Around the Coffee

This One's For The Birds: A Celebration Of Coffee!

2011-05-19T22:41:00.001-07:00

What's the significance of the second Saturday in May? International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD). Each year, around the world, thousands of people observe this day. For what purpose? Mainly to learn about wildlife and conservation. IMBD is also a day to drink coffee for the birds' sake. Coffee habitats worldwide, especially shade grown coffee farms, are bird friendly and contribute greatly to the preservation of endangered migratory bird species.

IMBD specifically studies the migration of about 350 species of migratory birds from North America to South and Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

These 350 species are a small representative number of all the birds that fly through our skies and live in our lands, waterways, parks, neighborhoods, and national territory. Migratory birds come in all colors and sizes, from very large to tiny. In their path from North to South and back, migratory birds control insect populations, making them a very important economic resource for healthy agricultural crops. Coffee is a beneficiary of bird migration which, in turn, would not be successful without healthy coffee habitats ready to welcome the arriving migrant birds. There is inter-dependency between the bean and the bird: they each suffer when one is in decline or unhealthy.

Scientists today know more about bird migration than they did a quarter of a century ago.

a) In the fall, usually, flocks of birds migrate toward their wintering grounds far south. How far they go depends on the species of birds, with some flying farther than others.

b) Neotropical migrant birds are the largest group of migrating birds in the fall going all the way to South and Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean islands.

c) Neotropical birds fly thousands of miles every fall and spring. Many of them fly over open ocean for hours non stop during their migration between North and South America. This requires an amazing amount of energy stored in the form of body fat.

d) Research has shown that birds can lose up to one fourth to one half of their entire body weight during the migratory flight before arriving to their destination. Once they arrive at their destination, migratory birds need to find friendly habitats with trees, shade, and plenty of insects to eat.

e) The habitats guarantee the birds a safe and friendly place to rest, restore their weight, reproduce and be ready to go home again when their internal clock signals it is time to do so.

Coffee is a plant that grows very well in the shade, under rainforest canopy where birds, mammals and insects can thrive in an eco-balanced way.

Shade grown coffee is a sustainable crop that yields a higher quality cherry and bean for roasting than sun-grown coffee. Shade grown coffee is bird-friendly and promotes a biodiverse ecosystem that prevents erosion, thus helping to maintain and extend forested areas. This is important because migrating birds rely on the existence of many different habitats along their flight path to stop and rest during migration once they clear the open waters. Shade grown coffee benefits from a healthy and abundant bird population.

For example, Warblers, Flycatchers, Swallows or Vireos are very good insect controllers which help prevent an overabundance of insect population that would damage the coffee plants and other vegetation. Farmers save money, labor and time doing insect control when the birds take care of it naturally. Specialty coffee drinkers benefit because shade grown coffee is chemical and pesticide free.

A decline in bird population is usually indicative of environmental problems. It is an alarm that something is wrong with the ecosystem. Scientists, farmers and bird-savvy people recognize such symptoms and can take action to reverse negative trends.

Obviously, not everyone can be in the field to plant more trees or to promote the adoption of shade grown sustainable coffee practices to improve local habitats. So, what action can you take? Drink gourmet specialty coffee which comes from shade grown farms that are wildlife friendly.

My invitation to you: what about a cup of delicious Salvador High Grown Organic specialty coffee or a cup of delicious shade grown, fair trade Peruvian Organic Coffee?

Who Are The Big Names In Coffee Industry?

2011-05-19T22:40:00.001-07:00

The coffee business is dominated by a relatively small number of large companies. If you're looking for a cup of coffee, at least in most smaller cities, your choices are most likely to be Starbucks, Costa Coffee (in the EU and the Middle East) or Caffe Nero if you're in the UK, Turkey or the United Arab Emirates and probably not much else. Of course, the multinational coffee chains do have their fans and depending on your taste in coffee, don't necessarily pour a bad cup. There are coffee drinkers who eschew the chains in favor of their local cafes, either out of a genuine preference for the coffee and/or cafe experience of the smaller establishments or pure coffee snobbery.

