Specialty Coffee

Instead of a coffee gift basket give a nice gift box

2005-11-29T06:42:00.000-05:00

Looking for the unique gift that will make them feel special? Share your passion for exotic gourmet coffee with our coffee gift box. Each coffee gift box includes one pound of each of the finest Volcanica Coffees.

Volcanica Blue Mountain Coffee
Volcanica Reserve - Costa Rican Coffee
Volcanica Original - Costa Rica Coffee
Volcanica Gran Reserve - Kona Peaberry Coffee

Each coffee gift box is shipped in a decorative holiday gift box with the coffee bags nestled in decorative crinkle cut paper. Price at $99.99 and it includes free shipping.

Vietnam's two largest coffee producers say that despite higher prices it is still difficult to purchase coffee from farmers.

2005-11-24T07:59:00.000-05:00

Vietnam`s two largest coffee bean producers, Lam Dong and Dak Lak, say that despite higher prices it is still difficult to purchase coffee from farmers and dealers, as they continue to push prices higher. Industry experts say coffee prices will witness further increases as the world supply dwindles. According to the Ministry of Trade, the total turnover from coffee export was $44 million in October, an increase of $7 million over September, equating to a total turnover of $588 million for the first ten months of the year, an increase of 10% compared to the same period last year.

United States imported 849'600'700 kg. of green coffee during January to September 2005

2005-11-22T06:46:00.000-05:00

United States imported 849`600`700 kg. of green coffee during January to September 2005, compared to the 859`796`600 kg in the same period of 2004. Following are the main coffee suppliers (Kg.): Brazil with 172`933.9 tons, Colombia with 164`345.6 tons, Vietnam with 135`731.0 tons, Guatemala with 85`235.8 tons, Indonesia with 69`095.2 tons, Costa Rica with 45`147.0 and Mexico with 36`846.6 tons.

United States imported 29`667`400 kg. of roasted coffee beans during January to September 2005, compared to the 25`741`300 kg in the same period of 2004. Following are the main roasted coffee suppliers (Kg.): Canada with 11`795.1 tons, Mexico with 4`493.4 tons, Sweden with 4`345.0, Italy with 2`345.9 tons and Brazil with 1`716.8 tons.

Fall Savings on Volcanica Gourmet Coffee

2005-11-12T00:19:00.000-05:00

This Fall we have lowered our prices and offer free shipping. Try our selection of Costa Rican coffees and try our Volcanica Reserve Costa Rican Coffee with its silky yet robust flavor that will pick you up, now only $14.99. Or relax with our Volcanica Original Costa Rica Coffee with a smooth flavor for only $12.99.

You can also save $5 on our exotic Blue Mountain Coffee or Kona Coffee. These prices are only for a limited time. We also offer free shipping on 3 or more items. Please visit us today at the home for fine gourmet coffee beans.

Trading progresses little in Parana in October

2005-11-11T23:21:00.000-05:00

The trading of the 2005 coffee crop did not progress much in Paraná in October. According to the head of the sector of crop forecast of the Rural Economy Department (Deral), Dirlei Antônio Manfio, poor prices have made growers restrain the product to sell it at a better moment. In October, the price paid to coffee growers in Paraná had an average of R$ 3.22 per kilogram, against R$ 3.33/kg in September. In May this year, the average had been R$ 3.97/kg, falling to R$ 3.83/kg in June. "Growers took advantage to sell at this time, and started to restrain themselves as prices started falling", Manfio pointed out.

In 2005, the coffee production of Paraná totaled slightly over 1.4 million bags. Besides the biennial cycle of the culture, which alternates years of low and high yield, croplands suffered in 2005 with drought and even hail, mainly in the west of the state (in the areas of Toledo and Cascavel). Out of the production estimated for this year approximately 65% have already been sold, progressing little against the index of 59% pointed twenty days ago.

In the 2005/06 crop, whose harvest must only start in May, the coffee production of Paraná must increase to 119 thousand tons (1.9 million bags), up 39%, owing to the biennial cycle of the culture, which in this season will be high.

Read about the various gourmet coffees grown around the world.

Costa Rica has lost between 5 - 10 % of its 2005-06 coffee crop.

2005-11-11T23:19:00.000-05:00

Costa Rica has lost between 5 and 10 % of its 2005-06 coffee crop due to heavy rains caused by recent hurricanes, the head of the Costa Rican Coffee Institute said. Costa Rica`s forecast for the season had been 2.8 million quintals but beans had been knocked from plants by the rain and the spread of a fungus caused by the greater moisture. Hurricanes Stan and Wilma missed Costa Rica but rain bands associated with them brought weeks of heavy rains, causing flooding in the Pacific coast region of the country and washing out roads in mountainous, coffee-growing areas.

