Coffee Drinking Protects Against an Eyelid Spasm That Can Lead to ‘Blindness’

Source: British Medical Journal

Released: Fri 15-Jun-2007, 21:00 ET

Libraries Medical News

Coffee Drinking, Eyelid Spasms, Blindness

Description

People who drink coffee are less likely to develop an involuntary eye spasm called primary late onset blepharospasm, which makes them blink uncontrollably and can leave them effectively ‘blind’, according to a study published online ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

[Influence of coffee drinking and cigarette smoking on the risk of primary late onset blepharospasm: evidence from a multicentre case control study; Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 2007; doi: 10.1136/jnnp.2007.119891]

Newswise — People who drink coffee are less likely to develop an involuntary eye spasm called primary late onset blepharospasm, which makes them blink uncontrollably and can leave them effectively ‘blind’, according to a study published online ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

The effect was proportional to the amount of coffee drank and one to two cups per day were needed for the protective effect to be seen. The age of onset of the spasm was also found to be later in patient who drank more coffee – 1.7 years for each additional cup per day.

Previous studies have suggested that smoking protects against development of blepharospasm, but this Italian study did not show a significant protective effect.

Late onset blepharospasm is a dystonia in which the eyelid muscles contract uncontrollably; this starts as involuntary blinking but in extreme cases sufferers are rendered functionally blind despite normal vision because they are unable to prevent their eyes from clamping shut.

The study involved 166 patients with primary late onset blepharospasm, 228 patients with hemifacial spasm (a similar muscle spasm that usually begins in the eyelid muscles but then spreads to involve other muscles of the face) and 187 people who were relatives of patients. The second two groups acted as controls.

The participants were recruited through five hospitals in Italy and asked whether they had ever drank coffee or smoked and for how many years. They were also asked to estimate how many cups of coffee they drank and/or packs of cigarettes they smoked per day. The age of onset of muscle spasms was recorded for patients who experienced them and a reference age was calculated for each of the patients’ relatives based on the duration of the spasms in the other group.

Regression analysis was used to observe the relationship between coffee drinking and smoking on the development of blepharospasm.

The authors say: ‘Our findings raise doubt about the association of smoking and blepharospasm but strongly suggest coffee as a protective factor.’

‘The most obvious candidate for the protective effect is caffeine, but the low frequency of decaffeinated coffee intake in Italy prevented us from examining the effects of caffeine on blepharospasm.

They suggest that caffeine blocks adenosine receptors as has been proposed for its mechanism in protecting against Parkinson’s disease.

The authors estimate that people need to drink one to two cups of coffee per day for the protective effect to be seen.

‘Considering that the caffeine content of a cup of Italian coffee (60–120 mg) is similar to the average content of a cup of American coffee (95–125 mg), the protective effect on the development of blepharospasm might be exerted at caffeine doses greater than 120–240 mg, comparable with the caffeine doses suggested to be protective in Parkinson’s disease,’ they say.

Click here to view the paper in full: http://press.psprings.co.uk/jnnp/june/jn119891 press release.pdf

Coffee exhibition stirs seductive passions

Louis Leopold Boilly, François Delpech, Coffee lovers,
colored lithograph, circa 1827, Schmid collection

Isobel Leybold-Johnson in Zurich
Swissinfo.org
June 15, 2007

Coffee has long had a sexy image in adverts –George Clooney was the subject of a recent ad campaign for a Nespresso.

But as an exhibition at Zurich's Johann Jacobs Museum - which is devoted to coffee's cultural history - shows, awareness of the drink's sensual appeal goes back several hundred years.

For many people coffee is an integral part of daily life and a good kick-start to the morning. Coffee shops and cafés now offer anything from the humble espresso to a double latte macchiato with caramel.

Monika Imboden, curator of "Coffee: a tale of irresistible temptation", is well aware that most people might struggle to see the erotic side of one of the world's most popular brews.

"The association comes first of all from the production process, for coffee to be drinkable it has to go through heat a few times, through fire, and fire is the symbol of passion and temptation," she told swissinfo.

When coffee first came to Europe around 400 years ago there were very few hot drinks. Wine, beer, mead and water were drunk lukewarm.

A hot drink, according to the thinking of the time, was supposed to get pulses racing. Although, as is demonstrated by an elegant lady in one of the exhibition's paintings, there were ways around this.

"People used to tip coffee into a saucer so it could cool down... and then they drank it out of the saucer, which today is terribly frowned upon," said Imboden.

Wide appeal

Roasting, which has to take place at more than 220 degrees Celsius, creates another distinctively tempting aspect of coffee: its smell.

Coffee's characteristic aroma actually comprises nearly 1,000 distinct elements, ranging from vanilla to earthy scents. But coffee's appeal does not stop there.

Porcelain figures from the 18th century suggest that enjoyment of coffee may have played a role in courtly gallantry.

Thus a lady neglects her cup of coffee to steal a kiss, another waits for her lover to appear, coffee in one hand, red rose in another.

Coffee services often depicted mythical or exotic scenes, featuring love gods Eros or Venus.

For coffee to be drinkable it has to go through heat a few times, through fire, and fire is the symbol of passion.

Monika Imboden, exhibition curator

Flirting

Flirting was another aspect, as can been seen in some of the paintings of coffee houses on display.

In the 19th century these were often respectable establishments, mostly frequented by men. The only woman was usually the cashier. Paintings show her as young and pretty, but highly respectable – a large counter keeps any admirers at a safe distance.

