Posted by TheShot on 23 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: Beans, Foreign Brew, Roasting
Occasionally this Web site can be the source of a real life story, and the story of Caffè Mokabar is a good one. For a little background, after a couple weeks of espresso research in Piemonte, Italy last October, we were most duly impressed with Caffè Mokabar among all the coffee roasters we encountered. So [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 21 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: Beans, Consumer Trends, Foreign Brew
Japanese consumer fads notoriously have about the same lifespan as mayflies — or a Rudi Giulliani presidential campaign, whichever comes shorter. However, here’s one we had not heard of before until seeing this in today’s The Daily Yomiuri: Newly harvested coffee beans attracting attentions : Arts Weekend : Features : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 09 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Beans
Yesterday, a Syrian blogger posted a rather well-informed introductory article on the notable varietals of many coffee producing countries: Latest hip hop news: worlds greatest coffee by country.
Just don’t ask why it’s on a blog called “Latest hip hop news”. Rapper T.I. is apparently a big fan of Costa Rica La Minita when he’s not [...]
Posted by TheShot on 14 Nov 2007 | Tagged as: Consumer Trends
The apocalypse must clearly be upon us. And it’s not just that oil slick out in the San Francisco Bay, either. In the news today is yet another reported “coffee connoisseur” obsession with coffee beans processed through the digestive enzymes of some mysterious Asian mammal: Monkey business yields gourmet Taiwan coffee | Lifestyle | Living [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 01 Oct 2007 | Tagged as: Beans, Fair Trade
For the latest installments that hash and rehash the pros and cons of Fair Trade, we turn to yesterday’s Oakland Tribune and today’s International Herald Tribune.
The International Herald Tribune covered the big chains and the impact on some growers: ‘Fair trade’ certification yielding benefits for Brazilian coffee farmers - International Herald Tribune. Of particular note [...]
Posted by TheShot on 26 Sep 2007 | Tagged as: Beans, Consumer Trends, Quality Issues
This month’s issue of the trade rag CoffeeTalk posed the question of standardized specialty coffee ratings and grades as an aid to consumers: Toward standardized specialty coffee ratings and grading [PDF, page 8, 7.6Mb]. The article opens with mention of $130 a pound Hacienda Esmeralda Geisha. It then questions how retailers and consumers can inject [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 17 Sep 2007 | Tagged as: Beans, Fair Trade
While the relentless drumbeat of blindly obedient Fair Trade support continues — vilifying anything that isn’t certified Fair Trade — we have yet another reason why it doesn’t exactly achieve the results consumers may be expecting. Yesterday’s National Post (Canada) reported on how the minimum prices paid to Fair Trade co-operatives have not changed in [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 10 Sep 2007 | Tagged as: Beans, Roasting
Walking in to a Peet’s Coffee & Tea last week, I noticed they are once again offering their supply of Panama Esmeralda Geisha as a roast-dated “Reserve” coffee. We wrote about this coffee varietal last month (and also in 2006). It has consistently sold at record auction prices, and it has won numerous awards for [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 07 Sep 2007 | Tagged as: Beans, Starbucks
Just when you think that Starbucks chairman, Howard Schultz, might be the last person left at the corporation who understands anything about good coffee, he makes boneheaded comments that dispel any chance of that happening again: Starbucks chairman sees gourmet coffee shortages | Reuters.
Today in Mexico City, Mr. Schultz publicly predicted a global shortage of [...]
Posted by TheShot on 04 Sep 2007 | Tagged as: Beans, Quality Issues
According to ScienceDaily, researchers in Illinois have devised a method for detecting adulterated coffee supplies: ScienceDaily: Fingerprinting Fake Coffee. Along the coffee supply chain, unscrupulous profiteers regularly short-change customers by cutting the coffee with cereal grains (particularly corn), coffee twigs, and even brown sugar.
Roasted corn has particularly high concentrations of vitamin E, and the researchers [...]