Bedugul Coffee

WELCOME TO INDONESIA

2015-11-14T19:53:00.000-08:00

Want to see the coffee plantation, or drink Bedugul Coffee in Bedugul, or bring Bedugul Coffee home ? Travel to Indonesia with Iniindo Tours & Travel.
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Vietnam Coffee-Delays emerge, trade dull as prices drop

2011-07-21T23:29:00.001-07:00

HANOI: Vietnamese coffee exporters have delayed loading of around 40,000 tonnes, or nearly 670,000 bags, due to thin domestic stocks and a jump in local market prices beyond export levels, traders said on Tuesday.

The delayed volume in Vietnam, plus up to 12,000 tonnes in shipment cancellations in Indonesia, may pile pressure on the buyers involved but would not reverse a price fall in London following favourable crop weather in top producer Brazil.

Vietnam and Indonesia are the world's largest producers of robusta coffee, altogether accounting for 20 percent of global output in the current 2010/2011 crop, based on the International Coffee Organization's (ICO) May report.

Around two thirds of the volume were delayed by two exporters, including a major company in the Central Highlands coffee belt, while several smaller firms made up the remaining quantity, traders in Ho Chi Minh City said.

The export volume at risk is equivalent to 30 percent of the 2.2 million-bag average monthly volume shipped by Vietnam, the world's largest producer of robusta beans.

"Some of these 40,000 tonnes could face washouts, but the final volume of defaults is not clear yet as it depends on companies talking with each other," a trader said.

The volume is part of the 100,00 tonnes due for loading since May, based on an estimate by a senior Vietnamese industry official last month.

Vietnam, which accounts for 14 percent of global output, may have 2.5 million bags left from the latest harvest of 22 million bags as estimated by traders, Reuters calculations show.

Coffee prices in Vietnam have risen by nearly a third so far this year from the end of 2010, based on Reuters calculations, making it difficult for several exporters to secure beans from domestic markets for delivery, traders said.

PRICES AT PREMIUMS

Last month Vietnamese robusta beans were traded at premiums to London prices for the first time since mid-2010, as stocks tightened after strong exports in the first months of this year.

Robusta beans stood at 48.7-48.9 million dong ($2,370-$2,380) per tonne in Daklak, the country's top growing province, on Tuesday, up from 37.1 million dong on Dec. 31, 2010.

But prices eased around 4 percent from 50.6-51 million dong a tonne last Tuesday after London robusta futures fell following a sharp setback in ICE arabica coffee and overall weakness in commodity markets.

"Buying demand is thin, and with the price drop exporters have not made any quotations today," another trader said.

The first trader said buyers of Vietnamese coffee could now switch to buying directly in Europe, instead of taking more expensive beans from Vietnam.

Indicative offers of Vietnamese robusta showed a premium of $100 per tonne to London's September contract , unchanged from last Tuesday, but no deals were seen, traders said.

It meant that robusta grade 2, 5 percent black and broken was priced at $2,454 a tonne, free-on-board, from $2,470 last Tuesday.

"Buyers now could only be in Asia and are likely those who have to fill in the volume delayed so far by Vietnamese exporters," the first trader said.

Local Coffee Exporters Worry about Dominance of Foreign Traders

2011-07-10T21:49:00.001-07:00

Local Coffee Exporters Worry about Dominance of Foreign Traders
Monday, 20 June, 2011 | 22:09 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:Coffee exporters worry that foreign traders will dominate the local coffee trading in the absence of export levies which makes coffee, one of Indonesia's mainstay commodity, easily shipped overseas.

Benny Hermanto , the Association of Indonesian Coffee Exporters and Industries (AICE) Research chief, said that the government has removed export levies through Trade Minister Regulation No. 10/2011. Prior to that, the coffee export duty was Rp30 per kilogram.

"Now, foreign traders only need to come, bring their dollars, rent a warehouse, and export coffee," said Benny yesterday. According to Benny, the absence of the levies will result in more Indonesian coffee being exported in raw form.

According to Benny, coffee exporters' fee is still needed to be paid to the International Coffee Organization (ICO). This fee is charged to the government because members of ICO are countries instead of companies.

Benny said that the coffee export levies paid to the government is beneficial for the businessmen because the shifting of the coffee export value will sometimes result in a surplus of export levies. This surplus will be returned to the AICE.

Currently, coffee production is declining. Last year, production only reached 640,000 tons, while this year the yield is estimated to be only about 600,000 tons.

The decline in coffee production also impacted exports. In 2010, exports reached 410,000 tons and this year, the number is estimated to be about 390,000 tons.

Suyanto Husein, the AICE chairman, said that the government cannot limit coffee purchases by foreign traders, so, the market is more open to Indonesian products compared to coffee products from other countries.

Earlier, exporters must report their export value to the AICE to obtain recommendation when paying the export levies. Now, foreign traders can go directly to farmers without having to be an AICE member.

Therefore, the exporters ask the government to limit purchases by foreign buyers such as by implementing a regulation which requires the foreign traders to work with local businessmen.

Bayu Krisnamurthi, the Agriculture deputy-minister, said that the coffee supply needs to be well-managed in order to maintain the price. He hoped that the Indonesian farmers will grow more coffee for direct consumption because the price is higher.

EKA UTAMI APRILIA

Govt Studies Exports to the Netherlands

2011-07-10T21:48:00.001-07:00

Govt Studies Exports to the Netherlands
Friday, 08 July, 2011 | 13:08 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The government is studying exports to the Netherlands. The trade potential between both countries is predicted to be larger following the signing of an MoU.

The export collaboration includes products such as chocolate, coffee, tea, spices, palm oil and fish. Dutch European Affairs and International Cooperation spokesman Ben Knapen said Indonesia had much potential in the agriculture and fisheries sector.

"This can help the Netherlands cope with the food crisis, which is predicted to occur in 2050," he said yesterday.

The Netherlands has disbursed US$2 billion to import the commodities. All European countries have spent US$12 billion to import these products. Knapen said the cooperation would widen the Indonesian market in Europe.

Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu welcomed the program. She said Indonesia fully supported it to manage the anticipated global food crisis. "The cooperation benefits both parties," she added.

Maritime and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad said he was certain the national fisheries products could enter the Netherlands because it met European Union standards.

TRI SUHARMAN

Bigger Coffee Plantations Sought to Boost Production

2011-07-10T21:46:00.001-07:00

Bigger Coffee Plantations Sought to Boost Production
June 19, 2011

Coffee growers in Indonesia, the world's third-largest coffee producer, have said they are looking to increase the size of their plantations to help arrest two years of falling production.

By increasing acreage, the growers say they hope to boost output, which is expected to be about 600,000 tons this year, by at least 50 percent by 2021.

"We will cooperate with the relevant ministries to prepare the land required to expand coffee plantations for farmers so that in the coming 10 years, production can reach 900,000 tons to 1.2 million tons per annum," said Pranoto Soenarto, deputy chairman for specialty coffee and industry at the Indonesian Coffee Exporters Association (AEKI).

Although he declined to elaborate on how much land was needed for the expansion, Pranoto said the increased acreage would also lead to better quality beans. "We want to increase the quality and quantity of production by increasing plantation acreage and using organic fertilizers," he said.

Presently, he said, the country's coffee plantations covered 1.2 million hectares, with more than 90 percent being cultivated by small-scale producers.

Production is expected to fall well below previous estimates. Earlier this year, AEKI predicted coffee production would reach 700,000 tons, but that was later revised to just 600,000 tons, 7 percent down on output from 2010.

"Last year, the country's coffee production was about 640,000 tons," AEKI chairman Suyanto Husein said on Friday.

He said unseasonal rains were the main reason for the shortfall. "There is an indication of decreasing production in a number of production centers in various regions due to bad weather," he said.

But he said the dip was also due in part to lagging efforts to rejuvenate old plantations and launch intensification programs, which was why AEKI supported expanding acreage to increase production.

Aside from the drop in production, AEKI has also predicted a decline in the country's coffee exports this year.

The association said exports in 2011 would reach only about 390,000 tons, down from last year's figure of more than 440,000 tons.

But while the decline in production was a factor in the decrease in exports, Suyanto said the drop was also caused by increased domestic consumption.

According to AEKI data, coffee bean exports for 2010 reached 443,969 tons, worth $791.76 million. The association, however, had predicted early last year that export volumes for 2010 would drop to 325,000 tons, worth $650 million per annum, from 400,000 tons, at $773 million.

Indonesia's traditional coffee export markets, especially for robusta coffee, include Japan, South Africa, Europe and South and Central American countries. Its arabica coffee, meanwhile, was mainly exported to Germany and the United States.

Indonesia's competitors for arabica are Brazil, Columbia, Mexico, Costa Rica and El Salvador. Its main competitor for robusta is Vietnam.

Vietnam is the biggest robusta exporter in Asia, while the world's biggest arabica exporters are largely comprised of Latin American countries.

Indonesia's robusta is produced in the provinces of Bengkulu, South Sulawesi and Lampung, while arabica is found in Aceh and North Sumatra.

About 80 percent of the contry's coffee exports are robusta, the remainder being arabica.

Aside from arabica and robusta, however, Indonesia is well-known for producing other types of specialty coffee, like Toraja, Aceh, Mandailing and luwak (civet cat) coffee.

Indonesia is regarded as the world's third largest coffee producer after Brazil and Vietnam.

Bucking the trend for declining production, coffee consumption in Indonesia is expected to continue to rise. Suyanto said domestic consumption, which reached 190,000 tons in 2010, would be 210,000 tons this year.

"The trend in domestic coffee consumption has seen increases of around 20 percent a year, but this is not always reflected," he said.

He said this happened because many Indonesians consumed coffee that was mixed with other ingredients. "It is not pure coffee," he said. "Some mix it with corn."

Pranoto, meanwhile, said the increase in coffee consumption was not only happening in Indonesia but was a worldwide trend. This may push up the price of coffee, he said, since production had been unpredictable and was dependent on climate.

Antara

The Nomadic Nixons (Bali by bicycle)

2011-04-14T23:46:00.000-07:00

Interesting article about Bali by cycling, from http://nomadicnixons.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html

Green Bicycle.

My girlfriend cycling in Bali.

My "HUMMER" bicycle.

Bali by bicycle - It was tough, it was wet, but Andrew Bain found unexpected delights pedalling around Bali

2011-04-14T23:34:00.000-07:00

Bali by bicycle : article from: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/16/1082055633667.html

The lush steep steppes of Bali provides a challenge for even the most determined cyclist.

It was tough, it was wet, but Andrew Bain found unexpected delights pedalling around Bali.

The road is a river, awash with monsoonal rains. The midday sun has darkened to a candle of light and thunder resounds like cannon fire across the sullen Bali sky.

"It is God's music," Wayan assures me from inside the shelter of his roadside stall, and for him the weather is indeed a divine blessing. I am the first traveller in months to stop at his store on the outskirts of the city of Gianyar, marooned here in my sodden clothes and with my mythically deep tourist pockets. I order a second drink and another stormy hour passes.

Out in the bitumen stream a prehistoric bicycle splashes past, its rider bared to the rain but for a pair of saturated trousers that cling to his grasshopper-thin legs. Such stoicism shames me, huddled as I am in the comfort of this temporary asylum. I make my farewell to a disappointed Wayan, who assures me I am both strong and crazy, and head back out into the rain and onto my own dripping bicycle.

"You are like Neil Armstrong," Wayan proclaims, though he means Lance Armstrong, since I've just told him of my intention to cycle around Bali.

My journey had begun in Denpasar just a few hours before. If there is safety in madness it is here, cycling in the turmoil of Bali's largest city. Traffic spins as wildly as a centrifuge, trucks, cars, motorbikes, pushcarts, dogs, pedestrians and chickens doing as they please. It's disorder that's accustomed to disorder, Asia condensed to a small island, and my bicycle barely registered in its mind. I was just another pothole or chicken to be driven around.

Horns sounded without end, but within an hour I'd learned to ignore them, their language more foreign to me even than Indonesian. They seemed to say nothing and everything - hello, watch out, move aside, good luck or, simply, I have a horn. Trucks lumbered by but only one came near to hitting me, a truck named God Bless II that almost blessed me head-on.

Denpasar sprawled east to blur into Gianyar, the roadside an unholy alliance of temples, urban rice fields and stores advertising Playstation rental and the machismo of cigarettes. Quickly it became apparent that the beaches, volcanoes and lush rice terraces that monopolise Bali's tourist image would not be the cyclist's reality, fading to secondary status behind the endless string of village life. Each time I stopped for a rest, motorbikes pulled in alongside, asking the question I'd answer dozens of times each day.

"Where you go?"

Any reply would suffice. Sometimes I'd name the next village, city or tourist attraction. Other times I'd get bolder.

"To the moon," I told one motorcyclist in Gianyar, delighting in my new kinship with Neil Armstrong.

"Very good, sir."

To the continued accompaniment of God's thunderous tune I turned inland at Gianyar, onto the fertile slopes of Bali's highest and most sacred volcano, Gunung Agung. Settlement and the road snaked up the volcano and into the former royal city of Bangli. Billed by one local book as the "Cinderella of Bali tourism", Bangli is bookended by great temples: Pura Dalem Penunggekan and Pura Kehen, the island's second-largest temple, stepped into a hillside above the city. Kehen is tourist central for Bangli, yet almost every one of the souvenir stalls at its edge was shuttered. That night, I would be the only guest at either of Bangli's two hotels.

"Bali many problems," a man at Pura Kehen's entrance told me. "Bomb." And so began another discussion that echoed through my days on the island: the Kuta bombing.

Not once did I dig at Balinese memories of the blast, but they lay scattered and exposed like rubble. That night, I heard music in the street below my hotel room - guitar, tambourine and wonderfully raucous, harmonising voices. Balinese songs broken by a recurring rendition of La Bamba. I wandered outside and sat on the kerb to listen. Within minutes I was invited over for a beer and a song.

"Three years ago Bangli had many tourists, but now there are none," one of the singers explained, his face hardening like stone. "F-- Amrosi. F-- terrorist." F-- terrorist, the others sang. The same words followed me from conversation to conversation, village to village. English-speakers or not, it seemed that everybody knew this one fervent statement.

In Bangli the night never stilled and I slept fitfully. Dogs fought in the street, roosters called impatiently and people rose to begin their long days. Finally, so did the sun, etching Gunung Agung black onto the dawn sky, its peak almost 3000 metres above the city. That day my punishment would be to contour across the mountain's ribbed slopes, riding a rollercoaster of lava flows towards the island's east coast. My reward for this effort would be to disappear into the verdant folds that held some of Bali's most attractive rice terracing.

Cattle ploughed the terraces and workers stood from their river baths, immodest about their nudity, to wave as I passed.

"Where you go, sir?" they'd call, and I'd just point ahead. On through this terraced country seemed as good as anywhere.

The road crested at around 600 metres above sea level, the rice fields suddenly behind and below me and a tropical cornucopia ahead. The forest thickened and filled with rambutan, papaya, banana and salak, the Balinese "snakeskin" fruit that would virtually fuel my journey. My panniers became heavy with fruit, an anchor for what would become a difficult next day.

My plan for that day was to reach the once-burgeoning east-coast resort of Amed, only 14 kilometres from where I slept in Tirta Gangga. It could have been so easy. Instead, I doubled back and turned onto the little-used coastal road that rounded Bali's eastern tip. Fifty kilometres later I'd be cursing the most trying day of my journey.

I joined the coast at Ujung, site of an elaborate water palace, its pools now more popular with local anglers than tourists. From here the road pointed up, not following the coast at all but ascending onto the slopes of the volcano Gunung Seraya.

Through Seraya village the road climbed 200 metres, sweat pouring from my body in the relentless humidity, making me wetter than I'd been in some downpours. The money in my pockets turned soft with moisture. So much for the luxury of the coast, which I sighted only through breaks in the forest, glimpses of gorgeous, faraway shores and tiny villages as remote as the Sea of Tranquillity.

Word spread along the road of my slow passage, and children ran from their homes and schools to wave and call. I was cheered, jeered and even horse-whipped by one importunate boy, but always - as had become customary - I was called "sir".

On I climbed, the road narrowing to a pencil line, devoid of almost anything but foot traffic. The landscapes changed - cornfields replacing rice on these drier, steeper slopes - and so did my welcome.

Young children suddenly ran from me, scrambling terrified into the cornfields. Babies wailed and dogs scattered. What sort of strange place was this eastern tip of Bali that dogs ran from cyclists and not after them?

It was as though I was a pioneering tourist on this far-flung nib of land, but I clearly wasn't. In an instant my name changed from "sir" to "pen" and "cigarette" as children and youths shouted their demands for handouts. On uphill stretches of road they ran alongside the bike, keeping pace, yelling, screaming, threatening at times. For two hours I shook my head at almost everybody I passed, my mood becoming as black as the beaches to which I was heading.

At Amed's edge I passed a final group of youths, my head down to avoid contact, but still they turned to stare. "Have a nice trip," one called and waved me on. The words hit me like a cool wind, blowing off my sweat and anger.

In Amed, fishing and tourism appeared to have struck an uneasy balance. Here, as yet, it had been impossible to replace island reality with the sterility of a resort strip. Fishermen's hovels lined the beaches, little more than roofs without walls, their toilets cut into the sand, awaiting the flush of high tide. Fishing boats were stacked so thickly that the beaches beneath might not have existed, and pigs, not touts, sniffed after strangers on the beach.

My flirtation with hills over (for now), I woke to a day of blessed flatness across Bali's north coast. The volcanoes became scenery rather than cruelties, and greetings seemed to ring from every home - "Hello, sir" - and from unseen workers in fields. Even the constant crowing of the fighting cocks caged at the road's edge began to seem like salutations.

People tested the few English phrases they knew - "Thank you, yes"; "I love you"; "How you going, bloke" - and one corn farmer ran from his field, insisting I take his photo.

"One thousand rupiah," he demanded once I'd done so - a 20-cent modelling fee. He asked for my shirt and my watch also but didn't even shrug when I refused. He waved me on with a smile.

And in the spa town of Air Sanih, a new greeting: "You want girl?" I pedalled on, though it had been my intention to stop the night here.

My journey's goal - my pilgrimage, if you like - was only a few kilometres beyond Air Sanih, at the point where the still-unbroken string of villages bunched into the unheralded city of Kubutambahan and the temple regarded by some as the north coast's most impressive, Pura Maduwe Karang. I came not to appreciate its aesthetics; instead, I'd cycled around 300 kilometres to see a single temple carving.

I wandered to the rear of the temple, to the wall on which I knew to be the carving of a cyclist, said to be Dutch artist WOJ Nieuwenkamp. The Balinese I'd spoken to along the north coast simply called him "Captain Nieu", and he was believed to have been the first person to have cycled in Bali, exactly 100 years ago. Somehow he'd finished up immortalised on this temple, the rear wheel of his bike transformed into a frangipani flower.

I sat quietly before the image of my predecessor, thinking not about Nieuwenkamp but about my return to Denpasar. On an island with a spine of volcanoes, there was one way back, and that was up, up and over a choice of caldera rims, but a climb either way of about 1600 metres.

The lactic acid of the previous day still burned at my thighs, and now also at my mind. I'd almost determined to hire a driver to carry me and the bike to the top, but Captain Nieu's stoniness seemed like disapproval. I would decide in the morning.

I continued along the coast to Lovinna, the north coast's answer to Kuta, its off-season beaches all but buried beneath a patina of rubbish. Looking over this littoral tip from the hotel restaurant, I found unintended solace in the words of the resort owner, Gede.

"I've had many cyclists stay here, and those who have climbed the mountain have always stopped here an extra day to rest," Gede had told me, hoping I'd stay longer than my intended night. "Those who have" - three words that filled me with cheer. Other cyclists had made this climb before me.

The main road across the island leaves the north coast at Kubutambahan, looping over the ever-steaming Batur volcano. I returned to Kubutambahan in the early morning, stopping again at Pura Maduwe Karang. Drizzled in holy water by a temple attendant, I sought blessing from Captain Nieu. In the midst of a Hindu full-moon ceremony, I placed the customary frangipani flower behind his ear and willed strength back into my failing legs for this climb into the clouds.

For more than four hours I toiled uphill, the slope wearing but manageable. The road was quiet, with the ubiquitous motorcycles coasting downhill, their engines off to save petrol. The equally ubiquitous dogs watched me pass until, 600 metres up, I was finally attacked, a pair of mutts salivating over my legs. Why now, when I couldn't outride them, when even the grass seemed to move faster than me? This one lot of barking and snarling drew another and suddenly there was a line of aggressive dogs awaiting me through the villages. I almost ran out of drinking water squirting it in their angry, mangy faces.

At the top, smothered in the thickest of fogs, the beauty and the pain of the climb balanced evenly in my mind and legs. The road had been kind, even if its dogs hadn't. In truth, I shouldn't have been surprised by its steady gradient. This island crossing had been built by the colonial Dutch - rely on the Dutch to make even the biggest mountain flat(ter).

The climbing was over, only a relaxed descent to Denpasar to complete my journey. I circuited the caldera rim, which was topped by an unbroken sprawl of villages. Full-moon ceremonies were now in full swing, effigies of gods being carried along the highway, vehicles banking behind them, trapping me in the surreal - a traffic jam atop a volcano.

Finally the road tipped off the rim, carrying me with it, the altitude, fog and rain creating a chill that was almost alpine. Motorcycles rolled carefully through the stream that again flowed over the road but I would not waste this one glorious descent. Freewheeling, I passed the motorcycles, signs flicking by, including the incongruous: "Antiques, Made to Order".

I shivered in the cold and did not care. No rain could stop me now.

Ngiring Ngewedang (Let's Drink Coffee)

2011-04-14T23:19:00.000-07:00

Another place to visit near Bedugul. Ngiring Ngewedang Restaurant & Villa. Web: http://www.ngiringngewedang.com/

Explore the beauty of tropical rain forest, Buyan and Tamblingan lakes and see the unique traditional Bali Coffee procession at Ngiring Ngewedang Restaurant.

It is located in the village of Munduk. Just follow the main road of Bedugul heading towards Singaraja. At the summit - the home of hundreds of monkeys, turn sharp left and continue along the mountain tops - enjoy spectacular views of lake Tamblingan. Drive a few minute more, you will reach the Ngiring Ngewedang Restaurant - the most wonderful place for an enjoyable lunch.

Puri Lumbung Cottages

2011-04-14T23:08:00.000-07:00

It's still about coffee, at least located in Munduk.

Here is the excerpt from their site (http://www.purilumbung.com/):

The ‘lumbung' or rice granary is part of Bali's unique cultural heritage. Traditionally used to store rice under the protection of the goddess Dewi Sri, lumbungs are now seldom used because farming techniques have changed.

We discovered several disused lumbungs averaging 80 years old, and with minor adjustments adapted them into simple but charming accommodation. Of course we held a special ritual to transfer Dewi Sri back to the rice fields, but her gentle energy remains.

Puri Lumbung Cottages set in the cool mountain air where fans / aircon are unnecessary. Our compound is designed in the traditional Balinese manner modeled on the sacred human form with shrines at the head, guest accommodation at the heart and other facilities at the foot. Guests enjoy spectacular sunsets and stunning panoramas of the rice fields and coast line in the distance.

The first of its kind in Bali, Puri Lumbung Cottages is more than a hotel-it is an eco-tourism project dedicated to the discovery, conservation and enhancement of the unspoiled area around Munduk. The people of Munduk village are involved as much as possible in caring for our guests. We not only provide employment, but engage them in activities that maintain the tropical rainforest and preserve water. We also encourage the young villagers to keep their cultural heritage alive with traditional dance, music and crafts.

Coffee 'risk' for Sumatra reserve Indonesian coffee growers are illegally clearing an important nature reserve, according to conservation group WWF.

2011-03-13T21:48:00.000-07:00

Coffee 'risk' for Sumatra reserve
Indonesian coffee growers are illegally clearing an important nature reserve, according to conservation group WWF.

The Bukit Barisan Selatan reserve, on the southern tip of Sumatra, has already lost nearly 20% of its area to illegal coffee growing, the group says.

The park is one of the few areas where endangered Sumatran tigers, elephants and rhinos still co-exist.

Indonesia is the world's fourth largest coffee exporter. The robusta bean it grows is often used in instant coffee.

"About 17% of the national park area is being cultivated for coffee," Nazir Foead, from WWF Indonesia, told reporters.

"If this trend of clearing park land for coffee isn't halted, the rhinos and tigers will be locally extinct in less than a decade," he said.

“ We are asking national and multinational coffee companies to help build sustainable coffee production ”
Nazir Foead ,WWF Indonesia

The WWF said that the illegally grown coffee was blended with legally produced beans before being sold on to international food and drinks companies.

"WWF determined that most of the companies buying the coffee likely were unaware of its illegal origins," the group said in a statement, adding that it had informed some of the companies involved about the situation.

Mr Foead said the group was also working with farmers to convince them to cultivate coffee outside conservation areas.

"WWF doesn't want to shut down the coffee industry," Mr Foead said.

"We are asking national and multinational coffee companies to help build sustainable coffee production around the National Park, while implementing rigorous chain-of-custody controls that exclude all illegally grown coffee from their supplies."

