Poor Farmer

By NGONDI MBURU and BONIFACE MWANGI, Special Correspondents The East African October 2  2011 East and Central African countries are opting for certification of coffee to satisfy market demands for higher quality. New players such as Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi are joining the certification drive while established exporters like Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia are aggressively growing their certified coffees, threatening to overtake Kenya’s dominance in the region. One of the biggest certifying bodies in the region is the Netherlands based Utz Kapeh. Others are the Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade Labelling Organisation and Four C’s (Common Code for the Coffee Community). Out of the 1.355 metric tonnes of certified coffee from Africa sold through the Utz Kapeh certification scheme in the first six months of 2011, Uganda had 930mt while Kenya had 331mt, Tanzania 76mt and Ethiopia 18mt. Certification provides products with a label that guarantees qualit...

By Sean Sullivan The Province October 2, 2011 The country’s top baristas are in Vancouver Monday to face off in a national competition that will see the winner represent Canada at a world championship. Among those competing in the semifinals Sunday was Lauren Thu, a roaster and barista with JJ Bean in Vancouver, who wowed the judges with an espresso-based signature drink inspired by a Kir Royale cocktail. Thu, 22, deftly worked her espresso machine as two judges hovered with clipboards and a panel of four waited to taste her drinks. Despite the apparent intensity, she said it’s a friendly competition. “Backstage everyone’s friends,” she said. “We’re all asking each other, ‘Oh, what are you making?’” Six finalists chosen from Sunday’s 15 competitors will faceoff for the national title Monday, with the winner representing Canada at the 2012 barista world championships in Vienna. “This is a place where you get a chance to test your chops against people wh...

Some people, like 30-year-old lawyer Sarah Ahmad agree that their signature beverage can reveal certain aspects about their personality. Ahmad says that, “I’m addicted to drinking mochaccinos and work colleagues think that it activates my thinking process and I’m a better lawyer for it”. But on the other hand, Zahida Khan, an 18-year-old college student, begs to differ, “I can’t decide which coffee to go for so I’ll order a hot cappuccino first and then order an iced latte to cool off. My friends think I’m indecisive but it doesn’t get to me, as I love all types of coffee.” A cup of coffee: Express(o) yourself By Tehreem Aidrus The Express Tribune October 2, 2011 KARACHI: It is the second most popular drink in the world after water, reveals professorshouse.com, but there is more to the cup of coffee than meets the eye. It is a drink with a long history, with the most commonly told story of its discovery being 1,200 years ago. According to National Geographic’...