In the latter part of the century, it became acceptable for women to go to coffee houses as well.

“They were places where women could go in twos and exchange glances with the other sex without it being frowned upon," Imboden told swissinfo.

Some coffee houses were, however, places for prostitution and merriment.

But a series of drawings of women by French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec shows the harsh reality behind the gaiety of café dansants in Paris.

Another set, by the German George Grosz, depicts ugly and sometimes explicit figures sitting in cafés, a critical look at society's pessimism around the First World War.

The George effect

Perhaps the most obvious association between coffee and sex came in the 1950s, when advertising started to capitalise on the drink's seductive side. A selection of adverts is shown at the exhibition.

Strangers flirt over a cup of coffee or new couples are formed. Fires roar in the background. Aromas tempt. The drink seems of secondary importance.

But not always, as George Clooney finds out in the Nespresso advert when he eavesdrops on a conversion between several women as they enjoy their coffees.

"It seems that these attributes – rich, sensual, intense, unique – are referring to him but they are actually talking about coffee," said Imboden.

A case to show that coffee really does have seductive powers.

swissinfo, Isobel Leybold-Johnson in Zurich

KEY FACTS

* The Johann Jacobs Museum, located in Zurich, opened in 1984 as part of the Johann Jacobs Foundation.

* The Jacobs family founded the Jacobs Kaffee brand in the 19th century. It is now part of Kraft.

* The exhibition "Coffee: a tale of irresistible temptation" runs until February 24, 2008.

* Museum opening hours: Friday: 14.00-19.00, Saturday: 14.00-17.00, Sunday: 10.00-17.00.

RELATED SITES

* Johann Jacobs Museum (http://www.johann-jacobs-museum.ch/english/english/museum)

* About the exhibition (http://www.johann-jacobs-museum.ch/english/ausstellungen/index_html?key=1176279359.04)

* George Clooney's Nespresso advert website (http://www.nespresso.com/theboutique/)

URL of this story:http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/swissinfo.html?siteSect=105&sid=7930066

Coffee & rum tiramisu with molasses topping

photography by flickr all rights reserved by heather
this is classic tiramisu- think of it with molasses

Ingredients (serves 6)

* 150ml freshly made strong dark coffee (or 4 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 150ml boiling water), cooled

* 4 tbs (80ml) dark rum

* 5 tsp molasses sugar*

* 2 tbs golden caster sugar*

* 2 eggs, separated

* 250g mascarpone

* Few drops of vanilla extract

* 20 sponge fingers (savoiardi)

* 1 tbs dark muscovado sugar*

Method

1. Mix the coffee and rum with 2 teaspoons of molasses sugar. When sugar has dissolved, pour into a small shallow dish.

2. Reserve 1 1/2 tablespoons of the caster sugar. Use electric beaters to beat together the egg yolks and remaining caster sugar in a bowl for 4 minutes or until thick and pale.

3. Add the mascarpone and the vanilla extract to the egg-yolk mixture and beat until smooth. Whisk the eggwhites in a separate bowl until they just begin to show signs of stiffening, then gradually whisk in reserved caster sugar to form a soft but not too stiff meringue. (The tips of the peaks should fall over, not stand upright.) Gently fold meringue into the mascarpone mixture.

4. Briefly dip half the sponge fingers, one at a time, into the coffee mixture and lay them side by side on a flat, rectangular serving plate. Spoon over half the mascarpone mixture and spread out evenly. Cover with another layer of coffee-soaked sponge fingers and the rest of the mascarpone mixture. Chill in the fridge for 1 1/2 hours.

5. Mix the remaining molasses sugar with the dark muscovado sugar, much like you would when making pastry, rubbing the grains through your fingers to remove any lumps. Then sprinkle it over the top of the dessert and chill for another 15-20 minutes to allow time for the sugar to dissolve before serving.

Notes & tips

* Molasses sugar, golden caster sugar and dark muscovado sugar are from gourmet food shops and selected delis.

Source
Debbie Major
delicious. - June 2006 , Page 65

Morning cup of coffee may effect women differently than men: researcher

by: Noor Javad

Jun. 10, 2007

Canadian Press

TORONTO (CP) - The myriad of differences between the sexes might extend to how men and women react to a cup of joe in the morning.

Research being conducted at the University of Toronto suggests caffeine's effect on women contrasts significantly with its effect on men - a reaction based on which version of a gene binds to dopamine, a chemical in the brain known to affect mood.

"We know from animal studies that males and females respond differently to caffeine," said Ahmed El-Sohemy, a nutritional sciences professor at the University of Toronto.

"Here we are showing it in humans, and also relating it to an actual behavioural response."

The early stages of the research, being led by El-Sohemy, suggests 22 per cent of men with a particular form of the dopamine receptor gene experience an elevated mood after consuming a caffeinated beverage.

More than 60 per cent of men with a different form of this gene reported the same kind of mood elevation.

"That's a fairly big effect," said El-Sohemy.

In women, however, approximately 50 per cent reported experiencing an elevated mood after consuming caffeine, regardless of the version of the gene they had.

The research suggests the effect caffeine has on people, from inducing a headache to making them high-strung, could also be linked to genetic makeup.

"Some people avoid caffeine, some people seek it daily, and some people who don't get their daily fix suffer various withdrawal symptoms and seek caffeine to alleviate those symptoms," El-Sohemy said.

