itself recognized all 27 finalists.
The countries represented included Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India and Nicaragua, while the international jury — calibrated by Mark Pendergrast and Illy Quality director David Brussa — was composed of coffee professionals, chefs and members of the coffee-focused media, including Peter Giuliano, Kerri Goodman, Corby Kummer, Grace Hightower, Suvir Saran, Viki Geunes, Luigi Taglienti, Maria Loi, and Adolfo Henrique Vieira Ferreira.
In the end, Ahmed Legesse from Ethiopia was presented with the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award, with coffee praised by the jury as having an intense yet delicate flavor, and unique high-intensity floral jasmine notes mixed with a hint of citrus and fresh fruit. Receiving an equal score, a Honduran lot from Juan Angel Milla received a special honorable mention.
“Exactly 25 years ago, my father Ernesto Illy created the Brazilian Quality Award, which triggered the transformation of Brazil into a high quality coffee producer,” illycaffè Chairman Andrea Illy said in an announcement following the event. “Today we celebrate this important milestone by extending this prestigious award to all the major producing countries of the unique illy blend, with the aim of building the future of coffee by bringing together growers and coffee lovers.”
Here, by country, are all 27 finalists in the 2016 Ernesto Illy International Coffee Awards
Brazil
1. Juliana Tytko Armelin
2. Daniella Romano Pelosini
3. Arabela Pereira Lima
Nicaragua
1. Jose Arauz
2. Carlos Alberto Cruz Lopez
3. Victor Hugo Castillo
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Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. Feedback and story ideas are welcome at publisher@dailycoffeenews.com.
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source: http://www.dailycoffeenews.com / Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine / by Nick Brown / November 08th, 2016
The organic coffee grown by Girijan farmers in the picturesque Araku valley of Visakhapatnam district is making a mark not only in the country but internationally as well, and all efforts will be made to promote it in an aggressive manner, according to Social Welfare and Tribal Welfare Minister R. Kishore Babu.
He was speaking here on Wednesday morning after releasing two new products of the Girijan Co-operative Corporation (GCC), a state government undertaking. The products are Vaisakhi Coffee and Kumkum (saffron) powder. “Coffee cultivation is bringing light into the lives of Girijans in the Eastern Ghats of Visakhapatnam district. The state government has taken up a project to bring one lakh acres under coffee cultivation in the district and Rs. 526 crore would be spent on it,” he said.
He lauded the GCC for procuring coffee directly from the Girijan farmers and marketing it on its own, eliminating middlemen. He said Araku coffee would be promoted under the brand name Vaisakhi and there was good demand for kumkum powder. “The GCC has already received orders worth Rs. 10 lakh from the famous Srisailam Siva temple in Kurnool district, and we expect big orders from other temples in the state and outside as well,” he said.
Kishore Babu said the state government was giving the GCC functional autonomy and “in the past few years the turnover of the GCC has risen almost three-fold from Rs. 90 crore in 2013. For the current year we have set a target of Rs. 365 crore and Rs. 155 crore has already been achieved. In the next five years, the turnover of GCC should cross Rs. 1,000 crore.”
GCC Vice-Chairman and Managing Director A.S.P.S Ravi Prakash said the corporation would strive to increase the income levels of Girijans and “GCC has waived farm debts of Girijan farmers to the extent of Rs. 1.8 crores.”
Araku MLA G. Sarveswara Rao said organic products such as turmeric and coffee procured from the Eastern Ghats inhabited by the Girijans, should be promoted in the domestic and international markets.
sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in
sourcce; http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News> National / by CH. R.S. Sarma / Visakhapatnam – November 09th, 2016
From cricketers to squash players to shuttlers — athletes are falling in love with surfing as a hobby and fitness necessity.
Surfing instructor Murthy Megavan with India Test opener Murali Vijay.
Surfing’s biggest moment in India might well be when Priyanka Chopra is seen in the Baywatch movie next year. But quietly, three of Indian sport’s fittest bods are riding the waves on one of Chennai’s pristine beaches. Squash’s decade long champ Joshna Chinappa, India Test opener Murali Vijay and former World Championship medallist in badminton doubles Ashwini Ponnappa have each given a try to taming the threatening rips and breaking waves at Kovalam beach’s Covelong Point surfing facility on India’s east coast these last few years, making surfing the avant-garde recreation of India’s top sportspersons.