Vicofa has said output for 2005-2006 would fall to between 10 million and 10.5 million bags.

2005-11-11T23:18:00.000-05:00

The Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association said on Thursday this year`s harvest should peak next month and would be shorter than normal because bad weather had hurt bean production. Vicofa has said output for 2005-2006 would fall to between 10 million and 10.5 million bags (600`000 to 630`000 tons) from 12.5 million bags (750`000 tons) the previous year, due to drought and neglect. Vietnam`s coffee harvest, which started earlier this month, usually peaks beginning in mid-November and ends in January.

Vietnam has planned to reduce its Robusta area and expand the plantation of Arabica. It has set a goal of 100`000 hectares of Arabica by 2010 from 30`000 hectares now. In the past three years under a government program, Vietnamese farmers have switched part of their Robusta trees to other crops such as cashew and rubber. The plan was to have only 400`000 hectares of Robusta coffee. Official industry statistics show Vietnam cut Robusta trees by around 10 % to 450`000 hectares in 2004-05. As usual Vicofa have underestimated production and probably over estimated the amount of land that has stopped producing Robusta.

As they represent farmers it is very understandable they will try to talk prices higher. Most trade estimates put production at least 1 million bags more than the association. They have also promised a large drop in the Robusta planted area which has not happened due mainly to farmers continuing to make money from coffee production.

Coffee from crop to cup

2005-11-04T06:04:00.000-05:00

Coffee is a tropical plant that is grown in some 50 countries around the world on some 30 million acres. Although a small amount of coffee has been farmed in Hawaii since the days of the islands’ storied monarchy, and a fairly robust industry exists in Puerto Rico, most of the beverage hails from developing nations. In fact, coffee is the principal commercial crop of over a dozen countries, half of which earn 25 to 50 percent of their foreign cash from its export. Unfortunately for the world’s java growers, less than 10 percent of the commodity’s $60 billion annual value makes its way into the hands of the farmers, reports Ontario-based Equator Coffee Roasters.

What is Specialty Gourmet Coffee

2005-10-28T23:11:00.000-04:00

There are two major types of coffee beans species but for coffee connoisseurs only the Arabica beans qualify as Specialty Coffee or Specialty Gourmet Coffee. Arabica beans are the only ones to be drunk on there own, unblended.

All of the Costa Rican coffees from Tarrazu are specialty gourmet Arabica beans.

Guatemalan coffee crop damage due to Hurricane Stan

2005-10-28T06:41:00.000-04:00

Guatemala City According to preliminary estimates from the Guatemalan National Coffee Association, Anacafe, damages to coffee plants due to Hurricane Stan could amount to some 80,000 60-kilo bags (about 2.37% of the crop) or $10.6 million.

The president of Anacafe, Jose Angel Lopez told daily La Prensa Libre that the worse damages were reported in the departments of San Marcos, Retalhuleu, Quetzaltenango, Sololá and Suchitepéquez. He added that losses could reach $26.5 million (about 6% of the crop) if plantations and infrastructure are not rehabilitated soon.

This is a another setback for the gourmet coffee industry. The Guatemala coffee is very similar in taste and charactrer to the Costa Rica coffee.

The ICO (Great Britian) have forecast global coffee production at 108.00 million bags which is unchanged from their previous monthly report.

2005-10-23T00:46:00.000-04:00

The executive director, Nestor Osorio, said he saw no signs of any probable increase in production during the current season from any country. This seems a little odd given that many producers are expected to produce more this season compared with last. However, we concede the increases will be marginal and certainly will not make up for the slump in production from Brazil and Vietnam. He also said that prices had dropped during September because of fund long liquidation because of increased activity in the Petroleum markets. Although it is true that the funds were very active in the energy markets it is highly unlikely they would need to liquidate positions in one market to fund another. Like many Osorio has been surprised by the markets recent weakness and seems to be trying to talk levels higher. It does look as if his next report could be more positive.

Fair-trade coffee to be sold in U.K.

2005-10-10T21:46:00.000-04:00

Bloomberg News: Nestle SA, the world's largest buyer of green coffee, will start selling a brand of "fair-trade" coffee in the United Kingdom to grab a share of one of the industry's fastest-growing markets.

Nescafe Partners Blend instant coffee will debut in mid-October, Nestle's U.K. unit said.