When it comes to coffee chains, Starbucks is the biggest name in the business. Founded in Seattle, Starbucks now has locations all over the US as well as seemingly almost everywhere else in the world. With locations on every continent except for Antarctica, Starbucks single-handedly leads the industry. The chain began as a just one coffee shop, but now operates its own large scale roasting operation, with its coffees available in grocery stores in many countries as well as at their coffee shop locations.

Costa Coffee is a UK based chain founded by two brothers from Italy who created their own slow roasted, full flavored blend which they call mocha Italia. The Costa Coffee brand experience is based on the "Italianness" of the company's coffee, an idea which extends through the decor of Costa's coffee shops as well as the flavor of the product itself. Of course, there are many who would say that Costa is designed to appeal to the tastes of British, not Italian consumers and is no more Italian than Papa John's. However, it's undeniable that Costa is one of the UK's most popular coffee shop chains.

Caffe Nero is another UK based coffee chain which has recently begun to expand internationally with new locations in Turkey and the UAE. With a menu largely consisting of espresso-based beverages as well as a new cold coffee drink and flavored coffee range, the chain is popular at home and starting to grow abroad as well.

Started in the US but now entirely Australian-owned and having about half of their locations in the country as well, Gloria Jean's has locations in more than 30 countries. The company has been criticized for the high sugar content of many of their drinks and their failure to supply nutritional information to their customers.

These companies are just a few of the multinational coffee chains, with much of the global market consisting of local and national chains such as Scotland's Beanscene, Café Trieste in the US and Barista and Café Coffee Day in India. Even though these are not global players on the kind of scale represented by Starbucks, these companies emphasize quality in order to help gain a dominant share of the market in their area.

Oh How We Love Our Coffee Machine

2011-05-19T22:39:00.001-07:00

In today's world of fast cars, high living and gadgets for everything, I must say my favourite thing would be our Coffee Machine. I bet you have bought appliances throughout the years and no matter how wonderful they were made out to be - they inevitably ended up locked away in the back of some cupboard. How many gadgets have you bought like that - how about all those slice and dice gadgets you have purchased and yet you NOW still reach for the knife when preparing food. It is just to hard sometimes to get them out, clean them and then put them away. Easier to grab a knife.

Our coffee machine on the other hand has sat on our kitchen bench for over 4 years now and I can honestly say that with the exception of holidays away from home, the machine has been used practically every day. This is one machine that won't be locked away at the back of some cupboard. Most Coffee Machines are very pleasing to look at and having one on your bench is a big plus - they are very compact and look great, fitting well in any kitchen. Each morning my husband rises first and heads off to the kitchen to make coffee, so for the last four years I have been spoiled with my morning coffee. So I have the choice of sipping my wonderful coffee in bed or heading off to my favourite place to enjoy my morning 'cuppa'.

It is amazing to me that we can have such a machine and that it is affordable to most people, as coffee machines can range from very cheap to extremely expensive. However we as consumers are able to buy machines of high quality and with amazing technology - until only recently only available in coffee shops and restaurants. We only buy whole beans for our machine, we can use ground coffee as well, but prefer to have the machine grind the coffee during the coffee-making process. This ensures that the coffee is fresh and tasty and OH what a wonderful smell that permeates throughout the house. Since our coffee machine moved in I have never had an instant coffee, just the thought of it make me cringe. My coffee of choice is a flat white or a cappuccino, but most machines can make a variety of coffee styles to suit your tastes, e.g. latte's, long black, etc.

Coffee Machines are a great bonus when someone comes to visit - as my husband has virtually adopted it, I get to sit and chat while he makes the coffees for our guests - yes our coffee machine is a big hit with our family and friends. It always feels good to sit down and sip on a wonderful coffee that is just like one bought in a coffee shop, sitting down in your favourite place with a great book. It doesn't get much better than that. Then there is the cost savings - although we still love to occasionally visit a coffee shop, our costs are greatly reduced having our machine at home.

I also feel that fresh coffee beans have to be much better for you than a jar of instant coffee, just going by the smell and the taste it just feels right. Coffee has lots of health benefits, but of course everything in moderation - it is packed with antioxidants and even has weight loss benefits. Coffee can increase your metabolism, control your appetite and can even help detoxify your body. Did you know that there is a growing body of research that says coffee drinkers are less likely to have type 2 Diabetes, Parkinson's disease and Dementia. Although this is very promising, it doesn't give you a green light to over-indulge.

