Tata Coffee, part of the $100-billion salt-to-software Tata conglomerate, announced post-market hours on Monday that it would set up a green field instant coffee facility of 5,000 MT capacity in Vietnam at a cost of $50 million (about Rs 350 crore).
source: http://www.profit.ndtv.com / NDTV PROFIT / Home> Markets / by Sandeep Singh / December 20th, 2016
Coffee – the fuel that powers legions of tired-eyed Orange County workers every morning – doesn’t truly come from a cafe, a bag or even a bean.
Standing in an Orange warehouse, surrounded by more than 300 tons of imported coffee beans, Bodhi Leaf Coffee Traders founder Steve Sims’ eyes gleam as he points from bag to bag, explaining the rich history behind each, going all the way back to “coffee cherries” gathered by the hundreds of international farmers he networks with. The precious pits of these cherries, known as coffee beans, can yield all kinds of flavors and sensations depending on how they are harvested and roasted.
With its Orange headquarters, an Anaheim Hills cafe and two new locations coming soon to Santa Clarita and Placentia, Bodhi Leaf works to bring the cream of the world’s caffeinated crop to hundreds of roasters, stores and individuals.
Sims, 47 of Yorba Linda, wasn’t always a coffee man. Once in real estate, he had to scramble to find a way to make a living when the Great Recession hit. After chancing upon a container of top grade Sumatran coffee in his travels, Sims made connections that – like a coffee plant – would bear bountiful fruit.
Bodhi Leaf sources its beans with the intention of going well beyond what people have come to expect from their morning cup of joe. Once they’ve had the good stuff, there’s no turning back, Sims said.
“It kind of draws you in,” he said. “Once they cross that line, they’re not going back to gas station or commodity coffee. There’s an element to coffee and people in the coffee industry – people have a passion for it, want to learn more about it and talk about it.”
Sims doesn’t just know where each bag of beans in his warehouse comes from – he personally knows the farmers who’ve cultivated them. The Bodhi Leaf team networks with farmers around the world, including in coffee hotspots in Columbia, Brazil, Ethiopia, Kenya, Guatemala and Africa.
Sims said he and his team won’t sell beans before they’ve met the farmers in person, sometimes flying up to 36 hours to see what they’ll be getting in person. When they find something they like, they buy it at a premium to help ensure the farmers can make a living off their craft.
After a long journey, this worldwide parade of beans converges at the Orange warehouse. Customers in the front cafe can watch through a wall-sized window as staff stack mountains of bags in the warehouse or sit at the bar as beans whirl in a roaster behind the counter.
People, Sims said, like to know what goes into their – the more they know of the history and the process, the better that cup will taste. To this end, the shop has started holding classes once a month, offering insight into the history of coffee and techniques to get the most out of their beans.
Sims likens the growing trend of specialty coffee to craft beers – there’s an art to it that can get people hooked. His personal favorite, African coffee, can be an acquired taste for some, but once you’re a fan you won’t settle for less, he said.
“We’ve had people that drink gas station coffee their whole life come in to drink African coffee and ask ‘what is wrong with this!?’ But if they come in and try a few different coffees, they learn to appreciate it,” Sims said. “If you know what goes into it, it really makes you appreciate that cup more.”
source: http://www.ocregister.com / The Orange County Register / Home> Top News> News / by Jonathan Winslow, Staff Writer – jwinslow@scng.com / December 05th, 2016
Manyepanda Madaiah Chengappa recently took over as the Chairman of Karnataka Planters Association (KPA). Karnataka accounts for more than 70% of the coffee production in India.
According to United Planters Association of Southern India (Upasi), Karnataka’s post-monsoon estimated coffee production for 2015-16 was 253,340 tonnes, with the all-India number standing at 350,000 tonnes. KPA has about 700 members as of date.
In an interview with Furquan Moharkan of DH, Chengappa says that his aim as the chairman is to make domestic demand for the cup of coffee transform from an elitist drink to a common man’s drink.
What are the challenges that coffee plantation sector faces today?
Climate change has increased, apart from pests and diseases impacting the coffee crop productivity. The Arabica coffee crop yield has reduced from 1,200 kgs, to 600 kgs per hectare, while Robusta coffee has decreased from 2,000 kgs, to 1,400 kgs per hectare, over the last decade. For instance, this year, Kodagu has 300 mm less rainfall over the previous year, and Chikkamagaluru has also suffered a similar fate, which affects the standing coffee crop and development of new shoots in coffee plants for the coming season.
