Poor Farmer

By Lu Chang China Daily October 12, 2012 A Starbucks sign is seen in Qianmen, Beijing.  The increasing interest of the Chinese consumers for coffee  has created huge opportunities for coffee chains and  equipment makers. Jason Lee / Reuters At home and in cafes, China is waking up and smelling the coffee When Diego Panucci left home for his first trip to China in 2000, there was one very important thing he forgot in his weeks of preparation - his coffee maker. The young Italian, who came to study Chinese, was facing a year without caffeine as precious few coffee shops existed in China back then, when the growing middle classes had yet to begin developing a taste for arabica and robusta beans. "It was really killing me, and when I told the taxi driver to find a cafe, he didn't have the faintest idea what I was talking about," says Panucci, who can't begin a day without having his espresso. "I found instant coffee instead. It wasn...

By Leslie Josephs and Alexandra Wexler The Wall Street Journal October 8, 2012 Brazil's coffee farmers have been hoarding some of their crop, waiting for the right price. But buyers are testing their patience. Coffee has been trickling out of No. 1 supplier Brazil more slowly than usual this year. The Brazilian government estimates that the annual coffee harvest that wrapped up last month is a record, but the South American country's exports are down on the year. The reason: Farmers haven't been happy with prices, which hit two-year lows in June. But big coffee buyers like Folgers-maker J.M. Smucker Co. are in no rush to buy. Global stockpiles of arabica beans, the coveted variety used in gourmet blends, are at their highest level in more than two years. Meanwhile, coffee demand is slowing due to the woes in Europe and more supplies are expected in the coming months. The situation stands in contrast to 2011, when coffee roasters and food companies we...

ARVO ( Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology) Posted on October 3, 2012 Rockville, MD –  A new study suggests caffeinated coffee drinkers should limit their intake to reduce their chances of developing vision loss or blindness. According to a scientific paper in  Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science , heavy caffeinated coffee consumption is associated with an increased risk of developing exfoliation glaucoma, the leading cause of secondary glaucoma worldwide. The study,  The Relation between Caffeine and Coffee Consumption and Exfoliation Glaucoma or Glaucoma Suspect: A Prospective Study in Two Cohorts , is the first to examine the link between caffeinated coffee and exfoliation glaucoma in a U.S. –based population. “Scandinavian populations have the highest frequencies of exfoliation syndrome and glaucoma,” said author, Jae Hee Kang, ScD, of Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass....

Huffington Post October 05, 2012 You've heard the phrase so many times, it's hardly worth more than a lukewarm cup of coffee. "Best in America" might be a bit tired, but that hasn't stopped Dunkin' Donuts from trying to own it. On Sept. 26, the company filed to register the phrase "Best Coffee In America" as a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. If the office approves the request, Dunkin' Donuts will own the exclusive rights to use the words to sell coffee, the   Boston Globe   reported. In the past, the Patent and Trademark Office has sometimes declined to grant registered trademarks for phrases like "Best in America." When the   Boston Beer Company   sought to claim the phrase "Best Beer in America," the office said the wording was too generic for any one company to own as a trademark. Typically, companies trying to register trademarks in common phrases or images argue that the...

By Annie Gasparro and Julie Jargon The Wall Street Journal October 3, 2012 McDonald's  Corp. filed a trademark using its name for ground and whole-bean coffee, signaling that the fast-food giant might follow in the footsteps of Dunkin' Donuts by selling bagged coffee under its own famous brand. The trademark registration, filed last month with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, means McDonald's could be eyeing a spot next to Dunkin' on grocery-store shelves. However, the trademark could also be designed merely to prevent a competitor from using it for coffee. Dunkin' Donuts, owned by  Dunkin' Brands  Inc., has reported strong sales of its bagged coffees. "We are always looking at new and exciting ways to remain relevant to our customers and be where they need us to be," said Danya Proud, a spokeswoman for McDonald's. "But this is not something I can confirm or deny at this time." She added: "We register a l...

International Monetary Fund October 1, 2012 On September 12, 2012, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with Ethiopia. 1 Background Ethiopia’s macroeconomic performance in 2011/12 has been mixed. Strong, broad-based growth continues at a pace of about 7 percent and poverty reduction measured by poverty head count declined from 38.7 to 29.6 percent during the six years to 2010/11. However, inflation surged to 40 percent in August 2011, largely reflecting a combination of factors including loose monetary policy, and high global food prices but has eased to about 21 percent in June 2012 supported by a slowdown in global food and fuel price inflation and the implementation of the base money nominal anchor. Despite the continued robust increases in goods exports and remittances, the current account deteriorated in the first half of 2011/12 contrasting the surplus recorded i...

Robert Passikoff Forbes October 2, 2012 So you’re sitting on a bench kind of putting off going to work or at least steeling yourself for it, and a spaceship lands. Out comes some sort of creature. It/he/she sits down and asks what liquid refreshment you are absorbing. “It’s coffee,” you say. “What’s that?” it/he/she asks. OK, play along. You buy the premise, you buy the bit. As most beings in the known universe do know, coffee is a brewed beverage with a distinct aroma and flavor. It’s prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffea plant. The beans are inside coffee ‘cherries’ that grow on trees. For most, coffee has a stimulating effect due to its high caffeine content. They don’t say coffee is the best thing to douse the sunrise, for nothing! When it comes to production, coffee comes from nearly 80 countries on this planet, but most comes from Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Honduras. When it comes to consumption, it looks...