You would expect fitness’ reigning celebrity deity Milind Soman to have dropped by to catch a wave – and he has indeed.
You’d reckon Matthew Hayden the big Aussie who played IPL in Chennai and takes off on Tasman coast with his surf board and fish rods, would definitely have given it a go. And you’d guess Indophile Jonty Rhodes, a perpetual adventurist, to have sniffed out this sea corner of India. But Joshna, Ashwini and Vijay have swooshed surfing right into the heart of India’s sporting fraternity – more are expected to follow.
Fit bods first streamed into Indian cable televisions glamorously through Baywatch and the red trunks. But even as Indian sport shaves off the bulges from its ranks and acquires lean muscle, surfing – incidentally an Olympic discipline at the 2020 Tokyo Games – is the latest in recreation and rehab even.
Ashwini took a day-trip to Chennai last month and headed straight to Covelong having heard about the surfing haunt from friends. “I was there for a day and went to the beach directly. It’s the most fun I’ve had, but it’s quite a bit of a workout,” says the Coorgi, who trains at Bangalore and Hyderabad alternately.
Known for her devotion to fitness – needed for covering the back court from where she has a mean smash, whipped at some of the fastest speeds in women’s badminton – Ashwini was bound to be attracted to surfing. However even half an hour on the board catching waves winds up being a colossally intense workout — not one Ashwini minds.
“I ended with sore muscles after my first try. But I definitely want to try this as part of fitness work. It’s good for the core, and I am hooked,” she said. Wary of water on her face initially, and not the surest of swimmers, Ashwini was initially cagey. But as soon as she negotiated the shallow waters and the baby waves – feet apart and bent at knees, hands steering the balance, she was excited and knew this wasn’t the last time she’d be strapping on the board to the ankle.
Having overcome the fear, and the beach being just an hour’s flight away from Hyderabad, Ashwini hopes to be a regular.
Squash champ Joshna Chinappa has always freakishly pursued fitness – given her sport demands exacting amounts of strength and agility from its practitioners.
She was on the fitness treadmill right from when she went to play the British Open junior finals a dozen seasons ago, but she heads out to Covelong in her hometown, mostly owing to her love of the water.
She first fetched up a year ago for a one-off lesson from Covelong’s inspirational instructor Murthy Megavan. Murthy, son of a fisherman and abandoned by his father, took to the sport starting off on a wooden window plank, but has now a hundred surf boards at his centre – some coming from donations of foreign enthusiasts.
On her first ride, Joshna would lose balance and fall off, almost hurting her foot.
“It’s very hard. I fell off, but got back on and gave it another go. I used to think I have great balance in my sport, but after the first time surfing I realised I couldn’t even get up and stand on the board,” she laughs recalling the first fumbles.
Upper-body fitness
Surfing needs an all-round supple body, but demands some superior upper body fitness to start out. Lying flat on the board, surfer typically paddle into deeper waters first, move to squatting in half position and then with an almighty strain on the leg stand on the board, taming the rips.
“I’d hurt my leg first time, but I returned because all I cared for was that my friends would see me standing on that board,” she laughs. “It felt like I’d conquered the world because it’s a challenge to come down a wave,” she says, adding that the general level of strength for anyone trying out has to be high. “The hard part is staying on the board, and we’re just the elementary level. Imagine the pros,” she says.
A regular season is too risky still for Joshna to go out surfing given fear of injury, though she insists it’ll be her favourite activity in off-season.
One man who doesn’t bother worrying — also because he’s put in more surfing hours — is India top-order batsman Murali Vijay. Murthy says he’s been coming to Covelong since 2014 and enjoys an easy breezy connect with the sport – not unlike his day job of facing upto quicks with mighty elegance.
“He likes surfing because it calms him down, he’s told me,” Murthy says. “Vijay’s come here before start of major series. He’s good on the board, and finds it equivalent to yoga or meditation,” Murthy says.
Surf season in Chennai is April to September, though Murthy expects more to camp here year-round.