Switzerland-based Nestle is introducing fair-trade coffee -- which guarantees growers a minimum price for their crops -- as more consumers seek out such products on store shelves.

U.K. sales of fair-trade coffee are rising almost 20 percent annually, compared with a yearly drop of 1 percent for instant coffee, according to figures cited by Cafedirect, a British seller of fair-trade coffee.

"This is a step in the right direction for Nestle, albeit a small one," said Amy Barry, a spokeswoman on trade for Oxfam. The U.K.-based aid agency helped found Cafedirect.

The Partners' Blend coffee will be made from Arabica beans bought from farmers in El Salvador, Nestle said.

Surpised it took the U.K. to wait so long to join the Fair Trade Coffee band wagon.

Coffee Prices Going Up

2005-10-06T06:54:00.000-04:00

Coffee prices are set to rise, but this is one price spike you can't blame solely on Hurricane Katrina. Industry analysts have been warning for months that shortages caused by production slowdowns in Latin America would hike prices for your morning java, not to mention that afternoon frappucino.
Read Full Story

Coffee Futures Stabilize Following

2005-10-06T06:53:00.000-04:00

Coffee futures are subdued after post-Hurricane Katrina price spikes, with ongoing stability probable after reports that 700,000 bags of coffee stored in New Orleans warehouses were left undamaged by the hurricane. Read Full Story

Some of Rwanda's genocide survivors are creating coffee cooperatives, and a new future

2005-10-06T06:48:00.000-04:00

Rwanda is best known for the 1994 genocide in which 800,000 people were slaughtered during fighting between Hutu tribesmen and their Tutsi rivals. Coffee, one of the country's biggest exports, was also a casualty of that massacre. For Michigan State University professor Dan Clay, a specialist in Third World agricultural development, rebuilding Rwanda's coffee industry proved a double-edged challenge: how to get the industry on its feet yet avoid the commodity trap that dooms many farmers to subsistence living in a world where coffee is abundant.Read Full Story

The Legend - Coffee History

2005-10-01T01:02:00.000-04:00

According to legend an Arabian goatherd named Kaldi found his goats dancing joyously around a dark green leafed shrub with bright red cherries in the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Kaldi soon determined that it was the bright red cherries on the shrub that were causing the peculiar euphoria and after trying the cherries himself, he learned of their powerful effect. The stimulating effect was then exploited by monks at a local monastery to stay awake during extended hours of prayer and distributed to other monasteries around the world. Coffee was born.

Despite the appeal of such a legend, recent botanical evidence indicates that Coffea arabica originated on the plateaus of central Ethiopia and some how must have been brought to Yemen where it was cultivated since the 6th century. Upon introduction of the first coffee houses in Cairo and Mecca coffee became a passion rather than just a stimulant.

What is the Coffee Plant?

2005-10-01T01:00:00.000-04:00

The coffee plant belongs to the Rubiaceae family. It has a main vertical trunk (orthotropic) and primary, secondary, and tertiary horizontal branches (plagiotropic). Two main species of coffee are cultivated today. Coffea arabica known as Arabica coffee accounts for 75-80% of the world's production. Coffea canephora, known as Robusta coffee, is more robust than the Arabica plants, but produces an inferior tasting beverage with a higher caffeine content. The coffee plant can grow to heights of 10 meters if not pruned, but producing countries will maintain the coffee at a height reasonable for easy harvesting.

New Orleans coffee industry grinding back after storms

2005-09-27T22:48:00.000-04:00

The coffee market in New Orleans is grinding its way back to life, but it could take weeks before inspectors and insurers determine the extent of the damage to the beans stored in this hurricane-ravaged city, market sources say.

Katrina and Rita -- two powerful hurricanes -- slammed into the U.S. Gulf Coast less than a month apart, leaving death and destruction in their wakes. Katrina struck on Aug. 29 and the smaller Rita plowed into the region on Sept. 24. Read full article.

Coffee price climbs on Hurricane Rita fears

2005-09-24T01:29:00.000-04:00

Coffee in New York soared 7 percent, the most since November, as the second hurricane in less than a month threatened to damage inventories in New Orleans. The price fluctuation was the biggest of any commodity today. Read full article.

Kona Blend? Sounds Like Chicken Parts

2005-09-24T01:20:00.000-04:00

"Parts is parts" said Clara from the old Wendy's commercial. Well a Kona Blend is not Kona Coffee. That same goes for every single origin coffee. Here is an article where one of the scamers got caught.

