Poor Farmer

“The Ethiopian Commodities Exchange brings opportunities for farmers, and challenges for buyers.” (Photo courtesy of Joe Raedle/Getty Images via National Post) The Grind: Ethiopian coffee finds its way By Brad Frenette National Post September 23, 2010 Barrett Tyler Jones is a barista at 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters in Vancouver. The Grind is his tales from behind the bar: from rating beans to tasting trends to the skills involved in making the perfect cup. This past June, I packed up and set off once again to the World Cup Tasting Championships, and all the associated events and competitions. This year it was held in London – and Canadians will note assured that our nation finished firmly in the middle of the pack. There will be no “own the podium” program forthcoming – in fact, there was no podium at all. I scored 5/8 again this year: less than stellar, but not bad. The event is basically a large tradeshow, with various competitions, workshops and lectures going on a v...

By Elizabeth Campbell and Chris Kay Bloomberg September 23, 2010 Coffee futures climbed on concern that a lack of rain will reduce crop prospects in Brazil, the world’s largest producer. Sugar and cocoa gained. Brazil had dry weather since April and needs rain this month as coffee trees start flowering to produce beans for next year’s harvest. In the seven days starting Sept. 30, as much as 200 millimeters (7.9 inches) of rain may fall, said Expedito Rebello, the head of research at the government’s Meteorology Institute, known as Inmet. “We had a dry weather pattern which was very, very worrisome for some people,” said Rodrigo Costa, the vice president of institutional sales at Newedge USA LLC in New York.. “The market is waiting for a confirmation that we’re going to see rains in a regular way that usually takes place from October on.” Arabica coffee for December delivery advanced 0.7 cent, or 0.4 percent, to $1.8065 a pound at 10:16 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. in New York....