“All the sportspersons who’ve come here are excellent students and respectful of the instructors and the sport. No starry airs, no attitude,” he says. You can’t afford to when striking a good body and leg position and dealing with an oncoming wave.
Ashwini was a quick learner, moving onto the 9 foot board used for Levels 3 and 4 pretty fast. “It’s like breathing comfortably when trekking. Only 10 percent arrive here fit to surf straight away, given the demands on the upper body. It’s great to know Indian sportspersons are top level in fitness,” Murthy says.
Riding the peaks then is just a matter of discipline and technique.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Sports> Sports Others /by Shivani Naik / Mumbai / November 02nd, 2016
WARMING UP: Akansha Salunkhe, Sunayna Kuruvilla, Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa. Photo: M. Vedhan
After months of living out of a suitcase, Dipika Pallikal and Joshna Chinappa are back in the city, but they are not resting. The two are at the Indian Squash Academy (ISA) here for a three-week camp to get ready for the World women’s team championship to be held in Paris from November 28 to December 3.
“The (past) three months (playing in PSA World tour) have been crazy, playing week after week,” Dipika said to The Hindu here on Friday, after the training camp. “It’s nice to practice again with Joshna. When it comes to a team, we are at our best. We enjoy each other’s company,” she added.
With two of the country’s top under-19 players in Sunayna Kuruvilla and Akansha Salunkhe making up the four-member team to Paris, Joshna, the top-ranked Indian at 13 in the world, felt the team is looking to first enter the top eight, and then take it one step at a time. “It will be tough, no doubt, but we will do our best,” she said.
Acknowledging the competition, which includes top players from England, Egypt, France, Australia, Malaysia, The Netherlands and the USA, Coach Cyrus Poncha said a top-eight finish “is what we are aiming for”. Concurring with Poncha, India’s foreign coach Ashraf El Karargi, said it will be difficult to look beyond the quarterfinals.
For the two juniors, Sunayna and Akansha, it will be a learning experience and an opportunity to prove to one and all that they are here for the long haul. “It is a big honour. I have so much to learn,” said Sunayna, for whom this will be the third International (senior) event after World juniors (Poland) and South Asian Games (SAG, Guwahati). Akansha said her aim is to “improve myself” after having played in the SAG (Guwahati), Asian team championship in Taipei and the World juniors (Poland).
Ashraf revealed Egypt’s Zahed Mohamed (men’s World No. 25) and Shehab Essam (No. 92) will train at the ISA with the Indian junior players from January 15 next year for the Asian juniors (boys and girls) championship to be held in Hong Kong in February 2017. “They are experienced pros, and playing with them will certainly help our players improve,” he said.
source:http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Other Sports / by K. Keerthivasan / Chennai – November 05th, 2016
Attacking batsman Robin Uthappa is a proud Bengalurean. The 30-year-old India cricketer isn’t amused when called a ‘Madrasi’. “I make it a point to say I’m from Bengaluru,” he states pointedly. Uthappa is as passionate about the city he calls home as he is about cricket. Be it the chocolate fudge at Corner House or the steaming-hot idlis at Brahmin’s Cafe, Uthappa can’t get enough of the city. In a chat with STOI, the talented Kodava lists five things he loves about the city.
WEATHER
I love the weather in Bengaluru. The city has the best weather in the country. It has gotten a little warmer in the past few years, but still the weather here is incomparable.
SCENT
I love the scent of this city, it’s warm and comforting. It’s very different from anywhere else. Whenever I get off a flight, the first thing I do is to take a few deep breaths and I know I’m home. This is something you cannot experience anywhere else in the world.
PEOPLE
I love Bengalureans. I’m talking about those who are born and raised here. Our people are extremely hospitable and caring. You don’t get to see or much less interact with very many of them, because not only has the city grown physically and economically, it has also seen a huge influx of people from other parts of the country and even the world. Sadly, though, this has resulted in a change of temperament, which was once as cool as the weather. Still the people of Bengaluru are loving and giving, as we’ve seen on numerous occasions. That’s something I simply love about the people here.