Labour wage constitutes over 60% of the total cost of coffee cultivation. The annual wage increase was below 6% till 2007-08. From 2008-09, the increase was very steep. Against 2007-08’s wage of Rs 79 per day, the current wage is at Rs 263 — an increase of 232% or an annual average increase of 15%. This could be the highest percentage increase for any industry in Karnataka. Also the statutory and welfare costs for the labour, which are over and above the wages and benefits, works out to an additional 50% of the wages. This is an additional financial burden for both corporate and proprietary planters.
However, the sale price for coffee at the farm gate hovers around Rs 2,800 to Rs 3,500 for a 50-kg bag, while the labour and fertiliser costs have spiralled disproportionately. The need to invest more funds for R&D to develop better quality coffee plants that are high-yielding and pest-resistant is another challenge.
What are your priorities after taking over as Chairman of the KPA?
Primarily, my major objective is to make domestic demand for the cup of coffee transform from an elitist drink to a common man’s drink. I would seek the Coffee Board’s assistance to establish coffee kiosks at public places like government offices, bus and railway stations, airports, shopping malls and educational institutions. This would make the demand for coffee explode in the country. Towards this objective, it would be necessary to jointly pursue vegetative clonal and tissue culture propagation of coffee, with United Planters Association of South India (Upasi) and Central Coffee Research Institute, Balehonnur, Karnataka. Also, to push for the import of pest and disease-resistant high-yielding coffee plant material. Identify biological viable and effective methods to treat effluents.
Also, request the state government and its Department of Agriculture to allocate Rs 1.9 crore in the state budget to fund the Upasi-KPA coffee research project. To establish soil and leaf analysis laboratories at Chettalli, Kodagu district and Chikkamagaluru district for the convenience of small and large growers.
A lady planters sub-committee has been constituted to promote community outreach programmes and showcase their achievements in cultivation of coffee, plantation nurseries, local marketing initiatives at national and international levels, home stays and plantation cafes for income augmentation.
What is the impact of the GST regime on the coffee plantation sector?
GST does not affect the coffee grower directly, as being agriculturists, they come under zero tax brackets. GST is applicable only after curing at the roasting and powdering stage, when the value-addition takes place, and the coffee can be consumed as a cup of coffee. According to Rule 7B (1) of Income Tax Act — “Income derived from the sale of coffee grown and cured by the seller in India shall be computed as if it were income derived from business, and 25% of such income shall be deemed to be income liable for tax.” This I-T Rule needs to be amended to tax coffee only at the stage of roasting and powdering that would enable the grower to sell coffee, which is plantation-specific, directly to the local and global markets.
Do you think that the import of pepper from Sri Lanka could affect domestic trade?
Import of poor quality pepper is killing the Indian pepper market. A regulatory price mechanism is necessary, whereby the price of pepper imported should be about 5% lower than the Cochin pepper auction price of equal quality of the day. Also, quality parameters of the imported pepper should be strictly monitored by a suitable government agency.
Your comments on the degradation of forests and environment pollution that have a bearing on the plantations in Karnataka.
The National Forest Policy is under amendment and a high-powered committee has been instituted for the purpose. The KPA and Upasi have jointly made a representation to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. Also the elephant menace in Kodagu district has assumed dangerous proportions due lack of proper fodder and vegetation in the game sanctuaries. Plantation crops, fruit trees and human beings are being trampled upon and destroyed. Therefore, the translocation of elephants appears to be the only solution, as all other forms of deterrents and barriers have proved ineffective.
While tourism has phenomenally raised the socio-economic level of people in the plantation districts, it should not lead to environmental pollution. Therefore, it is necessary to promote eco-tourism in the plantation districts of the state. Also, aggressively ban all types of pollutants, plastics, discharge of sewage and chemical effluents into the rivers. People need to be aware of waste segregation, its recycling and proper disposal through the media platforms to promote eco-tourism.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> Economy & Business / by Furquan Moharkan / DHNS – December 12th, 2016
Bengaluru :
Sunalini Menon remembers the first Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) outlet VG Siddhartha started on Brigade Road in 1996. She had just ended a two decade-long stint at Coffee Board and was making brews for CCD under her independent consultancy Coffeelab.
Siddhartha, Menon reminisces, took advantage of the IT boom to make an offer: buy one cup of coffee and surf the net for one hour.
“We served filter coffee on the ground floor and espresso on the mezzanine floor. People warmed up to only cappucino and lambasted us for charging exorbitant rates for a cup of brew.“
In stark contrast, the three-day Coffee Santhe last weekend saw a footfall of 4,000 people. “We have come a long way since,“ Menon, Asia’s first woman coffee taster, points out.
It is experiences and journeys like these that Menon plans to document in a museum dedi cated to coffee. That’s her dream project and a final ode to her love for coffee.The project, which has been in the pipeline for some time now, is taking shape.