The report said several well-known brands were involved.

One company, Nestle, issued a statement saying it regretted such unacceptable activities and never willingly purchased coffee from dubious sources.

But the company said it was often difficult to determine the precise origin of its coffee.

The head of the park told the BBC that some 60,000 hectares - around a fifth of the park's total area - had been taken over by illegal plantations, most of them producing coffee.

The park, which covers 300,000 hectares, is policed by only sixty rangers, he said, and around fifty community workers.

Stopping the expansion of the plantations is all but impossible, he said.

The area is home to some sixty tigers and around the same number of rhinos.

Both species are endangered and park officials say destruction of their natural habitat by farmers is making them easier targets for hunters.

Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/6269637.stm

Published: 2007/01/17 09:48:27 GMT

© BBC 2011

UPDATE 2-Indonesia Feb coffee exports jump, stockpile drawn down2011-03-02 10:11:48 GMT (Reuters)

2011-03-13T21:45:00.001-07:00

UPDATE 2-Indonesia Feb coffee exports jump, stockpile drawn down2011-03-02 10:11:48 GMT (Reuters)

* Exports nearly triple in Feb, exporters fullfil contracts

* Weather affects quality, harvest uncertain

* Early flowering prompted exporters not to sell forward shipment (Adds details, prices, background)

BANDAR LAMPUNG/JAKARTA, March 2 (Reuters) - Indonesia's robusta coffee shipments from the main growing areas in Sumatra island nearly tripled last month versus a year ago as exporters turned to inventories to fulfill old contracts, but concerns over harvests persisted.

Exporters shipped 17,504.98 tonnes in February, compared to 6,606.78 tonnes in the same month a year ago, trade data showed, with rising prices in London futures also prompting more sales from the world's second-largest robusta producer after Vietnam.

"Rallying coffee prices have prompted suppliers to sell their coffee stocks," said Azis Chan Satib, a spokesman at the Indonesia Coffee Association (AEKI).

Harvests in Sumatra usually start in March or April, but farmers have been picking cherries since January as the flowering season began earlier in some areas after the previous crop ended last August.

As a result, many exporters refused to sell forward shipment, preferring to sign nearby contracts to prevent defaults. Exporters in the main growing province of Lampung began to stock pile good-quality coffee last year, with beans estimated at more than 100,000 tonnes in late 2010.

AEKI expects Indonesian coffee bean production to fall by 30 percent this year from an estimated 600,000 tonnes in 2010, as rains in key producing areas damage cherries.

Unseasonal heavy rains cut output of many commodities in Indonesia last year or in early 2011, leaving coffee growers unable to take advantage of a rally in coffee prices that took London second-month robusta coffee futures up 57 percent in 2010 to end the year at $2,097 per tonne.

EXTENDED RAINS

The prolonged rains resulted in Indonesian exports falling 28 percent last year. The country's exports last year fell to 247,750.34 tonnes, from 342,844.25 tonnes in 2009.

Robusta, used in instant coffee, mostly grows in Lampung, Bengkulu, and South Sumatra provinces at the southern end of Sumatra island and accounts for about 85 percent of Indonesia's coffee production. The rest is higher value, aromatic arabica coffee.

Robusta has tracked rallies in premium arabica beans to levels not seen in more than 30 years to stand at around 278 U.S. cents a pound.

The jump in February exports surprised some dealers, although it also meant that inventories were being drawn down as the current harvest yielded many black, and mouldy beans.

London's May robusta contract fell $24 to $2,360 a tonne in early trade on Wednesday.

"It is quite a surprise for me, because we tend to think the coffee harvesting progress is not going well due to the rainy season," said Ker Chung Yang, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.

"This is likely to weigh on the coffee prices, especially robusta coffee, because this is a huge number. They (Indonesia) are likely to export more at the moment because they want to enjoy the higher coffee prices."

Indonesia competes with Vietnam, where stocks are falling given a faster shipping pace so far in the October 2010/September 2011 harvesting season while the volume of exportable beans may have fallen due to a higher ratio of small-sized beans, traders said.

Robusta prices in Vietnam's domestic market jumped to a record high in local currency terms on Tuesday to 46 million dong ($2,205) a tonne, but exporters still found it difficult to secure beans from growers who are holding back sales, traders said.

Following are details of exports:

MONTH 2011 2010 Pct change

(tonnes) (tonnes) (y/y) January 17,589.10 6,740.40 +161 February 17,504.98 6,606.78 +165

Total 35,094.08 247,750.34 n/a (Reporting by Mas Alina Arifina; Writing by Michael Taylor and Lewa Pardomuan; Editing by Ramthan Hussain)

ANALYSIS-Indonesia supply woes to add froth to coffee market

2011-03-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

ANALYSIS-Indonesia supply woes to add froth to coffee market
Wednesday March 02, 2011 01:06:02 AM GMT

COFFEE /INDONESIA (ANALYSIS, PICTURE)

* Indonesians reluctant to sell, beans quality bad
* Vietnam emerges as key seller
* Sumatra beans at $80 discount; Vietnam $140

By Lewa Pardomuan

SINGAPORE, March 1 (Reuters) - A bad coffee harvest in Indonesia could compound worries about a scarcity of good quality beans, allowing the world's second-largest robusta producer to give a filip to global prices even as rival Vietnam steps up exports.

More robustas from top producer Vietnam could potentially weigh on prices, but lagging sales from Indonesia will send buyers scrambling for beans -- replicating a supply concern in the arabica market after heavy rains slashed output in South America.

With physical tightness expected to influence sentiment in 2011 and speculators unwilling to turn short, robusta is likely to ride on fundamentals to reach new highs beyond a near three-year peak around $2,400 a tonne.

Robusta, a bitter-tasting variety used in instant coffee, has tracked rallies in premium arabica beans to levels not seen in more than 30 years to stand at around 278 U.S. cents a pound.

Helping underpin prices will be an increase in global consumption.

This will put a floor under prices, even though Vietnam's harvest will again be good.

"We have seen investors shifting their focus from grains to soft commodities. It's due to quality concerns. Investors may think the grains and oilseeds markets are overdone now," said Ker Chung Yang, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore. "By the end of the year, robusta may top $2,800 (a tonne)."

Excessive rains have troubled Indonesia's output in 2010 and early in 2011. This has triggered a shift in the harvesting season and raised fears there will not be many beans left in the middle of this year when the harvest normally starts.

While Vietnam has emerged as a key seller following a bumper crop and high prices in London, exporters in Indonesia are struggling to find quality beans after an early harvest yielded a largely black, rotten and mouldy crop.

Indonesian robusta is more expensive than Vietnamese beans because of its bold flavour. Despite favourable international prices, many exporters are reluctant to sell forward, preferring to honour old contracts and prevent defaults.

Indonesian robusta fetches a discount of $80 a tonne to London's May contract -- much smaller than the $140 discount for beans from Vietnam.

SHORT SUPPLY

"Unfavourable weather conditions in major coffee-producing regions continue to increase uncertainties regarding supplies of some origins," the International Coffee Organization said in its latest report.

"Currently there are possibilities for replacing those origins in short supply. However, this is likely to become more difficult."

Robusta accounts for about 85 percent of Indonesia's output, while the rest is higher value, aromatic arabica.

Combining robusta and arabica, Indonesia is the world's third-largest producer after Brazil and Vietnam, accounting for around 7 percent of global output. It mainly exports beans to roasters in Europe.

"At the same period last year, you could buy beans at $100 to $120 discount, but differentials have not widened now, even though more beans are coming in," said a dealer in Bandar Lampung, the provincial capital of Lampung on the main growing island of Sumatra.

"Exporters only want to sell nearby. Also, many local roasters are devouring domestic beans because they are expanding capacity. People have been expecting the differential to widen because of pressure from futures, but it doesn't happen."

Harvests in Sumatra usually start in March or April, but farmers have been picking cherries since January as the flowering season began earlier in some areas after the previous crop ended in August last year.

The ICO puts Indonesia's output at 9.5 million 60-kg bags in the crop year to September 2011, down 16.5 percent from a year ago, while Vietnam's output has risen 1.3 percent from the previous crop to 18.43 million bags.

Wild weather could cut Indonesia's coffee exports by 15 percent to 7.4 million bags in the 2010/11 marketing year, according to the USDA, or around 7 percent of global exports.

Vietnam's coffee exports between October 2010 and February, the first five months of the 2010/2011 season, were estimated to reach 8.75 million bags, up 5 percent from 8.33 million 60-kg bags shipped a year ago, the government said.

KEEN SELLERS

"Even if more than half of the Vietnamese 2010/2011 crop has already been sold up to now, farmers remain keen sellers," said a dealer in Hong Kong, who trades Vietnamese robusta.

"At a price of $2,380 in London, for sure you are a seller. It's historically one of the best prices farmers can get. It would be a mistake to stop selling."

Some farmers in Vietnam are still holding on to stocks, hoping for domestic prices to surpass an all-time high above $2,190 a tonne, but they could be tempted to sell the rest at high prices to roasters unable to secure supply from Indonesia.

"I guess roasters have to source from Vietnam, and even local Indonesia roasters often import from Vietnam whenever the domestic price is high," said a dealer in Singapore who trades robustas.

"Roasters have preferences when it comes to taste, but for the market here, we prefer Indonesian robusta because it has a stronger taste, while Vietnamese beans are more neutral."

For the Indonesians, steady demand from local roasters will ensure domestic prices stay at their highest since mid-2008 at around $2,200 a tonne. The USDA expects domestic consumption to rise nearly 3 percent to 1.9 million bags in the 2010/11 year.

"These days, there's no need for coffee traders to worry," said Rachim Kartabrata, executive director of the Indonesian Coffee Exporters Association. "If there are no foreign buyers, domestic roasters will definitely buy."

The association, which uses calendar year, expects Indonesian coffee bean production in 2011 to fall by 30 percent from an estimated 600,000 tonnes in 2010, as rains in key producing areas damage cherries.

(Additional reporting by Fitri Wulandari in JAKARTA; Editing by David Fogarty)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Click For Restrictions. http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

Coffee retailers set to raise prices by 10-12%

2011-03-13T21:37:00.000-07:00

Coffee retailers set to raise prices by 10-12%

Raghuvir Badrinath & Debasis Mohapatra / Bangalore March 12, 2011, 0:21 IST

With the costs of coffee beans, sugar, milk and rentals shooting up, coffee retailers in India are looking at a 10-12 per cent rise in prices in the next few weeks.

While Arabica prices in ICE Futures are now ruling at 14 years high of $2.72 per pound for March delivery, Robusta is at $2,290 per tonne for the same month in Liffe futures. Arabica prices are higher due to supply concerns in Brazil and Columbia, two significant contributor of the coffee variety. This variety is expected to reach $2.90 per pound in the near term.

As far as Robusta is concerned, prices are expected to touch $2,400 per tonne of coffee.

Café Coffee Day is looking at the price trend of coffee as well as other commodities and is expected to take a decision on increasing price soon. “While coffee beans are from our captive plantations, it really does not affect us to a large extent. But the rentals and prices of sugar and milk have shot up and we may have to take a decision on increasing prices,” noted a senior official of Café Coffee Day. The coffee chain shop last effected a six per cent price rise last April.

Costa Coffee, too, may be looking at increasing prices. Costa Coffee India CEO, Santosh Unni, said they usually review prices twice a year and had last effected an eight per cent increase in November. “Inflation is extraordinarily high and we will have to see how to manage costs. While we may have to take a price rise, we cannot pass on totally to the consumer as we are still growing this segment,” Unni noted.

India has around 1,500 cafes and this is expected to cross the 2,000 number mark this year. “There should be a smart mix of price rise and not at the cost of losing consumers,” he said.

Harish Bijoor, a noted consultant on the coffee industry said the industry does not have any choices but to go in for the rise. “Garnish this price increase in the coffee commodity with that of what has happened to milk and sugar, and literally everything else that goes into a cup of coffee, and there is a potential threat of high end coffee prices for all. Many players have actually announced successive sets of price increase in roast and ground coffee prices in installments of Rs 5-10 each item, to soften the hit. A few have focused on back end cost cuts...therefore, the price increase, more often than not, will be passed on to the consumer,” Bijoor noted.

Ramesh Rajah, president of Coffee Exporters Association, said cafes should not resort to a price rise on the sole reason of a jump in coffee prices. “On an average, around 8 gm of coffee powder goes into a cup of coffee and many of the cafes blend chicory as well. In this scenario, giving the reason of escalation in coffee prices does not hold good,” he said.

Coffee beans price hits 34-year high commodity shoots up by 20% within weeks and experts warn cost has yet to peak

2011-03-13T21:35:00.001-07:00

Coffee beans price hits 34-year high
commodity shoots up by 20% within weeks and experts warn cost has yet to peak

By Ryan Crighton

Published: 12/03/2011

DEARER: Ian Cukrowski says coffee prices are rising. Kami Thomson

Record fuel prices have dominated the headlines for months, but soaring prices of another kind could be about to hit consumers in the pocket.

The cost of raw coffee beans on the commodities market has reached a 34-year high after rising by 20% in a matter of weeks, with experts warning that they have yet to peak.

The International Coffee Organisation says a combination of rising world demand and poor harvests in Colombia, Brazil and Latin America has caused a shortage of high-end Arabica coffee beans.

This time last year, 1lb of beans cost around 76p on average – but last week that price hit £1.39.

Ian Cukrowski, who owns the independent MacBeans coffee store on Aberdeen’s Little Belmont Street, said customers can expect to see the cost of coffee rise in the coming months.

“The prices just keep going up and up and up,” he said.

“The main reason is the markets – all the speculators and money men are putting their cash into soft commodities. More people are buying the drink in producing countries as well, which has resulted in there being less to export. Shipping costs have also gone up because of fuel prices and weather has hit production in some areas.

“We put our prices up 10% last month – but costs have risen another 10% since then. We have coffee to see us through the next couple of months, but down the line I do not what will happen.”

Mr Cukrowski said another problem companies are encountering is that because coffee is bought a year in advance, farmers in producing countries are ripping up contracts because they are unhappy at the price they agreed last year.

He added: “Nobody knows when this is going to peak. The last time the prices reached this level was in 1977 when there was a massive frost in Brazil, which wiped out something like half the coffee that year.”

High Street coffee chain Starbucks put prices up in September last year, when chief executive Howard Schultz said it could no longer absorb the increased costs.

“We have thus far chosen to absorb the price increases ourselves and not pass them on to our customers,” Mr Schultz said, “but the extreme nature of the cost increases has made it untenable for us to continue to do so.”

Rising Coffee Prices - Heavy Rains Linked to Global Warming

2011-03-13T21:33:00.001-07:00

Rising Coffee Prices - Heavy Rains Linked to Global Warming

Mar 12, 2011 Giovanna De Gennaro
Rising temperatures and heavy rains linked to global warming in Latin America coffee regions are likely responsible for a pricier cup-of-Joe.

According to an article that appeared in The New York Times in March 9, 2011, rising temperatures and intense, unpredictable rains linked to global warming in many of Latin America’s premier coffee regions are likely responsible for rising coffee prices worldwide. Rain in the Columbia coffee region was more than 25 percent above average in the last few years, according to the International Coffee Organization (ICO). Maxwell and Folgers have already increased retail prices by at least 25 percent.

Heavy rains harm crops and the increased humidity favors the proliferation of pests and parasites such as coffee rust. It is no secret that coffee is an addictive habit and it doesn’t help at all that the demand for coffee is increasing along with the demographics of emerging economies such as India and China. Domestic consumption also continues to develop in Brazil, the world's second largest coffee-consuming country after the USA.

Brazil and Columbia PremierCoffee Growing Regions

The world's coffee supply comes primarily from Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa. The main coffee bean producing regions and exporters in Latin America are Brazil and Columbia. The livelihood of many families is dependent on coffee.beans. According to the Federacion Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia, in Colombia alone there are 500,000 coffee growing families. These areas produce some of the best Arabica coffee beans used by brands such as Green Mountain and Nespresso.

Grim Weather Outlook

According to coffee expert Peter Baker of CABI, a UK-based non-profit science-based development and information organization that aims to help solve problems in agriculture and the environment, coffee is the world’s most valuable tropical agricultural export produced by about 20 million smallholder families and the weather outlook for the next millennium does not look good. Although the effects of climate change are slow, the negative change is already affecting coffee production

International Coffee Organization (ICO) Reports

Reports from the ICO show that coffee prices in February 2011 increased in relation to their levels in January 2011 with the monthly average of the ICO composite indicator price up from 197.35 US cents per lb to 216.03 US cents per lb, the highest level recorded since June 1977.

Columbia has had three bad harvests and production decreases may continue in the future because the difference between the high and low years of the Arabica cycle has fallen in recent years

There is limited availability of Arabica coffee on the international market. World stocks are at their lowest levels experiencing a fall of more than 33% compared to levels recorded in 2009. They need to be replenished but current prices do not encourage producing countries to retain stocks. Adverse weather continues to affect coffee growing areas in many parts of the world.

Coffee Futures

On the trading floor coffee futures have jumped to more than 40 percent in the last year, according to a CNBC stock market article, and it is expected that your cup-of-Joe will be pricier due to a smaller than normal crop in 2011. The highest quality beans are in "very tight" supply. To make matters worse, increases in prices of oil products only accentuate increased production costs for agricultural products such as coffee.
Copyright Giovanna De Gennaro. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

Coffee sector needs sustainable development strategy

2011-03-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

Coffee sector needs sustainable development strategy

(VOV) - A seminar on the sustainable development of Vietnamese coffee was held on March 13 as part of the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee festival.

The seminar, jointly held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), the Vietnam Coffee-Cocoa Association (VIFOCA), and the Dak Lak provincial People’s Committee, were attended by leaders of relevant ministries and agencies as well as domestic and foreign experts.

The paradox of coffee export

Speaking at the seminar, Doan Xuan Hoa, Deputy Director General of the MARD Department of Processing and Trade for Agro-Forestry-Fishery Products and Salt Production, said Vietnam’s coffee sector has experienced significant development recently with export turnover increasing from US$483 million in 2000 to US$2.1 billion in 2008, and accounting for about 2 percent of the country’s GDP. He said Vietnamese coffee is exported to more than 80 countries and territories worldwide.

In the Central Highlands, the sector ensures employment for about 1.6 million people and contributes to socio-political stability, he added.

However, Hoa said that the coffee production and exports are still unstable in their quality, quantity, and value. Although Vietnam is the world leading exporter of Robusta coffee with an annual output of about a million tonnes of coffee beans, export revenues still remain low.

Of the 2008-2009 crop, the sector exported more than 1.17 million tonnes of coffee, earning US$1.94 billion, but the export turnover for the 2009-2010 crop was estimated at only US$1.66 billion. In 2010, the Government had to help businesses buy coffee for stockpiling by providing them with capital to help them deal with a possible crisis as coffee price dropped steadily.

It is, therefore, crucial to develop the Vietnam coffee sector sustainably, he said.

Challenges facing sustainable coffee growing

It is no easy task to apply sustainable coffee production in the Central Highlands as most of the coffee plantations are not large enough (2-5 ha). In addition, it will take a long time to change farmers’ attitudes towards coffee cultivation and harvesting.

The weak alliance between farmers and businesses, climate change, and the global financial crisis are also factors affecting the sustainability of the sector.

Hoa proposed policies to help businesses improve their ability to stockpile coffee and support farmers when coffee prices fall. He also said it is necessary to consider coffee processing and exporting a conditional business sector.

Participants at the seminars agreed that a coffee insurance fund should be set up to help replanting the coffee bushes in 30 percent of the coffee growing area. The fund will come from processing and export businesses.

VIFOCA Chairman Luong Van Tu said the association has come up with a project to set up a coffee insurance fund and will integrate it into the sector’s development strategy.

Another issue is that 80 percent of the coffee growing area in Vietnam belongs to individual farmers. Therefore, it is difficult to set up centralized and sustainable production. It is necessary to establish cooperatives and alliances in producing coffee.

Dang Kim Son from the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development (IPSARD) under MARD said that it is impossible to develop large-scale production that meets the international standards based on these households. Banks and agricultural workers are unable to bring capital resources to these households to instruct them in the use of machinery.

Son said that there are also other needs such as pesticides, and irrigation. Cooperatives and associations should be established which are closely associated with the farmers and will strengthen cooperation between farmers and producers to create a united bloc.

Development strategy needed for coffee trees and the industry

Tu said that to develop the Vietnamese coffee industry in a sustainable manner, it is necessary to stabilize the coffee growing area at around 500,000 hectares with an output of 1-1.1 million tonnes, and export 1 million tonnes of coffee beans to secure a 15 percent share in the global market. In addition to traditional markets such as Europe, the US, and Japan, the industry should expand to ASEAN nations and China to meet consumer demand and develop the domestic market.

It is also important to create a strategy for cultivating coffee trees and developing the coffee industry soon, as well as strengthening cooperation among coffee growers to protect their rights and maintain reasonable prices for farmers.

It is very urgent that the country improves the export value of its coffee by following advanced technical standards, mobilizing coffee growers to harvest the beans and promoting investment in processing factories to reduce the export of raw coffee.

According to foreign experts from the world’s leading coffee producers such as Brazil and Colombia, in order to develop a sustainable coffee industry, it is essential to create harmony between the environment, prices and other economic interests. According to their experiences in establishing coffee trademarks, it is needed to support coffee producers with capital, improve the competitive edge and stabilize prices in the domestic market. Resolving such issues will lay the foundation for a sustainable Vietnamese coffee industry.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz discusses turnaround

2011-03-13T21:29:00.001-07:00

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz discusses turnaround

As Starbucks approaches its 40th birthday later this month, its profits and share price have bounced back. It's a Wall Street darling again, thanks to new products like instant coffee, a new strategy that focuses on international growth, and a quarterly dividend.

By Melissa Allison
Seattle Times business reporter

JOHN LOK / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, gives an interview to a television station in a new Starbucks on the 8th floor of company headquarters.

Related
Archive | Starbucks co-founder Bowker talks about early days, launching Redhook and Seattle Weekly, too

Starbucks at 40

Birth date: March 30, 1971

Mission: "To inspire and nurture the human spirit — one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time."

Size: 17,000 shops in 55 countries, including more than 11,000 in the U.S.

Employees: About 137,000, down from 176,000 in 2008. About 3,000 work at its Seattle headquarters.

Profit: $946 million for the year ended Oct. 2010, up from $316 million two years earlier

Source: Starbucks

Three years ago, Starbucks was in desperate shape.

Profits were falling, and Howard Schultz returned as CEO to save a company he had built from a small chain to a juggernaut with thousands of stores worldwide.

He made painful cuts, including closing 900 stores and slashing thousands of jobs.

Now, as Starbucks approaches its 40th birthday later this month, its profits and share price have bounced back.

The reasons for its return as a Wall Street darling include products like instant coffee, a strategy that focuses on international growth and a willingness to give shareholders a quarterly dividend.

Schultz's book about Starbucks' recent odyssey, "Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul," comes out March 29.

Shortly before unveiling a new logo on Starbucks' headquarters building in Sodo last week, he talked about the challenges of coffee prices, the health-care overhaul and recycling. Here are edited excerpts:

Q: Does climate change present a problem for Starbucks?

A: About a year ago, when we solidified the long-term relationship with Conservation International, that gave us more insight and more resources to both understand the challenges of the day and for us to try and participate as much as possible in taking steps to improve the situation. I wouldn't categorize it as a problem but an ongoing challenge and hopefully an opportunity.

Q: What's the opportunity?

A: In many places where coffee is grown, deforestation is a major issue. With Starbucks' position in the marketplace and the respect and relationships we have, we can — and have in some cases — been able to educate and influence people. Something else is important. What we want to do — and our responsibility — is to constantly ask the question, "Are we making our people proud to wear the green apron?" Sometimes, though, I think whenever a company like Starbucks tries to lead with its heart and do the right thing, you have to ask yourself, "Why are we held to a higher standard?" And I think it's because we try and do the right thing, where perhaps other companies are not engaged at the level we are.

Q: Since you that brought up, why do you publicize your good works?

A: We do a partner [employee] survey consistently about the culture issues and the trust issues and how we're doing as a company. And one of the primary things people tell us is, "Why aren't we telling the world all the good things we're doing?"

I don't think that we are a marketing-driven organization. Candidly, we try and do the right thing not because of creating press. We try and do the right thing to help the community... . If I look at all the things we do, the things that perhaps we promote are de minimis compared to the works that we do around the world that no one knows about.

Q: How are you feeling about the economy these days?

A: Managing a business, small or large, today requires an extremely disciplined, thoughtful approach with regard to the pressure that people are under.

I think one of the ways in which we've tried to overcome that pressure is to provide consistent value for our customers. And the Starbucks gold card and the Starbucks card program really have been a big success in meeting the customer more than halfway and saying, "This is how we can participate with you." I think the economic issues are still fairly fragile. I don't think the recession is over.

Q: How concerned are you about the high cost of coffee?

A:

I'm speaking to suppliers and have visited coffee farms, and I cannot uncover this big problem people are talking about in terms of supply issues.

