Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/641418
22 STiR tea & coffee industry international / Issue 1, 2016 (February/March) feature prominently in the guidelines, tools for understanding the guidelines, and much of the subsequent discussion by health and industry analysts.) Some have criticized that the guidelines emphasize such themes with complaints that the "shift" phrasing is too vague or too open for interpretation. An example of this is: "…choosing nutrient-dense foods and beverages in place of less healthy choices." Others, like the National Coffee Association who issued a statement in response, suggest that the mention that moderate coffee consumption can be part of a healthy eating pattern does not go far enough. The NCA statement highlights the fact that the scientific recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines Committee found "…'con- sistent evidence' that coffee is associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and 'moder- ate evidence' of a protective association between caffeine and risk of Parkinson's disease." Learn more: health.gov/ dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/ Indonesia Strong El Nino Lowers Harvest The most lethal El Niño in nearly 20 years could reduce Indonesian robusta production by nearly 20%. The coffee harvest could dip to 560,000 tons from 700,000 tons the previous year and this would be the steepest decline in more than eight years, according to traders and analysts. The smaller crop could exacerbate the global shortage of the coffee beans bought by the major companies, while help to stabilize prices that have gone down by 20% last year. El Niño has hampered cocoa crops in Ivory Coast and in West Africa, curbed the monsoon in India and forced the Philippines to import more rice. Robusta prices are expected to rise to $1,580 per tonne by the middle of 2016, while lower production in Brazil and Indonesia hit the industry. Robusta demand would be faced with a shortfall of 100,000 bags of 60 kg each in the 2015-16 season, where the earlier harvest had shown a surplus of 800,000 bags, according to traders and market analysts. A shrinking domestic harvest may prompt Indonesia to in- crease imports that have already shown an increase of 60,000 and 90,000 tonnes this fiscal year from 40,000 last year. Finca La Mula Triple-Crown Panamanian geisha coffees produced by Willem Boot, a San Francisco-area coffee consultant, grower, and roaster, won three Good Food Awards January 16. Three different roasters were awarded prizes for coffee sourced at Boot's farms. JBC Coffee Roasters in Madison, Wisc., and Mudhouse Coffee Roasters in Charlottesville, Va., entered roasts using coffee from Boot's Finca La Mula. A third award went to Equator Coffees & Teas of Marin, Calif., for coffee grown at Finca Sophia, a Panama- nian farm co-owned by Boot, Helen Russell and Brooke McDonnell. JBC and Mudhouse are long-time consulting clients, said Boot. He developed the partnership with Equator in 2008. Boot fell in love with the flavor of geisha coffee in 2004 as a taster on the panel where it was first presented. "I became obsessed with geisha and went off to Ethiopia to discover the roots of this variety in the forests of western Ethiopia," he said. "One day, the roar of a bloodthirsty lion following our tracks make me come to my senses," said Boot. He operates Finca La Mula on the lion-less slopes of Volcan Baru, a dormant volcano near the border with Costa Rica. The farm has 6,000 shade- grown trees. In 2016 Boot will open a Coffee Campus and r&d center in San Rafael, Calif. Learn more: www.bootcoffee.com Getting Catty over Coffee An early report by Chris Moran on Consumerist.com about the trademark infringement suit filed by Grumpy Cat Ltd. against Grenade Beverage shared the opening language of the document filed with a United States federal court in December: "Ironically, while the world-famous feline Grumpy Cat and her valuable brand are most often invoked in a tongue-and-cheek fashion, defendants' despicable misconduct here has actually given Grumpy Cat and her owners something to be grumpy about." A photo and a cartoon image of Grumpy Cat are indeed on file with United States Copyright Office. Grenade Beverage had already licensed the cartoon image for a line of iced-coffee beverages called "Grumpy Cat Grump- puccino." However, according to the complaint, Grumpy Cat Ltd. did not authorize use for other products and sent email to Grenade Beverage asserting that in November of 2015. The plaintiffs are claiming damages totaling close to a quarter of a million dollars. Learn more: www.grumpycats.com Single-Serve Cup Launch Portland Roasting Coffee, a Portland, Ore. specialty coffee roaster, has launched its first line of single-serve coffee cups. "Today's on-the-go, busy lifestyle begs for convenience products, which is why single-serve coffee has seen remarkable growth in recent years," said founder and managing partner Mark Stell. "While consumers demand convenience, they don't want to sacrifice quality." "Our single-serve cup contains more coffee than the average cup currently available, resulting in a stronger, more flavorful cup of coffee," said Nathanael May, director of coffee for Portland Roasting. Portland Roasting's single-serve cups are fully recyclable, and the company is working on developing a fully biode- gradable version. "Given the amount of waste that single-serve cups produce, it was important to us that there was a sustainable packaging solution in sight before we entered the market," said Stell. "While our current cups can be recycled, we've taken the next step to create a fully biodegradable solution." Eight varieties are available, including: Goose Hollow, Morning Blend, Organic French, Organic House, Organic Tanager's Song, Portland House, French Roast, and Vienna Decaf. Learn more: portlandroasting.com Grumpy Cat