Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/763665
STiR coffee and tea 25 increasing demand of Vietnamese coffee throughout the US." The agreement also allows US retailers, coffee shops, and Asian grocery stores to buy coffee from Farmers Blend as wholesalers. "We are thrilled to introduce the exciting Vietnamese coffee culture to the world and with Amazon Exclusives we have found a suitable partner in the US which gains us the loyalty and trust of our consumers," Farmers Blend Coffee founder Dietmar Vogelmann said in the statement. "We want to offer coffee lovers around the world a chance to taste the uniqueness of Vietnamese coffee beans and our commitment to quality." Royal Cup Donates to Neverthirst Royal Cup, Inc., an Alabama-based importer, roaster, and specialty coffee/ tea distributor, is partnering with Neverthirst to improve access to clean, filtered water in the developing world. The program, announced in late October, will help finance construction of wells and provide water filtration systems in Sudan, South Sudan, Nepal, Cambodia, Chad, and India, according to the company. Two cents from each serving from the company's Roar coffee line will be donated to the cause. Royal Cup projects the partnership will "generate high six-figures for Never- thirst within the first year." Citing World Health Organization statistics, Royal Cup reports that more than 3.4 million people die every year as a direct result of unclean drinking water. Neverthirst, an international, non-profit, Christian organization dedicated to bringing clean water to people in underserved areas, aims to significantly slash these statistics and provide life-saving access to water. "It's an honor to align ourselves with Neverthirst and their mission to bring clean, filtered water to geographic regions in dire need of sustainable water access," said Howard Chapman, president of Royal Cup's Office beverage division. "Our Roar coffee pods were designed in spirit of sustain- ability, and we're proud to donate two pennies from each serving sold to a cause our entire organization is commit- ted to supporting." Learn more: www.royalcupcoffee.com/ roar4change and www.neverthirstwater.org "We wanted to be a company that solved the waste problem for the coffee industry so we have invested more than five years of work and more than $2 million so far towards developing fully compostable pods and bags," writes John Rogers of San Francisco Bay Coffee Company. "Our goal is to influence the rest of the industry to adopt it, too. Mike and Billie Joe wanted to do the same thing so we partnered so we could really make an impact," he said. Learn more: www.oaklandcoffee.com and www.sanfranciscobaycoffee.com. OCW SFB team Maps are at www.33books.com and appearing soon at specialty coffee shops that carry 33 Cups of Coffee. A complete list of brick-and-mortar retailers can be found at the company's web site. Diedrich Roasters and SCF link up Diedrich Roasters has selected Specialty Coffee Finance as its designated leasing and finance representative. Specialty Coffee Finance provides both equipment and business financing within the coffee industry. Equipment leasing helps customers manage available cash flow and resources and control risks. Diedrich Roasters is based in Ponderay, Idaho. Learn more: www.specialtycoffeefi- nance.com and www.Diedrichroasters.com. McDonald's Goes Sustainable In a move to satisfy consumer concerns about food origins, McDonald's Corp. plans to purchase all its coffee from sustainable sources by 2020, Reuters News reports. The restaurant company is partnering with Conservation Interna- tional on the initiative. According to the report, McDonald's bought 37% of its coffee from certified sustainable sources last year. The move is in line with the the restaurant company's efforts to upgrade ingredients across the menu. Including the use of cage-free eggs and eliminating artificial preservatives from its chick nuggets. McDonald's currently buys arabica coffee from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Peru, and Nicaragua. Some robusta beans are purchased for overseas stores depending on local tastes. Conservation International works to improve soil and water conservation and ensure fair treatment and pay for farmers. The organization assisted Starbucks in the development of that company's sustainable sourcing prac- tices, the Reuters report stated. Star- bucks reports that about 99% of its coffee was ethically sourced last year. Partnering with Amazon Farmers Blend Coffee will distribute its Vietnamese coffees through Amazon. com's Exclusives Program. In making the October announce- ment in a prepared statement, the coffee company described the agreement as "a groundbreaking deal … due to the Coffee Map for Consumers 33 Books Co., creator of the coffee- tasting journal 33 Cups of Coffee, recently released a new tasting map to encourage coffee drinkers to experience products from all over the world. Around the World in 40 Cups of Coffee, designed for wall display, features 40 countries and provides space for each taster to record coffee by country, origin name, roaster, variety and date. There's also a flavor wheel with each country allowing the consumer to grade the attributes of each coffee. "When I was researching 33 Cups, one of the things that really captured my imagination was thinking of the far-flung places and people responsible for the coffee in my cup," publisher Dave Selden said. "I wanted a way to memorialize each cup in a way that paid homage to that wide world. Putting the flavors down on the map really brings the journey to life. It makes a nice wall-hanging, too!" The map is designed and printed in Portland, Ore., where the company is headquartered. photo by YasamineJune