I think that is a fictitious component of what has happened this year [to coffee], which has been driven primarily by financial speculation, hedge funds, index funds and people who have decided that the basket of commodities is a place where money can be made.

You have to ask yourself, "Why is it that almost every commodity is hovering around record 10-year highs?" It's not an accident. We've seen coffee now — yesterday it was over $2.80. A year ago, it was half that. If this continues, it'll become more challenging for us, as well as every other coffee company.

Because of the economy and the fact that we literally want to put our feet in the shoes of our customers, we don't want to — and have refused to — have an across-the-board price increase. It's something we are trying desperately not to do.

Q: There's a shareholder proposal about recycling again this year. Why don't you have recycling bins in all your stores?

A: Starbucks has stores in America in many, many communities that are governed by many, many different municipalities. Starbucks cannot dictate to a municipality in Cincinnati or Kansas City or Sacramento how or why or when there should be a recycling program. That's one of the primary problems.

On the other side of the equation, we are a buyer of paper goods from very, very large paper companies who have embedded significant capital costs in legacy factories. So when we go to a paper company and say we want a 100 percent recyclable cup or want to change the material — again, we are a buyer of the product, we can't dictate.

We've had two what I would loosely describe as summits in the past couple of years, when we brought all our vendors here to show them the strategic plan that the company has for the near term so they can understand the needs we have to be a very strong corporate citizen in all areas of how we purchase product, food, supplies.

We had a summit of paper suppliers this past year to talk specifically about how we can become a leader in this industry. I think we're getting to the point where we have more influence than we had in the past, but we still are dependent on the suppliers to make the sort of investments that are necessary to overcome this problem. And we're asking them to make it at a very challenging time, which is difficult.

Q: Starbucks was vocal about [wanting] health-care reform. How do you feel about how it worked out?

A: We have been a leader for almost 20 years now in demonstrating our heartfelt commitment to making sure that we provide health coverage for the majority of our people.

That cost last year was $250 million. We have faced double-digit increases for almost five consecutive years with no end in sight.

So, when I was invited to the White House prior to health care being reformed, I was very supportive of the president's plan, primarily because I felt it was literally a fracturing of humanity for almost 50 million Americans not to have health insurance.

There's no plan that would be a perfect plan, but the intent of the bill and the heartfelt commitment to insure the uninsured is the right approach. I think as the bill is currently written and if it was going to land in 2014 under the current guidelines, the pressure on small businesses, because of the mandate, is too great.

Q: Over the years, you've tried to attract more people into your stores in the afternoons. How is that going?

A: With fiscal 2010 being the strongest financial year in our history, and the first quarter, which ended in December the strongest in our 40-year history, there are a lot of compelling reasons — that are enduring — that suggest that the company has been transformed in many ways.

There are more people going into our stores today at different parts of the day.

Q: More traffic in the afternoons?

A: Yes. But being in any retail business today, we cannot embrace the status quo even though we are now succeeding. We have to keep pushing for reinvention and self-renewal. We must.

Q: What about selling beer and wine in the afternoon [as Starbucks does in a handful of stores, including on Olive Way in Seattle]?

A: We'll continue to test that. Olive Way is without a doubt a success. Our international partners want us to expand that internationally. We've been very careful not to move too fast. I don't think we understand it all yet. There will be more, but it will be modest in terms of numbers [of stores].

Q: The new food you introduced today is sweets, not the type of health and wellness offerings you've said you're focused on.

A: It's not one thing versus the other. We have a significant initiative inside the company around health and wellness. All I have to share with you is, stay tuned on that.

Q: Your first book [published in 1997] was about building this company almost from scratch. The new book is about a turnaround. Which was more fun to do — build a company or save one?

A: The entrepreneurial process of building something I think is much more fun.

Transforming a company, though, is more gratifying. Sitting here today having accomplished what we've done in a relatively short period of time, I think the company and our team did our best work. But managing and navigating through a financial crisis is no fun at all.

Q: Why is it more gratifying?

A: If you read the press a couple of years ago, there was a death march about Starbucks.

I think people underestimated the resiliency of the brand and particularly the resiliency of our people. So it's quite gratifying to see the company come back so strong and to demonstrate to our people the pride that we all have in what we've built.

Q: The last time you wrote a book, you retired as CEO about three years later. Does this mean you're headed that way again?

A: What I've told the board is I'm here to really see this through. I don't know what that means, but I'm not leaving anytime soon.

Q: You closed 900 stores and cut thousands of jobs. If you had still been chairman, would you have let [previous CEO] Jim Donald do that?

A: I don't think there would have been a change in the decision. The company was in a desperate situation, but it doesn't in any way remove you from the emotional feeling of making those very tough decisions.

Q: Did Starbucks grow too fast, was it bad real-estate decisions, or the economy, or what?

A: There's never one thing that creates a problem like the one we had, and never one thing that's going to solve it. But I think growth in and of itself does cover up mistakes, and success probably creates a fair amount of hubris.

When I came back, the first week I publicly apologized to everyone in the company because we had let our people down.

Even though I wasn't the CEO, I was the chairman and I was culpable. At the same time, I made a heartfelt promise that day that we would absolutely restore the company back to its glory days, and we have.

Q: How do you reconcile the need to hold onto Starbucks' roots while also growing and even doing things that aren't coffee, like you've talked about lately?

There's been a seismic change in consumer behavior, and it demands innovation and it demands relevancy.

The challenge and the art is for us without question to embrace the core values and the core experience while innovating on the edges, and we'll do that and do it well.

Melissa Allison: 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com

A Changed Starbucks. A Changed C.E.O.

2011-03-13T21:28:00.001-07:00

March 12, 2011
A Changed Starbucks. A Changed C.E.O.
By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER

SEATTLE

RAISE your hand if you remember when Starbucks seemed cool.

Anyone?

Think back. To before the planet groaned with 17,000 Starbucks shops. Before the pumpkin spice lattes and the Ciao Amore CDs. Before the Strawberries & Crème Frappuccino ice cream, the Starbucks cream liqueur, the Pinkberry-inspired Sorbetto.

In short, to before Howard D. Schultz and his trenta-size ambition turned a few coffeehouses here into the vast corporate Empire of the Bean.

The world has often seemed three espressos behind Mr. Schultz — which is why the low-key guy sitting in his office here doesn’t quite seem like Howard Schultz.

Did he just say “but”? As in, “We have won in many ways, but ...”? Was that a “we” instead of an “I”? A note of humility?

Yes, this is Howard Schultz: the man who willed Starbucks onto so many street corners — and then, for a moment, looked as if he might lose it all.

Not even Mr. Schultz could have predicted how Starbucks would change our culture when its first shop opened here, in Pike Place Market, on March 30, 1971. Like it or not, Starbucks became, for many of us, what we talk about when we talk about coffee. It changed how we drink it (on a sofa, with Wi-Fi, or on the subway), how we order it (“for here, grande, two-pump vanilla, skinny extra hot latte”) and what we are willing to pay for it ($4.30 for the aforementioned in Manhattan).

But during the depths of the recession, Starbucks nearly drowned in its caramel macchiato. After decades of breakneck expansion under Mr. Schultz, tight-fisted consumers abandoned it. The company’s sales and share price sank so low that insiders worried Starbucks might become a takeover target.

So, after an eight-year hiatus, an alarmed Mr. Schultz returned as chief executive in January 2008. He shut 900 shops, mostly in the United States, drastically cut costs and put the company back on course.

Friends and colleagues say this hellish experience left Mr. Schultz a changed man. Starbucks, these people say, is no longer “The Howard Schultz Show.” The adjective that many use to characterize his new self is “humble” — a word that few would have applied to him before.

“Everything Starbucks did in the past, more or less, had worked,” Mr. Schultz said in an interview in January at the company’s headquarters, with a view of Puget Sound south of downtown Seattle. “Every store we opened was successful, every city, every country.”

He continued: “Growth had a life of its own — and that’s O.K., when you’re hitting the cover off the ball every time, but at some point, nothing lasts forever.”

One thing hasn’t changed: the man dreams big. In that same interview, Mr. Schultz spoke of expanding into still more products and in markets like China. He is pushing, of all things, a brand of instant coffee. The words “Starbucks Coffee” were just removed from the company’s green mermaid logo because he wants to waltz his brand up and down the grocery aisles. On Thursday, he announced that the company had struck a deal with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to distribute Starbucks coffee and teas for Keurig single-serving systems. Shares of Starbucks jumped nearly 10 percent on the news, reaching their highest level since 2006. The stock closed at $36.56 on Friday.

Mr. Schultz and his colleagues say Starbucks will keep its feet on the ground this time, but some outsiders have doubts. Detractors say Starbucks long ago ceded its role as a gourmet tastemaker to become a “billions-and-billions served” chain like McDonald’s. Starbucks — “Charbucks,” to those who complain that its heavily roasted coffee tastes burned — will never rekindle the old romance, these people say.

“Has anybody said they came back because people love the coffee again?” asks Bryant Simon, a history professor at Temple University and author of “Everything but the Coffee: Learning About America From Starbucks.”

“They came back because they’re remaking themselves as a brand that competes on value, largely — a brand that’s everywhere, easily accessible, predictable,” Mr. Simon says.

HOWARD SCHULTZ, now 57, is a tall, sinewy man with a toothy grin and a silky sales pitch. He rarely sticks to script, preferring to speak off the cuff, whatever his audience. In conversations, he leans in, locks eyes and gives the impression that, right now, there is no one else in the world he would rather be talking to. When he speaks of “soul” and “authenticity” and “love,” you could almost forget that he runs a multibillion-dollar business that has become an uneasy symbol of globalization. Or that the British actor Rupert Everett once likened Starbucks to a metastasizing cancer.

The story of Mr. Schultz’s life and career has been told many times, not least by Mr. Schultz. (His second book, “Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul,” is to be published on March 29.) But some highlights bear repeating:

He grew up poor in the Bay View housing projects in Canarsie, Brooklyn, received a football scholarship to Northern Michigan University and, after a variety of jobs, joined the fledging Starbucks in 1982, as head of marketing. Inspired by Italy’s coffee culture, he left Starbucks and opened his own coffee shop. Then, in 1987, he bought Starbucks, which at the time had all of six shops. By 1995, Starbucks had 677 shops. By 2000, it had 3,501, and that year Mr. Schultz stepped aside as C.E.O.

And so it went for Starbucks, one success after another, until the recession hit and exposed the company’s overreach to the world.

In December 2007, Mr. Schultz was worried that the Starbucks brand was losing its luster, and he and the board decided that in the new year, they would push aside Jim Donald and announce that Mr. Schultz would return as C.E.O. That month, Mr. Schultz, his wife, Sheri, and their two children flew to Hawaii for their annual getaway.

But on the beach in Kona, he just couldn’t relax. He kept checking the company’s daily sales figures and was horrified to see that they were falling by double digits.

Also in Hawaii then was his friend Michael Dell, who had recently returned to run Dell Inc. On a long bicycle ride along the coast, Mr. Dell told Mr. Schultz that when he returned to Dell, he wrote what he called a “transformational agenda.” Mr. Schultz then created his own plan for Starbucks.

His goals were to fix troubled stores, to rekindle an emotional attachment with customers and to make longer-term changes like reorganizing executives and revamping the supply chain.

He returned to Seattle, handed copies of his plan to the company’s senior executives and posed the big question: Are you in, or are you out? Eight of those top 10 executives have since departed.

“What the company needed then was what he used to be to us — the innovation, the refusal to not be a champion,” says Troy Alstead, the chief financial officer. “A lot of people were questioning, in that span before he came back, ‘Were we done?’ And Howard came back, and it wasn’t even a question anymore.”

MR. SCHULTZ usually rises at 4 a.m., without an alarm, downs a Starbucks Sumatran coffee at home, followed by a short double latte or espresso macchiato from one of two Starbucks stores he visits on his way to work. He arrives in his office by 6:30.

Friends and colleagues agree that he is as fanatical as ever about Starbucks. Millard Drexler, the chief executive of J. Crew, recently e-mailed Mr. Schultz to complain that the coffee lids at a Starbucks on Astor Place in Manhattan kept spilling coffee on his shirt. Mr. Schultz’s reply: “On it.”

Mr. Drexler, who has a habit of e-mailing C.E.O.’s with complaints, says: “I can give you many more examples when they say, ‘I’ll send this to a research department or a gatekeeper.’ ” But, he says of Starbucks, “to have that kind of quality control they have around the world is pretty extraordinary.”

It was on such a morning in early 2008 that Mr. Schultz was convinced he had a product that would re-energize the company’s tired sales. It was called Sorbetto after the Italian for “sorbet,” and the drink was a twist on Pinkberry, the frozen yogurt chain in which Mr. Schultz is an investor.

Mr. Schultz had flown to Italy to taste the ingredients of his new product and thought he had the next Frappuccino. By that summer, 300 Starbucks locations in California were bathed in pink to promote the new drink. Starbucks had shipped in ingredients from Italy, and Mr. Schultz had primed investors.

But customers didn’t like the sugary concoction. And neither did Starbucks baristas, who had to spend an hour and a half cleaning the Sorbetto machines at the end of their shifts. A few months later, Mr. Schultz abandoned Sorbetto.

“Sorbetto, we did too quickly, and that was my fault,” Mr. Schultz says.

The headlong introduction was a mistake, but it was also classic Schultz.

“He likes things moving quickly, he likes people to be decisive, he’s got this energy level, this need for driving and for winning, and I think at times it’s hard for some people to keep up,” says Michelle Gass, the president of Seattle’s Best Coffee, which Starbucks owns. After his missteps, Ms. Gass says, Mr. Schultz has become more disciplined and a better listener.

Mr. Schultz concedes that he can no longer run Starbucks through the Cult of Howard. And he readily acknowledges that he badly misread the economy and underestimated the extent to which his customers would pull back during the recession.

At the time, he says, he had a hard time accepting that Starbucks would become a poster child for excess.

After his return, he halted new store openings and, with a P.R. flourish, closed every Starbucks in the nation for three hours to retrain baristas. The chain ran its biggest ad campaign ever, emphasizing the quality and freshness of its coffee. It ordered baristas to dump brewed coffee after 30 minutes.

But growth in same-store sales dipped below zero for the first time ever, and the company’s share price kept falling. It was a new feeling for Mr. Schultz, like the A student who breezes into college and then gets C’s.

Executives concluded that Starbucks had to close 200 American shops. The board suggested 600. Executives said that if sales and the economy got worse, they would also cut $400 million in costs. The board said no, let’s start cutting costs immediately, while closing locations. Starbucks ultimately closed 900 locations worldwide and cut $580 million in costs. As the decline in same-store sales neared 10 percent, board members asked executives to model what would happen if the sales slide hit 20 percent — which once would have been unthinkable.

“Nobody knew where the bottom was,” recalls James G. Shennan Jr., a venture capitalist who has been on the company’s board since 1990. “The general agreement around the table was we better have the doomsday plan.”

In December 2008, almost a year after he returned as C.E.O., Mr. Schultz flew to New York on the company jet. He and his team were scheduled to meet with analysts from Wall Street, where Mr. Schultz, once a darling, was now being doubted as never before.

On the plane, he reviewed the grim quarterly numbers: Profits were underwhelming, and holiday sales looked dreadful. Just before the meeting, the company’s chief financial officer, Pete Bocian, resigned.

Mr. Schultz reread the script for the presentation — and didn’t like what he saw. He worried that the stock price might drop so low that someone would swoop in and buy the company.

He summoned his executives to his Fifth Avenue apartment. Late into the night, around the dining room table, they revised the presentation.

The next day, as the executives rehearsed, Mr. Schultz kept interrupting. Vivek Varma, who had recently joined Starbucks as head of public affairs, told him that he should leave.

No one could remember anyone talking like that to Mr. Schultz. But he left. The next day, he and the other executives painted a somber picture for analysts and laid out the recovery plans. Rather than plunge, the company’s share price rose 20 cents that day.

Over the next year, Starbucks made much deeper and more difficult changes than Mr. Schultz had originally envisioned. By April 2009, same-store sales, though still down from a year earlier, were finally rising. By the holidays, they had turned positive.

INSTANT coffee: the very words leave a bad taste in many people’s mouths. But Starbucks has been developing instant coffee in earnest since 2006. Mr. Schultz says his industry considers instant a “death category.” It is, however, a $20 billion one.

Before he returned, Mr. Schultz complained that if Apple could develop the iPod in less than a year, Starbucks could surely develop an instant coffee in that time. Finally, in January 2009, the new product, Via, was scheduled for a full-scale introduction.

But there was a problem: market research was showing that skeptical customers needed a lesson about instant coffee. Some executives worried that a big rollout might flop. Ms. Gass and a few others told Mr. Schultz that Starbucks should delay Via and introduce it in two cities before going national.

“That was hard for him,” Ms. Gass says. But rather than overrule his executives, as he might have in the past, Mr. Schultz agreed. It turned out to be the right decision. After testing Via in Seattle and Chicago, Starbucks rewrote the plan for a nationwide introduction. For instance, instead of just giving away free samples, which customers forgot in the bottom of their briefcases, purses and backpacks, it prepared Via in the stores and gave customers a blind taste test.

In 2010, sales of Via were over $200 million. The instant coffee is now also sold in grocery stores and in Britain, Canada, Japan and the Philippines.

The methodical introduction of Via offered a sharp contrast to the old Howard Schultz whose gut told him — wrongly — that Sorbetto would be a winner. But he has also gone so far as to embrace big-company ideas like focus groups, which he used to shun. Delegating, and accepting other people’s conclusions, is now easier for him. “There’s been more arguing, challenging and debate in the last two to three years than there’s ever been,” says Mr. Alstead, the chief financial officer.

Mr. Schultz’s take: “What leadership means is the courage it takes to talk about things that, in the past, perhaps we wouldn’t have, because I’m not right all the time.”

Born entrepreneurs are not necessarily born managers. You need creativity and drive to start a company, discipline and delegation to run one. In the last year, people who work closely with Mr. Schultz say, he has shown he can make the leap.

Perhaps the bigger question is whether Mr. Schultz can, as he likes to say, preserve Starbucks’s soul, or whatever soul it has left. In a switch, the company is designing new stores with local woods, furniture and art, to make them feel more like a neighborhood shop. It is also buying specialty beans in limited supply, as artisanal shops do.

Whether Starbucks can recapture a neighborhood feel, as Mr. Schultz insists, is anyone’s guess. For many people, especially in areas where carefully made, lighter-roast coffee from the likes of Stumptown and Intelligentsia is trendy, Starbucks has become a place to go for free Wi-Fi, or to use the restroom, or to buy a coffee on the go.

There is a market for a convenient coffee chain, as the recent Starbucks sales rebound shows. But some customers and analysts say that the mass-market approach conflicts with Mr. Schultz’s vision of a global giant that somehow feels local everywhere.

Mr. Simon of Temple University says: “When you’re selling stuff people don’t need, you’ve got to be selling something else, and that’s what Starbucks lost. There’s a kind of dissonance between the messaging and the actual practice.”

Mr. Schultz no longer plans to blanket the United States with new Starbucks stores, sometimes with multiple locations on one block — a practice that inspired a contest on Flickr to see how many Starbucks shops people could fit into a single photograph. Instead, like so many other executives, he has his sights on China. Starbucks already has roughly 430 stores in mainland China and plans to have 1,500 there by 2015. India beckons as well. The company also plans to sell a wider variety of drinks and foods in grocery stores and its own shops, like Kind fruit and nut bars, which Starbucks put on the map.

IT may be difficult to believe, but there was a time when McDonald’s was a novelty. But, like Ray Kroc, who took over a small hamburger business and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world, Mr. Schultz has learned that growth can be seductive, and that it can exact a price.

Starbucks and its leader are more measured than during his last stint in the corner office. “I think we are very conscious of the things that we have done wrong over the years, particularly when we just got caught up in the growth phase,” says Mr. Shennan, the Starbucks director. “We are not going to do that again under Howard’s management, I tell you, or the current board’s.”

In January, three years after his return, Mr. Schultz stood before 1,100 employees at the headquarters here. Three thousand more from around the world were patched in via Webcast. The company had finished its strongest holiday season ever, and Mr. Schultz had just unveiled its new, “coffee”-less logo. Yet his words were laced with caution.

“We have won in many ways,” he said, “but I feel it’s so important to remind us all of how fleeting success and winning can be.”

FUTURES FILE: Frothy coffee prices near $3

2011-03-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

FUTURES FILE: Frothy coffee prices near $3

By Walt Breitinger Times Business Columnist | Posted: Saturday, March 12, 2011 12:00 am | Loading…

Coffee prices neared $3 per pound this week for the first time in 14 years. Since last June, prices have more than doubled as coffee production out of Central American nations, Brazil and Columbia, have fallen short of expectations.

The low level of production, coupled with strong demand from India, Japan and China, has drained some coffee warehouse supplies to an 11-year low. These factors culminated on Wednesday, pushing prices as high as $2.96 a pound, prompting coffee traders to hope that coffee futures would break above the 1997 high of $3.18 a pound.

Instead, prices crashed on Thursday and Friday, dropping to $2.72 a pound, an 8 percent drop in two days. This week's wild 22-cent range shows how frothy the price of your morning coffee can be. Luckily, many corporations and distributors can reduce their exposure to these headaches by locking in prices months in advance, thereby avoiding the need to change prices daily.

Corn Gets Creamed

King corn had led the commodities rally for the last year, but suffered a significant setback this week, losing more than 70 cents per bushel (10 percent). A Department of Agriculture report released Thursday morning contributed to the decline, as it showed an increase in global grain production, indicating the U.S. grain stocks might not be as tight as previously thought.

The still-high corn prices have encouraged farmers to maximize their corn acreage and to pre-sell this year's crop, locking in prices. Investor selling, alongside a significant drop in crude oil, which fell $6 per barrel this week, also contributed to the drop in corn prices. Soybeans and wheat were pulverized as well, falling 90 cents (7 percent) and $1.30 (16 percent) per bushel, respectively.

Global grain buyers have been shopping around, looking to Southern nations like Brazil, Argentina and Australia as a cheaper source of corn, wheat and soybeans, further undermining U.S. grain prices.

As of midday Friday, corn for May delivery was near $6.67 per bushel, May beans were at $13.37 per bushel and May wheat had ground to $7.26 per bushel.\

Opinions are solely the writer's. Walt Breitinger is the president of Breitinger & Sons LLC, a commodity futures brokerage firm in Valparaiso. He can be reached at (800) 411-3888 or indianafutures.com. This is not a solicitation of any order to buy or sell, nor does it provide any recommendations regarding the market

Rising Coffee Prices

2011-03-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

Rising Coffee Prices

MASON CITY,IA-Many of us start our day with a nice cup of coffee but increasing coffee prices might have you drinking a little less.

Coffee drinker Diane Deike says, "I’ve been drinking coffee for over 37 years. I drink it every day, need the caffeine buzz.”

Coffee drinker Richard Olson says, "every day I drink at Jitters, then I drink at Pros."

These coffee drinkers say they haven't really noticed the higher prices.

But it may be their love of the drink that is blinding them, because the price they pay has already gone up.

Deike says, "it won't be a huge rise not like the price of gas."

A combination of rising world demand and poor harvests in Colombia, Brazil and Latin America has caused a shortage of high-end Arabica coffee beans.

That's likely what's causing the increase.

The International Coffee Organization reports that Arabica coffee prices have risen more than 46 percent over the past six months.

That’s a 34 year high.

But the added expense may be slower to hit smaller establishments.

Olson says, "I’m not sure whether it would affect them as much as it would a big shop. You know where they've got a lot of overhead and turnover."

Local coffee shop owners say they try not to pass the extra expense on to the customer, but at some point they have no choice.

But these coffee lovers say paying more for their brew won't scare them away.

Deike says, "oh I’ll always drink coffee. Oh absolutely. I'll cut other things before I cut out my coffee."

The price of Arabica coffee is now $2.97 a pound.

Coffee traders expect prices to soar past $3.40 a pound and force roasters to raise retail prices again.

Harga Kopi Terus Menggila, Cuaca Jadi Kambing Hitam hen,Ade Irawan - detikFinance

2011-03-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

Minggu, 13/03/2011 15:02 WIB
Harga Kopi Terus Menggila, Cuaca Jadi Kambing Hitam

Jakarta - Harga kopi terus mengalami kenaikan dan menyentuh harga US$ 2 per kg untuk jenis kopi robusta dan lebih dari US$ 4 untuk jenis arabika. Harga ini pun terus berubah setiap harinya tergantung produksinya yang terpengaruh cuaca ekstrem.

Ha ini disampaikan Sekjen Asosiasi Eksportir Kopi Indonesia Rahim Kartabrata kepada detikfinance Minggu (13/3/2011).

"Faktor cuaca membuat produksi turun dan supply kurang sehingga harga naik," katanya.

Menurutnya kopi-kopi berjenis arabika dari Indonesia lebih mahal 30% dari kopi sejenis asal New York. "Kalau harga arabika dari New York itu sekitar US$ 4 per kg nya, berarti kopi dari Indonesia lebih mahal 30% tiap kg nya," ujarnya.

