World’s biggest coffee morning underway in Wells

If you’re planning on a shopping trip to Wells today, why not treat yourself to a great cup of coffee and contribute to a great cause? The World's Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan Cancer Support's biggest fundraising event. People all across the UK - and sometimes further afield - hold a coffee morning, where donations on the day are made to Macmillan.

Last year 43,000 people registered to hold a coffee morning, raising a staggering £7.9 million! This year Macmillan are asking for your help to raise over £8 million to help change the lives of people affected by cancer.

The event started in 1990, when a local fundraising committee decided to hold a coffee morning where people came along to meet and mingle - as they might ordinarily do - but donate the cost of their coffee to Macmillan in the process.

The idea seemed such a simple, yet effective, one that they suggested the model be taken up nationally. The first National World’s Biggest Coffee Morning was in 1991, when 2,600 people registered to hold coffee mornings across the country. Since then it has raised over £60 million in total for Macmillan Cancer Support.

If you want to get involved in Wells, grab your bags, hats and head for the White Hart Hotel right now!! Mayor Tony Robbins will be attending and although the event is due to end at 12 noon, there’s plenty of time to enjoy an excellent pot of coffee, some wonderful company and help Macmillan in their great work.

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Starbucks to raise prices on some drinks

Starbucks Corp said it plans to charge more for large-sized and labor-intensive drinks because of surging prices for coffee and other commodities.

The world's biggest coffee chain, which expects to maintain or lower the price of certain espresso drinks and its "tall" 12-ounce brewed coffee, said it might raise the price of packaged coffee sold through grocery stores and other channels. Starbucks declined to disclose the magnitude of price adjustments. Shares inched up 0.5 percent in extended trade. Wall Street had expected such a move from the company.

Coffee prices are flirting with a 13-year high and Starbucks' move comes more than a month after mass-market coffee sellers raised prices on their well-known grocery brands.

J.M. Smucker Co on August 3 boosted prices for most of its Folgers, Dunkin' Donuts, Millstone and Folgers Gourmet Selections coffees in the United States by an average of 9 percent. Kraft Foods quickly followed with U.S. price hikes on select Maxwell House and Yuban ground and instant coffees.

Starbucks had been holding the line and absorbing the higher costs.

"The extreme nature of the cost increases has made it untenable for us to continue to do so and we have been forced to take the steps we announced today," Chief Executive Howard Schultz said in a statement.

Starbucks also stood by its forecast for earnings of $1.36 to $1.41 per share for fiscal 2011. Analysts, on average, are expecting earnings of $1.43 per share for next year, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Its current fiscal year ends on October 4.

Rival McDonald's Corp said it is "business as usual" when it comes to the prices for its specialty coffee drinks, which sell for less than competing Starbucks beverages.

Shares in Starbucks, which on August 17 said it did not plan to raise prices despite the surging popularity of green coffee, rose to $26.06 in extended trading from their close of $25.93.

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How do you brew a perfect coffee? Very slowly

* Machines imported from Japan
* Requires 88 drips per minute
* Twelve hours to make three litres

AT a small cafe hidden away off San Francisco's busy Market St, James Freeman is proving that there's no such thing as too technical when it comes to making coffee. In his Blue Bottle Cafe on Mint St, the counter is dominated by a couple of contraptions that would look more at home in a mad scientists' laboratory, but which actually represent a San Franciscan pursuit for perfect coffee that combines technology and tradition with an astonishing attention to detail. The New York Times has put the price of Mr Freeman’s dedication to perfect coffee at $20,000 - and that's just for one of the machines.

He says that’s a little overblown, but not by much. “The $20,000 was basically the machine, the sourcing the beans, the labour – they got it up to that figure,” he said. “But they’re all pretty expensive, I can say that much.”His favourite is the copper-clad lever espresso machine, a vintage Italian job from the 1970s. But for perfect coffee, he says no one does it like the Japanese.