FOOD
The range we have here is out of the world. My wife and I are both foodies and love trying new cuisines and restaurants. The city’s cosmopolitan fabric makes it a food hub. There are a lot of old hangouts which take me back in time. Among the places I visit regularly are Corner House, Hotel Airlines, Fanoos and Richie Rich. One place I visit a lot these days is Brahmin’s Cafe in Basavanagudi. When we plan a breakfast outing, our whole family is up early and we are there by 7 am. We get out there as often as we can.
Robin Uthappa
MY TIME
When I need my space, I get into the car and head in the direction of the airport. There are other connecting roads which have less traffic and I enjoy driving on them, too.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India /News Home> Sports> Off the field / by Manuja Veerappa / TNN / November 06th, 2016
In the northern part of the Mahadevpet quarter of Madikeri town lies a royal graveyard, unbeknownst to many. Gaddige is a set of three regal mausoleums built in the Indo-Saracenic style and enclosed within a compound. Upon each of these rectangular structures is a large dome and four turrets. Two kings of Kodagu (Dodda Vira Rajendra and Linga Rajendra) and their queens lay buried in the two larger identical structures and a third smaller one has the remains of the chief preceptor (Rudrappa) of the kings.
Beside these three tombs, at a little distance away but within the same enclosure, are the tombs of a father-son duo Biddanda Bopanna (Bopu) (1769-1807) and Biddanda Somayya (1800-1879). They had served Kodagu and its kings as sarva-karyakaras, or army generals. While Bopu was the general under Dodda Vira Rajendra (1789-1809), Somayya was the general under Chikka Vira Rajendra (1820-1834). Both tombs have the statue of a Nandi upon it.
Under the Kodagu kings, jamma ryots (farmers by inheritance) held their farmlands by military tenure. The word jamma came from the Sanskrit word for birth, janma. Every able-bodied male jamma ryot had to compulsorily serve in the king’s army. Known as chaudigaras, they worked for 15 days at a time. Around 10 to 100 soldiers served under an army chieftain called the jamedar and a number of jamedars served under an army officer called karyakara. The karyakaras worked under a sarva-karyakaras, or the general. The karyakaras and the sarva-karyakara wore a kombu toppi, a gold zari-bordered red turban with a kombu (horned emblem) in front.
A Kannada inscription states that Biddanda Bopu of Bavali village entered the Raja’s service through palace duties on the fifth day of the new moon of Magha month in the Keelaka year (1788). He worked for 19 years until the year Prabhava, bravely risking his life while fighting wars against Tipu Sultan of Mysore and hunting elephants, tigers and other wild animals, to ultimately become a sarva-karyakara. The Biddanda family originated in Kokeri village in Kodagu nearly three centuries ago. In this Kokeri house lived brothers Medappa and Poonacha. Medappa was a member of the local village panchayat and he married Chaniyapanda Subbavva in 1768. They had a son Bopu, who was born in 1769 on what was deemed to be an inauspicious day by the panchayat members. It was decreed that the son’s face was not to be seen by the father and that the mother was not to be allowed into the house. Hence, the mother and the son lived with the maternal family in Podavada village.
Chronicles of the pastUnfortunately, after some time, both Medappa and Subbavva passed away. The orphaned boy was then brought to the Kokeri Biddanda house by his uncle Poonacha. In 1788, at the age of 19, Bopu joined the king’s army. He worked hard and rose through the ranks to become a karyakara. Poonacha and his wife passed away and their two daughters were married into other families. In 1795, the king transferred Poonacha’s property, which was called ‘Mookanda Bane’ (pasture), to Bopu and his paternal relatives for the military services they had rendered.
Bopu moved from Kokeri to Bavali where he built a ‘Nalkett Mundmane’ — a traditional country house (mane) with four blocks (nalkett) built around an open central courtyard (mund). This became the ‘Biddanda Ainmane’, or ancestral home, in Bavali. One can find description of many events pertaining to Karyakara Biddanda Bopu in Reverend Hermann Moegling’s Coorg Memoirs.