Rahim menambahkan, kopi jenis arabika asal Indonesia memiliki kualitas yang lebih bagus dari arabika, New York.

"Arabika Indonesia itu termasuk arabika spesialty, kalau di New York itu arabika generik," ungkapnya.

Ia juga mengatakan perubahan iklim yang tidak menentu membuat pasar kopi tidak bisa memprediksi sampai kapan harga kopi terus meningkat. Perubahan iklim telah membuat menurunnya produksi kopi dan menyebabkan harga kopi terus beranjak naik.

"Kalau ada yang punya bola kristal, pasti mereka sudah ambil posisi," katanya.

Menurutnya daerah penghasil kopi di Sumatra seperti Bengkulu, Sumatra Selatan, dan Lampung terlalu banyak turun hujan, sehingga produksinya
berkurang. Namun, hal ini bukan hanya terjadi di Indonesia, negara lain seperti Kolombia sebagai negara penghasil kopi terkena imbas juga.

"Kalau di Sumatra kebanyakan hujan, di Kolombia malah kepanasan," tegasnya.

Menurutnya, kopi itu tidak boleh terkena cuaca yang terlalu panas atau dingin. "kepanasan atau banyak keujanan ya sama saja mengurangin produksi," tambahnya.

Be coffee-rich in Russia this season Published on: January 05 2011 14:00 GMT

2011-01-30T21:27:00.000-08:00

Be coffee-rich in Russia this season
Published on: January 05 2011 14:00 GMT

By Irina Loseva

Coffee is rapidly gaining popularity in Russia. The number of cafes and coffee houses in the cities of the country continues to grow. Coffee houses are currently the most profitable institutions in the area of contemporary catering. They bring no less than 30% revenue, and the demand has only grown over the years. Running a coffee shop has become a profitable business.

Russians are now happy to spend their time in cafes, both for personal and business meetings. Cafes today are not just a segment of the food establishments, but rather a defined subculture and lifestyle.

The degree of relevance of such institutions is testified by the fact that the number of places where people can have a cup of coffee has been increasing over the years. People are willing to save on food, but not a refreshing cup of coffee in the morning. They are ready to pay much more than its cost for a cup of espresso in a coffee shop.

Analysts believe that profit margin of specialized stores exceeds 600%, while the revenue is approximately 30%, which makes a business of this kind very attractive. On average, a regular coffee shop pays for itself in two to three years.

However, those who are planning to open a coffee shop should keep in mind that they would need to try to sell at least one hundred seventy cups a day, and more than five thousand a month. This could be difficult to achieve. Yet, it is necessary to cover the rent expenses and make profit, wrote exrert-coffee.ru

One option of a small business is a coffee shop on wheels. This idea was borrowed from British entrepreneurs. Mobile coffee shops in Russia and Ukraine have quickly found their niche in the market and one can always see a line near a vehicle with a coffee machine.

Usually, the expenses are limited to the parking fees, purchasing of a coffee machine and products. Mobile coffee houses are often completely autonomous and do not need electricity and water, said Invest Gazeta.

Coffee vending machines are also considered a profitable vending business. In practice, the machines still require attention which involves careful selection of technology, search for appropriate location and maintenance issues.

Nevertheless coffee vending machines operate without a license and a selling assistant, do not require daily inspection and, if the location is good, generate steady income and pay off within six months to two years.

According to experts, to turn the vending business into a full-on operation, one needs to build a chain of at least four machines, simultaneously providing natural and instant coffee and properly locating them in profitable areas - schools, service stations, hair salons, office and shopping centers, airports and train stations. Ideally, there would be a power socket near a coffee vending machine, and even better if there are sofas or chairs.

The range of drinks is chosen depending on the location of the machine and the target audience. In offices and shopping malls, where the client is focused on high quality, the machines that run on natural coffee beans should be located. According to Bishelp.ru, most popular drinks now are coffee (espresso, Americano, cappuccino), tea, hot chocolate and milk.

In general, any of these options can bring fairly good financial results within reasonable time. An illustration of this is the ever-expanding chain of "Chocolate" and "Coffee House." Both companies are actively increasing their presence in other cities across the country, apart from Moscow and St. Petersburg. Coffee houses have become a very profitable business and will in the future bring a lot of money to the owners.

Original Article

Starbucks Backs 2011 Outlook Despite Higher Coffee Prices - Update 8/17/2010 9:48 AM ET

2011-01-30T20:28:00.000-08:00

Starbucks Backs 2011 Outlook Despite Higher Coffee Prices - Update
8/17/2010 9:48 AM ET

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(RTTNews) - Specialty coffee retailer Starbucks Corp. (SBUX: News ) on Tuesday reaffirmed its earnings outlook for fiscal year 2011, despite the recent rise in green coffee prices.

The Seattle, Washington-based company reiterated its fiscal 2011 earnings outlook in a range of $1.36-$1.41 per share, which it provided while reporting its financial results for the third quarter in July.

The company expects to absorb about $0.04 per share in additional commodity costs in the year, primarily related to higher coffee prices. Starbucks said it will be able to offset the relatively short-term fluctuations inherent in today's coffee market.

On average, 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $1.43 per share for fiscal 2011. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Starbucks had been grappling with weak U.S. sales growth due to slowing traffic and moderating demand amid the economic meltdown. In an effort to live through the recession, the company embarked on several cost-cutting measures, including store closures and job cuts. The company also brought back founder Howard Schultz as CEO to steer it through. In mid-July, Starbucks reported a 37% increase in third-quarter profit, helped by strong same-store sales growth and improved margins. The company's profit for the third quarter was $207.9 million or $0.27 per share, compared to $151.5 million or $0.20 per share for the year-ago quarter. Net revenues for the quarter rose 8.7% to $2.61 billion from $2.40 billion in the prior-year quarter.

At that time, the company said it expects fiscal 2010 non-GAAP earnings in a range of $1.22-$1.23 per share. Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $1.24 per share for the year.

Earlier on Tuesday, Starbucks announced the launch of Starbucks Reserve, a new line of ultra-premium, single-origin coffees, which will be available in select U.S. stores this fall. Beginning August 31, the first offering, Galápagos San Cristóbal will be available for sale.

In Tuesday's regular trading session, SBUX is trading at $24.03, up $0.21 or 0.88% on a volume of 13,178 shares. The stock has been trading in a range of $18.21-$28.50 in the past 52 weeks.

Original Article

Maps of Bali and Bedugul

2010-10-10T22:40:00.000-07:00

Celebrating A Gift From Bali: Delicious Confusion

2010-10-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

Original Article

October 8, 2010
Celebrating A Gift From Bali: Delicious Confusion
By MATTHEW GUREWITSCH

NO longer quite the inaccessible Shangri-La of antique travelogue, Bali remains, for artists of all kinds and seekers of a spiritual bent, an isle of pristine enchantments. To musicians with or without the cosmic baggage, the fascination lies in the intricately layered pulse and shimmer of the gamelan, the indigenous form of orchestral ensemble, dominated by percussion and associated for centuries with Balinese ritual and devotion.

Since the 1980s the clarinetist and composer Evan Ziporyn has made the pilgrimage often. His new opera, “A House in Bali,” celebrates his forerunner Colin McPhee, a Canadian-born composer and scholar best remembered by fellow acolytes of Bali’s musical heritage. Happening on a few scratchy phonograph records from Bali in 1929, McPhee found his calling. If not for him, the traditions that flourish today might be extinct.

The opera is based mainly on McPhee’s memoirs of the same title, published in 1946 to a rave review in The New York Times by the anthropologist Margaret Mead, who had known McPhee in Bali. “This book,” Mead wrote, “is not only for those who would turn for a few hours from the jangle of modern life to a world where the wheeling pigeons wear bells on their feet and bamboo whistles on the tail feathers, but also for all those who need reassurance that man may again create a world made gracious and habitable by the arts.”

For logistical and sentimental reasons Mr. Ziporyn’s opera received its first, unstaged, preview in June 2009 on the steps of a temple in Ubud, a Balinese arts mecca, surrounded by spreading rice terraces and plunging ravines. The stage premiere followed three months later in Berkeley, Calif. This fall the opera reaches the East Coast, with performances in Boston and in the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival Thursday through Saturday.

The scoring is for a balanced ensemble of Western (the Bang on a Can All-Stars, of which Mr. Ziporyn is a founding member) and performers from Bali whose contributions are equal but for long stretches separate. On Oct. 30 a program of Mr. Ziporyn’s compositions in the Making Music series at Zankel Hall will include further examples of Western-Eastern fusion.

Born in Montreal in 1900, McPhee was hardly the first Western composer to thrill to the gamelan. The former Wagnerian Claude Debussy was transfixed by Balinese musicians at the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1889. The cosmopolitan Maurice Ravel was likewise taken. But it was left to McPhee to sail halfway around the globe to experience the music in its home.

For much of the 1930s he made Bali his home, studying, redeeming historic instruments from pawnbrokers, recruiting children to learn and play. He left in 1938, never to return, but worked on his magnum opus, “Music in Bali,” for the rest of his life. He had barely finished correcting the page proofs in the medical center of the University of California, Los Angeles, when he died, in 1964.

In his memoir McPhee’s evocations of gamelan music are bewitchingly specific.

“At first, as I listened from the house,” one passage begins, “the music was simply a delicious confusion, a strangely sensuous and quite unfathomable art, mysteriously aerial, aeolian, filled with joy and radiance. Each night as the music started up, I experienced the same sensation of freedom and indescribable freshness. There was none of the perfume and sultriness of so much music in the East, for there is nothing purer than the bright, clean sound of metal, cool and ringing and dissolving in the air. Nor was it personal and romantic, in the manner of our own effusive music, but rather, sound broken up into beautiful patterns.”

McPhee went on to analyze the music’s layered architecture: the “slow and chantlike” bass, the “fluid, free” melody in the middle register, the “incessant, shimmering arabesques” high in the treble, which ring, in McPhee’s phrase, “as though beaten out on a thousand little anvils.” Add to all this the punctuation of gongs in many registers, the cat’s-paws and throbbings and thunderclaps of the drums, the tiny crash of doll-size cymbals and the “final glitter” of elfin bells, “contributing shrill overtones that were practically inaudible.”

The scales, though pentatonic, fail to duplicate the assortment we know from the black keys of a piano. And pitch variations from gamelan to gamelan (fundamentally irreconcilable with Western tuning) amount to a science in itself.

The narrative of “A House in Bali” makes delightful reading too, despite some extreme air-brushing. McPhee’s wife, Jane Belo, a woman of means and an anthropologist, is never mentioned, though they traveled (and built the house) on her money. Bowing to the taboos of his time, McPhee passes over the awakening of his homosexuality in Bali, though the charged nature of his attachments to numerous men and boys (consummated or otherwise) is hard to miss. Impending war, one factor that drove him from Bali, is hinted at. Crackdowns by the vice squad, another factor, are not.

In shaping the stage action, the librettist Paul Schick picked out several episodes that McPhee’s readers are sure to remember: the long-drawn-out construction of the house, a comic shakedown by his native neighbors, an unsettling call from a suspected Japanese spy, a visitation by spirits of ill omen. Much of the dialogue is straight from the book; most of the rest quotes writings of the opera’s two other Western characters, Mead and the German artist Walter Spies.

As for the staging, audiences who anticipate an ornamental divertissement along the lines of the “Small House of Uncle Thomas” sequence from “The King and I” are in for a surprise. Mr. Ziporyn seems to have been thinking along these lines too, but the director, Jay Scheib, had other ideas.

“McPhee and Mead and Spies were all deeply involved in image making,” Mr. Scheib said recently between rehearsals on an iffy Skype connection from Ubud. Bali. (Signs of the times: Mr. Ziporyn remembers when the closest telephone was an hour away in the capital, Denpasar.)

“Mead was working out the methodology of visual anthropology, based on the scientific premise that you could infer more about a culture through careful photography rather than through written notes,” Mr. Scheib added. “McPhee shot hours of silent film footage of dance training and rehearsals. And Spies was documenting Balinese culture in a very interesting way through painting.”

With all this in mind Mr. Scheib has opted for extensive use of live video, giving audiences virtual eye contact with performers, even when they are confined to enclosed spaces where viewers in the auditorium cannot actually see them. This, at least, was the case in Berkeley; the production was still evolving.

At the heart of the opera, and often front and center, is Sampih, a shy, skittish country urchin who rescues McPhee from a flash flood, becomes a servant in his household and is trained, at McPhee’s urging, as a dancer. In 1952 the real Sampih achieved international stardom touring coast to coast in the United States as well as performing in London. Back home in Bali two years later, at 28, he was strangled under nebulous circumstances by a killer who was never caught.

Though the correspondences are far from exact, McPhee’s infatuation with Sampih has reminded many of Thomas Mann’s “Death in Venice,” in which the elderly, repressed aesthete Gustav von Aschenbach conceives a fatal attraction for Tadzio, an exotic youth. The opera by Benjamin Britten (a close friend of McPhee’s who for a time shared a Brooklyn brownstone with him and other arty types like Leonard Bernstein) reinforces the parallels, such as they are. Not only did Britten assign the role of Tadzio to a dancer; he also scored his music for gamelan.

The part of McPhee in Mr. Ziporyn’s opera was originally sung by Marc Molomot, who was unavailable for the current performances. His replacement is Peter Tantsits, an adventurous high tenor, who has studied the voluminous source material and McPhee’s circle in depth.

“As an opera singer it’s rare to get to play a character who existed in the flesh, and not all that long ago,” Mr. Tantsits said recently from Boston. “My first impression when I was offered the part was, ‘I’m too young to play Aschenbach,’ which is a role I’d love to do maybe in 20 years. Right now I’m 31, the same age as Colin when he went to Bali. I don’t think the relationship with Sampih was a case of sexual attraction but something more like an adoption. The way he’s described in the book is quite sensual. This is hard to talk about. I don’t think we’ve completely decided what we will decide.”

No Pandora, Mr. Ziporyn has deliberately kept a tight seal on the ambiguities.

“As McPhee presents himself in the book, he’s very transparent yet completely opaque,” Mr. Ziporyn said on a recent visit to New York. “I wanted to mirror that. I think of McPhee almost as a Nabokovian unreliable narrator, as in ‘Pale Fire,’ or even ‘Lolita,’ if that’s not too charged an analogy.

“Every quest is a quest for yourself. In going to Bali, McPhee was looking for his own artistic or personal essence. ‘I’ll always be the outsider,’ he said after he’d been there for years. He was talking about the music, he was talking about Sampih, and he was speaking in general. I wanted to convey that sense and let viewers draw their own conclusions.”

Affordable Starbucks brew any time

2010-10-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/food/food/view/20101007-296371/Affordable-Starbucks-brew-any-time

A COFFEE craving doesn’t mean a mad dash to the shops anymore. Coffee lovers can now have their favorite drink any time of the day.

Starbucks introduces the Via Ready Brew—instant coffee that comes in stick packets. It’s not the three-in-one kind, though, but basic coffee granules that mimic the exact taste, aroma and flavor of a Starbucks brew.

“Via is made of 100-percent natural roasted Arabica coffee made through the patent-pending Micro Ground Technology, which captures the quality of our whole-bean coffee,” said Cos LaPorta, Starbucks Coffee Asia-Pacific president during the recent launch at 6750, Ayala Avenue, Makati. “It’s free of by-products or chemicals, has the same body and rich flavor, but this time, you just have to add hot water.”

Starbucks Via comes in three variants: Italian Roast, extra bold (red box); Columbia, Medium (orange box); and Italian Roast, decaf (blue box). All are available in packs of three (P130) and box of 12 (P450 for regular, and P470 for decaf). That means you can have coffee for around P50 per cup—much cheaper than ordering a short latté at P90.

Is this a move to make Starbucks coffee more affordable for Filipinos?

It’s an advantage said LaPorta, but Via’s purpose is to make coffee more accessible and available.

“Via’s tagline ‘Never Be Without Great Coffee’ means you can have it even if you are traveling, in the office, on the mountains, on the beach.”

Social activity

Starbucks, a 40-year-old establishment, has 160 stores in the country since it opened it’s first branch in 1997. The Philippines is the third country outside North America to offer Via, which is available in the US, Canada, UK and Japan. Such is the demand for Starbucks products here where coffee is a staple drink and “having coffee” has evolved into a social activity.

Some Starbucks branches held a challenge where customers were given samples of freshly brewed coffee and Via mix.

“They can’t tell the difference,” said Noey Lopez, president of Rustan Coffee Corp., local franchise holder of Starbucks.

Coffee education is also practiced in Starbucks according to LaPorta. Employees undergo a Coffee Masters program where they are trained in all aspects of coffee—kinds, purchasing, food pairings and presentation.

“For example, if someone asks for a low-calorie drink, they offer brewed coffee, non-fat lattés, Café Americano, Frappuccino Light or shaken iced tea,” he added.

Iced Coffee with Milk

¾ cold water

¼ c cold milk

Pour water and milk in a tall glass. Add Starbucks Via Ready Brew and stir. Sweeten to taste and top with ice.

Coffee Soda

1 packet via

1 c sparkling water

Sugar, honey, agave or vanilla syrup

Put Via in tall glass, add small amount of sparkling water, stir to dissolve. Pour in remaining sparkling water, sweeten to taste.

Mocha Malted Milkshake

1 packet Starbucks Via

½ c cold milk

1 c chocolate ice cream

2 tbsp malted milk powder

Blend together and serve.

Caramel Mocha Milkshake

Follow instructions for Mocha Malted Milkshake but substitute vanilla ice cream for chocolate and add caramel sauce instead of malted milk powder.

A bitter future: People could pay more for coffee

2010-10-10T21:20:00.001-07:00

Original Story

Coffee lovers may soon need to dig deeper into their pockets to enjoy a cup of coffee in coffee shops ranging from global brands such as Starbucks, or even traditional street side warung kopi (coffee shop).

This is because negotiators from 193 nations are looking to adopt the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit sharing of genetic resources. This protocol, if adopted, would allow countries to claim royalties on their genetic resources, including coffee.

The problem is that coffee is not native to Indonesia, the world’s fourth-largest producer of the bean. It was initially brought here from Brazil or South Africa by the Dutch.

The country of origin of genetic resources, including coffee, will therefore be among the hottest topics on the agenda at an international conference on biodiversity in Nagoya, Japan, next month, Hary Alexander, one of 70 negotiators Indonesia will send to the conference, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

After years of intensive talks, negotiators remain at odds on benefit sharing in the Nagoya Protocol.

Developed nations, which have long been users of genetic resources from developing countries, want benefit sharing calculations to take effect from when the Nagoya protocol is adopted.

Some countries proposed the benefit sharing be calculated before 1992, when the UN Convention on Biological Diversity was set up.

Indonesia, a country with one of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world, has proposed that all calculations on benefit sharing be made after 1992.

“If the conference agrees on calculations made before 1992, we have to pay high royalties, including for coffee, palm oil or sugarcane,” Hary said. “The royalties would be paid to the country of origin of the genetic resource.”

He said the genetic sources of coffee, palm oil or sugarcane were from Brazil or South Africa but that “many of our businesspeople remain unaware about the threat”.

Indonesia is struggling to adapt to the protocol. The benefit sharing could be in the form of money, capacity building or technology transfers.

Environment Ministry official Utami Andayani said many foreign researchers took samples of genetic resources from plants, animals or microorganisms from Indonesia, home to 10 percent of the world’s flowering plant species and 12 percent of all mammals.

Many of Indonesia’s species — and more than half of the archipelago’s plant species — are endemic, not found anywhere else on Earth.

But with massive forest loss from illegal logging, forest conversion and forest fires, 140 species of birds and 63 species of mammals are categorized as threatened.

Indonesia's Sulawesi September coffee exports rise

2010-10-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

Indonesia's Sulawesi September coffee exports rise

JAKARTA (October 06, 2010) : Indonesia's coffee bean exports from the main growing island of Sulawesi rose 9.2 percent in September from a year ago, indicating adequate supplies despite unusually heavy rains, trade data showed on Tuesday. An increase in supply from Indonesia could further soften cocoa prices which have been under pressure because of a possible bumper harvest in African producers.

Liffe cocoa prices hit a one-year low last month on improved West African crop prospects. Indonesia shipped 18,849 tonnes of cocoa beans in September, up from 17,264 tonnes in the same month a year ago, trade data showed, helped by government efforts to boost production.

"Production from Central Sulawesi is quite high, after the cocoa programme was launched," said Herman Agam, chairman of the Indonesia Cocoa Association, or Askindo, for the Central Sulawesi branch. "That allow us to have more beans to meet demand," he said. Central Sulawesi shipped 53 percent of Sulawesi's cocoa bean exports in September. Indonesia, the world's third-biggest cocoa producer after Ivory Coast and Ghana, exports beans mostly to grinders in Malaysia, the United States, and Brazil.

Exports for January-September rose 8.65 percent to 210,328.44 tonnes, from 193,575.95 tonnes in the same period a year ago, indicating that a recent monthly export tax applied on cocoa beans has not slowed overseas shipment. The Indonesian government slapped an export tax on locally grown cocoa beans in April in an effort to encourage the retention of fermented beans for local grinding. It was the first time cocoa beans have been subjected to an export tax, set at 5 percent for October.

Science Matters: Shady practices are good when it comes to coffee

2010-10-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

Original Story

Coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world, after oil. And as with oil, the massive scale of production necessary to meet our insatiable demand for coffee results in an enormous ecological footprint. According the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, more than seven million tonnes of coffee will be produced worldwide this year.

The thirst for coffee is growing rapidly in developing countries, like Indonesia, where coffee beans are grown and exported. And while citizens of wealthier nations are cutting their coffee consumption, people in Africa and South America are drinking more - thanks to increasing household incomes, population growth, changing tastes, and successful marketing. The U.S.-based Starbucks coffee chain has even announced that it will open a shop in post-conflict Algeria, with plans to expand to 30 stores in Africa over the next two years.

With so many people drinking coffee (63 per cent of Canadians drink it daily, on average 2.6 cups per day), growers have industrialized production to meet demand. They've done this by establishing high-yield monoculture plantations, spraying toxic pesticides to control unwanted insects and plant pathogens, and even developing genetically modified varieties that allow traditionally shade-grown coffee, like arabica, to be grown under more economically productive conditions in partial or full sunlight.

These industrial agricultural practices have proven successful in ensuring a steady supply of beans to world markets, but the environmental costs associated with much of the coffee consumed worldwide is too high, according to many scientists who study the industry and its impacts.

Most coffee sold in Canada is grown in open plantations on land that was once tropical or subtropical forest. Since the early 1970s, huge swaths of natural rain forest have been cleared in coffee-producing nations such as Mexico, as the industry has shifted from traditional shade production to "sun-grown". A sun-grown variety such as robusta can be planted at more than three times the density of arabica shade coffee. Because of this, most of the mass-produced and instant coffees you see on supermarket shelves are grown in this way.

According to Bridget Stutchbury, an internationally renowned bird expert who has studied the impacts of coffee production on neotropical birds, "Sun coffee is not a self-sufficient ecosystem - it can only be grown with large amounts of fertilizer, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides. There are no trees to shade the coffee plants and soil from the downpours of tropical rains; soil erosion and leaching is a big problem in sun coffee farms."

On top of that, sun-coffee plantations provide little habitat for sensitive species, such as neotropical migratory birds like the hooded warbler, which are threatened because of the loss of their rain-forest habitat.

Troubled by the considerable environmental and social footprint of their favourite beverage, many consumers are looking for coffee that has been certified as organic, Fair Trade, or otherwise sustainably grown. But with so many choices, and confusing and difficult-to-verify environmental claims by businesses, experts recommend that you choose coffee that has been triple certified: organic, Fair Trade, and "shade grown".

Although it won't replace natural forests, growing coffee in shade using agro-ecosystem techniques does provide extensive understory and canopy cover from a diversity of tropical trees, providing a refuge for butterflies, birds, and other wildlife. Studies have shown that shade coffee plantations can provide habitat approaching natural conditions. For instance, a study in the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve in southern Mexico found that the number of migratory bird species inhabiting a heavily shaded coffee plantation (30 to 35 species) approached that of a natural rain forest (35 to 40 species). In contrast, sun coffee plantations were used by fewer than five species.

As with food labelled organic or Fair Trade, consumers need a credible certification system to guarantee that their cup of coffee has been produced in a way that doesn't harm bird and other wildlife habitat. One credible certification system for shade coffee is the "Bird Friendly" eco-label, which is awarded to producers who follow a rigorous audit and verification process by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.

Switching to certified shade-grown coffee for your morning cup of joe won't save the planet on its own, but it is one more simple way to lessen your environmental impact.

---

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author, and chair of the David Suzuki Foundation. Faisal Moola is the director of science at the foundation (www.davidsuzuki.org).

La Nina, Heavy Rains Hurt Production of Commodities

2010-10-10T21:01:00.001-07:00

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/la-nina-heavy-rains-hurt-production-of-commodities/397167

Jakarta. Unusually heavy rainfall brought on by the La Nina weather phenomenon have hammered Indonesia in recent months, leading to a pronounced drop in resource extraction and agricultural output.

