Poor Farmer

Congratulations to all! SCAA’s 19th Annual Conference & Exhibition Business Wire May 8, 2007 LONG BEACH, Calif.-- If you want a really great espresso or cappuccino, head to San Dimas, Calif., hometown of Heather Perry, the best barista in the nation. Coffee Klatch Roasting’s Perry took top honors at the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) 2007 United States Barista Championship (USBC), hosted by Krups. Perry won the intense competition at SCAA’s 19th Annual Conference & Exhibition, May 4 - 7. Perry previously won the 2003 United States Barista Championship. 2007 U.S. Barista Championship Results: 1. Heather Perry, Coffee Klatch Roasting, San Dimas, Calif. 2. Pete Licata, PT's Coffee Company, Overland Park, Kan. 3. Matthew Riddle, Intelligentsia Coffee, Chicago Ill. 4. Chris Deferio, Carriage House Cafe, Ithaca, NY 5. Kyle Glanville, Intelligentsia Coffee, Los Angeles, Calif. 6. Peter Middlecamp, Black Sheep Coffee, South Saint Paul, Minn. Competitors prep...

Panama’s Hacienda La Esmeralda Wins an Unprecedented Third Consecutive SCAA Roasters Guild Cupping Pavilion Competition SCAA's 19th Annual Conference & Exhibition May 8, 2007 Business Wire LONG BEACH, Calif.--Panama coffee estate, Hacienda La Esmeralda, reached the highest level of coffee supremacy May 7 when it was recognized for having the world’s best specialty coffee for a record third consecutive year. The coffee producer set the mark by winning this year’s Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) 2007 Roasters Guild Cupping Pavilion Competition in Long Beach, Calif. The coffee producer previously won the 2005 and 2006 Cupping Pavilions. The 2007 event took place at SCAA’s 19th Annual Conference & Exhibition. Hacienda La Esmeralda’s winning coffee--from the Jaramillo region of Boquete, Panama--was one of 104 of the finest coffees that participated in the three-day international competition. 2007 Cupping Pavilion Results: 1. Hacienda La Esmeralda, Panama 2. ...

The following is a transcript of a radio broadcast on the Voice of America (VOA) as a Special English Agriculture report on May 7, 2007. The report offers a snapshot of the Fair Trade movement but, unfortunately, at a cost of two serious errors. True, the Fair Trade movement calls for, among others, a guaranteed fair price for small coffee producers in poor countries. It should be noted, however, that the minimum price set by the FLO does not differentiate between fine or gourmet coffees and commodity coffees. Meanwhile, the world’s finest coffees are subjected to the same standards even though they fetch higher prices at a retail level. The initiative to trademark Ethiopia’s best-known coffee marks is not a substitute to the Fair Trade initiative. First of all, those gourmet coffees should have earned a better price than commodity coffees. Secondly, those specialty or fine coffees are worth much more than what is guaranteed by the Fair Trade initiative. So, when it comes to the...