Another great thing I love about having our machine, is the fact that when we visit markets or get to travel, we can pick up lots of different gourmet coffee beans, as well as flavoured beans and some specialty coffees. So my advice is if your thinking of purchasing a Coffee Machine, go ahead and check them out - I am sure you can find one that would suit your budget. The cost of our machine was around AUD$790, but it has certainly paid for itself over the four years, especially when you take into consideration that a standard trip to a coffee shop normally sets you back between $15 and $30.

Have yourself a nice coffee today, don't rush it - sit, sip and contemplate. Enjoy the moment, look around and take in your surrounding, sip your coffee slowly and taste every mouthful - make it your special part of the day to just spend 10 or so minutes in your own little world - it will do you a world of good.

Coffee Prices Could Rise Sharply Due to Columbian Flooding

2011-05-19T22:37:00.000-07:00

We've sure seen a lot of flooding in the World over the last 3-4 years. Indeed, it's been rather ominous and somewhat scary really. Remember the horrible floods in Pakistan, last year, and what about the floods in the US where the Missouri River and Mighty Mississip caused the flooding of more than 3,000 square miles, now that's a lot of water, precipitation, and rain. Our floods here didn't kill that many folks because our Army Corp of Engineers saw it coming and diverted water, unfortunately also flooding out a few rural areas to save areas where millions of people reside. Those are hard choices to make.

Still, the economic toll is quite significant and it will affect world food prices as all of the Midwest Crops on their way to market travel on barges down the river. No not all, but enough to cause some real challenges in commodity prices, and at a time when the World Food Program is very worried about starvation around the globe. Now then, flooding is something that happens, we know this, and we build 100-year flood maps to know exactly what we are dealing with. No, that doesn't make things any easier for those who've been flooded out, but at least we can predict what might occur.

Okay so, let's talk about the price of our morning cup of Java shall we? It has often been said that the very best coffee in the world grows within a certain belt, plus or minus the equator, and you can see the bands of where that great tasting coffee comes from and in that band or region which circles the globe is Columbia, but Columbia has had some massive flooding in Spring of 2011, and it has caused catastrophic failure to the coffee crop from the rain storms, and washed away a good portion of the coffee crops.

Within a short time the challenges of this commodity problem will be seen in Columbia, causing shortages and therefore sharp increases in Columbian coffee, but it will also affect all coffee prices around the world as buyers try to shore up supply. You see, the demand for coffee has been steadily increasing over the last decade, and prices have outpaced that demand due to supply issues.

The flooding in Columbia could cause the price of coffee to go up in every grocery store in the United States, as well as your Frappachino at Starbucks. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it, but also be prepared to pay a higher price in the near future.

How To Clean A Coffee Maker

2011-05-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder how to clean a coffee maker the right way? Drip coffee makers need to be cleaned at least once a month to keep your coffee tasting good.

Cleaning your coffee maker takes away hard water mineral deposits, old oils from previously brewed pots and other impurities that can make your coffee taste bad.
A mixture of 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water is the best way to clean a drip coffee maker. Mix a full pot of the vinegar and water mixture, pour it in your water reservoir and turn the coffee maker on.

Once the mixture has run completely through, it's important to turn the drip coffee maker off and let it cool for 15 to 20 minutes.

Pour the vinegar and water mixture down the drain. If you are cleaning a coffee maker that hasn't been cleaned regularly, repeat this step again with a fresh vinegar and water mixture.

Next, rinse the pot out thoroughly with warm, plain water. Then, fill the water reservoir again with clean water and turn the coffee maker on to start the rinsing process.

To make sure all of the vinegar and water solution is completely gone repeat the rinsing process one more time after letting the pot cool for 15 to 20 minutes.

This is how to clean a coffee maker the right way. Cleaning your drip coffee maker on a monthly basis will make it last longer and keep your coffee tasting the best it can possibly be.