In 1799, the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War broke out between Tipu Sultan and the British. When the British laid siege upon Srirangapatna, the erstwhile capital of Mysore kingdom, Dodda Vira Rajendra sent his treasurer Karnika Subbayya and his officer Karyakara Bopu to invade the Tulu region, which was then a part of the Mysore State. Bopu led the Kodagu army and defeated Sadri Behari and Mir Mohammed who held the Kodial (Mangalore) district. Soon, Kodagu occupied Mangalore, Barkur, Bantwal, Bellare, Viragamba, Udiavara and other regions. Karnika Subbayya came to hold and govern Kodial at that time.
Eventually, news came from Srirangapatna that Tipu Sultan was killed and that Mysore was taken over by the British. Later, Kodagu was made to evacuate the Tulu region and return it to Mysore. Karyakara Bopu was later made the sarva-karyakara of Kodagu. Biddanda Somayya was born in the year Roudri (1800) to Bopu and his wife Mayavva. Bopu died in 1807 at the young age of 38 years. In commemoration of his remarkable army tenure, the king of Kodagu ordered that Bopu be entombed near the royal tombs of Gaddige.
Somayya joined the Raja’s army in 1821. Like his father, he rose through the ranks to become a sarva-karyakara. In 1834, Kodagu got into a conflict with the British. Under him, the Kodagu army was able to inflict damage upon the British army initially. But Chikka Vira Rajendra, the last king of Kodagu, chose to surrender to the British. He was then exiled and the British took over Kodagu.
In those days, the British decreed that all the native officers would be retained in service. But Sarva-karyakara Somayya refused to be in the service of the new government and thus, retired early instead. After his retirement, Somayya lived in the Bavali Biddanda Ainmane and got involved in farming. But he did have one last wish. After his death, he wanted to be buried beside his father and before the rajas of Kodagu. The British allowed this and refused to have anybody else, including any surviving relatives of the rajas, to be buried in the Gaddige area. Somayya died on August 16, 1879. His tomb was erected in Gaddige with the permission of the Chief Commissioner of Coorg. There is a separate graveyard for other members of the Biddanda family in Bavali as well. While the tombs lie neglected today, their history and significance continue to throw light on the history of our people.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> Spectrum / By Mookanda Kushalappa / November 08th, 2016
The famed Kodagu coffee estates are experimenting with bee farms to add to incomes so that the forested landscape of this biodiversity hotspot is better able to sequester carbon.
The forested landscape of Kodagu provides ecosystem services. (Photo by S Gopikrishna Warrier)
While honey can sweeten coffee for the drinker, coffee farmers of Kodagu district of Karnataka are realising that raising bees for honey in the farms can sweeten their economic returns. It is one of the innovative methods being tried out in the district to provide additional financial incentives to coffee farmers so that they conserve the landscape they have inherited.
The concept of payment for ecosystem services (PES) is evolving from eco-certified coffee to that of landscape labelling of Kodagu. If the forests, coffee agro-forestry, rice fields, sacred groves, rivers and streams of Kodagu together provide ecosystem services and climate resilience to the communities living in the hills and the plains, why should not there be payment for sustaining these services?
According to a report on PES prepared by the College of Forestry at Ponnampet, Kodagu, the district has been identified as a micro-hotspot of biodiversity under the larger Western Ghats region. There is tree cover across as much as 81% of the district.
Natural forest ecosystems cover an area of 46% of the total area of the district. This includes evergreen, semi-evergreen, moist deciduous, dry deciduous and scrub forest types. Evergreen forests also include the high-altitude shola forests along with grasslands.
Key ecosystem services
Biodiversity, carbon sequestration and water regulation are the key ecosystem services from the Kodagu landscape. In addition to the economic benefit, there are also provisional, regulating, cultural and supporting services from the landscape. Thus, while eco-certification of coffee can help individual farmers, landscape labelling can benefit the district in its entirety, giving incentive to the communities to plan their development sustainably.
Charulata Somal, chief executive officer of the Kodagu Zilla Panchayat (district council), says that if PES can help channel money for the communities to conserve their landscape, there is a possibility of meeting the genuine aspirations of the people without compromising on the environment. “We plan to take the concept of PES through the elected representatives from the district.”
The PES report from the College of Forestry estimates the economic value of the various ecosystem services in Kodagu. The nutrient recycled has a value between INR 237 and INR 1167 per hectare, with a mean value of INR 700 per ha. The economic value of timber is between INR 530 and INR 8340 per ha. The recreational value of biodiversity is estimated as INR 27,000 per ha.
