Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/491377
24 STiR tea & coffee industry international / Issue 2, 2015 (April/May) Though far too soon to predict which brands will emerge as market leaders, any company will do well if it can make regular coffee drinkers out of even 1- 2% of the Chinese. Learn more: www.euromonitor.com/china Joseph Fewer, GroGenesis c.e.o., states, "Preliminary talks have begun with ANACAFE and the Ministry of Agriculture towards the possibility of a regulated and formal large area demon- stration in future." Learn more: www.grogenesis.com/ Association, specifically the New Zealand Barista Guild, will be there to host classes on sensory evaluation and soft brewing. The World Barista Champion Hidenori Izaki is expected to attend. Attendees have multiple opportunities to watch "A Film About Coffee" and mingle with coffee industry leaders. In the words of its organizers: "Caffeination promises to educate, inform, network and showcase the very best of coffee and related products. It's the Festival that will stir up coffee lovers all over the country, luring them with the aromas of freshly roasted coffee and the promise of new tastes and experiences." Learn more: www.caffeination.co.nz/ Guatemala New Solution for Roya? GroGenesis, a Springville, Tenn. company, makes natural plant growth health technologies. Its first product, called AgraBurst, was field tested at a large farm located in the department of Santa Rosa, just southeast of Guatemala City. A single application of the Gro- Genesis product showed promising results. The field team noticed visible signs of degradation of the fungal infestation within 24 hours. According to GroGenesis, AgraBurst is not a fungicide. Rather, it was designed to improve the positive effects of commercial fertilizers and available nutrients. Randolfo Hernández, the administra- tor of the plantation, reported, "I did not believe the product would work at first. After the product was applied to the coffee rust, I came back to the test area four days later and saw fewer spores on the plants. On the tenth day, I went out again; I saw no spores on the treated plants. The scars were still there but the disease was controlled. I also saw a change in the color of the plants, from an orange color to green." Photo courtesy MikeRussellFoto.com Kenya Cause for Concern at AFCA Robério Oliveira Silva, executive director of the International Coffee Organization, in his statement to attendees said, "I remain convinced of the need to do everything possible to ensure the continuity of AFCA [African Fine Coffee Association Conference and Exhibition] and its success in addressing challenging issues the coffee community is facing today in Africa." Despite Silva's conviction, times are getting tougher for many who grow coffee in Africa. The continent overall produces less coffee now than it did 25 years ago. This was the message delivered by Felix Koskei, minister of agriculture for Kenya, at the 12th AFCA. "The decline in our production is happening against a backdrop of an increase in world coffee consumption which is growing at an average of 2 percent," said Koskei to AFCA attendees. This paradox of poverty during an uptick in market demand was blamed by some on lack of governmental support and sufficient infrastructure for conduct- ing agribusiness. Returns have become so poor for growing this crop in parts of Kenya that some farmers have removed coffee trees. Selling off or developing the land as real estate has been more lucrative. Efforts to find ways to boost production and attain higher prices for green beans continue there, however. Learn more: www.eafca.org/wwc/ resources/presentations.htm New Zealand Caffeination Continues For the second time, New Zealanders are attending an event called "Caffeination." The New Zealand Specialty Coffee Nicaragua Coffee Flour at Casa del Café Casa del Café, a Nicaraguan company with 21 retail stores and cafes in major cities including Managua, Granada, and Leon, now bakes using coffee flour made from Nicaraguan-grown coffee. Dan Bel- liveau, founder of CF Global Holdings, Inc., said, "[Casa del Café] produces their own line of pastries and desserts and have done some great work with integrating coffee flour into some of their most popular products." Chocolate chip cookies, carrot muffins, brownies, and vanilla orange cake now all incorporate coffee flour. Preceding the launch of these new menu items, Belliveau's company made its first payment to the farmers who supplied the cherry waste which became the coffee flour used by Casa de Café. He said, "It was a memorable event." Casa del Café will continue adding menu items that use coffee flour. Customers can expect to see breads, rolls, and pastry crusts as the culinary team redevelops the lunch menu. Learn more: www.casadelcafe.com. ni/english Photo courtesy CF Global Holdings