"What we're trying to understand is what the genetics behind these different responses might be."

El-Sohemy says he believes the results may also provide a genetic explanation as to why some people are more vulnerable to becoming dependent on caffeine.

"Further down the road one could predict whether or not you would be better off lowering your intake or perhaps maintaining what you consume," he said.

El-Sohemy said the caffeine project is just one among many exploring how genes can affect the kinds of food we eat, and how our bodies respond to those foods.

"What we are really interested in is being able to tailor individual dietary recommendations based on an individual's unique genetic profile," he said.

El-Sohemy, recently presented these preliminary findings at the Advanced Foods and Materials Network Scientific Conference in Quebec City. He said the final results of the caffeine study are expected to be published later this year.

Canadian Press http://www.Canada.com 10 June 2007

Coffee 'lowers liver cancer risk'

Drinking coffee appears to lower the risk of developing liver cancer, according to findings published in the medical journal Gastroenterology.

"Data on potential beneficial effects of coffee on liver function and liver diseases have accrued over the last two decades," Dr Susanna Larsson and Dr Alicja Wolk, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, write.

Several studies have found an inverse relationship between coffee consumption and liver enzymes levels that indicate a risk of chronic liver disease and cirrhosis.

The researchers therefore conducted a large review, or "meta-analysis," of published epidemiological studies to look at the association between coffee consumption and the risk of liver cancer.

The meta-analysis included 11 studies involving 2,260 liver cancer patients and 239,146 individuals without liver cancer who served as a comparison group.

An inverse association between coffee consumption and liver cancer risk was observed in all of the studies, and this association was statistically significant in six studies.

For every two cups of coffee per day, the investigators observed a 43 per cent reduced risk of liver cancer.

"A protective effect of coffee consumption on liver cancer is biologically plausible," Dr Larsson and Dr Wolk said.

The study says coffee contains large amounts of anti-oxidants, such as chlorogenic acids, which combat oxidative stress and inhibit the formation of carcinogens.

Experimental animal studies have specifically shown that coffee and chlorogenic acids have an inhibitory effect on liver cancer.

- Reuters June 5th 2007

Coffee catches on in a nation of tea drinkers

Quality of the crop is improving as more Chinese get the coffee-drinking habit

Niu Shuping and Nao Nakanishi

Reuters

Monday, June 04, 2007

CREDIT: Frederic J. Brown, AFP, Getty Images Arabica coffee from the southern Chinese province of Yunnan is now catching the eye even of specialty roasters such as Starbucks.

HONG KONG -- Du Yansheng, a farmer on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, hasn't gone without his morning cup of coffee in five decades, not even during the Cultural Revolution -- when such "mock-Western" practices could have landed him in prison.

"People here have never stopped drinking coffee," Du told Reuters in Xinglong, the cradle of coffee culture in an otherwise tea-drinking country.

Du's father was one of China's first coffee farmers, at a time when it was considered an exotic foreign beverage.

He brought robusta beans from Indonesia in the 1950s -- decades before Nestle or Starbucks Corp. arrived on China's shores.

Today, coffee is fast catching on, especially among younger urban Chinese, and the percentage increase in demand is in the double digits -- though still less than one tenth of tea consumption.

And coffee grown in China is beginning to climb the quality ladder.

Arabica from the southern province of Yunnan is now catching the eye even of specialty roasters such as Starbucks and Italy's Illy.

"Demand for Yunnan arabica is expanding," said Tomonori Hashimoto, a trader from S. Ishimitsu Co. Ltd. in Japan, one of the world's top coffee consumers, and known for being picky.

"There are clients eager to try the new and the rare. It's mild and easy to drink," he said by telephone from Tokyo.

Official data showed Chinese coffee exports jumped 40.8 per cent to 6,484 tonnes during the first quarter of this year, with more than 4,000 tonnes headed for Germany and Japan.

It imported 4,642 tonnes in the first quarter, down 5.7 per cent year-on-year.

"When we began a coffee business here in 1998, our monthly sales were about 10 kilos.

"Now our sales are calculated in tonnes," said Zhou Zhihua, a coffee trader based in Yunnan's provincial capital, Kunming.

To be sure, the industry officials say Chinese production is still too small for some roasters to pay much attention, especially as growing domestic demand is absorbing a large chunk of it.

China has no official data for coffee production. Industry officials estimate it harvests 22,000 to 28,000 tonnes of arabica per year in Yunnan, a mountainous province the size of Japan that borders Vietnam.

That is tiny compared with some 900,000 tonnes grown in Vietnam, the world's No. 2 producer, or 400,000 tonnes in Indonesia.

And there's little scope for production increases because farmers remain keener on growing rice, rubber or other higher-priced cash crops.

"The fact is that the yuan is appreciating and other commodities, like rubber and grains, are faring well," said another senior trader from an international house.

"When you look at the demand and supply globally, we're not going into a serious deficit yet in arabica.

"And therefore I don't think prices will go up much."

Data from International Coffee Organization showed that average coffee prices had risen about seven per cent in 2006 from the year before.

That's while prices for the other commodities more than doubled partly due to strong demand from China.

And Yunnan arabica has not yet reached the rank of Indonesia's Mandehling -- regarded by many as Asia's best -- though its quality has improved, officials said, with technical assistance from Nestle and others since the early 1990s.

When grown and processed properly, Chinese coffees have a light to medium body and acidity, similar to a wet-processed South American coffee, Roast Magazine quoted Stuart Eunson from Arabica Coffee Roasters (Beijing) Co. Ltd. as saying.