The unusually wet weather has resulted in projections of slumping export volumes of tin, coal, coffee, palm oil and other commodities.

The Trade Ministry said on Monday that tin shipments from Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter of the metal, may drop 19 percent this year, adding to signs of a trade slump that has helped make tin this year’s best performing base-metal by price.

Exports could plunge to about 80,000 metric tons in 2010, down from 99,287 tons in 2009, said Alberth Tubogu, export director for mining and industry products at the Trade Ministry.

His prediction is in line with an August forecast from the Energy Ministry for a 20 percent decline in output.

According to the Trade Ministry, tin shipments from Indonesia in the first seven months of this year fell 12 percent from a year earlier to 52,133 tons.

Alberth said “unpredictable weather” has affected tin production in Bangka-Belitung Islands, the province that accounts for most of the nation’s production.

“Some producers may use their inventory to increase sales now that the price is gaining, but I doubt it will help much,” Alberth said.

“I spoke with exporters last week and they said they don’t have a lot of tin stockpiles — especially the small smelters — after heavy rain reduced ore supplies.”

Macquarie Group warned this month that global tin supply may lag behind usage “through next year at least,” bolstering prices.

Accordingly, tin futures on the London Metal Exchange have rallied to their highest price since July 2008, driven by the fall in supplies from Indonesia, lower stockpiles and rising demand.

Tin, used as packaging and solder, has advanced about 40 percent in London this year, beating second-placed nickel’s 27 percent jump.

The contract, which reached a record $25,500 a ton in May 2008, peaked at $23,800 on Sept. 17 and traded at $23,702 at 4:29 p.m. in Singapore on Monday after gaining 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, Rachim Kartabrata, executive secretary of the Indonesian Coffee Exporters Association (AEKI), told the Jakarta Globe last week that coffee exports this year would drop by about 15 percent, from 400,000 tons to 340,000 tons.

Rachim said prolonged rain in South Sumatra, a center of coffee production, was partly to blame, as were lower levels of stock left over from last year.

Suharto Honggokusumo, executive director of the Indonesian Rubber Producers Association (Gapkindo), told the Globe that the heavy rain had limited the production of rubber tappers.

But he said export levels would hold steady thanks to a 24 percent surge in exports during the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said last month that the country was experiencing its most extreme weather on record, including unusually heavy rain linked to La Nina. La Nina is expected to persist through early 2011.

The Agriculture Ministry said the extreme weather had affected agricultural output, especially in Java, of melons, mangoes and mushrooms.

The Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI) and the Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association (Gapki) said last month that rain had hit their commodities.

The APBI said national output was likely to miss its target, while Gapki said output could fall 10 percent this year.

Reuters, JG

What’s Behind Your Cup of Joe?

2010-08-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Ah, coffee. What would we do without you? For centuries, people have worshiped the brew. It has long been such a prominent feature in social life that it has been memorialized in music, poems, literature, and film. For many in the United States, coffee, anyway you brew it, is an important part of a daily routine. It is habitual–perhaps even ritual. It is a stimulating narcotic, experienced as a need, and can produce emotional sensations. It is often used as a reward to mark goals achieved–”Just ten more TPS reports and I can go for a coffee break!” It is a place to go, a state of mind, a social occasion, and a source of comfort for over half the adult population of the U.S. on a daily basis.

Full (original) story Here

Life & Style » Travel July 26, 2010 Bali - A place in time DEEPA ALEXANDER

2010-07-26T22:49:00.000-07:00

FROM: http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/travel/article534678.ece

Where terraced fields swoop down on sandy beaches, and almond-eyed dancers enthrall in ancient temples

The lingering fragrance of frangipani…I wake up to it. The garland that greeted my arrival at Bali now adorns a deep rattan chair. My room at the plush Hotel Aston Kuta overlooks the Indian Ocean and the island's green landscape with its overwhelming Hindu aura and perpetual holiday vibe.

I head to the sea, and dig my feet into the warm sand to watch surfers ride the waves. Sarongs paint Kuta beach in all colours, and clouds skirt the edges of the water. Kuta, just around the bend from Ngurah Rai airport, is packed with pubs, posh restaurants, malls, hotels and money-changers. This is a part of Bali that resembles a music video.

FULL STORY

Something different, aside from coffe: Bali's Travel Boom: Eat, Pray, Love Tourism

2010-07-26T22:43:00.000-07:00

FROM: http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,2005158,00.html

On a still road in Pengostanan Village in Bali's central foothills, a dull, blue-stained signboard points toward the house of the medicine man. Ketut Liyer is a ninth generation healer of undecided age — "maybe 90?" he shrugs — who has never been off the Indonesian island. But the dozen or so women who crowd his compound this afternoon, their chatter in competition with the peeping of caged birds suspended from clay-roofed pavilions, have come from all over. One by one they approach the small, weathered Balinese seer with the brilliant, near-toothless smile, and have him interpret their palms, their legs, sometimes even their spines.

Today, the ladies all are "very lucky." They will each live to be one hundred and ten. In fact, most days visitors to Ketut can expect the same reading, with minor variations, but few mind. Ketut Liyer is not just a healer famed among locals, but a leading character in American author Elizabeth Gilbert's 2006 memoir Eat, Pray, Love, and his bamboo mat is an almost necessary stop on Bali's increasingly popular spiritual tourist circuit.(See a story on Bali vs. Phuket.)

At the outset of the book, which has now sold over seven million copies worldwide, the medicine man predicts that Gilbert — newly divorced, disconsolate and on assignment in Indonesia — will return to Bali and teach him English. In what follows, she escapes suburban New York and over one year indulges the senses (and above all the stomach) in Italy; quiets the mind at a West Indian ashram; and, revisiting Bali, finds new love in a Brazilian jewelry exporter. If 170-odd weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List is anything to go on, weary Americans can identify with the need to regroup on unfamiliar ground. Now, in advance of the August U.S. release of a film adaptation starring Julia Roberts, that need has given rise to a new customer for Balinese hotels, travel agencies and tour operators: the spiritual seeker.

Full Story

Harga Kopi di Lampung Barat Anjlok

2010-03-25T16:41:00.001-07:00

Harga Kopi di Lampung Barat Anjlok
Senin, 22 Maret 2010 07:49 WIB | Ekonomi & Bisnis | Bisnis | Dibaca 589 kali

Petani Kopi/ilustrasi. (ANTARA/Anis Efizudin)
Liwa, Lampung Barat (ANTARA News) - Harga kopi di sejumlah agen di Kabupaten Lampung Barat anjlok dan harga di pasaran mencapai Rp10.000/kg, sehingga para petani mengeluhkan rendahnya harga komoditas tersebut.

Gunawan Sabki, pengumpul kopi di Pekon (Desa) Kegeringan, Kecamatanh Batu Brak, Lampung Barat mengatakan Senin, para petani mengkhawatirkan harga masih tetap rendah pada saat musim panen mendatang.

"Petani di daerah ini belum mengerti menjaga kualitas kopi, sehingga harganya rendah," katanya.

Namun meski harga komoditas di tingkat petani hanya Rp10.000/kg, para petani sudah banyak yang menjual sebagian stok mereka kepada agen untuk mencukupi kebutuhan sehari-hari.

"Petani di Lampung Barat masih mengeluhkan kondisi harga saat ini, karena modal yang dikeluarkan tidak sebanding dengan pendapatan. Selain itu, karena kebutuhan ekonomi jelang panen raya, mereka menjual stok kopi-nya, walaupun harga masih rendah."

Data Dinas Perkebunan Kabupaten Lampung Barat menyebutkan, luas lahan kopi mencapai 60.347.70 hektare dengan hasil kopi kering per tahun mencapai 28,712 ton/ha.

Keluhan senada juga diutarakan petani kopi di desa Pekon, Kecamatan Balik Bukit, Lampung Barat, Junaidi tentang rendahnya harga komoditas tersebut.

"Harga kopi kian anjlok. Kami sangat prihatin dengan harga tersebut, tetapi mau apalagi?. Karena kebutuhan ekonomi semakin meningkat jelang panen raya, terpaksa saya menjual stok meski harga rendah," kata petani lainnya, Masnah.

Ia berharap walaupun harga rendah, tetapi diimbangi dengan perolehan panen, sehingga modal yang di keluarkan dapat kembali.

Ke depan Pemkab Lampung Barat tidak tinggal diam dan harus memiliki terobosan yang dapat meningkatkan harga dan mutu kopi, harapnya. (MH*H009/K004)

INDONESIAN COFFEE PRICE DATABASE

2010-03-25T16:33:00.000-07:00

http://database.deptan.go.id/smshargabun/laphrgbun.asp

Harga Kopi Arabika Menguat Didukung Kenaikan Komoditas Lain

2010-03-25T16:31:00.000-07:00

Kamis, 25 Februari 2010 10:00 WIB

(Vibiznews – Commodity) – Pada penutupan perdagangan di bursa ICE Futures New York dini hari tadi tampak harga kopi arabika mengalami peningkatan (25/02). Harga kopi arabika menguat didukung oleh melemahnya nilai tukar dolar AS. sementara itu sebagian besar komoditas yang juga tampak menguat juga memberikan support bagi peningkatan harga kopi arabika.

Tadi malam dolar AS mengalami penurunan setelah data ekonomi berupa penjualan rumah baru mengalami penurunan. Kondisi melemahnya dolar AS mengakibatkan harga komoditas yang diperdagangkan dalam dolar menjadi lebih diminati karena harganya cenderung relative lebih murah.

Harga kopi arabika berjangka untuk kontrak pengiriman bulan Maret tampak mengalami peningkatan sebesar 10 poin (0.08%) dan ditutup pada posisi 1.3045 dolar per pon. Sementara itu harga kopi arabika untuk kontrak pengiriman bulan Mei mengalami kenaikan sebesar 60 poin (0.45%) di posisi 1.3285 dolar per pon.

Analis Vibiz Research dari Vibiz Consulting memperkirakan bahwa harga kopi arabika akan cenderung bergerak dengan mengikuti arahan dari luar pasar. Saat ini level 1.30 sen akan menjadi level support. Sementara itu level resistance akan ditemui pada 1.40 sen per pon.

(Ika Akbarwati/IA/vbn)

http://vibiznews.com/news_last.php?id=7125&sub=news&month=Februari&tahun=2010&awal=10&page=commodity

Coffee Species - Arabica and Robusta

2010-03-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

Coffee Species - Arabica and Robusta

A comparison between Arabica and Robusta the two main coffee species that make up the world coffee bean trade.

Coffee beans are the second most traded commodity on world markets, only bettered by oil. Most of us come face to face with a coffee drink almost daily but few of us realise the history, botany and process that have developed to allow this daily ritual to take place. Here is another article in the series about coffee, dealing with the two main coffee species - Arabica and Robusta, that we engage with as we enjoy that elixir of the gods.

http://knol.google.com/k/coffee-species-arabica-and-robusta#

Coffee revives as Vietnam starts stockpiling

2010-03-25T16:27:00.001-07:00

Coffee revives as Vietnam starts stockpiling

Coffee recovered from its three-year low in London, and rebounded 2% in New York, after Colombia unveiled a 25% slide in production and Vietnam began building up stockpiles of robusta beans.

Robusta beans for March delivery closed up $9 at $1,199 a tonne in London, with the better-traded May contract jumping $23 to $1,245 a tonne.

The first price rise in four trading days followed confirmation of the start of a government-backed programme of coffee purchases by Vietnamese companies, with the aim of stockpiling 200,000 tonnes of the crop, nearly 20% of the country's annual production.

'Output should contract sharply'

Furthermore, many analysts believe the weak market which has prompted the stock-building will prompt Vietnam, the biggest robusta producer, to hold back on production.

World's biggest robusta producers, 2010-11 (year-on-year change)

1: Vietnam, 18.00m tonnes (-2.7%)

2: Brazil, 14.00m tonnes (+4.6%)

3: Indonesia, 8.25m tonnes (+3.1%)

4: India, 3.20m tonnes (-1.5%)

5: Uganda, 3.00m tonnes (+3.4%)

World: 53.99m tonnes (unchanged)

Source: Fortis Bank Nederland

"We expect prices to stabilise, since at the current low price levels output should contract sharply in Vietnam," Commerzbank analysts said.

They also took an optimist's view of a near-halving, to 22,000 tonnes, in exports of robusta beans last month from Brazil, the second-ranked producer.

"The sharp decline could be the result of higher domestic consumption, reducing the amount of robusta coffee that is available for shipments overseas," the bank said.

Colombian slide

Meanwhile, arabica coffee beans, which last week touched a five-month low, rose more than 2% in New York after Colombia reported February production at 650,000 bags (39,000 tonnes), down 218,000 bags year on year.

The figure was lower than the 700,000 bags that Colombia's coffee growers' federation had expected, although Luiz Munoz, the association's director, said that the country was still on track to hit a half-year production target of 5m bags (300,000 tonnes).

Output in Colombia, the second-biggest producer of arabica beans after Brazil, has been dented by poor weather and a replanting programme which has reduced short-term output potential.

Buy stops triggered

Technical factors also helped the arabica market, after the May contract broke through a resistance level at 132 cents a pound.

World's biggest arabica producers, 2010-11 (year-on-year change)

1: Brazil, 38.95m tonnes (+13.9%)

2: Colombia, 10.0m tonnes (+8.1%)

3: Ethiopia, 8.25m tonnes (-4.5%)

4: Peru, 4.25m tonnes (+6.3%)

5: Mexico, 4.2m tonnes (-4.5%)

World: 86.11m tonnes (+7.0%)

Source: Fortis Bank Nederland

"Getting above there set a few buy stops off," Ralph Hawes, at Sucden Financial in London, told Agrimoney.com, adding that technical analysis suggested that a close at about 132.50 cents a pound could spark a move to 136-137 cents a pound.

Coffee traders have also flagged managed funds' increasing bearishness over coffee, with short positions exceeding longs by 3,195 contracts last week, according to regulatory data.

Ironically, such movements have often, as in autumn 2008 and spring 2007, heralded an upturn in prices.

New York's May coffee contract closed up 1.3% at 132.75 cents a pound.

Singapore launches coffee futures bourse

2010-03-25T16:22:00.000-07:00

Singapore launches coffee futures bourse

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Commodity Exchange is set to begin robusta futures trading on April 22 this year for the coffee variety in Asia.

"The launch of Singapore Coffee Futures Contract (SICOM Coffee) is timely as Southeast Asia has grown to become the largest producer and exporter of robusta coffee. SICOM Coffee is set to play a key role in establishing an Asian benchmark price for robusta coffee," Jeremy Ang, CEO of SICOM, said.

It is a physical delivery futures contract, traded in five metric tonnes per lot. Delivery will be made via warehouse receipts representing coffee stored in bonded warehouses in HCM City or Singapore.

This delivery mechanism provides for a short delivery period and simplified logistics.

Angeline Koh, deputy director, Sector Division, Financial Markets Strategy Department of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said: "With Viet Nam and Indonesia being the world's two largest robusta coffee producers, there are many coffee exporters and traders based in Asia.

"A well-designed coffee futures contract will serve as an effective risk management instrument for the coffee industry based in Asia. As part of the development of Singapore's commodity derivatives market, we welcome the launch of unique Asian-centric contracts."

Luong Van Tu, chairman of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, said: "The launch of SICOM Robusta Coffee deliverable to bonded warehouses in Viet Nam is representative of Asian trade which will benefit Vietnamese coffee growers and exporters."

Victor Mah, president of the Singapore Coffee Association, said: "Asia and in particular Southeast Asia is a key player in the global robusta coffee market but lacks an Asian price discovery platform. SICOM's Coffee will offer international market participants an effective hedging tool to manage their price risk." — VNS

Local coffee company a pick-me-up for literacy Indonesian coffee roasted right here at home

2010-03-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

Local coffee company a pick-me-up for literacy
Indonesian coffee roasted right here at home
By Bob Morgan
(Created: Thursday, March 4, 2010 12:06 PM CST)

SUMMERDALE, Ala. — This community is no stranger to crops but coffee beans are something else. Yet, there are tons of Indonesian coffee beans right here just waiting to be roasted and turned into one of the four types of coffee that Tändük Coffee Co. makes available. (It’s pronounced Taan Dook.)

Roasted beans have complete the roasting process. Raw coffee beans have sugar in them that, once heated, begin to carmelize which gives the coffees their distinct tastes. (Bob Morgan/staff photo)

From Java, one of the Indonesian islands, to a cup of “java” locally, the world of coffee has a local flavor what with Tändük's roasting facility and warehouse in Summerdale.

The roastmaster is Kenneth Ferguson, a retired Marine major and helicopter pilot who lives in Foley at Glenlakes. How Kenneth, who has operated a Maytag business and taught at Summerdale school during retirement, became the company roaster actually begins with his son, Beau, going as an English teacher to Indonesia some years back.

After a short tour there, Beau and his wife felt led to go back to Indonesia, especially in light of the tsunami that struck the country a few years ago. The couple got involved with a village library program and Beau came up with the idea of starting a coffee company.

It was last year when Beau got a shipment of 14,000 pounds of coffee beans together and had them shipped to this area. A warehouse was found and Kenneth said they had to make some changes in the building to comply with the Health Department.

A roaster that was handmade in a “little shop” in Indonesia was shipped with along with the coffee beans.

“We made a few modifications in it,” Kenneth said of the roaster, which weighs about 2,000 pounds.

The coffee beans that arrived came from two regions in Indonesia, which is a country made up of 15,000 islands or so and is the largest Muslim country in the world by population. The beans are Sulawesi Toraja Arabica and Sumatra Mandheling Arabica. To get an idea of what a commodity coffee is in Indonesia, Kenneth notes there are five or six coffee regions on the island of Sumatra alone.

Roastmaster Kenneth Ferguson pours coffee beans into the top of Tändük Coffee Co.’s handmade roaster. (Bob Morgan/staff photo)

“Both are well-known in the coffee world,” Kenneth said of the Toraja and Mandheling coffee beans.

Tändük Coffee also offers a blend of the two coffee beans and a dark roast coffee, “Toraja bold.”

As Kenneth explains it, the coffees from the islands of Sulawesi and Sumatra are bold, low acid type coffees. A high acid coffee “bites the tip of the tongue,” Kenneth said, while a low acid coffee “lays on the back of the tongue.”

“Coffee, like any plant, picks up the flavors of other plants,” Kenneth said. Thus, Sulawesi coffee has undertones of a chocolate “bite.”

Tändük (which means “horns”) started out primarily as an Internet site but is today multi-faceted.

“We would like to be able to establish a clientele of people who buy the green beans,” Kenneth said. That would be coffeeshops and the like.

But Kenneth and Beau also want to use the Internet to reach groups and organizations that want to support the village library program.

“We give a portion of our profits to the village library program at Cinta Baca,” which is a non-profit literacy and community development organization which has 15 learning centers throughout Indonesia. The illiteracy rate in Indonesia is very high, Kenneth said.

Locally, however, Tändük wants to use its coffee in fundraising efforts. Tändük coffee has been used for a fundraiser for Summerdale School and soccer teams at Spanish Fort that wanted new goal posts.

“We think coffee is a good vehicle to raise funds for schools,” Kenneth said.

As a matter of fact, the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce Foundation, an educational enterprise, is allowing Tändük to sell coffee by the cup and bag at its upcoming BBQ and Blues event.

“Like half of what we make on the coffee will go to the Foundation,” Kenneth said.

By going to the company Web site, www.tandukcoffee.com, interested persons can learn how to buy Tändük coffee and even join local coffee clubs.

A roaster like the one Kenneth uses would cost about $45,000 if bought in the U.S.; the Indonesian roaster, however, cost $8,500. Kenneth figures he can roast about 35 pounds of coffee at a time.

Fresh roasted coffee will be the Tändük trademark, he said.

As Kenneth explains it, there is a distinct human element in Tändük Coffee Co. He refers to it as “relationship coffee,” which means that Tändük wants to get to know the Indonesian growers who supply the coffee beans, even the grower who perhaps has only a small plot of land on which to grow the beans, and who might have only the one outlet for his crop.

And Kenneth said he isn’t above delivering coffee “Indonesian style” when the weather permits. He has a scooter, and he’ll zip around the county and deliver coffee when the need arises.

Developing Geographical Indication Protection in Indonesia: Bali Kintamani Arabica Coffee as a Preliminary Case1)

2010-03-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.ecap-project.org/fileadmin/ecapII/pdf/en/activities/national/indonesia/gi_dec05_2/Surip_Maward_i_Gi_Kintamani.pdf

One Hour Out: Bali Escape to the high country (for coffee)

2010-03-25T16:07:00.000-07:00

By JOHN KRICH

Considering how much I've consumed over a lifetime, it seemed remarkable that I had never seen coffee -- meaning the actual bean on the bush.

But here I was in Bali, whose coffee-growing region seemed to come, in the Balinese manner, with so much more: mountain views, temples and terraces. So on an island where nearly everything, barring the agricultural West's bull racing, can be reached within an hour and some scant meditative moments, I decided to make coffee country my day-trip destination. (There are a great range of atmospheric upcountry escapes available. A sprawling Denpasar, and even more so, the tourist strips concentrated on Bali's southernmost nub, provide ever-increasing reasons for making the attempt.)

Even the gas stations along the way come with piped-in, tinkly gamelan music. Small-town main streets are lined with delicate, statuary-festooned temple compounds, the roadside stands along the way are mostly seasonal ones for durian and jackfruit (which I sample along with, strangely enough, an avid Chinese couple from Los Angeles), and the pit stops now include one called Babi Guling (Suckling Pig) Obama.

Seeing this is an island, no matter which road you follow, you'll eventually get to the sea (with a brooding volcano or two in between.) My chosen path aims straight for Bedugul and beyond. But things start to get interesting at Pacung, where the views of rice terraces open up and the climb toward, or through, a breathtaking line-up of black peaks.

As it turns out, Bedugul isn't much but a sprawling wet market, plied by peasants in woolen caps and long-sleeved shirts that flop oversize over sarongs. Just over an hour from Denpasar's limits, the place feels like a way station in Nepal or the lower Andes, quite a shock after a morning's loll in the tub-warm waves of Jimbaran beach. It doesn't take long for microclimates to change on Bali.

I get another surprise when my driver makes a wrong left turn at the market junction. Instead of heading farther uphill toward Munduk, this road ends at the entrance to Eka Karya Botanic Garden, one of four botanic gardens run by the Indonesian Institute of Sciences. Founded in 1959, it, too defies expectations. Laid out in broad avenues and circular roads in the late Indo-fascist manner, this is no place for a brief stroll to sniff the flowers. It's more suited to a day's backpacking: 157 hectares of luxuriant, shadow-dappled high-altitude forest preserve, including numerous stands of birch. There are temples and traditional houses hidden here and there, along with obligatory rose and orchid displays. There's also a kiosk that sells herbal remedies -- based on Usada, or Balinese healing -- that are derived from native plants.

But I'm after another sort of potent plant, the kind that brings a buzz to wake me each morning. Before reaching coffee country proper, the landscape is dominated by strawberry farms. It's not exactly scenic, with much of the ground around the budding berries covered in protective plastic wrap, but one roadside farm is fronted by a "Strawberry Stop" cafe that makes a passable milkshake. It greatly improves the usual nasi goreng (fried rice).

Now the road toward Bali's north coast veers west in a precipitous rise along a ridge with magnificent views of two adjacent, elongated lakes, the larger Danau Buyan, that form the island's eerily quiet heart. While the waters below are shimmering and shallow, perfect for snapshots, there don't seem to be any boats out. I wonder whether the Balinese, never big fish-eaters, see more spiritual than material sustenance in these carpet-like waters. (Later, I read a more mundane explanation: Fertilizers have polluted the lakes, which have been receding due to sedimentation. An investment group now vows to return the area to its status as an "eco heaven.")

And soon enough, the first billboard announcing "Bali Coffee" makes a signpost for a road that leads farther up into thick mists, then down the backside of the ridge. On a clear day, the downward spiral of hairpin turns must offer stunning views of this round bowl of a valley. But it's tough in the fog to clearly identify any of the local agriculture. Fortunately, a relatively new sign directs my driver to turn down a long driveway to the Munduk Moding Plantation. Billed as a "nature resort and spa," the place turns out to be a single, Dutch-style manor house, splendidly remodeled with four rooms up top, looking out over an infinity-style pool and its five hectares of working coffee farm.

But I still don't see any of the prized crop until the staff leads me along stone steps that make a circular path around the property. At long last, I've got beans to both sides of me, and these are in the raw, not freeze-dried or in measured espresso packets. All I have to do is lift the shiny leaves of these pleasant shrubs to see clumps of the green buds that have given humanity (including me) so much inspiration. How can so nerve-jangling a fruit come with such comfortingly pretty white flowers?

At the end of the trek, I'm joined by Made, the well-spoken, tie-wearing co-founder of the place. While sipping from his plantation's best brew, he explains that he and a Dutch partner invested six billion rupiahs ($640,000) not merely to turn a profit from tourism but to help save his home region's coffee tradition, hurt by a falling water table (coffee is a thirsty crop) and long stretch of weak coffee prices over the past decade. Locals say that coffee, originally brought by Dutch colonizers, is being slowly replaced by more lucrative crops such as cocoa.