High sequestration
Carbon sequestration, according to the report, varies from 77 tonnes per ha to 207 tonnes per ha. Even at 90 tonnes per ha and an assumed price for carbon at USD 10 per tonne, the economic valuation is INR 40,500 per hectare.
The project for promoting bee farming (apiculture) in coffee estates was started after a study found the strong economic impact of pollination services of bees from sacred groves adjacent to the coffee farms. Kodagu has 1,214 sacred groves under community management, covering 2,550 hectares interspersed with coffee estates.
Rice paddies in Kodagu. (Photo by S Gopikrishna Warrier)
While Arabica coffee is self-pollinated, Robusta is cross-pollinated. “We researched the interaction between bees in the sacred groves and Robusta coffee to understand what the pollination impact is,” said C.G. Kushalappa, university head for forestry and environment sciences at the College of Forestry in Ponnampet. “Our research proved that in Robusta close to 31% of productivity could be increased if there is sufficient population of honeybees around the farm.”
This research, implemented by the College of Forestry under the Managing Trade-Offs in Coffee Agroforestry (MOCA) project in partnership with ETH University at Zurich, Switzerland, opened the possibility of increasing income for coffee farmers by integrating apiculture into coffee systems.
A premium for honey
“Kodagu honey has a premium in the market because it comes from the flowers of multiple species,” said R.N. Kencharaddi, assistant professor of agricultural entomology at the College of Forestry. “Honey collected from bee keeping in coffee agro-forestry system can get the premium price.”
The college introduced bee boxes in 40 farmers’ fields in 2015 at a density of four to five colonies (bee boxes) per acre, so that they can grow their own bees and produce honey. The team has been researching to select bee colonies that have the most desirable traits for propagation.
“We are looking for bees that do not abscond from their colonies and do not divide into new colonies before the hive is fully built,” said Kencharaddi. “We also check whether the bees are efficient at collecting honey and have disease resistance. Most important, we check on their ferocity, for we do not want the bees to attack the farmers.”
Apis cerana indica or the Indian honeybee is the species that the college is using for propagation. Though the college has not yet done any research on the subject, beehives have been successfully used in East Africa to protect farms from ravaging elephant herds. If this is experimented with and found successful then it could also serve as an additional benefit for Kodagu farmers, who are tired of elephant herds destroying their crops.
“There are elephant herds in Kodagu in which calves and young adults have not seen the forests,” explained M.C. Cushalappa, a coffee farmer from Siddhapura. “These herds have moved out of natural forests years ago and not returned since. They move from farms to villages, without returning to their natural habitat.”
The species of bees used in East Africa and that used in Kodagu are different, according to Kencharaddi. The specie of the African bees that scare elephants is Apis mellifera caucasica, which are more ferocious than their Indian counterparts. The African bees also come out during the night, whereas the ones that the college is working with are active only during daylight.
With bees feeding on the flowers of multiple trees to give premium quality honey, there would be a greater incentive for coffee farmers for protecting their landscape, according to Kushalappa. “This is how we are evolving into the concept of getting landscape labelling for produce from Kodagu’s coffee agro-forestry systems — coffee, honey, pepper and cardamom. Once we can get a brand presence for the Kodagu landscape, the farmers can market multiple produce. Depending on the prices the farmer can move the appropriate produce to the market.”
With the CEO of the Kodagu Zilla Panchayat committing to get elected representatives oriented to the concept of PES and landscape labelling, this method of promoting produce from Kodagu even while conserving the environment is likely to grow wings in near future. Honey with coffee could become the trigger for this.
(This piece was originally published on India Climate Dialogue and has been reproduced here with permission.)
source: http://www.thenewsminute.com / The News Minute / Home / by S. Gopikrishna Warrier / Monday -November 07th, 2016
Jwala Gutta announced that she would be concentrating on mixed doubles while Ashwini Ponnappa will now partner N Sikki Reddy.
