Poor Farmer

Ed's Note : This is a direct copy of the brochure, dated 07/06/11, that was prepared by Light Years IP (LYIP) to promote Phase 2 of the initiative. The content of the document cries out for a close scrutiny; therefore, I intend to look into the factual accuracy of the information presented therein and publish a "fact check," along with an independent assessment of the initiative and its plans for the years 2011-2016, and the current state of the Ethiopian coffee sector. To that end, I extend this open invitation to LYIP and Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) to join the conversation. In the mean time, click here to read my latest report titled  the Saga of the Starbucks-Ethiopia affair . --- Ethiopian Fine Coffee (EFC) OVERVIEW: 2004-2011 Picture: Courtesy of LYIP There are about 15 million Ethiopians involved in producing and transporting coffee for the domestic and export markets. With 6000 varieties and 1500 years of coffee production, Ethiopia is the...

By Bloomberg News October 19, 2011 Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Coffee exporters in Vietnam, set to ship a record harvest, are being urged not to sign so-called forward contracts unless they have beans in hand after some companies didn’t honor deals earlier this year as prices jumped. “We have told state-owned coffee companies to not sell forward when they don’t have actual coffee,” Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Diep Kinh Tan said by phone today. The Vietnam Coffee & Cocoa Association, or Vicofa, has been asked to give private firms the same advice, he said. Most output in Vietnam, the largest grower of robusta used in espressos, is grown by smallholders, who sell their beans to middlemen and exporters. Shippers delayed or canceled as much as 60,000 tons of exports from the last crop in June and July as prices rose, according to Sucafina, a Geneva-based trader. “The coffee association and the agricultural ministry have told local coffee compa...

CNN/Money and Fortune Last updated September 27, 2011 As Americans get pickier about their beans, small roasters and shops are filling their cups. Cult coffee brands are popping up all over the country. From single-origin batches to the microlots  by which they are artfully, even obsessively, roasted, they pride themselves on their craftsmanship  and small size. (Forget Starbucks: Even Blue Bottle strikes some of these outfits as too  "corporate.") With the help of Ken Davids, editor of Coffee Review, Fortune has mapped some of  the industry's most promising players. 1. Bard Coffee Portland, Maine One café; wholesale The Bard brand can be found across coastal Maine, while the wholesale-only Wicked Joe brand sells to stores across northern New England. 2. Barrington Coffee Roasting Co.  Lee, Mass. Wholesale This Berkshire-based roaster distributes to stores from Montreal to Grand Cayman. 3. Blue Bottle Coffee  Oakland...