His coffee seems to go down very smoothly, until he informs me that what I am drinking is actually kopi lubak, more commonly kopi luwak, a rare treat. Brewed from beans gathered by neighboring farmers from the feces of a local, coffee-addicted species of civet (the pulpy part of the berry is digested, but the bean passes through whole), it's renowned for its lack of bitterness. (The beans do get a rinse before roasting.) I don't even realize until it's too late that I might have just downed some of the world's most expensive java (in this case, Bali).

Made's recommendation for a homemade coffee-roasting operation leads way down to the valley bottom. But after a sprint through a sudden late-afternoon downpour, I'm told the backyard operation is closed for a full-moon festival -- one of the common, if charming, hazards in touring an island that operates on its own celestial calendar. In a pinch, Bali is usually able to provide one tourist catchall someplace. Around Munduk, it's the well-publicized Ngring Ngewedang, which I fortunately don't have to pronounce because it translates roughly as -- surprise! -- "enjoying coffee."

An open patio and covered tables command a great view (should the mist clear) from a strategic turn in the road, and, before actually partaking of more local brew (or taking home souvenir packets), Joni Suhadi, a relentless friendly manager who learned his English from years on a cruise ship, narrates a full tour of the facilities.

Down a path from the cafe is a shack devoted to coffee roasting, which is done over a wood fire as the beans roll in a crude and very rusty tumbler than reminds me of a big lettuce dryer. An energetic young couple, male and female, wait under a patch of thatched shade to raise oversize pestles and take up the vigorous pounding in a stone mortar that takes the place of an electric coffee grinder here. The result is a powder that concentrates every kick from the high-octane Robusta variety; the sample I finally get to sip is blastedly strong.

My pilgrimage to coffee country is made complete with a final stop at Ulu Danu, considered one of the island's more revered "water temples." It's quite a trek from the edge of Lake Bratan and doesn't look to be a very active, though a small group of pilgrims soon hops from the back of a pickup truck to leave offerings inside its weathered walls, slightly reminiscent of a prison yard. Still, the sculpted stone turrets are atmospheric as they face out on the shallow waters. And this blackened, slightly spooky shrine just may be the perfect place to placate the gods of caffeine and calm down after too much robusta.

--John Krich is a writer based in Bangkok.

Coffee may have health benefits and may not pose health risks for many people

2009-12-21T19:40:00.000-08:00

Original Article

By Carolyn Butler

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Of all the relationships in my life, by far the most on-again, off-again has been with coffee: From that initial, tentative dalliance in college to a serious commitment during my first real reporting job to breaking up altogether when I got pregnant, only to fail miserably at quitting my daily latte the second time I was expecting. More recently the relationship has turned into full-blown obsession and, ironically, I often fall asleep at night dreaming of the delicious, satisfying cup of joe that awaits, come morning.

While I love the mere ritual of drinking coffee, I have definitely come to rely on the caffeine to make me feel more alert, energetic and often just plain better, every single day. And yet because I don't like feeling dependent on anything, I occasionally wonder whether I should give it up for good, especially when I have a particularly jittery afternoon. Can something that tastes and feels this good not be bad for you?

Rest assured: Not only has current research shown that moderate coffee consumption isn't likely to hurt you, it may actually have significant health benefits. "Coffee is generally associated with a less health-conscious lifestyle -- people who don't sleep much, drink coffee, smoke, drink alcohol," explains Rob van Dam, an assistant professor in the departments of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. He points out that early studies failed to account for such issues and thus found a link between drinking coffee and such conditions as heart disease and cancer, a link that has contributed to java's lingering bad rep. "But as more studies have been conducted -- larger and better studies that controlled for healthy lifestyle issues -- the totality of efforts suggests that coffee is a good beverage choice."

Van Dam's research, for example, found no evidence that coffee consumption had any effect on mortality from any cause, including cardiovascular disease or cancer, even for people who drink up to six cups a day. He and his colleagues have also found that drinking coffee is associated with a reduced risk of liver disease and Type 2 diabetes. The latter is backed up by a study published this month in the Archives of Internal Medicine; it suggested that three to four cups of joe a day might reduce chances of developing Type 2 diabetes by roughly 25 percent.

And that's not all. Also this month, Harvard researchers unveiled new data suggesting that drinking coffee might lower men's chances of developing aggressive prostate cancer by up to 60 percent, with the highest benefits for those who down the most java.

Other studies have shown that coffee consumption reduces the risk of a laundry list of ailments: stroke, Alzheimer's, dementia, Parkinson's, endometrial cancer, colon cancer and gallstones, for starters.

"The evidence is pretty clear," says Daniel Burnett, a preventive medicine and family physician in Bethesda, who notes that coffee intake can also improve mental performance and mood, decrease depressive symptoms and increase endurance and aerobic performance.

While caffeine is the star ingredient for sleep-deprived students, parents and worker bees, the fact is that in many of these studies, including the research on diabetes and prostate cancer, positive effects are similar for those who drink decaf as well.

"Most of the benefits associated with coffee are not attributed to caffeine," says van Dam, who explains that the beverage also contains antioxidants and quite a few vitamins and minerals. "We tend to focus on coffee as just a vehicle for caffeine, . . . but now we look in more detail, without bias, and see it also has hundreds of compounds that might have beneficial effects, similar to things we see in some vegetables, which makes all the [study results] seem more plausible."

Which is not to say the bean has no downside. Doctors cite risks such as miscarriage, fertility problems, anxiety and sleep issues, and warn that pregnant women and those with blood pressure problems, especially, should cut back or avoid it.

Others are more concerned about the potential for addiction. "My personal opinion on caffeine is that it's the most widely used psychoactive drug in world," says Daniel Evatt, a research fellow in the department of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He notes that many people become tolerant to immediate perks such as alertness and increased energy, and then go through withdrawal, with headaches, low energy and other symptoms, when they try to quit.

In addition, Evatt suggests that some longtime coffee drinkers may actually be immune to benefits and not know it: The tiredness they feel in the morning is really withdrawal-related, he says, and that single or double shot just helps them get back to normal functioning, without providing a real boost. "All these things tell us that this is a substance that people can become dependent on, in the way they become dependent on other drugs."

In particular, researchers worry about children and teenagers who gulp down coffee and such high-calorie cousins as frappuccinos, soda and especially the new wave of energy drinks. "They already have enough ups and downs with emotions as it is; when you add caffeine into the mix, it's a problem -- their bodies aren't as equipped to handle it," says Evatt, who expresses concern that energy drinks are regulated as supplements instead of soft drinks. As a result, there is no limit on how much caffeine they can contain, nor are they required to list stimulant content on their labels, even though it can be 300 milligrams or more in an eight-ounce can, compared with 80 to 100 mg or so in a cup of brewed coffee.

Given some of the downsides of caffeine, even coffee enthusiasts in the research field suggest that people monitor their consumption and recognize how they react to the stimulant, looking for troublesome signs including jitteriness, tremors and difficulty sleeping. (This is particularly important because studies have shown that different people metabolize caffeine in vastly different ways; that's why a Coke or cappuccino can leave one person bouncing off the walls while another can nap straight away.)

But those of us who tolerate our daily brew well can continue to happily caffeinate, within reason. "In terms of health risks, up to around six cups a day or so seems to be fine," says van Dam, noting that "cup" generally means eight to 10 ounces of black coffee -- not a venti mochaccino or the like, with added caffeine, sugar and calories. "I think coffee is on par with tea and water, and can be a healthy choice for most people."

Unemployed Man Starts Own Cafe Business

2009-12-21T19:33:00.000-08:00

CBS Newspath
Published: December 21, 2009

After being unemployed for nearly a year- Robert Drenth decided to take matters into his own hands and provide hope in the community at the same time.

The sizzle of the grill is music to Robert Drenth’s ears.

His hope café opened just 3 weeks ago.

Drenth took this old building and transformed it into a family diner… Wiping out his 401-K saved up from the job he lost last year… And taking loans to cover the rest… Anything to put him back to work again.

From cooks to waitresses… His tiny restaurant employs 4 others who were also out of work… Until now.

Waitress Amanda Phillips has 5 kids at home… She started working here at hope café 2 weeks ago and says the holidays are now looking a little brighter.

And Drenth now hopes to inspire others.

Right now they only serve breakfast and lunch but Drenth hopes to start serving dinner in the new year.

International Coffee Organization: Coffee Market Report November 2009

2009-12-21T19:23:00.001-08:00

International Coffee Organization: Coffee Market Report November 2009

(Drinks Media Wire). Prices of Colombian Milds and Brazilian Naturals remained firm in November, while those of Other Milds fell slightly. Robusta prices continued to be subject to downward pressures with the arrival on the market of the new Vietnamese harvest. The monthly average of the 2nd and 3rd positions on the London futures market was down from 66.74 US cents per lb in October to 62.84 US cents per lb in November.

On the basis of statistical data for exporting countries, total production in crop year 2008/09 was 128 million bags. For crop year 2009/10 my preliminary estimate of total production is between 123 and 125 million bags. Apart from Brazil, where production in 2009/10 will be reduced, a number of other exporting countries will also record lower production levels, notably Colombia and India. In the case of Colombia, production in crop year 2009/10 will not be as high as forecast due to a number of factors, including the recurrence of coffee berry borer (CBB) infestation and the continuation of the coffee tree rejuvenation rogramme.

It should be noted that inflation has contributed towards increases in the cost of production in many countries, particularly on account of higher fertilizer prices and labour costs. The Vietnamese authorities have recently announced a 5% devaluation of the Vietnamese dong against the US dollar.

Exports by all exporting countries during October totalled 6.9 million bags, bringing the cumulative total for calendar year 2009 (January – October 2009) to 79.8 million bags, representing a fall of 1.9% in relation to the figure of 81.4 million bags for the same period in 2008.

In November, I participated in the 23rd Sintercafé Conference in the Guanacaste coffee region of Costa Rica where I outlined the key features of the International Coffee Agreement 2007. I also participated in the 17th ENCAFE Conference in Salvador, Brazil on the theme of the growth in the market for quality Coffee.
In my presentation I gave a detailed analysis of consumption trends and outlined the behaviour of the market during the world economic crisis. Finally, I attended the 49th General Assembly of the InterAfrican Coffee Organisation (IACO) in Accra, Ghana. In my address to the delegates of the 25 Member countries of this Organization, I reviewed the situation of African coffee production and highlighted the need to evelop rehabilitation and replanting programmes to improve coffee productivity and quality.

Price movements
The monthly average of the ICO composite indicator price fell by 1.17% from 121.09 US cents per lb in October to 119.67 US cents per lb in November (Table 1). However, the behaviour of prices during the first week of December indicates a slight recovery in prices1. Graph 1 shows changes in the ICO daily composite indicator price since 3 November 2008. Graph 2 shows daily indicator prices for the four roups of coffee since 3 November 2008. Prices for Colombian Milds and Brazilian Naturals remained firm while those for Other Milds and Robustas fell. This fall was less marked for Other Milds than for Robustas.

Instant-coffee war: Nestlé takes aim at Starbucks

2009-12-21T19:15:00.000-08:00

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- An instant-coffee war is brewing.

A month after Starbucks' Via Ready Brew invaded Nestlé's jealously guarded turf, the giant Swiss food maker has mounted a spirited counteroffensive, passing out free samples of its Nescafé Taster's Choice instant coffee across several key U.S. cities.

A Nestlé spokeswoman says the company has been handing out samples, packaged in thin pouches similar to those Starbucks is using (Nescafé's are called "sticks"), through much of the year.

Nescafe
Longtime instant-coffee incumbent Nescafe reacts to Starbucks' encroachment with advertising splash and handouts.

But a look at Nestlé's Twitter page shows they've really revved up the campaign of late.

Nestlé marketers were recently spotted for the first time roaming the streets of downtown San Francisco, handing out samples to caffeine-savvy citizens. This month, Nestlé tweets have been urging people to find seek out their street marketers at specific corners or landmarks in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

The red packs contain six flavors and a $1 coupon. On the back of the envelope is this tagline: "A lot of hype or a lot of flavor. Taste for yourself."

It's a thinly veiled jab at Starbucks (SBUX 23.12, -0.02, -0.09%) , which has
also been knocked by McDonald's (MCD 62.66, +0.49, +0.79%) for catering
to the image-conscious crowd.

Nestlé's tactics extend to the Web, where it put up a site in May that tells consumers its Taster's Choice is cheaper and tastes better than Starbucks Via. In a Web commercial, Nestlé touts the fact that one cup of its Taster's Choice costs 17 cents, while Via costs four times that. It shows a Starbucks cup at the end.

Earlier this year, Nestlé (NSRG.Y 48.18, +0.18, +0.38%) pushed free
samples in Chicago and Seattle, two cities in which Starbucks did pilot tests for Via before its nationwide rollout in September. Nestlé (CH:NESN 50.35, +0.36, +0.72%) also has been doing directing mailings.

It's hard to fathom the marketing muscle Nestlé and Starbucks are throwing behind their rival instant brews. But the stakes are enormous, even more so when trying to break into a sluggish economy laced with newfound frugality.

Starbucks
Starbucks' instant Via comes in just two classic varieties, while Nescafe takes a bigger-tent approach.

Instant coffee generates $21 billion in worldwide sales -- that's more than 40% of the total coffee market. The U.S. accounts for 5% of the instant market.

"Starbucks has drawn more attention to the [instant] category," said Nestlé spokeswoman Pam Krebs, who thinks the very public rivalry is good for the product.

Starbucks rolled out Via after 20 years of secretive internal R&D. It was the biggest product launch in company history, supported by a coordinated attack of national television ads, highly visible in-store marketing collateral, and guerrilla marketing tactics.

Starbucks isn't pitching Via as the instant coffee Americans grew up drinking but as its gourmet coffee brewed in an instant. Its varieties are limited to Italian Roast and Colombia, while a Taster's Choice sample pack extends to hazelnut and vanilla flavors.

The Via tagline: "Never be without great coffee."

And, like its new rivals, Starbucks isn't pulling any punches, calling other instant coffees "flat and lifeless." CEO Howard Schultz claims instant coffee hasn't seen innovation for 50 years.

Starbucks, in its latest quarterly conference call, said Via sales have gone well, but it didn't release hard numbers. Three single-serve packets of Via sell for $2.95, or just a buck per cup. A 12-pack of pouches runs $9.95. A Taster's Choice bulk buy of seven 12-packs is offered for $12.16 at Amazon.com.

Perhaps suggesting that consumers are pitting the new single-serve instant-coffee products against each other at home or office, Amazon lists the Starbucks and Nescafé offerings as "frequently bought together."

Matt Andrejczak is a reporter for MarketWatch in San Francisco.

FBD: Nestlé coffee partnership aims to boost yield

2009-11-17T18:57:00.000-08:00

FBD: Nestlé coffee partnership aims to boost yield

by Sarah Hills FoodBizdaily.com London

November 17 2009 - A new partnership between Nestlé and the Indonesian Coffee & Cocoa Research Institute has been agreed to produce the Robusta coffee plant with better yield and more resistance to drought and disease.

The cooperation agreement between Nestlé Research & Development in Tours, France, and the ICCRI, based in East Java, is to develop high quality Indonesian Robusta Coffee plantlets.

Tours is Nestlé’s centre of excellence for innovation in strategically important plant raw materials, in particular coffee, cocoa and chicory. Its focus is on increasing quality and the sustainability of supply.

The cooperation started in 1994 but this latest agreement expects to improve yield and drought/disease resistance whilst preserving the originality of Indonesian coffee.

Nestlé said in a statement that R&D Tours and ICCRI will undertake the genetic mapping of Indonesian Robusta Coffee to ensure the quality of coffee plants that have been developed from the earlier cooperation.

Debora Tjandrakusuma, legal and corporate affairs director of PT Nestlé Indonesia, said: “What we are doing today is part of our business strategy to create shared value along our value chains.

“We believe that our long term success is dependent on our ability to create value along our value chain, be it our shareholders, employees, consumers, society and our stakeholders.”

Nestlé R&D Tours had already granted the SE (Somatic Embryogenesis) technology to ICCRI to propagate coffee and cacao plantlets in large quantity in a shorter period of time.

These have been planted across ten provinces in Indonesia to revitalise cocoa plantations, which Nestle claims helps the competitiveness of Indonesian farmers on the International markets.

Tjandrakusuma added “We are pleased that with the SE technology granted from Nestlé, based on the partnership between Nestlé and ICCRI since 1994, ICCRI has supported the government in developing original Indonesian coffee and cocoa plantlets with better yield and resistant to disease in a shorter time.”

Nestlé Indonesia, a subsidiary of Nestlé SA, has three factories in Indonesia producing milk, foods and beverages products under its brands, including Kit Kat and Nescafe.

World Coffee Supply May Drop to 124 Million Bags

2009-11-17T18:53:00.001-08:00

World Coffee Supply May Drop to 124 Million Bags

By Heather Walsh

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- World coffee supply may drop by about 3.2 percent in the current season, after rainfall pared output in Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia, International Coffee Organization Executive Director Nestor Osorio said.

Global supply may fall to about 124 million bags in the year that started Oct. 1 from 128.1 million bags a year earlier, Osorio said in a telephone interview from Bogota yesterday. A bag of coffee weighs 60 kilograms (132 pounds).

Coffee has rallied 23 percent this year in New York, partly after Colombia’s production touched its lowest level since 1974 last season. At the same time, consumption of the bean will increase to 132 million bags this year, buoyed by sales in emerging markets, Osorio said. Consumption was 130 million bags in 2008, according to ICO estimates.

“There is a very tight situation between supply and demand,” Osorio said.

Coffee stockpiles in producing nations are now at a “negligible” level, Osorio said. Inventories in importing nations may rise to 27 million bags, from 25 million-to-26 million bags, Osorio said.

Arabica-coffee futures for March delivery, the most-active contract, slid 1.7 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $1.3775 a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York.

Coffee growers in Brazil, the world’s biggest producer, this year will supply 39 million bags, 15 percent less than the prior season’s 46 million. ICO counts Brazilian coffee that has already been harvested as supply for this season, Osorio said.

Prices May Gain

Coffee may gain to $1.45 a pound in the next month, partly on concern that rainfall is hampering supplies from Brazil, Chintan Parikh, a commodity analyst at CPM Group, said today in a telephone interview from New York. ICO’s global forecast for reduced output also will push the price higher in the “longer- term,” he said.

“There have been ongoing concerns about supply,” he said. “That’s putting upward pressure on prices.”

A bigger crop in Brazil is needed to rebuild stockpiles, said Gil Carlos Barabach, a coffee analyst at Safras & Mercado research group in Brazil, in a telephone interview from Porto Alegre.

“If the crop is hurt and gets smaller, it can have a drastic effect over world stocks,” he said.

Output in Vietnam, the world’s second-biggest producer, may slide to 17.5 million bags from 18.5 million bags, Osorio said.

Colombia Rains

In Colombia, rainfall slashed coffee production 31 percent to a 35-year low last season, pushing it below the harvest in Indonesia, now the third-ranked producing country. Colombia’s crop may remain below Indonesia’s production of about 9 million bags in the current season, Osorio said.

The South American country’s coffee output plunged to 8.66 million bags in the last crop, from 12.5 million in the year through Sept. 2008, according to the ICO.

In the season that starts Oct. 1, 2010, Colombia may recover its spot as the No. 3 producer, with output climbing to about 11 million bags, he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Heather Walsh in Bogota at hlwalsh@bloomberg.net;
Last Updated: November 17, 2009 13:21 EST

World Coffee Supply May Drop to 124 Million Bags

2009-11-17T18:53:00.000-08:00

Bisnis.Com - Bisnis Indonesia Online: Referensi Bisnis Terpercaya » Edisi Cetak » Edisi Harian » Agribisnis » Indonesia kembangkan kopi specialty di 12 provinsi

2009-09-25T06:00:00.001-07:00

Bisnis.Com - Bisnis Indonesia Online: Referensi Bisnis Terpercaya » Edisi Cetak » Edisi Harian » Agribisnis » Indonesia kembangkan kopi specialty di 12 provinsi

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Indonesia kembangkan kopi specialty di 12 provinsi

2009-09-25T05:58:00.000-07:00

Rabu, 09/09/2009
Indonesia kembangkan kopi specialty di 12 provinsi

JAKARTA: Terpincut oleh harga komoditas kopi specialty yang bagus, pemerintah berencana untuk mengembangkan tanaman perkebunan itu di 12 provinsi.

“Untuk biayanya, pada 2010, pemerintah menganggarkan dana Rp 28 miliar,” ujar Dirjen Perkebunan Departemen Pertanian (Deptan) Achmad Mangga Barani di Jakarta kemarin.

Dia mengatakan selain memiliki cita rasa yang khas dan tumbuh di daerah tertentu di Tanah Air, kopi jenis ini telah dikenal oleh masyarakat internasional. Jenis kopi itu a.l. kopi baliem, kopi toraja, kopi mandailing, kopi aceh, dan kopi kintamani. “Harganya, cukup tinggi. Kini, di pasar internasional mencapai US$15-US$20 per kg,” ujar Achmad.

Ke-12 provinsi yang akan dijadikan sebagai kawasan pengembangan kopi spesial itu a.l. Bengkulu, Papua Barat, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Bali, Sulawesi Selatan, dan Sumatra Utara. Dari beberapa wilayah tersebut, kini telah dihasilkan sejumlah kopi itu.

Mangga Barani menyatakan saat ini ada tren harga kopi akan terus membaik menyusul adanya prediksi bahwa perekonomian dunia akan membaik dan tingkat konsumsi kopi masih terjaga. “Harga kopi kemungkinan beranjak naik, seperti kakao,” katanya.

Selain program itu, kata Dirjen, pemerintah juga akan membangun pasar kopi di Indonesia, sehingga fluktuasi harga kopi di pasar dunia bukan momok bagi produsen kopi di Tanah Air. Apalagi tingkat konsumsi kopi di pasar domestik setinggi tingkat permintaan di Brasil dan Kolombia, yang bergerak di kisaran 3 kg--4 kg per kapita per tahun.

Konsumsi kopi per kapita di Indonesia, katanya, hanya sekitar 500 gram setiap tahunnya. Tingkat konsumsi kopi robusta akan dinaikkan dari 500 gram per kapita per tahun menjadi 700 gram. Adapun, konsumsi kopi arabika akan didorong ke atas dari 500 gram menjadi 1.000 gram per kapita per tahun.

Dalam skenario Deptan itu, kenaikan konsumsi kopi akan dibarengi dengan kenaikan produksi yaitu kopi robusta dari 650.000 ton menjadi 750.000 ton per tahun melalui pemakaian bibit unggul.

Ditjen Perkebunan Departemen Pertanian mencatat Indonesia merupakan salah satu negara produsen kopi di dunia selain Brasil, Vietnam, dan Kolombia. Namun, volume ekspor kopi dari Tanah Air, sebagian besar berbentuk biji kopi dan berada di urutan keempat terbesar dunia setelah Brasil, Vietnam, dan Kolombia.

Tahun ini, Indonesia diprediksi mampu memproduksi kopi sampai sekitar 689.140 ton yang terdiri dari kopi robusta sebesar 557.190 ton atau sekitar 81% dari total produksi dan sisanya 131.950 ton merupakan jenis arabika. Selain itu, sekitar 469.000 ton atau 68% dari total produksi kopi dalam negeri diekspor ke luar negeri.

Oleh Diena Lestari
Bisnis Indonesia

Indonesia Coffee Exporters Delay 15,000 T of Shipments Source: Reuters 18/09/2009

2009-09-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

Indonesia Coffee Exporters Delay 15,000 T of Shipments Source: Reuters
18/09/2009

Singapore, Sept 18 - Coffee exporters in Indonesia's main growing island of Sumatra have delayed the shipment of between 10,000 and 15,000 tonnes of robusta beans due to high premiums and tight supply, dealers said on Friday.Daily News Alerts

- We respect your privacy -

The delays could encourage roasters to shift to Vietnam, where new harvests just started and beans were offered at a big discount to London futures. Earlier this year, though, Vietnamese exporters had also delayed shipments due to bean scarcity. [COF/AS]

Many Indonesian exporters have made robusta advance sales that were too heavy on expectations of good harvests in the world's second-largest producer after Vietnam, but farmers held back on stocks, hoping for a greater rebound in London futures. .

"The crop coming into Lampung is very little. It's the end of the season and farmers are still holding some beans," said an exporter in Singapore, referring to the growing province of Lampung on Sumatra.

"Indonesian differentials are very high compared with Vietnam's. If this continues, then a lot of people will shift to Vietnam which is selling beans at a discount," said the dealer, who has delayed shipment of Sumatran beans for at least a month.

Dealers said up to 15,000 tonnes of Sumatran robustas failed to be delivered to buyers in recent weeks because of problems in getting beans. A strong rupiah also discouraged sales during the current harvests, they said.

Sumatran grade 4, 80 defects were quoted at a premium of $50 to $60 above London's November contract, lower than the $80 last week, but many dealers also offered the beans at a premium of $100, said dealers.