“We are forming a trust since it is a non-profit initiative. It requires two acres of land as we plan to grow coffee around it. We have decided on Devanahalli, though there is an offer for it to come up in Chikmagalur,“ she said, explaining that budgets have to worked on accordingly . Menon favours a location closer to the airport as “travellers with a transit visa can see the museum, have a cup of coffee and fly back with happy memories of India.“
Menon, 64, has the blueprint ready .“We will start with the story of Baba Budan (who brought coffee to South India) and traverse to the cultural aspects of coffee, diversified cultivation patterns and types of seed material.We are planning a layout that is representative of a typical Indian coffee plantation.“
The exhibits will include antique coffee roasters, grinders, brewing equipment, mugs, cups and coffee powders from different corners of the world. The Coffeelabs office in RMV Extension, a mini-museum in itself, houses memorabilia including tribal products from coffee-growing areas, arecanut pickers, ancient milk measurement units and coffee pots.
“Each equipment throws light on the culture of the country it comes from,“ Menon explains. For instance, Italian pots have ornate carvings; the ones in Iran are known for their silver and filigree; Pakistan has a recurring crescent moon pattern while Egypt sports designs of Cleopatra.
Education consultant and coffee addict Shaista Baljee believes that a museum will find takers not only among aficionados like herself but others.“India, especially Karnataka, has such a fantastic coffee culture that has developed phenomenally over the years. An initiative like this in a tea-drinking country will be amazing.“
source: http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / ET Home> Magazines> Panache / by Divya Shekhar, ET Bureau / December 07th, 2016
Assam chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday inaugurated the exhibition cum sale of Nagaland Coffee at Kisama. He was accompanied by Nagaland chief minister, T.R. Zeliang and cabinet colleagues from Assam and Nagaland.
According to an official, the department promotes both Arabica and Robusta variety of coffee.
The department took up development of coffee in Nagaland in the year 2014 in collaboration with the Coffee Board of India with the aim of uplifting the economy of the rural people.
Coffee has a number of health benefits, such as lowering the risk of type II diabetics, alezheuner’s disease, dementia parkinson’s disease etc.
The department has teamed up with a coffee expert from South Africa, Dr. Pister to promote the production of coffee in the State. Dr. Pister will also be demonstrating the various process of coffee making like pulping, roasting etc and preparation of world class cappuccino, espresso etc.
source: http://www.nagalandpost.com / Nagaland Post / Home> State> State News / Dimapur – December 02nd, 2016
Seoul (Yonhap) :
Rising international coffee prices this year could hit South Korea soon, industry officials said Tuesday, although major franchises and coffee companies say they have no immediate plans for a markup.
The International Coffee Organization (ICO) in its October report noted the significant rise in coffee prices, with Robusta, used mostly for instant coffee, increasing 30.1 percent compared to last year. Arabica, used by Starbucks and other brands of premium coffee, is priced 30.1 percent higher than last year.
The prices have been driven by serious droughts in major coffee producing nations like Vietnam and Brazil, coupled with increasing demand in developing countries, including China.
Industry officials say firms and franchises have purchased their coffee through futures contracts that will last for up to a year and help keep the local coffee price stable. When coffee prices continue to rise, however, there will be pressure for a hike, they say.
Starbucks has already marked up its coffee prices in China and the United States this summer. It hasn’t raised its prices in South Korea for over 28 months after the last hike in 2014.
“It is true that there are factors for a price increase, such as the price of coffee beans, monthly lease fees and employment costs,” an official at Starbucks Korea said. “At this point, however, we are not considering a price hike.”
“Most of the coffee beans at our stores have been purchased through futures contracts. The international price increase is not necessarily immediately reflected in our products,” he said.
Namyang Dairy Products Co. and Maeil Co., leading local producers of coffee drinks, both indicated they are not planning to raise prices for now, but industry officials say they are being pressed by poor corporate performance.
