STiR coffee and tea magazine

10 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 2, 2022 (April / May) Pu'er, China: Made Famous Globally for Tea; Now Known for Coffee Pu'er, a city situated in Yunnan Province, southwest China, synonymous globally for its famous tea, is now a global golden growing belt for arabica coffee, referred to there as "heaven of arabica". With the first coffee seed introduced into the locality more than a century ago, the city started large-scale coffee plantation as early as in 1988. Boasting an extraordinarily high 75% of forest coverage and abundant natural resources, the city almost lies completely within the world golden plantation belt for coffee and is now the capital of coffee in China. In 2020, coffee plantation areas in Pu'er City reached 52,000 hectares, accounting for 49% of the national total and coffee bean output reached 58,600 tonnes, taking up more than 80% of the comparable aggregate in China. Pu'er, China area. Probably more famous for its eponymous brick and disc shaped aged tea (Pu'er tea), which has thousands of years of growing history in Yunnan Province. The upstart "coffee", now taking the agricultural spotlight, only has a history going back to 1988. Earth Tea: So-Called Covid Cure Sued by US Govt Agencies The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), jointly with the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), took the unusual step of suing a New York-based marketer of herbal tea 1 , seeking to permanently block deceptive ads that claim its "Earth Tea" is clinically proven to treat, cure, and prevent Covid-19. FTC also seeks to impose civil penalties on the defendants behind Earth Tea under the Covid-19 Consumer Protection Act. The complaint announced today names as defendants Brooklyn, New York-based B4B Earth Tea LLC, B4B Corp., and its owner, Andrew Martin ("Busta") Sinclair. "Without any scientific evidence, the defendants claimed that drinking their herbal tea is more effective in preventing Covid-19 than approved vaccines, and cures anyone who has gotten ill within 24 hours," said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "In bringing this matter with our partners at [DOJ] and [FDA], the commission continues its commitment to using every tool available to stop and deter those who would treat the pandemic as opportunity to peddle bogus treatments." "The Department of Justice will not tolerate individuals or companies seeking to profit from the Covid-19 public health emergency by unlawfully advertising unproven products," said Brian M. Boynton, head of DOJ's civil division. "The department is Impressed by the rapid development of coffee industry in Pu'er City, Ted Lingle, former executive director of Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), said that Pu'er coffee is one of the best coffees in the world, strong and fragrant but not bitter, rich in fat and strong in acidity. Lingle, the senior consultant of Yunnan International Coffee Exchange since 2015, is fond of Pu'er coffee. In every coffee harvest season, Lingle always tells global coffee merchants that coffee has found a "new home" in China. Recently, Pu'er coffee gained more and more acknowledgement from coffee industry at home and abroad. The city was nodded to be the location for key national coffee laboratory and Yunnan small-grain coffee seed breeding base together with many other coffee research and educational institutions. By far, more than 20,000 hectares of coffee plantation areas in Pu'er City have been certified as 4C compliant coffee. Over 6,666 hectares of growing areas got C.A.F.E. Practices verification. More than 1,333 hectares of planting areas obtained Rainforest Alliance and UTZ certifica- tions. In September 2020, Pu'er coffee was formally included in the first batch of products on the protection list of China-EU geographical indications agreement. In Pu'er City, global coffee merchants can always find specialty coffees in accordance with international specialty coffee standards, said Lingle, hoping that more people can learn about and try coffee produced in Yunnan Province. Staff report committed to protecting consumers and enforcing the Covid-19 Consumer Protection Act…against those who unlawfully market unproven Covid-19 treatments." "Unfortunately, there are too many people who are taking advantage of this crisis by pushing alleged treatment products that are nothing more than snake oil," stated Up Front

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