or hiding excess inventory. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened an investigation into Green Mountain's accounting practices late last year, but has not announced any results. Green Mountain's stock plunged from a
high of $107 a share in September to $47 a share in November, due in part to a negative evaluation in October by analyst David Einhorn at the Value Investors Conference. It has since rebounded to about $60.
Chinese coff ee has an extra kick Added wine and liqueur appeal to local tastes Chinese coffee retailers have found
success by juicing up their brew with a little (or more than a little) alcohol, according to the New York Post. The Post reported that Pacific Coffee,
which now has 18 shops in China (12 more than last year), has done better since it added "Huadiao Mocha," whose secret ingredient is Chinese yellow wine. It also carries iced coffee blended with Er Wotou, a Chinese liqueur with an alcohol
content of more than 50 percent. This innovation may have been sparked
by the acquisition of Pacific Coffee's parent company by China Resources Enterprise, maker of the white wine in Huadiao Mocha.
BRIEFS
• Starbucks, which has served beer and wine at six of its cafes in Seattle and Portland, Ore., for more than two years, is trying out the concept in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune reports that up to seven Chicago-area Starbucks will sell beer and wine in the evenings by the end of 2012.
• Coffee shipments from Uganda, Africa's largest exporter, fell 15 percent in October due to weather, the nation's Coffee Development Authority said.
• An employee of Coffee Exchange, a coffee shop in Providence, R.I., was charged in early December with videotaping customers inside the shop's unisex bathroom. Tony Roberts, 42, was charged
with two counts of video voyeurism. He has been discharged by the shop.
• Tim Hortons plans to concentrate on Canada and the U.S. before expanding into more overseas markets, its executive chairman told a Dubai-based news site. The Canadian coffee-and-doughnut chain could conceivably double its existing 500 stores in the province of Quebec, and "expansion in the U.S. would be our near-term priority while in the other international markets we can take on a longer-term view," Paul House told www. Gulfnews.com.
• El Platanillo coffee farm in San Marcos, Guatemala has become the world's first coffee farm to become Rainforest Alliance Verified for its compliance with the Climate Module of the Sustainable Agriculture Network. SAN is the international coalition of conservation organizations that manages Rainforest Alliance certification. SCR
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