So far, it's best market is at home.

Industry officials estimated Chinese coffee consumption was growing at double digits, with some putting the 2006 demand at as high as 45,000 tonnes.

Starbucks or Illy are now looking at Yunnan arabica mainly for use in China, because they are expanding their outlets in the country and import tariffs stand as high as 20 to 60 per cent.

"You will find a bottle of instant coffee almost in every family nowadays. People even like to send coffee as gifts," said Zou Lei, vice chairman for the China Coffee Association.

And soluble coffee packed with sugar and powdered milk -- known as Three-in-One -- is finding its way also into rural areas as well as cities.

Roasters are eyeing the 250 million Chinese people living in cities and coastal regions as their next market, a number a bit below the U.S. population of 300 million.

While the United States imported 1.39 million tonnes of coffee in 2005, a more realistic target for Chinese per capita consumption would be neighbouring Taiwan, which with a population of 23 million imported 32,640 tonnes in 2005.

"If you calculate in per capita consumption, there is quite a big potential for China to catch up, but the growth will be in a gradual way and you can not expect everybody to be holding a cup of coffee in one or two days," said Ji Ming, manager with the China Tea Co. Ltd.'s coffee department.

Coffee still has some distance to go before supplanting tea in Chinese homes.

China consumes 700,000 tonnes of tea per year.

"Chinese are still small coffee drinkers. One cup a day is enough for most.

"Some finish only a half," said China Coffee Association's Zou.

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

Organic coffee: Can one bad bean spoil the bag?

by Amy Westervelt - 6.1.07

Published in Sustainable Industries

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a ruling in March that would tighten organic certification requirements for group applications to such an extent that many in the organic coffee trade are concerned small farmers and co-ops will no longer be able to seek organic certification. While the ruling is not yet finalized, coffee roasters and grower advocacy groups fear the industry could be faced with significant changes in the coming year.

The bulk of organic coffee coming out of South and Central America and Africa is grown by groups of small growers certified under such group certifications. Without them, the United States wouldn’t have an organic coffee market, according to Kimberly Easson, director of strategic relationships for TransFair, the U.S. fair trade labeling organization.

Grower groups often have thousands of members, many of them small farms that could not afford certification on their own.

Because of the logistical difficulty of certifying farms individually, the National Organic Program (NOP) established group certification procedures. Grower groups appoint an internal policing board, which audits member compliance with NOP rules. The group then submits 20 percent of its farms for review by a third-party certification each year. The idea is that after five years all of the farms would be checked, but in the meantime the farms don’t all have to wait for certification.

The ruling arose out of a case involving an unnamed community grower group in Mexico whose internal audits failed to detect the use of a prohibited insecticide by one of its members or to provide evidence that the use of empty fertilizer bags for crop storage was confined to one producer.

NOP proposed changes to group grower certification in January 2007 and posted the ruling on its site in March: “Use of an internal inspection system as a proxy for mandatory on-site inspections of each production unit by the certifying agent is not permitted.”

The ruling attracted little attention in March, but by April grower co-ops and advocacy groups such as Food First and TransFair USA were criticizing the policy all over the Internet and launched a petition campaign that sent several thousands of signatures to USDA.

Now USDA has put the changes on hold. While NOP still intends to address concerns about abuse of group certifications, changes to the existing program will be discussed at the program’s fall meeting, with input from the National Organic Standards Board. While Easson says this is very good news for the growers, the changes could still eventually go through. If they do, it could affect the organic coffee trade from farm to cup.

The changes could limit the supply of certified organic coffee available to U.S. roasters, from small local roasters to Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX), many of which have paid for organic certification that will be impossible to maintain without the steady supply of organic beans needed to keep their certification. Martin Jennings, co-owner and master roaster of Washington-based Nectar of Life coffees says that for companies like his, which only roast dual certified coffees — those with both Organic and Fair Trade certifications — the new NOP policy would force a complete change in business model. The market for dual certified coffees is expected to grow dramatically in the year ahead, and the changes could impact the entire market’s expansion [see “Labels challenged to dual,” SI, October 2006].

“We would still offer only Fair Trade-certified coffee and whatever organic Fair Trade coffee was still available, but our coffee selection would be virtually crippled if we only roasted certified organic Fair Trade coffee,” Jennings says. “We would have to change everything regarding our business, including our stated goals, mission statement, packaging and literature.”

Though Jennings says his company would still purchase some organic coffees, he doubts it would able to buy strictly organic, due to a drop in supply and a corresponding increase in price. Because roasters are required to maintain strict separation of organic and non-organic beans in the roasting process, Jennings says Nectar of Life would not be able to maintain its certification, which allows it to use the term “100 percent organic” and the USDA Organic logo.

“Nectar of Life would like to remain a 100 percent organic, Fair Trade coffee roaster,” Jennings says, “but we would no longer be able to be certified as such.

orginally published 1 June 2007 at http://www.sijournal.com/foodandfarms/7656252.html

Towards a segmented quality coffee market

by George Howell Terroir Coffee Company
and recently published in April 07's edition
of CoffeeTalk

Coffee farmers across the world have faced crisis ever since the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. Just after, the US walked away from the ICO quote agreement established during John F. Kennedy's presidency to help keep Latin America socially and politically stable. Prices collapsed and the market has never recuperated stability since. Today, a large part of the illegal immigration into the US has consisted of coffee farmers and their workers from Mexico and beyond. Throughout Latin America one can see depopulated valleys and abandoned farms. These losses have affected employment throughout their economies. Even though prices have risen in the past two years to somewhat more tenable levels, many farmers cannot find sufficient pickers to harvest their crop. Many of them remain in high debt: costly organic certification programs are a pipe dream. About three out of every five years since the elimination of the quota system have been years where the cost of production in Central America and other producing areas has been at or greater than the market price.

