STiR coffee and tea magazine

Volume 3, Number 1

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18 STiR tea & coffee industry international El Salvador Challenging Robusta Myths Catholic Relief Services (CRS) spon- sored a series of talks and tastings that took place in conjunction with Let's Talk Coffee, the annual trade event hosted by Sustainable Harvest. Kenneth Davids, editor of Coffee Review and Andrew Hetzel of Cafemakers both tackled myths about robusta in their presentations. Davids framed his Let's Talk Robusta presentation as one meant to challenge certain myths about this bean, including that roasters only use it to save money when creating a blend. Robustas are cheap and poorly prepared because they are expected to be cheap and poorly prepared, explained Davids. Robusta suffers from a history of dry processing, which contributed to a higher propor- tion of defects. And, he argued, it is a history that need not stand if enough producer associations and smaller roasters will experiment by presenting higher quality robusta to customers. That there probably are people who would enjoy the unique flavors of this bean came up in both talks. Hetzel showcased his thoughts about how an understanding of flavor profiles is useful in developing consumer markets. China Gift Cards for Lunar New Year Starbucks, which sold a record 2.4 million gift cards on a single day in December, will introduce a similar campaign in China in time for the Chinese Lunar New year. "The Starbucks Card has become a symbol of appreciation and human connection around the world," said Adam Brotman, chief digital officer for Starbucks. The event, Jan. 31, is the biggest celebration of the year in China. Starbucks will offer three designs commemorating the Chinese Year of the Horse and a new line of mugs. Consum- ers have loaded $16 billion on more than 450 million cards in 27 countries since it was first introduced. Starbucks now operates 20,00 stores in 63 countries and will open 750 stores in Asia this year. Peru Café Femenino Chocolatada Children in coffee-producing communi- ties of Northern Peru enjoyed hot chocolate and Christmas bread during the Café Femenino Foundation's annual Coffee Child's Christmas, or "Choco- latada." The Foundation's president, Marilyn Dryke, founder, Gay Smith, and board member Connie Kolosvary, traveled to Northern Peru in early December to pass out the dessert gift to thousands of children in local villages. Smith shared, "For us the best gift of all is the smiles of the mothers when they see their children happy for this annual Chocolatada event." The foundation funds grants for projects that directly benefit women and children and eliminate poverty in remote coffee communities where women now say they are free to work outside the home. The foundation is an IRS-ap- proved non-profit organization. Learn more: www.coffeecan.org first poured in 1971 in London. The first Costa store in Dubai opened in 1999. ICONS Coffee Couture launched its coffee store at Souk Al Bahar this fall. This new entry uses the tag line "Joy without Regrets" a reference to using Stevia as a sweetener. Learn more: www. emiratesleisureretail.com United Arab Emirates Coffee Craze Continues Increased coffee consumption is a well established trend in UAE. New brands continue to vie for customers while already established brands hit new milestones. Emirates Leisure Retail has opened the 100th Costa Coffee store at the World Trade Center Mall in Abu Dhabi. Eric Hughes, the general manager of Costa Coffee UAE, was on hand to help celebrate this event. Costa coffee was Eric Hughes, Costa coffee US Mondelēz International Mondelēz International, the snack and confection company left after Kraft Foods was spun off in 2012, received $2.23 billion in damages from Starbucks Coffee following a three-year contract dispute with Kraft foods. The company, headquartered in Deerfield, Ill., used the arbiter's award to buy back stock. This move is calculated to keep shareholders happy during a time of continued expansion. In the same month as the arbitration ruling, Mondelēz announced a new distribution warehouse in Pennsylvania, a new biscuit factory in the Czech Republic, and a new multi-category food campus in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. In June Mondelēz launched a line of espresso capsules to compete with Nestlé and recently began opera- tions in Australia and the Netherlands. Learn more: mondelezinternational.com Coffee Roundup Jenny Neill

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