Vietnamese beans from the previous crop were offered at $40 below November contract, while beans from the new harvest fetched a discount of $100 to $110 under London's January contract.

London November robustas rose $12 to settle at $1,524 per tonne on Thursday to track gains in arabica. The contract has bounced from a lifetime low of $1,250 struck in late June but was still more than 30 percent below a peak of $2,392 last July. [SOF/]

In Indonesia, coffee exporters normally agree on export commitments but delay decisions on prices until after beans have been delivered. Beans were offered by farmers at 15,000 rupiah ($1.6) per kg in Lampung, steady from last week.

"At 15,000 rupiah per kg, the price is equal to $100 premium to London futures, but buyers may only want to pay for the beans at a discount of $100. It's a huge loss," said an exporter in Jakarta.

Indonesia's coffee output is forecast to grow by about 3 percent to 689,000 tonnes in 2009, an agriculture ministry official said, while exports were expected to be steady at 469,000 tonnes. [IDJAK366776]

Differentials of key Asia coffee origins, with reference to the November robusta futures in London:

Sept 18 Sept 11 Indonesia Grade 4, 80 defects +$50+$100 +$80 Vietnam Grade 2, 5.0 pct B&B -40 UNQ ($1=9.690 rupiah)

Bad Java Blues: Why do we get bad coffee in good restaurants?

2008-10-24T09:38:00.000-07:00

Thursday, October 23, 2008
By China Millman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pam Panchak/Post-Gazette
French Press coffee service at Legume Bistro in Regent Square.

Great restaurants are great because of their attention to detail. Whether in Pittsburgh or Paris, they serve high-quality bread, use freshly squeezed juices in cocktails and make their desserts from scratch in house. Too many restaurants in Pittsburgh treat these elements of the meal as if they were only details, as if they don't matter in the overall scheme of success.

There are many easy changes that restaurants could make to improve the quality of their meals (so-called whipped cream that actually comes from a canister is ubiquitous and frustrating), but instead I'd like to examine a problem that isn't so easily solved, but is definitely worth solving. Why is it so hard to get a decent cup of coffee in a Pittsburgh restaurant?

The general absence of good coffee in Pittsburgh restaurants is baffling, because Pittsburgh has a vibrant coffee culture supported by people who are also some of the city's most active diners. Pittsburgh has an impressive number of high-quality cafes where professionals devote themselves to serving the best possible coffee and espresso.

Meanwhile, above-average restaurants in Pittsburgh rarely serve above-average coffee. At the end of meals I have learned to order coffee with my fingers crossed. Will it be weak and watery, or so bitter it's undrinkable without a dose of sugar and cream? Will espresso be cold? Will a double shot be large enough to fill a coffee, rather than a demitasse, cup, and will it taste similarly diluted?

Coffee in restaurants will probably never be able to compete in a head-to-head comparison with the best cafes, but that doesn't mean it can't be more than tolerable. Why aren't restaurants taking advantage of, or at least demonstrating an awareness of, an already educated public willing to pay extra for a quality cup?

The immediate cause is disappointingly obvious: Good coffee costs more. No amount of work can turn mediocre beans into a good cup of coffee. Sam Patti, owner of the La Prima Espresso Company, has had a number of frustrating tastings at restaurants where owners and staff express enthusiasm for La Prima coffee, but then balk at spending more for it than they do for whatever they're already brewing -- despite the fact that they can taste the difference in quality.

Even restaurants that buy high-quality beans rarely seek comprehensive training from Patti or from other local experts such as Rich Westerfield of Aldo Coffee in Mt. Lebanon. Though beans are an essential ingredient of good coffee, it's entirely possible to get bad coffee from good beans, just as it's entirely possible to get bad food from high-quality ingredients.

Training staff to make coffee or espresso is difficult, especially given the high turnover of many restaurant workers. When it comes to espresso, most restaurants are doomed from the start, because the machine is "often at the wrong temperature due to long idle times between drink orders," explained Westerfield. "But for drip, any decent place should be able to handle press pots or individual pour-overs with a short but good menu of different coffees."

Westerfield is referring to techniques that most coffee experts consider the future: single-cup brewing methods such as chemex pots, a sort of manual version of drip-coffee, and French press pots, where water is poured directly over ground coffee, "brewed" for approximately three minutes, then the water is "pressed" out of the coffee using a fine wire mesh.

French press coffee is the ideal solution for restaurants because the most important aspect of this method is the recipe -- using the proper amount of beans, ground at the right size, for the right amount of water at the right temperature. Once you've figured out the recipe you prefer, it is quite simple to teach it to anyone.

Legume Bistro has been serving French press coffee (with La Prima beans) since it opened in the summer of 2007, and the coffee I've had there has been consistently top-notch. A small pot of coffee provides two small cups, while a large pot could easily be split among two to four people.

The best part about French press coffee is that not only does it produce excellent coffee, it also introduces a pleasant element of ritual into the meal.

Coffee and tea often get short shrift in individual restaurant reviews because there is simply too much going on in any restaurant to write about everything, but their quality has a measurable impact on my overall experience. I don't expect perfection, just a reasonable amount of care and quality, the same amount of care and quality that goes into the food.

Restaurants continue to worry about rising costs as the price of most major commodities continues to climb, and most will probably scoff at the idea of choosing to spend more on anything right now. But given the current economic climate, there's probably going to be a thinning of restaurants, and the ones that make it aren't necessarily going to be the cheapest. The restaurants that survive are probably going to be the ones that offer the greatest perception of value -- the best experience at any price. Coffee is often the last taste of a restaurant that customers get. Shouldn't it make them want to come back?

Coffee cupping

2008-10-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

Coffee cupping

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coffee cupping, or coffee tasting, is the practice of observing the tastes and aromas of brewed coffee. It is a professional practise but can be done informally by anyone or by professionals known as Master Tasters.

A standard coffee cupping procedure involves deeply sniffing the coffee, then loudly slurping the coffee so it spreads to the back of the tongue. The coffee taster attempts to measure aspects of the coffee's taste, specifically the body (the texture or mouthfeel, such as oiliness), acidity (a sharp and tangy feeling, like when biting into an orange), and balance (the harmony of flavours working together). Since coffee beans embody telltale flavours from the region where they were grown, cuppers may attempt to predict the coffee's origin.

Aromas

Animal-like - This odour descriptor is somewhat reminiscent of the smell of animals. It is not a fragrant aroma like musk but has the characteristic odour of wet fur, sweat, leather, hides or urine. It is not necessarily considered as a negative attribute but is generally used to describe strong notes.

Ashy - This odour descriptor is similar to that of an ashtray, the odour of smokers' fingers or the smell one gets when cleaning out a fireplace. It is not used as a negative attribute. Generally speaking this descriptor is used by the tasters to indicate the degree of roast.

Burnt/Smoky - This odour and flavour descriptor is similar to that found in burnt food. The odour is associated with smoke produced when burning wood. This descriptor is frequently used to indicate the degree of roast commonly found by tasters in dark-roasted or oven-roasted coffees.

Chemical/Medicinal - This odour descriptor is reminiscent of chemicals, medicines and the smell of hospitals. This term is used to describe coffees having aromas such as rio flavour, chemical residues or highly aromatic coffees which produce large amounts of volatiles.

Chocolate-like - This aroma descriptor is reminiscent of the aroma and flavour of cocoa powder and chocolate (including dark chocolate and milk chocolate). It is an aroma that is sometimes referred to as sweet.

Caramel - This aroma descriptor is reminiscent of the odour and flavour produced when caramelizing sugar without burning it. Tasters should be cautioned not to use this attribute to describe a burning note.

Cereal/Malty/Toastlike - This descriptor includes aromas characteristic of cereal, malt, and toast. It includes scents such as the aroma and flavour of uncooked or roasted grain (including roasted corn, barley or wheat), malt extract and the aroma and flavour of freshly baked bread and freshly made toast. This descriptor has a common denominator, a grain-type aroma. The aromas in this descriptor were grouped together since tasters used these terms interchangeably when evaluating standards of each one.

Earthy - The characteristic odour of fresh, wet soil or humus. Sometimes associated with moulds and reminiscent of raw potato flavour, a common flavournote in coffees from Asia.

Floral - This aroma descriptor is similar to the fragrance of flowers. It is associated with the slight scent of different types of flowers including honeysuckle, jasmine, dandelion and nettles. It is mainly found when an intense fruity or green aroma is perceived but rarely found having a high intensity by itself.

Fruity/Citrus - This aroma is reminiscent of the odour and taste of fruit. The natural aroma of berries is highly associated with this attribute. The perception of high acidity in some coffees is correlated with the citrus characteristic. Tasters should be cautioned not to use this attribute to describe the aroma of unripe or overripe fruit.

Grassy/Green/Herbal - This aroma descriptor includes three terms which are associated with odours reminiscent of a freshly mowed lawn, fresh green grass or herbs, green foliage, green beans or unripe fruit.

Nutty - This aroma is reminiscent of the odour and flavour of fresh nuts (distinct from rancid nuts) and not of bitter almonds.

Rancid/Rotten - This aroma descriptor includes two terms which are associated with odours reminiscent of rancidification and oxidation of several products. Rancid as the main indicator of fat oxidation mainly refers to rancid nuts and rotten is used as an indicator of deteriorated vegetables or non-oily products. Tasters should be cautioned not to apply these descriptors to coffees that have strong notes but no signs of deterioration.

Rubber-like - This odour descriptor is characteristic of the smell of hot tyres, rubber bands and rubber stoppers. It is not considered a negative attribute but has a characteristic strong note highly recognisable in some coffees.

Spicy - This aroma descriptor is typical of the odour of sweet spices such as cloves, cinnamon and allspice. Tasters are cautioned not to use this term to describe the aroma of savoury spices such as pepper, oregano and Indian spices.

Tobacco - This aroma descriptor is reminiscent of the odour and taste of tobacco but should not be used for burnt tobacco.

Winey - This terms is used to describe the combined sensation of smell, taste and mouthfeel experiences when drinking wine. It is generally perceived when a strong acidic or fruity note is found. Tasters should be cautioned not to apply this term to a sour or fermented flavour.

Woody - This aroma descriptor is reminiscent of the smell of dry wood, an oak barrel, dead wood or cardboard paper.

Taste

Acidity - A basic taste characterised by the solution of an organic acid. A desirable sharp and pleasing taste particularly strong with certain origins as opposed to an over-fermented sour taste.

Bitterness - A primary taste characterised by the solution of caffeine, quinine and certain other alkaloids. This taste is considered desirable up to a certain level and is affected by the degree of roast brewing procedures.

Sweetness - This is a basic taste descriptor characterised by solutions of sucrose or fructose which are commonly associated with sweet aroma descriptors such as fruity, chocolate and caramel. It is generally used for describing coffees which are free from off-flavours.

Saltiness - A primary taste characterised by a solution of sodium chloride or other salts.

Sourness - This basic taste descriptor refers to an excessively sharp, biting and unpleasant flavour (such as vinegar or acetic acid). It is sometimes associated with the aroma of fermented coffee. Tasters should be cautious not to confuse this term with acidity which is generally considered a pleasant and desirable taste in coffee.

Mouthfeel

Body - This attribute descriptor is used to describe the physical properties of the beverage. A strong but pleasant full mouthfeel characteristic as opposed to being thin.

To an amateur coffee taster, body can be compared to drinking milk. A heavy body is comparable to whole milk while a light body can be comparable to skim milk.

Astringency - The astringent attribute is characteristic of an after-taste sensation consistent with a dry feeling in the mouth, undesirable in coffee.

SIBORONG BORONG !!! AGAIN !!!

2008-10-05T06:16:00.000-07:00

Starbucks announces Sumatra Siborong Borong, Black Apron exclusive coffee offering

Starbucks Coffee introduces Black Apron Exclusives Sumatra Siborong-Borong, available for a limited time only at selected stores in the Middle East.

United Arab Emirates: Tuesday, September 11 - 2007 at 13:33
PRESS RELEASE

Sumatra Siborong-Borong Coffee from Starbucks.

From the region that is the source for Starbucks best-selling single origin coffee comes a rare find in the coffee fields of a small town in Sumatra.

The newest addition to the special line of Black Apron Exclusives™ coffees, Sumatra Siborong-Borong produces the flavour qualities of its Asia/Pacific heritage, but consists of a very distinct and limited crop from a small town on the southern shores of Lake Toba, called Siborong-Borong. In Sumatra, where coffee is grown in rural backyard gardens, nearly all of this coffee is blended prior to export, making the flavours very special, offering the distinct flavour profile of a semi-washed Indonesian coffee, yielding full body and earthy notes. But what makes Sumatra Siborong-Borong especially extraordinary is its soft acidity, intense flavour and surprising herbal complexities with fresh basil notes

'Sumatra has been part of Starbucks' history for a quarter century, used in both blends and as a single-origin offering. In Sumatra, coffee is grown in abundance, nearly all is blended together prior to export. That is why Sumatra Siborong-Borong is very special as it's only available in a single offering not blended with any other coffee. Through Starbucks' relationships with farmers and exporters, Starbucks was able to obtain coffee grown in a single community and reserved this small batch to Starbucks customers. Starbucks Alshaya is delighted and honoured to share this coffee with coffee lovers in the region,' said Antoun Abou Jaoude, Marketing Manager for Starbucks Coffee Middle East.

Sumatra Siborong-Borong is grown in Lake Toba's most-prized coffee-growing area. The microclimate, volcanic soil, high-altitude and coffee stewardship helped produce this exceptional coffee. The climate is wet, so farmers must take extra care to protect the beans from moisture damage by delivering them to a centrally located mill the morning after harvest.

The Black Apron Exclusives™ coffees are named for Starbucks most knowledgeable buyers, roasters, tasters and Coffee Masters, who wear black aprons in the tasting rooms and in Starbucks coffeehouses. These coffees represent Starbucks expertise in coffee and dedication to the farmers who grow it. Black Apron Exclusives™ coffees are rare and intriguing, available in very limited supply and designed to appeal to people looking to experience truly unique and exotic flavours.

Starbucks awards US$15,000 for each Black Apron Exclusives™ coffee to help fund projects that support their communities, their environment and coffee sustainability. This award will be used to build three village clinics in Siborong-Borong coffee-producing areas. These new clinics will provide improved health care on a daily basis, benefiting approximately 3,000 of the area's residents.

'Sumatra Siborong-Borong is a C.A.F.E. (Coffee & Farmers Equity) Practices-verified coffee, ensuring the sustainable supply of high-quality coffee and preservation of farmers' rights where the coffee is sourced. Many people love Sumatra coffee, but few have ever experienced Sumatran flavours like these. This coffee beautifully packaged in a unique die-cut box is a rare treat, available only at selected Starbucks Alshaya stores across the Middle East. Customers can help support coffee-farming communities around the world by purchasing our Black Apron Exclusive coffees,' added Abou Jaoude.

SIBORONG BORONG !!!

2008-10-05T06:11:00.000-07:00

http://www.starbucksstore.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=528215

Sumatra Siborong-Borong by Starbucks Coffee
Black Apron Exclusives™ #2 - 2007

Grown in Siborong-Borong—a town in the heart of Sumatra's Lake Toba coffee-growing region—this rare, full-bodied coffee offers a surprising complexity, soft acidity and hints of freshly cut basil.

More about this coffee:

Batak women pick the cherries and then pulp and wash them, all by hand. The wet parchment is set out to dry in the sun on tarps or woven mats in front of houses. This coffee is sorted by hand and delivered to market the day after harvest to ensure freshness.

More about Black Apron Exclusives™:
As the name suggests, Black Apron Exclusives™ coffee represent the very best in a lineup of outstanding coffees. Our tasters go to the ends of the earth, in search of beans whose flavors and unique characteristics earn them the highest honor we can bestow. In a show of appreciation, participating farmers receive a cash award for their unrivaled contributions. Since its introduction in April of 2004, the Black Apron Exclusives™ series has exceeded expectations both in flavor and in demand. The limited batches of these rare coffees are highly treasured and enjoyed for as long as we can keep them around.

Now all Starbucks® coffees are at your fingertips - StarbucksStore.com is the online resource for all Starbucks coffees. Buy Starbucks coffees - whole bean, ground, pods, caffeinated, decaf, single-origin, espressos, blends, organic, promotional/holiday/seasonal blends and Black Apron Exclusives™ - easily and conveniently, delivered to your home or office.

KOPI BALI

2008-10-05T06:03:00.000-07:00

Kopi Robusta

Lokasi: Kab. Buleleng, Tabanan

Kopi Robusta Bali sudah mulai kembali diminati di pasar Timur Tengah. Kualitas produk kopi Robusta Bali mulai dapat meningkat karena para petani mulai melakukan panen buah yang sudah merah 100% dan proses pengolahan mulai dengan cara basah. Sampai dengan tahun 2005 luas areal kopi Robusta = 23.823 ha dengan volume produksi = 13.694 ton dengan sentra produksi di Kab. Tabanan dan Buleleng masing-masing memiliki produksi 5.483 ton dan 13.649 ton. Biji kopi Robusta relatif besar yaitu medium ke atas sampai large-bean. Produktivitas cukup tinggi dan para petani sudah mulai biasa panen buah kopi yang sudah berwarna merah 100%.

Prospek

Kopi Robusta Bali sangat diminati oleh para konsumen di Eropa dan Afrika. Penduduk Indonesia dengan jumlah ± 120 juta jiwa sudah terbiasa minum kopi Robusta. Kopi Robusta merupakan bahan baku kopi blending dengan kopi Arabika.

Segmen Pasar

1.	Dalam negeri
2.	Luar negeri: Afrika, Belanda, Asia

Peluang

Daya saing kopi Robusta mulai meningkat, bahan baku untuk industri primer masih cukup tersedia

Kab. Tabanan	27.415 ton buah kopi gelondong merah
Kab. Buleleng	68.470 ton buah kopi gelondong merah

Untuk industri hilir/sekunder tersedia bahan baku di Kab.:

Kab. Tabanan	5.483 ton kopi biji
Kab. Buleleng	13.694 ton kopi biji

Usaha agrobisnis kopi bubuk sudah ada dalam skala kecil dengan pangsa pasar lokal

Jenis Produk

Bahan Mentah (RAW-material)
	Diharapkan dapat menghasilkan produk hilir yaitu: kopi sangrai, kopi bubuk, dan turunan lainnya

Daya dukung

1.	Sarana tranportasi sudah tersedia dan dalam kondisi baik (jalan menuju sentra produksi sudah diaspal).
2.	Listrik sudah masuk ke seluruh desa.
3.	Pemda Tabanan dan Buleleng mendukung kehadiran investor dalam bidang agroindustri.

COFFEE

2008-09-25T02:10:00.000-07:00

From http://www.vienna.cc/ekaffeez.htmPreparation of coffee

General hints

Begin with freshly roasted beans. Coffee loses taste quickly, as soon as it is roasted and grinded. Even some hours can make already a large difference! Buy therefore a Coffee-mill and grind the coffee freshly.
Pay attention to the used water. Water, which a strange taste and/or -smell influences the taste of coffee negatively. Viennese water (Hochquellwasser) has that necessary quality and is best choice for coffee. If your water tastes good, use it, if not, take filled or filtered water. To find out the difference, I can only recommend to brew your Favorite-drink using your water and later using filled or filtered water.

Consider when grinding, that different sorts of coffee, require different methods to grinding. How crude or fine coffee is, it is important for the preparation of good coffee! Coffee too fine grinded will delay the process the brewing and yield a bitterly tasting cup; if grinded coffee is too crude the process of brewing is accelerated and you will get a watery drink. Besides temperature and dampness influence the coffee.
Keep an eye on your coffeemachine, clean and oil it from time to time. Oils become rancid by time. The rancid oils influence the taste of your coffee negatively.

Brewing coffee

There are countless methods and secret recipes. The following list presented here can only be a start, not complete.

Filter coffee

Whether automatically or manually, the principle is equal: Hot water is filtered through grinded coffee. The coffee lies in a filter from porous material, mostly paper. Filters are formed either flat or to a funnel. Flat filters require crude grinded coffee, funnels require finely grinded coffee. A funnel is to be preferred for the preparation of a good coffee. At an automatic coffeemachine, never leave the brewed coffee in the can! It's getting better already after some minutes. For the storage take a good thermos-bottle. So the coffee keeps his specific taste.

French press

The French press is composed of a tank formed to a cup with a plunger of fine-netted wire, which is attached at the cover. This method of brewing coffee is quite common and can not only used for single cups but also for several cups at once. At this method a cup is preheated first by heated flowing water. Take middle-fine grinded coffee, give boiling water in the glass. Leave it three to four minutes. The plunger is put on and lowered as far as possible. This method may sound complicated, but in reality it is quite simple. Keep this point in mind, that the coffee, which you use in this method, should be grinded not too finely.

Espresso

With Espresso the largest possible taste is striven for at smallest water. This can be reached with high pressure. At the purchase of a Espresso-machine consider the following: Cheaper machines probably have fewer pressure and so produce a tasty, intense coffee-drink. Besides it is to be considered, that the coffee must be grinded finely. The crude the coffee, the fewer taste. The coffee should be grinded as fine as possible. Read the description of the Espresso-machine. How grinded coffee should be lastely dependends on the size of the holes in the metal-filter. Experiment a little. Do not take too much coffee, which makes Espresso taste bitterly. Espresso-machines are available in different completions: as desktop (standup) for many Espressos, which for gastronomy-organizations is interesting, as well as standup for the oven. The principle of working is equal.

Storage of coffee

How already mentions, coffee-beans will lose their taste rather quickly. Still more quickly after they are grinded. Following is recommended, to keep the taste:

Grind only before the preparation the coffee. Preserve therefore coffee as ungrinded, roasted beans. Logically you need a coffee-mill.
Preserve coffee in a locked, air-tight tank. Only in this way the coffee keeps its typical aroma. Keep the coffee cool, but no longer than two weeks. If you want to keep coffee longer than this period of time, so put it in a locked tank in a freezer.

Kopi Gayo

2008-09-25T02:02:00.000-07:00

Dari: http://kopigayo.blogspot.com/2008/03/pengolahan-kopi.html

PENGOLAHAN KOPI

Biji kopi yang sudah siap diperdagangkan adalah berupa biji kopi kering yang sudah terlepas dari daging buah, kulit tanduk dan kulit arinya, butiran biji kopi yang emikian ini disebut kopi beras (coffca beans) atau market koffie. Kopi beras berasal dari buah kopi basah yang telah mengalami beberapa tingkat proses pengolahan. Secara garis besar dan berdasarkan cara kerjanya, maka terdapat dua cara pengolahan buah kopi basah men.iadi kopi beras, yaitu yang disebut pengolahan buah kopi cara basah dan cara kering. Pengolahan buah kopi sccara basah biasa disebut W.I..B. (West lndische Bereiding), sedangkan pengolahan cara kering biasa disebut O.I.B (Ost Indische Bereiding). Perbedaan pokok dari kedua cara tersebut diatas adalah pada cara kering pengupasan daging buah, kulit tanduk dan kulit ari dilakukan setelah kering (kopi gelondong), sedangkan cara basah pengupasan daging buah dilakukan sewaktu masih basah.

Metode Pengolahan Kering

Metode ini sangat sederhana dan sering digunakan untuk kopi robusta dan juga 90 % kopi arabika di Brazil, buah kopi yang telah dipanen segera dikeringkan terutama buah yang telah matang. Pegeringan buah kopi dapat dilakukan dengan dua cara yaitu :

a. Pengeringan Alami

Pengeringan alami yaitu pengeringan dengan menggunakan sinar matahari, caranya sangat sederhana tidak memerlukan peralatan dan biaya yang besar tetapi memerlukan tempat pengeringan yang luas dan waktu pengeringan yang lama karena buah kopi mengandung gula dan pektin. Pengeringan biasanya dilakukan di daerah yang bersih, kering dan permukaan lantai yang rata, dapat berupa lantai plester semen atau tanah telanjang yang telah diratakan dan dibersihkan. Ketebalan pengeringan 30-40 mm, terutama pada awal kegiatan pengeringan untuk menghindari terjadinya proses fermentasi, Panas yang timbul pada proses ini akan mengakibatkan perubahan warna dan buah menjadi masak.

Pada awal pengeringan buah kopi yang masih basah harus sering dibalik dengan Blat penggaruk. Jenis mikroorganisme yang dapat berkembang biak pada kulit buah (exocarp) terutama jamur (fusarium sp, colletotrichum coffeanum) pada permukaan buah kopi yang terlalu kering (Aspergilus niger, penicillium sp, Rhizopus, sp) beberapa jenis ragi dan bakteri juga dapat berkembang. Lamanya proses pengeringan tergantung pada cuaca, ukuran buah kopi, tingkat kematangan dan kadar air dala,m buah kopi, biasanya proses pengeringan memakan waktu sekitar 3 sampai 4 minggu. Setelah proses pengeringan Kadar air akan menjadi sekitar 12 %.

b. Pengeringan Buatan (Artificial Drying)

Keuntungan pengeringan buatan,dapat menghemat biaya dan juga tenaga kerja hal yang perlu diperhatikanadalah pengaturan suhunya. Menurut Roelofsen, pengeringan sebaiknya padasuhu rendah yaitu 55°C akan menghasilkan buah kopi yang bewarna merah dantidak terlalu keras. Untuk buah kopi kering dengan KA rendah dikeringkan dengansuhu tidak terlalu tinggi sehingga tidak akan terjadi perubahan rasa. Peralatan pengeringan yang biasa digunakan : mesin pengering statik dengan alat penggaruk mekanik, mesin pengering dari drum yang berputar, mesin pengering vertikal.