In addition, there is a growing economic chasm between coffee growing areas suited to relatively inexpensive high volume mass production technology - or extreme low-cost labor, as in Vietnam - and areas permanently requiring large pools of human labor in challenging topographies that urgently needs addressing. As technology improves, mass-produced fair-average-quality will improve. Mechanical harvesters are getting faster and more precise; they are able to pass more than once over coffee trees and be more selective in picking. We have already seen a huge drop in production of lower grown prime arabicas in Guatemala and elsewhere. Even higher altitude coffee regions will go the same way, something no quality roaster wishes to contemplate, unless this gap is addressed.

The argument is often brought up that green coffees purchased in the range of Fair Trade prices are unfairly resold roasted, at many multiples higher by roasters in developed countries and that producers should get a larger cut. First-time visiting growers are understandably shocked. Why does it seem no one is around to explain the basic economics of developed countries? Western labor, real estate and others costs, which also go for multiples higher than producer costs, make it impossible not to add a minimum dollar value on top of what is paid for the raw coffee. However, as the price of retail coffee rises over approximately $10 per pound, an ever greater portion should be going to the producer. This is the case with wine. The better values for consumers are to be found in the more expensive bottles, where a greater percentage of the total price goes back to the producer. Consumers are buying what fine coffees there are at bargain basement prices and don't even know it. This is a failure to communicate on our part.
It should be noted that while wine and tea cover a breathtaking range of qualities and prices, from a few dollars to hundreds per unit, forming a real pyramidal quality-price structure, specialty coffee is better represented by a very squat trapezoid. The star-performing exceptions, dollar-wise, might be called insular coffees: they are protected from typical market pressures by being very rare (mostly from small islands, in fact) and having vintage histories: Napoleon's St Helena, Jamaica, and Hawaii,, in descending order of price. No aspersions are meant to be cast on their quality here; but the higher prices which they fetch have nothing to do with qualitative superiority over fine continental origins. Then there is the ultimate insular coffee, Kopi Luac. How ironically reflective of our coffee-romance-culture-trumps-quality is the fact that the one coffee that does go for over $100 a pound comes from the back end of a civet Perhaps what comes with the beans could be served chilled as "specialty" gelato?

What, after all, are we talking about? A twelve-ounce serving at home of a $10 dollar a pound coffee costs less than a can of 12 oz Coke, THE commodity beverage. In fact, for a pound of coffee to equal a 10 dollar "inexpensive" bottle of wine, ounce for ounce, a coffee consumer would have to pay $100 per pound of coffee! Yet we hear some people in the gourmet coffee business, who should know better, grumble when, each year, a handful of tiny exemplary prize-winning micro lots are rewarded with a quarter of such prices. How many consumers have any idea that fine coffee is as difficult and costly to produce as fine wines? The SCAA should be using its powerful annual conventions to wow the media and teach these realities to a thirsty public, gratis. It is in all our interests! We need to extrovert our annual celebration of quality coffee. It cannot be repeated enough: fine coffee at today's prices, brewed at home, is a bargain-basement beverage. For farmers to benefit from the so-called specialty revolution, which most have yet to feel, we need to build above the basement!

The current trapezoid quality-price model needs to be replaced with a fully developed pyramidal structure, with the top qualities commanding world-class prices for farmer and roaster alike. This does not happen overnight. A culture that celebrates exploring exemplary coffee expressions must be created in both consuming and growing countries. Indeed, coffee is a very youthful beverage when compared to wine and tea, both of which have ancient cultures that developed and sustained these products over millennia. Not so with coffee, a newcomer to the world of grand beverages. The technology to process and brew exemplary quality coffee is a product of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Espresso and drip coffeemakers are still undergoing improvements that directly enhance the appreciation of fine coffee. It is in our hands to create a coffee culture as the Chinese and Japanese did with tea and as the Middle East and Europe did with wine.

There is a long way to go. The vast majority of coffee farmers with quality potential are still anonymous to the consumer, their coffees buried in blends which only put the roaster in the spotlight, or are lost in mere regional designations. Without real incentives to develop higher levels of quality, they aim for what is acceptable and this in turn fuels more mediocrity. Quality seekers then expend great energy trying to find needles in a haystack. From the farmer perspective the quality buying market is equally meager and tentative. Competition-auctions like Cup of Excellence and the Best of Panama are powerful search engines that put both groups in touch with each other and give unadulterated collective praise in scores, where merited, and later in price within an otherwise remorselessly grey commodity-dominated world where even rewards for miracles, producers are often told, must be "reasonable." Competition-auctions are meant to be the tip of a specialty coffee arrow aimed at encouraging the development of both fragile sides of the quality producer-roaster equation. Both, frankly, are still rare - but growing - perhaps in an accelerating manner. They are certainly inspired.