To prove it, two years ago, Mr Freeman sourced a pair of Oji drip-fed machines from Japan, a place where he’s been “pretty much dazzled by everything” since his first visit 26 years ago.

The Oji machines fuse tradition and tech in a way that might seem ridiculous to non-coffee drinkers, but those queued around the block outside his Blue Bottle Café in Mint St give thanks for it twice a day.

Twice a day because, if it’s Blue Bottle’s famous iced coffee from the taller of the two Ojis you’re after, it takes 12 hours to make a pot.

They make two pots overnight ready for the morning crowd and try to turn it around in time for the evening.

Each pot starts with 3.2 litres of water in the top globe, which releases exactly 88 drips per minute through a glass cylinder holding 160g of coffee.

The coffee is “single source” – all the beans are from the same crop, not blended – and coupled with the fact there’s only six litres of it available every 12 hours, chances are that might all add up for the world’s most expensive hangover cure.

“It’s $4 for a 12-ounce glass of ice coffee,” Mr Freeman says.

“It’s a wonderful iced coffee, kind of a bourbon-like iced coffee. It’s got a heat to it that’s like having a shot of bourbon.

“It’s hard to give it away at that price – some of the stuff we do, like the siphon coffee, are a premium service – it’s a pretty good deal.

“We run out a lot.”

In fact, Mr Freeman’s running out more and more.

In March this year, five Oji machines in Blue Bottle Cafes made their debut in Brooklyn.

Then there’s the other Oji - the "$20,000" one that makes hot coffee.

This one is a five-globe affair, arranged horizontally.

While not as slow as its taller counterpart, the brewing process is more spectacular.

Water is heated in each globe by halogen lights, which forces it up into a module holding the coffee grounds.

The mixture is stirred with a bamboo paddle in a manner which has to be perfected by baristas before they get to lay a hand on Mr Freeman's machine.

The "art" is creating a whirlpool within four turns, something which Mr Freeman says he spent months practising.

Stir it too much (more than 90 seconds) and the coffee over-extracts. Too little (less than 45 seconds) and your coffee is underdone.

The mix is then filtered back down into another globe and kept at that temperature by a barista cradling it with a moist cloth.

Although he calls his vintage lever machine his “rosebud”, Mr Freeman said he prefers the routine of making siphon coffee in the morning. “It’s a very nuanced technique,” he said.

And the chances of Australians ever experiencing an iced coffee that takes 12 hours to brew aren't out of the question. Mr Freeman said it's just a matter of convincing the Japanese suppliers that their machines will be given the dedication they deserve.

“The reason others don’t do it is because it’s expensive and difficult to get right," he said. “Anyone can buy them if they want.”

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Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Rings in Fall, New Items

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is enhancing its handcrafted fall bakery menu with the addition of new seasonal treats and a line of calorie- and price-point-friendly "mini" pastries, available starting September 13. In addition, the fall specialty beverage menu will feature a variety of bakery-inspired flavor profiles. By spotlighting the bakery creations of Anne Weisler, director of bakery operations, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf encourages customers to enjoy a variety of freshly handcrafted baked goods. "Our baked goods are made from the finest ingredients, by hand, by real people," says Weisler, who has been creating the Kosher and trans fat–free line of baked goods for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for almost 20 years out of a company-owned bakery in Santa Monica, California. This season, working closely alongside Michelle Stene, senior research and development manager of beverage and food, inspired Weisler to use flavors such as pumpkin, pear, and cinnamon.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is poised to introduce customers to baked goods that reflect the seasonal flavors of fall and pair deliciously with both classic and specialty fall beverages. The new seasonal bakery items include Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes, Almond Loaves, and Orange Chocolate Scones. A similar bakery influence is also found in the new seasonal beverages. Customers can enjoy Cinnamon French Toast in an Iced Blended drink and Pumpkin Pie in a Latte. The Caramelized Pear Latte is a fall treat that features delicate pear and caramel notes in each sip. With the introduction of these new items, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf continues to highlight the craftsmanship that goes into the creation of each beverage and bakery item served.

