By Tim Dominick Found on the pages of a mythical coffee forum: Coffeeroaster1: Hey everyone, I’m developing a new espresso blend and need some input on whether or not pre-blending is worthwhile or if I should roast the components individually? Helpfulpeer#1: There are pros and cons to both, could you elaborate on the coffees you …
By Tara Shenson Ever wonder how some social media pages manage to make success look so easy? It’s often the case that you find yourself on a coffee company‘s Facebook or Twitter page, where they have thousands of fans and “likes” and comments in upwards of 50–100 a day and you think to yourself “How …
By Marvin G. Perez Brazil’s coffee growers are enjoying the best of times—almost. With the country’s economy among the fastest-growing in the world and with demand for its agricultural crops on a tear, Brazilian coffee farmers could see further happy times, especially as global demand for their beans remains strong and world-wide weather woes are …
By Shanna Germain Increased pricing. Decreased availability. Contract defaults. Closer relationships with producers… The current market situation is having huge impacts all across the coffee industry, but perhaps nowhere more so than at the very source. While relationships with producers are ever-evolving, even in a stable economy, companies are currently finding themselves in a new …
By Dan Bolton World Tea Media and experts say that tea’s trajectory continues its climb. With noteworthy trends in play, such as celebrity tea lines and growth on a retail level, tea reaches a new generation that includes men and Millennials. Tea retailers with large selections, like The Tao of Tea in Portland, Ore., Teaism …
by Mona Pearl In the not too distant future, businesses will be placed into one of two categories: those that skillfully entered into the global marketplace and those that sheepishly exited out of business. A wait-and-see mindset is nothing short of organizational suicide. However, a reactionary, ill-conceived global expansion is no improvement. That, too, spells disaster. …
by Andrew Sargent, Michael Opitz, and Jan von Enden Nearly a decade after the coffee crisis of 2000/2001 and the subsequent introduction of several industry efforts to address its causes, consequences, and related issues, poverty and environmental degradation continue to be widespread among the 20 million smallholders for whom coffee farming is an important livelihood strategy. …
By Shauna Alexander Mohr In the mid-1990s, before most industries were tackling sustainability, specialty coffee companies came together with NGOs and research institutions to address issues such as shade-grown coffee, organics and Fair Trade. 1996 marked the First Sustainable Coffee Congress at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. Four years later, Paul Hawken, in his keynote …
By Lily Kubota Story | stawr-ee, stohr-ee | noun 1. a narrative, either true or fictitious, in prose or verse, designed to interest, amuse, or instruct the hearer or reader; tale. It is hard for me to imagine the marketing plan that incorporates images of an animal’s fecal matter into promotional efforts. As unappealing of …
by Thompson Owen A guy goes into a coffee roasting shop and asks if he can buy some green coffee to roast at home. The owner says, “Sure, and I will give you a 10 percent discount off our roasted coffee price.” The guy says, “Gee, since I will have 20 percent weight loss, that means I …