Visionary roasters, importers and a handful, so far, of exporters, who have participated in and understood the message of Cup of Excellence and Best of Panama have connected with winning farms and coops and are now working with them and others to create tiered qualities. This is the next step. Producers who successfully strive to create the highest possible quality naturally beget multi-tiered qualities in the process, each having its own market and commanding a different price. The pyramid begins.

George Howell is President of Terroir Coffee Company and founder of Cup of Excellence.
For more information on George Howell and Terroir Coffee visit them at http://www.terroircoffee.com

Building a relationship with a winning cup of coffee

June 01, 2007 Edition 1

Cape times Cape Town South Africa

The Cup of Excellence is an annual award which takes place all over world with the best coffee beans going to auction on the internet. Guatemala hosts one of the most prestigious COE events with 120 bags for sale. Two bags of Viviano Jalapa won the toss last year and were nabbed by David Donde and Joel Singer of Origin Coffee Roasting, writes ROBYN COHEN.

"What do you think, take your time …," says David Donde serving up espresso A and espresso B in little glasses with the requisite layering of crema (coffee foam).

One of the espressos is brewed from his stash of the Cup of Excellence Viviano Jalapa which clicks in at R500 a kilo. The other, I am told is Gethumbwini from Kenya and costs about R260 a kilo.

Most espressos at Origin Coffee Roasting cost R9 but, for a Viviano, you are looking at R21 a shot - its most expensive coffee.

"Both coffees are excellent. I don't have average. We are a roastery which happens to also have a coffee shop - not a coffee shop which has a roastery."

"Relationship coffee", is how Donde describes what he and Joel Singer are doing at Origin. "We know where the coffee comes from - the farm, who is responsible."

Grub includes decent-looking sandwiches (R23), salads (R25), cheesecake and muffins (R12 to R18). I munched on a crispy Origin Swirl - which I would describe as a cross between a cinnamon bun, croissant and Jewish boolkah (R13).

The coffee shop part of the business is on the ground floor but they are in the process of bringing in additional roasting apparatus, extending floor space and kitting out another coffee shop on the top floor of this heritage 1903 building, once a tobacco warehouse.

In addition to coffees, Origin Coffee Roasting stocks speciality teas - like a spectacular Chinese tea which begins as little ball and unfurls itself when immersed in hot water (R20 to drink, R12 to buy and make at home).

Some drink on the premises (open from 7am during the week); others take home freshly roasted beans (should be used within two weeks of roasting). Origin also roast for and supply the hospitality industry.

On the Monday morning I was there, the place was humming with laptops and lively chit chat as the suits did their 8am catch-up. A bit like a gentleman's club.

The laptop brigade have been clamouring for wireless internet. Donde hopes his will be up and running when the extension to Origin is complete.

International Paper And Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Honored For Environmentally Friendly Hot Paper Cup

AMonline.com

May 21st, 2007 03:09 PM EDT

International Paper and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters have been awarded a 2007 Sustainability Award from the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), the world's largest coffee trade association. The sustainability awards are given annually to those in the specialty coffee industry that have created innovative projects to expand and promote sustainability.

The two companies received the award for the category of "Sustainable Business Partnerships Resulting in a Sustainable Product" in honor of their partnership that resulted in the ecotainer(TM) cup -- the first hot paper beverage cup made from fully renewable resources. The ecotainer, which was unveiled last summer, is lined with a bio-plastic derived from corn, making it compostable under the proper conditions.

"We are very excited that our partnership with Green Mountain Coffee is being recognized by the SCAA," said Austin Lance, vice president and general manager of International Paper Foodservice, in a prepared statement. "Finding a partner such as GMCR whose core values align with ours allows us to drive an increased focus on sustainability through industry innovation. We will continue to develop products that reinforce our commitment to environmental stewardship."

Said Paul Comey, vice president, environmental affairs at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters: "We're so pleased to be recognized for bringing this product to market with International Paper. This is a great example of how good business partnerships can make a positive impact on the world and in particular, on the environment, which is the real winner here. This cup is an important step in our continuing efforts to bring new, more sustainable solutions to market."

Each year, Americans use more than 15 billion paper hot cups, and that number is expected to grow to 23 billion by 2010. Conventional hot paper cups use a waterproof lining made from a petroleum-based plastic that is not sustainable. By choosing to utilize a corn-based cup liner, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters alone will conserve the consumption of nearly a quarter of a million pounds of non-renewable petrochemical materials every year.

Wendy's Inks Folgers Coffee Deal In Breakfast Push

By Carolyn Pritchard

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) - Wendy's International Inc. on Friday said it has inked a deal with Procter & Gamble to sell a custom blend of Folger's coffee, part of the fast-food operator's push to expand its breakfast offerings.

The proprietary blend of Folgers Gourmet Selections coffee, Wendy's (WEN) said, will become a "centerpiece" of its new breakfast menu, which it expects to offer in between 20% and 30% of its North American restaurants by the end of the year.

The deal comes on the heels of expanded breakfast offerings, including coffee upgrades, at rivals McDonald's Corp. (MCD) and Burger King Holdings Inc. (BKC) .

Earlier in the year, Wendy's cited the expansion of its breakfast program as one of the moves underpinning its expectation for a boost in its profit his year and beyond. It forecast full-year per-share earnings of $1.17 to $1.23, with same-store sales rise 3% to 4% in 2007, vs. a less than 1% increase in 2006. Revenue for the period was projected to rise 5% to 6%.