This fall, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf will also introduce "mini" baked goods inspired by weekly tiny treats Weisler baked for employees of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Mini versions of classic pastries like The Seasonal Danish Bear Claw and a variety of signature muffins and Danishes will be offered in 4-ounce portions, offering a friendlier calorie range and price-point option in the bakery case.

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Smooth, creamy taste of coffee

AFTER more than 20 years supplying coffee products to the local and global markets, Exclusive Mark (M) Sdn Bhd decided to share its expertise with coffee lovers.

With its own brand of coffee – Café 99 – the company aims to bring the taste of coffee to Malaysian consumers with a "Richness Beyond Taste". Made from premium instant roasted coffee, Café 99 Ipoh White Coffee has a smooth, creamy taste and rich aroma.

"This brand is not to replace other brands out there, but more to complement them," Exclusive Mark senior business development manager Lau Chai Yap said.

Café 99, which is synonymous with "Kopi Kau Kau", is dedicated to "real coffee drinkers" and comes in two variants – Original and Less Sugar. The latter is 33% less sweet than the original, formulated for the health-cons-cious.

Exclusive Mark has appointed internationally ren-owned veteran local artiste Aunty Lai Meng as its brand ambassador.

"‘Richness Beyond Taste" is about life experience and Aunty Lai Meng has lots of experience. There’s a lot we can learn from her in building our own brand," Lau said.

"Coffee means a lot to me as it brings my family tog-ether. I have been drinking kopi o since young and as society progresses, there are many types of coffee available. I have tried many types of coffee, but the best is still Café 99," Aunty Lai Meng said.

For her 84th birthday, the company organised a surprise party after the Café 99 Ipoh White Coffee launch early this month, with her family, friends and colleagues in the local entertainment industry as guests.

Exclusive Mark is a member of CNI Holdings Berhad which manufactures a variety of products for the local and global markets. It has been supplying coffee to various brands and its facilities are GMP certified, halal compliant and ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and Ohsas certified.

Café 99 Ipoh White Coffee is available at all major
supermarkets and hypermarkets. Other products under the Café 99 brand include Café 99 3-in-1 Original, Café 99 4-in-1 Matcha Green Tea, Café 99 5-in-1 Tongkat Ali Maca and Nutri 99 Soya with Aloe Vera.

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Cocoa prices slump on signs of improved crop in West Africa

Cocoa fell for a fifth day to a one- year low in London on signs of a better crop in West Africa, the world’s biggest producing region. White sugar declined after four days of gains.

Bean deliveries by Ivory Coast farmers to the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro about doubled from a year earlier to 8,266 metric tons in the week ended Aug. 29, according to an industry official with access to the figures. The country’s exports climbed 77 per cent in July, data supplied by the ports shows.

“Most people are expecting a better crop than last year,” said Gary Mead, an analyst at VM Group in London. “There’s not much in fundamental terms to keep prices high. From late September onward, we should see a lot of cocoa flow out of Ivory Coast, Ghana and West Africa. That’s more than half the world’s supply.

Cocoa for December delivery fell as much as 32 pounds, or 1.7 per cent, to 1,824 pounds ($2,808) a ton on NYSE Liffe and traded at 1,851 pounds at 12:29 p.m. London time. December- delivery cocoa declined 0.1 per cent to $2,644 a ton on ICE Futures US in New York, rebounding from a slide as low as $2,603.

Ivory Coast harvests its main crop from Oct. 1 to March 31, while a smaller mid-crop is gathered from April to September. The country is the biggest cocoa producer, and Ghana ranks second.

29 Days

White, or refined, sugar for December delivery fell 1.4 per cent to $577.80 a ton in London, the first drop since Sept. 6. Raw sugar for March delivery was little changed at 21.70 cents a pound in New York.

Sugar climbed as high as $588 a ton in London last week as delays at ports in Brazil, the largest producer, disrupted exports of the sweetener. Ships will wait a record 29 days before loading this month at the Santos port in Sao Paulo state, said Nicolle Alves de Castro, a commercial associate at research firm Santos Associados Consultoria Ltda.