Eco-Friendly Disposable Coffee Cups

2011-05-19T22:35:00.001-07:00

Sometimes it's just not possible to get away from the disposable coffee cup. Of course, you can help reduce the amount of waste by using regular ol' coffee mugs or thermoses in places such as your home, in the car, or at work. The a larger problem lies within the coffee shops and restaurants utilizing disposable coffee cups due to high customer demand. Switching to an eco-friendly disposable coffee cup would greatly help with today's pollution problem, but at their costly price and poor construction, it would just not be feasible for small businesses to buy in bulk.

Some companies do use disposable cups made with 10% recycled materials, but are under the opinion that the quality may be sacrificed with any higher of a percentage, causing the product to leak. If you still prefer using throwaway coffee cups, as opposed to a travel mug or thermos, due to their convenience, take a stab at the biodegradable cup. It may just be worth your consideration doing your part. I have come across a couple of earth friendly disposable coffee cups and would like to introduce you to the different options out there available to you.

One of the more popular eco-friendly disposable coffee cups out there is called the ecotainer(TM) and it comes from the combined effort of International Paper and Green Mountain Coffee. Whereas traditional disposable coffee cups use petrochemicals, the ecotainer(TM) utilizes a plastic lining made from plants to prevent leaking. They are completely compost able, breaking down into organic materials once used.

GreenGood has introduced their alternative to using two disposable cups when handling hot coffee with the AIR Insulated Disposable Coffee Cup. These cups have two layers of walls that form a blockade of air in between, keeping the outside from becoming too hot and your coffee inside hotter. As well as being innovative with this design, the AIR cup is made 42% of post consumer recycled materials. They also have an absolutely biodegradable and compost able CPLA hot cup lid to go along with it. CPLA is a nature based plastic made from corn.

There is a disposable cup in the process of being developed by the company MicroGreen Polymers. Besides being made from recycled plastic, this cup will even be more durable, lighter weight and heat-resistant than the traditional disposable coffee cups out there. Using a technology that creates tons of tiny little bubbles inside the plastic, creating a honey-comb effect, will cause the product to have a high temperature resistance. We have yet to hear on whether or not the product being created can itself be recycled, but so far sounds like a pretty good idea.

Thank you for taking the time to read my article,
Dean Anderson
Disposable Coffee Cups

How to Buy Green Coffee Beans

2011-05-19T22:33:00.001-07:00

As more and more coffee connoisseurs start roasting their own coffee beans from home, many people are confused on how to buy green coffee beans for roasting. Not all green coffee beans are created equal as it depends on the grade and the region that the coffee is grown in. Another important aspect is the freshness of the beans as well. You do not want coffee beans that have been stored on warehouse floors for a number of years.

Before you buy, you need to know what type of coffee it is you are wanting to roast. The most popular green coffee beans for home roasting are Kenya AA, Costa Rican Tarrazu, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Guatemalan Antigua, Mexican Altura, Jamaican Blue Mountain, Brazilian Santos, Sumatra Mandheling, Colombian Supremo and Tanzanian Peaberry. All of these coffee beans have a different storied history, but share the trait that they are all fine, rich, aromatic coffees. These coffees all vary in taste profiles based on the type elevation, soil and climate that they are grown in. Whatever your taste buds crave, there is indeed a coffee matched for it.

Once you have decided what type of green coffee you want to roast at home, you next need to decide on the amount to purchase. Often times the best price breaks are found by buying 5 pounds of beans at a time. This is a perfect amount for any beginner home roaster to begin mastering his home coffee roasting hobby. If 5 pounds is too much, you can then settle for buying 1 pound at a time if you need a smaller amount.

After determining the amount, you will probably need to buy your green coffee beans online from an online home coffee roaster vendor such as the Popcorn Coffee Roaster. They have a huge selection of green coffee beans to choose from and all come in 5 pound bags. You can also get tips on roasting at home along with thorough descriptions of each green coffee type. Green coffee beans are usually shipped to you in just a few days and are ready to roast upon arrival.

Mr. Marshall is a master home coffee roaster. You can buy green coffee beans at his home coffee roasting Web site found at popcorncoffeeroaster.com online.

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