Last month, however, Wendy's said it was exploring strategic options, including its possible sale. The Dublin, Ohio-based company completed its spinoff of Tim Hortons in the third quarter of 2006 and the sale of Baja Fresh Mexican Grill in the fourth quarter.

Shares of Wendy's were off 6 cents in late afternoon trading, at $39.05.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-18-07 1654ET

Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

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Great coffee, just don't ask where it came from

Townsville, Australia

At $50 a cup, it's been called the world's Number One coffee - but perhaps "Number Two" might be more appropriate.

Luwak coffee, or kopi luwak, is made in Indonesia from beans that have been eaten, partly-digested then excreted by a small, cat-like marsupial called the luwak, or Asian palm civet (paradoxus hermaphroditus).

The excretions, resembling slabs of peanut brittle around 10cm long, are then dried and broken up, cleaned and roasted, the result looking not unlike regular coffee beans.

Increasingly popular in the United States and Japan, the $50 cups of luwak coffee are available in Australia only at the Heritage Tea Rooms in the Hervey Range just west of Townsville, where "everyone calls it cat poo coffee," according to Michelle Sharpe, who runs the cafe with husband Allan.

Perhaps a dozen people a month try out their smooth, sweet brew, which the Sharpes have not yet promoted or advertised since it was first on the menu last November, relying on word-of-mouth.

The cafe's website is currently being updated to include it.

Comments have been "99 per cent favourable," especially because the digestive juices in the luwak's stomach have removed the bitterness associated with some types of normally-processed coffees.

"People who willingly pay the $50 are uplifted by the thrill of the experience," Allan Sharpe says, adding that it's "the world's rarest and most exclusive coffee."

Customers are rewarded with a "certificate of experience" dated and witnessed - just like those presented to people who've climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge or flown over the Antarctic.

But the less adventurous (or less affluent) often decline to try the luwak coffee, saying "you couldn't pay me to drink that," Michelle went on.

You can brew it yourself!

Gift boxes of luwak coffee also imported from Indonesia include the animal's droppings wrapped in plastic - which the Sharpes say are treated with gamma rays by quarantine officials on arrival in Australia.

The boxes, including 250g of coffee and the droppings encased in plastic, retail at $160.

The coffee is grown in the Indonesian islands of Java, Sulawesi and Sumatra, also in parts of the Philippines, Vietnam and southern India.

Annual world production is believed to be only around 300kg, with a market price of around $US1,000 per kilogram.

Fruit is a favourite food of the luwak, along with insects and small mammals.

The cats, which weight up to 5kg, feast on the ripe coffee berries, and their faeces containing the inner beans are harvested by hand, washed and lightly roasted so as not to affect the complex flavours developed during the processing.

Allan Sharpe recently introduced his luwak coffee to a media lunch in Brisbane.

Peer pressure and the fact that it was free, led to your correspondent gallantly downing a cup of the smooth, dark brown liquid which, as the experts promised, was smoothly pleasant with no bitter after-taste.

No need for the Quickeze - and no subsequent effects later.....

Writers around the world have had some fun with the exotic brew; among their reviews recorded on the Internet:

"I mentioned it to friends over a game of poker and their reactions varied from 'yuk' to 'you are bloody kidding, right?' I fed it to three of them and everyone loved it. All hail the mighty luwak."

"If you have a true coffee lover in your life then baby, this coffee is for them."

"It's as good as my private life is bad. this is the kind of coffee you renounce your religion and sell your child for."

"Here's the straight poop on luwak coffee."

"Another cup of poop, please."

Originally posted on the age.com Fairfax Australia http://www.theage.com.au/

(no credit was given to the writer...something we had to credit)

Starbucks' policy grinds farmers and ignores Fair Trade guidelines

by Mark Maher '08
SJUHawknews
Saint Joseph's University
Philadelphia Pennsylvania

According to their mission statement, Starbucks is committed to "…apply[ing] the highest standards of excellence to the purchasing, roasting and fresh delivery of our coffee." Indeed, Starbucks does appear to apply the highest standards when roasting and delivering their coffee. Unfortunately for their farmers, and for any person with some sense of humanity, Starbucks does not apply these same standards to the purchasing of their coffee.

Of course, if one were to ask Starbucks, you would almost believe that they invented fair trade. According to a leaflet available on their website, Starbucks purchased approximately 11.5 million pounds of fair trade coffee, which accounts for 10 percent of all purchased fair-trade coffee.

First, according to their own statement, companies other than Starbucks purchase 90 percent of all fair trade coffee.

Furthermore, fair-trade coffee farmers only produce around two percent of the world's coffee. Therefore, the majority of the coffee you buy at Starbucks comes from providers who are not fair-trade certified.

Organicconsumers.com reports that Starbucks claims to pay an average of $1.20/lb., fairly close to the minimum fair-trade average of $1.26/lb. At first glance, it appears as though Starbucks is independently promoting fair wages for farmers, without a fair-trade certification.

However, this is an average number, which takes into account both conventional and organic (traditionally higher priced) coffees. Furthermore, Starbucks does not import their coffee. The $1.20/lb. average is paid to the coffee importers, the middlemen.

Realistically, the average actually paid to the farmers actually comes to about $.80, far below the fair-trade minimum.

A more specific example elucidates Starbucks' record even more clearly. According to Oxfam.org, Starbucks charges almost $26/lb. for some of their Ethiopian specialty coffees. However, only about five to ten percent of this price actually goes to the farmers. Ethiopian farmers, very aware of how the global market works, have been campaigning for the right to have their own name attached to the coffee they produce, a move that would give them more leveraging power when selling their coffee. As of yet, Starbucks has not given this right to the farmers.