“For the time being, volatility is going to increase,” said Naim Beydoun, a broker and analyst at Rolle, Switzerland- based Swiss Sugar Brokers. “We are seeing more funds buying into the market. Overall, the supply is still behind.”

Robusta coffee for November delivery advanced 0.6 percent to $1,592 a ton on NYSE Liffe. Arabica coffee for December delivery rose 0.6 per cent to $1.91 a pound in New York.

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Coffee makers plan to raise rates

Your daily cup of cappuccino is now more expensive by almost Rs 20. Coffee chains such as Cafe Coffee Day, Costa Coffee and Fresh & Honest have raised menu prices to cope with coffee’s biggest global rally in five years. Companies selling branded coffee powder such as the world’s largest food company, Nestle, which owns Nescafe, and Tata Coffee are also likely to raise prices shortly.

Arabica, the world’s most-grown coffee, has become almost 50% more expensive in the past three months and touched a 13-year high last week, pulling up prices in India, the world’s sixth-largest coffee producer.

Costa Coffee, owned by UK-based Whitbread, which runs close to 60 cafes in India through its franchisee partner Devyani International, hiked prices by 6% in June. Santhosh Unni, CEO of Costa Coffee, said he did not expect an ‘immediate’ round of price hikes. But Mr Unni added: “So far, we have been able to absorb the hike in commodity costs. I am not, however, sure how long we can continue to do so.”

India consumes about one-lakh tonnes of coffee annually. This includes the retail packaged segment and coffee chains. Most coffee chains in India are yet to break even on investments, and rising commodity costs leave them with little choice, but to pass on the increase to consumers.

The country’s largest coffee chain, Cafe Coffee Day, owned by Bangalore-based Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Company (ABCTCL), hiked prices by 6% about four months ago across its 972 cafes in 142 cities. But K Ramakrishnan, president-marketing at Cafe Coffee Day, said that coffee from the company’s own estates is helping keep costs under control. “Since we rely on the coffee we grow at our own estates, the impact of rising global prices is limited for us,” he said. ABCTCL has 7,400 acres of own coffee estates, another 2,500 acres of managed estates, and it sources coffee from 11,000 small growers.

An official with Fresh & Honest Cafe, which makes the coffee brand Alive, said the company was aware of the rising trend in prices. “We have a limited presence in retailing, but the rising price of coffee means we would have to re-look the pricing. There is room for a 5-10% rise in prices,” the official said. Firms in the packaged retail segment are following suit. Foods maker Nestle, which makes Nescafe coffee among other packaged foods, is considering the option too.

“High commodity prices and food inflation are an ongoing challenge and we do not react to every increase. However, as a long-term strategy we have accelerated our cost optimisation initiatives and will take selective and staggered price increases at appropriate times,” the spokesperson for Nestle India told ET in an e-mail reply.

Tata Coffee’s US-based 100% subsidiary — Eight O’Clock — is also mulling a price hike to protect margins. Eight O’Clock predominantly sources coffee beans of central and south American origin. “The US market is highly developed and there is a pass through process. Already, brands like Folgers have hiked prices by about 9% and a gourmet brand

Eight O’Clock would also have to follow suit to maintain margins,” said H Huq, MD of Tata Coffee. Smaller coffee chains like Cothas Coffee, a roast and ground coffee supplier in Bangalore, said it would have to ‘rethink on pricing’.

Said CP Chandan, partner at Cothas Coffee, “Prices have risen beyond a point of comfort for roasters, forcing us to look at price hike.” The company’s coffee retails at Rs 250 per kg, and Mr Chandan said the company was looking to hike prices by Rs 20 per kg. V Sushilkumar, retail head at Concorde Cuppa Beverages, which operates a chain of 16 outlets in Bangalore, confirmed that prices in their cafes would be hiked effective October, though the pricing had not been frozen as yet.

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