Jwalla Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa first played together in 2010. (Source: Express Archive)
Jwalla Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa have decided to part ways. The duo have been India’s most successful women’s double pair. Both have now decided to embark upon their own separate careers. While Jwala Gutta announced that she would be concentrating on mixed doubles, Ashwini Ponnappa has decided to partner N. Sikki Reddy.
Gutta said that she would stop appearing in women’s doubles and will partner Manu Attri while Ponnappa will be playing women’s doubles teaming up with N. Sikki Reddy. Gutta and Ponnappa played together for the first time in 2010. It was in the 2010 Commonwealth Games that they announced themselves where they the Gold medal in women’s doubles.
Ashwini Ponnapoa reportedly said, “Me and Jwala had a great partnership but it was time for us to look for a new beginning.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Express Sports / by Express Web Desk / November 08th, 2016
Are you a coffee lover who needs your cup of steaming, hot coffee as soon as you wake up? But the morning rush leaves you with just about enough time to grab a cup of instant coffee, and head out. There’s a solution to that. Meet true south and their life saving projuct, filter coffee in a pouch! Skeptical? We were too.
SKIM
Being true coffee lovers, we headed over to try some of the coffee at true south, and we were very surprised. The coffee is strong, aromatic, and tastes like it was just brewed!
TRUE SOUTH: FOR EVERY COFFEE LOVER
True south is ready-made coffee decoction available in pouches. All you’ve got to do to enjoy a cup of fresh authentic tasting filter coffee is empty the contents of the pouch, add milk and sugar, and stir! Voila, your hot cuppa is ready in minutes.
The idea started when the folks at True South, who are coffee planters, wanted to make good coffee available easily. The coffee comes from Coorg and Chikmagalur, so it’s from some of the best coffee-growing regions in India. The decoction comes in two varieties: classic and royal, which vary slightly in the percentage of coffee and chicory they contain {the classic blend has 80 per cent coffee and 20 per cent chicory, while the royal variety has 75 per cent coffee and 25 per cent chicory}. They advise that you add one part decoction to five parts hot milk for a typical cup of filter coffee.
WHERE CAN YOU GET YOUR HANDS ON SOME?
Whether you have no time to make decoction every morning, or are unable to find the perfect blend that works for you, True South coffee is the perfect solution. You can order the coffee pouches online, or pick them up from the store located on Richmond Road.
And the perfect part is that you can use them for 15 days after opened, or store them for upto five months!
Wake up and smell the coffee!
source: http://www.hungryforever.com / HungryForever.com / Home / by Aditi Sriprasad / October 31st, 2016
Two days before Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy Group B tie against Assam, Robin Uthappa hopped over to Shivaji Park after training with his team and had a session with his personal coach Praveen Amre at the nursery of Mumbai’s batsmanship. No wonder then that the duo was seen involved in a long chat after Uthappa ended the day unbeaten on 108 to bail Karnataka out of trouble.
“I came back to Mumbai from Kolkata and I told sir, “I wasn’t getting my swing. My feel wasn’t that great”. We practised at Shivaji Park for two days and he was confident in two days I’ll get my feel back,” says Uthappa. “I actually got it back and feel really good. I just want to capitalise on what I have done today and make it a big one.”
After being unable to come good in Karnataka’s first two games of the season, Uthappa has finally gotten into run-scoring mode.
Ever since he burst on to the domestic scene as a 17-year-old, you like to keep watching him bat. Similarly, as he has evolved into a mature cricketer and an individual, you feel like listening to him every time he talks.
Despite being on the fringes and having made several returns to India’s squad, Uthappa hasn’t really been able to cement his place in the team. Having crossed 30, one cannot help but wonder if he has given up on wearing the India jersey. Ask him if he has started entering into the “enjoying the game” phase, and he interrupts you right away.
“Absolutely not,” he says. “I love the game, I enjoy it but my dream is still very strong and I still believe I’ll play for India.
“That’s what drives me. If that doesn’t drive me, then I certainly won’t be playing cricket. I wouldn’t take up the spot of a youngster.
“I’ll keep trying. I genuinely think age is just a number and I just think I need to keep stacking up the runs. No more knocking on the doors, I need to break it down in a big way.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport / by Amol Karhadkar / Mumbai – October 29th, 2016
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