“We are looking at the price graph after coffee prices began to rise this year,” said an official at Maeil, the operator of the coffee franchise Paul Bassett. “If this trend continues for the long term, the effect is inevitable.”
source: http://www.english.yonhapnews.co.kr / Yonhap News Agency / Seoul – November 15th, 2016
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
Colombia
1. Carlos Arturo López Guarnizo
2. Ovalle Duarte
3. Eliecer Torres
Costa Rica
1. Mauricio Barrantes
2. Warner Quesada Elizondo
3. Johnny Marin Badilla
El Salvador
1. Jose Antonio Salaverria Jr.
2. Leopoldo Muyshondt
3. Miguel Angel Caceres
Ethiopia
1. Ahmed Legesse
2. Seada Shifa
3. Yismashewa Seyoum
Guatemala
1. Jorge Bolaños
2. Jose D. Guerra
3. Edward Andres Esteve
Honduras
1. Juan Angel Milla
2. Dario Enamorado
3. Omar Acosta
India
1. Mohamed Suhaib
2. Tanveer Jabbar
3. Anand. J . Mathais
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
Visakhapatnam :
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
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
Columbus, Ohio coffee roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea recently traveled into Peru’s Andes Mountains to expand relationships with coffee farmers. During the trip. licensed Q Grader Brandon Bir led judging for a coffee competition in the Junin region.
Columbus, Ohio :
Brandon Bir, coffee sourcing and education manager for Columbus coffee roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea recently traveled into Peru’s Andes Mountains to expand relationships with coffee farmers, agronomists, and others dedicated to improving the quality of the country’s coffee. While there, the licensed coffee Q Grader led judging for a coffee competition in the Junín region.
Bir’s trip originated in Lima. While visiting the capital city, he shared samples of Crimson Cup’s Ethiopian Kossa Kebena and 1991 Blend coffees with local coffee houses and coffee cuppers.
“We had some great discussions about Peruvian coffees, Lima’s coffee culture and how things are evolving,” he said. “They have some well-put-together cafés, and everyone’s competing for exceptional coffees.”
“Local coffees are getting better every year, with better coffees scoring in the mid-80s on the 100-point coffee quality scale,” he added. “In the past, they were known for their chocolatey flavors but were not extremely nuanced.”
From Lima, Bir traveled into the Andes Mountain jungle to La Merced, a town in the Junín region. There, he visited with Don Julio Arevalo Tello, founder of private co-op NARSA (NEGOCIACIONES AGROINDUSTRIAL AREVALO S.A.) Since 1988, NARSA has focused on helping small coffee and cacao farmers in Peru’s Central Highlands and Amazon regions with achieving market access throughout Peru and beyond.
“NARSA has been instrumental in coffee development in the Junín region,” Bir said. “We’ve been extremely impressed with the way they live their principles of integrity, eco-efficiency and transparency and their focus on inclusion of indigenous families.”
For the next four days, he visited local coffee farms and prepared for the upcoming coffee competition sponsored by NARSA. “The competition is just one of the ways NARSA is involved in improving local coffee quality,” he said.
One of the farms he stayed at was Finca Santa Rosa near the small town of Villa Rica. This farm is owned by third-generation grower Selena Contreras Obregon. Established by Contreras’ grandfather in 1927, the 104-acre, Rain Forrest Alliance-certified farm grows catuai, caturra, bourbon, typica and geisha varietals under a canopy of indigenous trees at an elevation of 1,600 meters.
“This is the third year we’ve visited Selena, her family and her farm,” Bir said. “They continue to impress us with their passion for quality coffee and dedication to progress in every aspect of operations. Over this past year, Selena’s coffee professionals created a new coffee lab to evaluate coffee quality.”
On his final day at NARSA, he coordinated a quality competition among more than 25 local coffee farmers. In addition to friendly competition, a goal was to help farmers understand the qualities that are more prized in coffee beans and that command a higher price. Bir and three other Q Graders cupped coffee samples from morning until the competition ended at 10 p.m.
“Our winner was an 89-point coffee from Damien Conde in Alto Palomar,” Bir said. It stood out from the typical coffees of the region with its flavor profile more similar to that of a high grown Kenyan coffee.”
Crimson Cup will evaluate the purchase of coffee from this crop through its Friend2Farmer direct trade program in the future. The roaster developed its Friend2Farmer direct trade program to ensure that farmers receive a fairer share of proceeds from coffee sales. The company pays a premium to farmers, who can then invest in agricultural and community improvements. Crimson Cup coffee experts also collaborate with farmers on ways to improve the quality of the coffee and quality of live for farmers, workers and their communities. In addition, the roaster invests in projects such as solar dryers to help improve coffee quality.
About Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea
Since 1991, Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea has hand-roasted specialty coffee in Columbus, Ohio and taught independent business owners to succeed through its coffee shop franchise alternative program. Sustainably sourced Crimson Cup coffee is available through a network of more than 350 independent coffee houses, grocers, college and universities, restaurants and food service operations across 28 states, as well as the company’s own Crimson Cup Coffee House in the Columbus suburb of Clintonville.
For more information, visit crimsoncup.com.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/10/prweb13805703.htm
source: http://www.benzinga.com / Benzinga / Home> PR Web – Columbus, Ohio / October 28th, 2016