"When consumers see a package saying Kona blend, they think this is a blend of Kona coffees from the gently sloping hillsides of Hawaii. Nothing could be further from the truth and nothing more disparaging to coffee growers of Kona," said Mark Zuckerman of Pasqua Coffee. Read full article

Make sure your Kona Coffee is 100% pure.

Battle is brewing over ethics of the coffee trade

2005-09-19T06:28:00.000-04:00

A battle for coffee drinkers' consciences is about to begin with the launch of a rival to the Fairtrade label.

Now that nearly half of shoppers consider the ethical dimension of goods, competition for the moral high ground is big business.

The Rainforest Alliance certificate

Fairtrade coffee's big selling point is that it offers small coffee farmers in the developing world a guaranteed price for their beans if commodity prices fall below $1.26 (68p) a pound.

Its competitor, Rainforest Alliance Certified, guarantees that coffee is produced in a way that preserves the forest and its wildlife and ensures that workers, who are often temporary, enjoy good working conditions, housing and pay. It pays a premium of a few pence a pound. Read full article.

Roasted Coffee Beans

2005-09-18T22:12:00.000-04:00

Roasting coffee beans is considered an art, as the roaster needs to determine when the process has brought the beans to their peak of flavor. Read more information on Roasted Coffee Beans.

Gourmet Coffee Farms

2005-09-18T22:11:00.000-04:00

Gourmet Coffee Farms - The art and science of growing, harvesting and roasting highland coffee and increasing the coffee drinker's awareness of where the beans originated. Read this article for more information.

One of the Best Burr Grinders Now at Volcanica Coffee

2005-09-18T22:08:00.000-04:00

The best burr coffee grinder on the market is the Cusinart Supreme Grind Automatic Burr Mill. This elegant burr coffee grinder with brushed stainless steel has a container to store your beans at the top. Get more details about this burr coffee grinder.

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee

2005-09-18T22:06:00.000-04:00

Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is an extraordinary coffee is grown in the majestic Blue Mountain range in Jamaica reaching approximately 7,402 feet at the highest peak, thus making it is one of the highest grown coffees in the world.

The Perfect Cup of Coffee

2005-09-18T22:03:00.000-04:00

Like anything else in life there is bad, just okay and then there is perfect. To get to perfection you really need the knowledge on how to do it and the motivation. See the perfect cup of coffee for the recipe to get you enjoying your gourmet coffee.

Café Bom Dia leading a revolution in Brazil's coffee industry

2005-09-17T07:31:00.000-04:00

The country supplies one-third of the world`s coffee, with exports totaling 26.4 million 60-kilo bags worth $2 billion last year -- twice as much as its nearest rival, Vietnam. But nearly 90% of Brazil`s coffee is exported as green beans, while much of the rest is processed into instant coffee. Neither is much known for its quality. "Brazil has always been an exporter of quantity rather than quality," says Glauco Carvalho of Embrapa, an agricultural research company in Campinas. That`s starting to change. The first step was the abolition in 1992 of a government agency that bought up farmers` coffee beans regardless of how they tasted. Since then, Brazilian producers have competed in the open market, forcing them to pay more attention to quality. Nowadays, specialty Brazilian coffees sold at online auctions can fetch more than $1`000 a bag, compared with a Brazilian average of $100. Ipanema Coffees, a small specialty producer, sells its Brazil Ipanema Bourbon brand coffee through Starbucks Corp.`s chain. By roasting and blending coffee rather than exporting it raw, these companies keep for themselves the added value that usually goes to foreign roasters. They are still a tiny part of the industry, but they are growing year by year. Café Bom Dia is one of the few Brazilian companies active in every stage of the production chain, from growing to roasting, blending, and packing. The company says exports of roast coffee are set to reach $20 million this year -- a four-fold increase over 2004. The company supplies Royal Ahold and Carrefour, among others. Café Bom Dia is quickly building a following stateside. Its exports to the U.S. are now running as high as $2 million per month. The company sells its Marques de Paiva brand of coffees, including an organic variety, through Wal-Mart Stores Inc.`s Sam`s Club chain and other retailers.

Looking for a Article Previously Posted

2005-09-17T07:17:00.000-04:00

Looking for one of our articles? We moved all of our artilces from this blog to the Gourmet Coffee Beans blog. All are under the same names and titles just under a different blog URL. Sorry for any inconvenince this may have caused.

Specialty Coffee

2005-09-13T05:15:00.000-04:00

Specialty coffee is one of the finer things in life meant to be enjoyed as a reward for your hard word and earnings. It's rich taste is a treat from the ordinary and far above the average coffee.