It is a real shame that a company as large as Starbucks feels the need to pull the wool over its consumers' eyes. Starbucks is nothing without the people who buy their coffee, and it is poor business, in my opinion, for them to mislead those who put food on their plates.

Since Starbucks is apparently unwilling to provide their farmers a fair wage, it is our responsibility as consumers to let them know what we think.

If you think that Starbucks is not living up to the standards that a socially conscious company should, let them know - write letters, call them up. If Starbucks refuses to change, then maybe we should not buy their coffee. There are alternatives here on campus, and elsewhere, that provide fair-trade certified coffee. Starbucks may provide us with coffee, but we provide them with their business.

This was originally posted on February 7, 2007 by the Saint Joseph's University Campus News Philadephia PA SJUHawknews http://www.sjuhawknews.com/

Commodity Primer - Coffee the Stimulant

The Financial Express - Commodity Watch

What do we know about coffee and what are the popular varieties of coffee?

Coffee is a world famous beverage and is widely drunk in almost every part of the world. There are around 25 varieties of coffee known to the world. Coffe Arabica and Coffea Robusta are the two most commonly cultivated species of coffee widely used throughout the world.

What is the global coffee production per annum? Which are the world’s major producers of coffee?

The world production of coffee is around 6 million tonne per annum. Brazil (33.16%), Columbia (11.65%), Vietnam (10.61%), Indonesia (5.97%), Mexico (4.59%) and India (4.60%) are the world’s major coffee producers contributing to around 70% of the total coffee produced in the world.

Which are the major consumers of coffee in the world?

The US, Canada, Japan. Germany, Italy, UK, Poland and Spain are the major consumers and importers of coffee. India consumes around 30% of its total production. The Indian consumption of coffee is also increasing with time.

Which are the major coffee growing regions in India?

Chikmagalur, Coorg and Hassan in Karnataka, Wayanad, Travancore and Nelliampathy in Kerala, Pulneys, Nilgiris, Shevroys (Salem) and Anamalais (Coimbatore) in Tamil Nadu are considered as the traditional coffee growing regions in India whereas the non-traditional areas include the eastern states of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa .The north-eastern states of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh are other coffee growing regions in the country.

What is the market scenario for Indian coffee?

India is the world's fifth largest producer of coffee, producing around 3 lakh tonne annually. Indian coffee is considered to be one of the most stimulating coffee in the world, being mild in nature i.e. having a low acid content. India is the only country, which grows all of its coffee under shade. India currently exports about 70% of its total coffee production to around 44 countries across the globe.

What are the factors affecting the market for coffee?

The size and availability of coffee stocks worldwide, changes in coffee consumption pattern governed by factors such as standard of living and cultural acceptability, availability and prices of coffee substitutes like tea and cocoa are the factors apart from the climatic factors which determines coffee prices.

—Courtesy - MCX Training

URL: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=153756

Drinking coffee can ward off diabetes and ....

(Reuters)

Updated: 2007-05-02 10:37

February 24, 2007.

Drinking coffee can help ward off type 2 diabetes and may even help prevent certain cancers, according to panelists discussing the benefits -- and risks -- of the beverage at a scientific meeting.

A visitor checks coffee beans at the 'International Coffee Festival 2007' in the southern Indian city of Bangalore February 24, 2007. Drinking coffee can help ward off type 2 diabetes and may even help prevent certain cancers, according to panelists discussing the benefits -- and risks -- of the beverage at a scientific meeting. [Reuters]

NEW YORK - Drinking coffee can help ward off type 2 diabetes and may even help prevent certain cancers, according to panelists discussing the benefits -- and risks -- of the beverage at a scientific meeting.

"We're coming from a situation where coffee had a very negative health image," Dr. Rob van Dam of the Harvard School of Public Health, who has conducted studies on coffee consumption and diabetes, told Reuters Health. Nevertheless, he added, "it's not like we're promoting coffee as the new health food and asking people who don't like coffee to drink coffee for their health."

Van Dam participated in a "controversy session" on coffee at the Experimental Biology 2007 meeting underway in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Lenore Arab of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA also took part, presenting results of a review of nearly 400 studies investigating coffee consumption and cancer risk.

There's evidence, Arab noted, that the beverage may protect against certain types of colon cancer, as well as rectal and liver cancer, possibly by reducing the amount of cholesterol, bile acid and natural sterol secretion in the colon, speeding up the passage of stool through the colon (and thus cutting exposure of the lining of the intestine to potential carcinogens in food), and via other mechanisms as well.

However, Arab did find evidence that coffee may increase the risk of leukemia and stomach cancer, with the case for leukemia being strongest.

The findings suggest that people who may be vulnerable to these risks -- for example pregnant women and children -- should limit coffee consumption, van Dam noted in an interview.

He and his colleagues are now conducting a clinical trial to get a clearer picture of the diabetes-preventing effects of coffee, which were first reported in 2002. Since then, he noted, there have been more than 20 studies on the topic.

Van Dam and his team are also looking for which of the "hundreds to thousands" of components of coffee might be responsible for these effects. It's probably not caffeine, he noted, given that decaf and caffeinated coffee have similar effects on reducing diabetes risk.

His top candidate, van Dam says, is chlorogenic acid, an antioxidant that slows the absorption of glucose in the intestines.