Metode Pengolahan Basah

Proses Metode Pengolahan basah meliputi ; penerimaan, pulping, Klasifikasi,
fermentasi, pencucian, pengeringan, Pengawetan dan penyimpanan

a. Penerimaan
Hasil panen harus secepat mungkin dipindahkan ke tempat pemerosesan untuk menghindari pemanasan langsung yang dapat menyebabkan kerusakan (seperti : perubahan warna buah, buah kopi menjadi busuk).
Hasil panen dimasukkan kedalam tangki penerima yang dilengkapi dengan air untuk memindahkan buah kopi yang mengambang (buah kopi kering di pohon dan terkena penyakit (Antestatia, stephanoderes) dan biasanya diproses dengan pengolahan kering. Sedangkan buah kopi yang tidak mengambang (non floating) dipindahkan menuju bagian peniecah (pulper).

b. Pulping
Pulping bertujuan untuk memisahkan kopi dari kulit terluar dan mesocarp (bagian daging), hasilnya pulp. Prinsip kerjanya adalah melepaskan exocarp dan mesocarp buah kopi dimana prosesnya dilakukan dilakukan didalam air mengalir. Proses ini menghasilkan kopi hijau kering dengan jenis yang berbeda-beda. Macammacam alat pulper yang sering digunakan : Disc Pulper (cakram pemecah), Drum pulper, Raung Pulper, Roller pulper dan Vis pulper. Untuk di Indonesia yang sering digunakan adalah Vis Pulper dan Raung Pulper. Perbedaan pokok kedua alat ini adalah kalai Vis pulper hanya berfungsi sebagai pengupas kulit saja, sehingga hasilnya harus difermentasi dan dicuci lagi. Sedangkan raung pulper berfungsi sebagai pencuci sehingga kopi yang keluar dari mesin ini tidak perlu difermentasi dan dicuci lagi tetapi masuk ke tahap pengeringan.

c. Fermentasi
Proses fermentasi bertujuan untuk melepaskan daging buah berlendir (mucilage) yang masih melekat pada kulit tanduk dan pada proses pencucian akan mudah terlepas (terpisah) sehingga mempermudah proses pengeringan. Hidrolisis pektin disebabkan, oleh pektihase yang terdapat didalam buah atau reaksinya bias dipercepat dengan bantuan jasad renik. Proses fermentasi ini dapat terjadi, dengan bantuan jasad renik (Saccharomyces) yang disebut dengan proses peragian dan pemeraman. Biji kopi yang keluar dari mesin pulper dialirkan lewat saluran sebelum masuk bak fementasi.

Selama dalam pengaliran lewat saluran ini dapat dinamakan proses pencucian pendahuluan. Di dalam pencucian pendahuluan ini biji kopi yang berat (bernas) dapat dipisahkan dari sisa-sisa daging buah yang terbawa, lapisan lendir, biji-biji yang hampa karena bagian ini terapung di atas aliran air sehingga mudah dipisahkan.

Pengolahan kopi secara basah ini terbagi 3 cara proses fermentasinya :

1.Pengolahan cara basah tanpa fermentasi Biji kopi yang setelah melalui pencucian pendahuluan dapat langsung dikeringkan.

2.Pengolahan cara basah dengan fermentasi kering Biji kopi setelah pencucian pendahuluan lalu digundukan dalam bentuk gunungan kecil (kerucut) yang ditutup karung goni. Didalam gundukan itu segera terjadi proses fermentasi alami. Agar supaya proses fermentasi berlangsung secara merata, maka perlu dilakukan pengadukan dan pengundukan kembali sampai proses fermentasi dianggap selesai yaitu bila lapisan lendir mudah terlepas.

3.Pengolahan cara basah dengan fermentasi basah Setelah biji tersebut melewati proses pencucian pendahuluan segera ditimbun dan direndam dalam bak fermentasi. Bak fermentasi ini terbuat dari bak plester semen dengan alas miring. Ditengah-tengah dasar dibuat saluran dan ditutup dengan plat yang beriubang-lubang. Proses fermentasi di dalam bak-bak fermentasi terrsebut dilakukan bertingkat tingkat serta diselingi oleh pergantian air rendaman. Pada tingkat petama perendaman dilakukan selama 10 jam, Selama proses fermentasi ini dengan bantuan kegiatan jasad renik, terjadi pemecahan komponen lapisan lendir tersebut, maka akan terlepas dari permukaan kulit tanduk biji kopi.

Proses fermentasi akan berlangsung selama lebih kurang dari 1,5 sampai 4,5 hari tergantung pada keadaan iklim dan daerahnya. Proses fermentasi yang terlalu lama akan menghasilkan kopi beras yang berbau apek disebabkan oleh terjadinya pemecahan komponen isi putih lembaga.

Perubahan yang Terjadi selama Proses Fermentasi

1. Pemecahan Komponen mucilage
Bagian yang tepenting dari lapisan berlendir (getah) ini adalah komponen protopektin yaitu suatu "insoluble complex" tempat terjadinya meta cellular lactice dari daging buah. Material inilah yang terpecah dalam proses fementasi. Ada yang berpendapat bahwa tejadinya pemecahan getah itu adalah sebagai akibat bekerjanya suatu enzim yang terdapat dalam buah kopi. Enzim ini termasuk sejenis katalase yang akan memecah protopektin didalam buah kopi.

Kondisi fermentasi dengan pH 5.5-6.0, pemecahan getah akan berjalan cukup cepat. Apabila pH diturunkan menjadi ,4.0 maka kecepatan pemecahan akan menjadi 3 kali lebih cepat dan apabila pH 3.65 pemecahan akan menjadi dua kali lebih cepat. Dengan penambahan larutan penyangga fosfat sitrat maka kondisi pH akan dapat stabilbagi aktivitas protopektinase.

Dalam proses ferrmentasi dapat ditambahkan 0.025 persen enzim pektinase yang dihasilkan dari isolasi sejenis kacang. Dengan penambahan 0..025 persen enzim pektinase maka fementasi dapat berlangsung selama 5 sampai 10 jam dengan menaikkan suhu sedikit. Sedangkan bagi proses fermentasi yang alami diperlukanwaktu sekitar 36 jam. Pada waktu buah kopi tersebut mengalami pulping sebagian besar enzym tersebut terpisahkan dari kulit dan daging buah, akan tetapi sebagian kecil masih tertinggal dalam .bagian sari buah kopi.

2. Pemecahan Gula
Sukrosa merupakan komponen penting dalam daging buah kopi. Kadar gula akan meningkat dengan cepat selama proses pematangan buah yang dapat dikenal dengan adanya rasa manis.

Gula adalah senyawaan yang larut dalam air, oleh karena itu dengan adanya
proses pencucian lebih dari 15 menit akan banyak menyebabkan terjadinya
banyak kehilangan konsentrasinya. Proses difusi gula dari biji melalui parchment ke daging buah yang berjalan sangat lambat. Proses ini terjadi sewaktu perendaman dalam bak pengumpul dan pemisahan buah. Oleh karena itu kadar gula dalam daging biji akan mempengaruhi konsentrasi gula di dalam getah beberapa jam setelah fermentasi.

Sebagai hasil proses pemecahan gula adalah asam laktat dan asam asetatn dengan kadar asam laktat yang lebih besar. Asam-asam lain yang dihasilkan dari proses fert)entasi ini adalah etanol, asam butirat dan propionat. Asam lain akan memberikan onion flavor.

3. Perubahan Warna Kulit
Biji kopi yang telah terpisahkan dari pulp dan parchment maka kulit ari akan bewarna coklat. Juga jaringan daging biji akan bewarna sedikit kecoklatan yang tadinya bewarna abu-abu ata.u abu-abu kebiruan. Proses "browning" ini terjadi akibat oksidasi polifenol. Terjadinya warna kecoklatan yang kurang menarik ini dapat dicegah dalam proses fermentasi melalui pemakaian air pencucian yang bersifat alkalis.

d. Pencucian
Pencucian secara manual dilakukan pada biji kopi dari bak fementasi dialirkan dengan air melalui saluran dalam bak pencucian yang segera diaduk dengan tangan atau di injak-injak dengan kaki. Selama proses ini, air di dalam bak dibiarkan terus mengalir keluar dengan membawa bagian-bagian yang terapung beupa sisa-sisa lapisan lendir yang terlepas.

Pencucian biji dengan mesin pencucidilakukan dengan memasukkan biji kopi
tersebut kedalam suatu mesin pengaduk yang berputar pada sumbu horizontal dan mendorong biji kopi dengan air mengalir. Pengaduk mekanik ini akan memisahkan lapisan lendir yang masih melekat pada biji dan lapisan lendir yang masih melekat pada biji dan lapisan lendir yang telah terpisah ini akan terbuang lewat aliran air yang seterusnya dibuang.

e. Pengeringan
Pengeringan pendahuluan kopi parchment basah, kadar air berkurang dari 60 menjadi 53%. Sebagai alternatif kopi dapat dikeringkan dengan sinar matahari 2 atau 3 hari dan sering diaduk, Kadar air dapat mencapai 45 %. Pengeringan kopi Parchment dilanjutkan, dilakukan pada sinar matahari hingga kadar air mencapai 11 % yang pada akhirnya dapat menjaga stabilitas penyimpanan. Pengeringan biasanya dilakukan dengan menggunakan baki dengan penutupnya yang dapat digunakan sepanjang hari. Rata-rata pengeringan antara 10-15 hari. Pengeringan buatan (suhu tidak lebih dari 55°C) juga banyak digunakansejak pengeringan kopi alami menjadi lebih sulit dilakukan pada perkebunan yang lebih luas.

f. Curing
Proses selanjutnya baik kopi yang diproses secara kering maupun basah ialah curing yang bertujuan untuk menjaga penampilan sehingga baik untuk diekspor maupun diolah kembali. Tahapan proses curing ini meliputi :

- Pengeringan ulang
Kopi dari hasil pengolahan basah maupun kering harus dipastikan Kadar Airnya 11 %. Apabila tidak tercapai harus segera dilakukan pengeringan ulang, hal ini sangat penting dalam proses penyimpanan.

- Pembersihan (cleaning)
Buah kopi parchment kering yang dikeringkan secara alami banyak mengandung kotoran seperti kerikil, potongan besi, dan benda asing lainnya. Kotoran tersebut harus dihilangkan. Pembersihan dapat dilakukan dengan mengeluarkan kotoran dengan saringan untuk memindahkan kotoran yang berukuran besar, pemisah magnetik untuk memindahkan potongan baja, pemindahan debu dengan bantuanhembusan angin.

- Hulling.
Didalam mesin huller, maka biji kopi itu dihimpit dan diremas, dengan demikian kulit tanduk dan kulit arinya akan terlepas. Pecahan kulit tanduk dan kulit ari setelah keluar dari mesin huller tertiup dan terpisah dari biji kopi beras yang akan berjatuhan kebawah dan masuk ke dalam wadah.

g. Penyimpanan
Buah kopi dapat disimpan dalam bentuk buah kopi kering atau buah kopi parchment kering yang membutuhkan kondisi penyimpanan yang sama. Biji kopi KA air 11 % dan RH udara tidak lebih dari 74 %. Pada kondisi tersebut pertumbuhan jamur (Aspergilus niger, A. oucharaceous dan Rhizopus sp) akan minimal. Di Indonesia kopi yang sudah di klasifikasi mutunya disimpan didalam karung goni dan dijahit zigzag mulutnya dengan tali goni selanjutnya disimpan didalam gudang penyimpanan.

Syarat gudang penyimpanan kopi :
1. gudang mempunyai ventilasi yang cukup.
2. Suhu gudang optimum 20°C-25°C.
3. Gudang harus bersih, bebas dari hama penyakit serta bau asing.
4. Karung ditumpuk di lantai yang diben alas kayu setinggi 10 cm.

h. Standar Mutu Kopi

1. Pegolahan kering
- Kadar Air maksimum 13 % (bobot/bobot)
- Kadar kotoran berupa ranting, batu, gumpalan tanah dan benda-benda asing lainnya maksimum 0-5 % (bobot/bobot).
- Bebas dari serangga hidup.
- Bebas dari biji yang berrbau busuk, berbau kapang dan bulukan.
- Biji tidak lolos ayakan ukuran 3 mm x 3mm (8 mesh) dengan maksimum lolos 1 % (bobot/bobot).
- Untuk bisa disebut biji ukuran beger, harus memenuhi persyaratan tidak lolos ukuran (3,6 mesh) dengan maksimum lolos 1 % (bobot/bobot).

2. Pengolahan Basah
- Kadar air maksimum 12% (bobot/bobot)
- Kadar kotoran berupa ranting, batu, gumpalan tanah, dan berupa kotoran lainnya frlaksimum 0.5 % (bobot/bobot).
- Bebas dari serangga hidup
- Bebas dari biji yang berbau busuk, berbau kapang dan bulukan.
- Untuk robusta, dibedakan ukuran besar (L), sedang (M) dan kecil (S).
- Untuk jenis bukan robusta ukuran biji tidak dipersyaratkan.
(Ridwansyah/THP FP USU)

Marissa's Story

2008-09-25T01:43:00.000-07:00

Dari : http://marissahaque.blogdetik.com/2008/11/25/kopi-dan-kenangan/

Tulisan untuk Media, Desember 2003

Photography by Fernandez Hutagalung

Oleh. Marissa Haque Fawzi Jakarta, 1 Desember 2003

Kopi dan kenangan

Hari ini, hari Minggu. Masih suasana liburan Lebaran 14.. Hijriah. Hari-hari terakhir sebelum aku akan kembali ditenggelamkan oleh segudang target kehidupan dan masa depan. Termenung aku duduk di Musholaku. Semilir bau tanah basah bekas hujan semalam. Bunga Kembang Sepatu merah tua seakan menyapa selamat pagi untukku yang sedang enggan mandi pagi. Kupandangi kursi tua yang kududuki, warisan ibuku. Kuraba sarung jok dibawah kimono katun yang kupakai. Rasanya baru saja kuganti seminggu sebelum lebaran, tapi entah kenapa getaran kuno dari kursi tua ini selalu melambungkanku pada suatu masa kebersamaan yang hangat. Masa-masa yang terekam kuat dibawah sadarku. Orang-orang yang dekat dihati, yang telah pergi sebanyak satu generasi. Ayah Ibuku, dan keluarga besar Ibuku yang aku kasihi.

Masih teringat dibenak saat kecil kami berempat—Shahnaz adikku yang terkecil belum lagi lahir—Mama, Papa, Soraya, dan aku berlibur dari pelosok kabupaten kecil di Plaju-Baguskuning, Palembang tempat ayahku bekerja sebagai karyawan Pertamina, menuju kota Bondowoso, Jawa Timur kampung masa kecil almarhumah Ibuku.

Sepanjang perjalanan dengan memakai pesawat Fokker F28, yang sudah sangat terasa mewah saat itu, kami pergi terlebih dahulu menuju Jakarta, kemudian transit melalui Surabaya diteruskan perjalanan melalui darat melewati daerah Pasir Putih, baru setelah itu tiba di Bondowoso, Jawa Timur. Kami menginap dirumah besar orang Belanda istri kedua sepupu Eyang Putriku. Karena tak memiliki anak dari perkawinannya, beliau menganggap Ibuku dan semua sepupunya sebagai anaknya sendiri. Perjalanan ini menjadi istimewa, karena tak lama setelah liburan kami, Oma Belanda itu meninggal dunia.

Ada benang merah yang membuat aku flash back kepada masa lalu. Tekstur kursi tua yang aku duduki warisan almarhumah ibuku dari rumah Belanda di Bondowoso dan aroma kopi tubruk dari cangkir yang aku gengam. Aroma ini sangat mirip dengan rekaman masa lalu bawah sadarku. Aroma yang memanggil-manggil. Ah,…wangi kopi! Bagaimana mungkin aku mengacuhkan keberadaan kopi, karena sejak diperkenalkannya di Bondowoso saat aku kecil, aku selalu ingin tahu lebih jauh. Bukan hanya karena suka akan rasa dan aromanya, akan tetapi kepada hikayat cerita yang melengkapinya. Membawa aku berkelana jauh dimasa ratusan tahun dibelakang. Oma Belanda ini sangat faham sejarah dunia, beliau juga sangat tahu nama-nama jenis kopi yang ditanam serta dibudidayakan disekitar rumah besarnya. Ya, beliau dan suaminya yang orang Jawa Timur adalah pemilik lahan luas perkebunan kopi Bondowoso saat itu.

Masih teringat bagaimana aku sambil terkantuk duduk bersandar dibahunya, mendengar dengan seksama cerita-cerita memikat. Diceritakan bahwa biji kopi yang terbaik dari Bondowoso adalah yang sudah dimakan Musang, yang keluar bersama kotorannya. Saat itu biji kopi juga bisa didapatkan dari berbagai perkebunan lain ditanah air. Antara lain dari Aceh, Medan, Toraja, Timor, juga daerah tetangganya di Jawa Timur, Jember. Biji-biji kopi yang merah tua itu disimpan dalam karung goni digudang selama lima sampai tujuh tahunan. Biji- biji tersebut kemudian dijemur dibawah sinar matahai selama minimal tujuh jam. Setelah itu ditumbuk, disangrai, setelahnya digiling. Wah, bahagianya aku dapat membayangkan seluruh proses produksinya. Bahan informasi awal inilah yang membuat aku hari ini bersiap- siap “pulang kampung” ke Bondowoso, bernostalgia tentang keberadaan lingkungan perkebunan kopi tersebut terutama melihat kondisinya setelah terkena landreform beberapa belas tahun yang lalu, serta melihat kemungkinan membuat film dokumenter tentang Kopi Arabika asal Jawa Timur.

Cerita sang Oma semakin memikatku, apalagi setelah diperkaya oleh hikayat perdagangan yang dilakukan orang-orang Belanda di Nusantara sebelum sang Oma lahir, kerjasama yang didasarkan secara berat sebelah oleh Kompeni, orang-orang bumi putra yang merebut kembali kekuasaan tanah ulayat milik adat, serta percintaan “terlarang” nya dengan Eyang Kakung yang tidak utuh kuserap karena faktor usia. Kuingat Soraya sudah asyik terlelap dikasur lebar, dikaki Oma Belanda bersama para sepupu yang lain.

Sang Oma juga membagi resep, beliau mengatakan bahwa baginya usaha kopi sangat kaya seni. Seluruh proses produksi—diluar pembudidayaan kebun—dipegangnya sendiri. Ia berprinsip menjual kopi yang harus fresh. “Cara” baginya adalah sangat penting, jumlah bukan bidikan pertama. Setiap kesalahan berproses adalah proses belajar itu sendiri, kata beliau. Kata-kata ini juga yang selalu terekam dibawah sadarku, bahwa sebuah proses belajar tidak ada yang instant. Hasil akhir biarkan menjadi misteri, yang penting adalah menikmati proses belajarnya. Karena belajar itu asyik. Harus proaktif mendatangi beberapa pakar, tidak malu untuk bertanya, serta menjalin silaturahmi berkala kepada siapa saja yang bermurah hati untuk membagi ilmunya—karena menurut beliau didunia ini tidak banyak orang ikhlas yang tulus mau berbagi ilmu pada sesama.

Dan detik ini, aku lupa bahwa aku belum menyiapkan sarapan apapun untuk keluargaku. Bik Inah pembantu yang sudah ikut puluhan tahun di dalam keluargaku masih pulang kampung, belum balik lagi. Jadi sebenarnya inilah saat yang paling tepat bagiku untuk mengekspresikan rasa cinta pada keluarga melalui perut. Salah satunya adalah dengan menuangkan kopi dalam cangkir-cangkir keramik biru kesayangan. Yang sedikit besar untuk Ikang suamiku, sementara ukuran sedang untuk Mertuaku. Anak-anakku menyukai rasa kopi didalam campuran Mocca Cream dalam mug besar. Aku ingin meneruskan kebiasaan berdiskusi ringan dengan mereka semua dimeja makan. Tentang apa saja. Tentang headline dikoran hari ini, tentang Politik, Ekonomi, atau Sosial dan Budaya. Bila diskusi tidak nyambung, tidak mengapa. Aku ingin menciptakan suasana cerdas dimeja makan. Juga penting membina kebiasaan mengutarakan pendapat dengan cara yang santun dan terasah. Mertuaku yang mantan Diplomat Karir biasanya menjadi mentor informal. Sehingga Kopi bagiku bukan sekedar minuman belaka, tetapi juga adalah perekat tali emosi didalam keluarga.

Sementara itu diluar rumah, aku sering sekali memilih Coffee House atau Coffee Lounge sebagai meeting point walau sekedar social chat demi menyambung silaturahmi. Lebih serius lagi sering pula menjadi tempat membina relationship dengan relasi bisnis.

Kopi memang selalu menarik. Semenarik harumnya yang selalu membuat orang mau tidak mau—walau sekedar hanya untuk menghirup aroma— menyita minimal satu atau dua detik untuk menikmatinya.

Aroma Kopi, bagiku adalah aroma cerdas dan elegant.

-- marissa haque (marissahaque@bali-marissa.com), December 02, 2003.

About Us & Our Offer

2008-09-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

About Bedugul Coffee

Tastes somewhere between heaven and earth. Pure Bali Robusta Coffee. Probably the best robusta coffee in the world.

Perhaps it is not widely known, but some coffee are blended. Not just arabica with robusta (which is very common), but sometimes a coffee is blended with corn or rice.

What we have is pure robusta coffee from Bali. Hand picked, hand sorted, traditionally roasted and ground by the natives of Bali.

While many people prefer arabica, and many insist that arabica is more superior to robusta, we dare to say that our Bedugul Robusta is not just another robusta, but special robusta with a mild and soft taste, yet bitter, and simply different from any other coffee in the world.

If there is a phrase "don't die before you see Bali", we have a phrase "once you taste it, you'll live forever".

Nevertheless we also supply high grade and best quality arabica from Sumatra (Siborong borong), Aceh (Berg en Dal variety), and Toraja (Sulawesi).

Our brand name is Bedugul Coffee, a beautiful highland in the northern part of Bali, Indonesia. Bedugul is not a coffee region at all. We just (made it up) picked up the name, because we love the place, famous for its temple by the lake Bratan, the Pura Ulun Danu.

About our Bali Robusta Coffee ? We didn't made it up, it is truly MADE IN BALI.

If you want to know more about Bedugul, the town, read here.

Contact Address:
( we have moved to our new address, will be provided soon)
Contact: Putranto
E-mail: balibeans@gmail.com, putrantos@gmail.com
Facebook Cause : Bedugul Coffee

Photo Gallery of our coffee plantation in Bali

Clearing The Java Confusion

2008-09-24T11:03:00.000-07:00

Java island is mountainous with numerous active volcanoes. The climate is muggy year-round, often punctuated by monsoon rains. Along with the fertile soil that surround the volcanic areas, the early Dutch settlers found these conditions to be very conducive to growing coffee.

Arabica was introduced to Indonesia in the 17th century and this was planted vigorously by the Dutch colonial government. The Arabica was eventually wiped out for the cleaning for upholstery part by a plague known as coffee rust although coffee plants in other regions were not affected. Robusta was the logical alternative because of its resistance to diseases.

Later on in the early 20th century, the colonial government would build the infrastructure to confine the growth of coffee to East and Central Java. East Java would produce Arabica simply because of their more mountainous regions while Central Java primarily produced Robusta.

Today Indonesia is the biggest producer of coffee in Southeast Asia and third in the world. The coffees they export are from both the Arabica and Robusta stocks although gourmet coffee makes up only about ten upholstery cleaning of their export. This is due mainly to the roles that the plague along with World War II and internal political strife have played in forming the Indonesian coffee industry.

Arabica from Indonesia are primarily from the islands of Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi. Sumatra is also mountainous with active volcanoes. The highlands to the north and west of Sumatra produces very high quality Arabica beans. Sulawesi coffee is similar in character and appearance to the Sumatran.

Even though Java is the most well-known of Indonesian coffee exports, many experts agree that Sumatra coffee is the best of the lot owing to a fruity and syrupy taste. It is unclear why coffee window cleaning today have equated the word java with coffee itself. One story tells us that because coffee from Java was so popular at the time, merchants would brand their coffee with that name in order to capitalize on its popularity as well as increase sales. As you can see, brand marketing was very much alive in the 18th century.

And because brand marketing is often mischievous and creates a lot of unnecessary hype. As a result, buying a bag of coffee can suddenly be confusing especially when the word "Java" is present in the packaging. Are you actually buying coffee of the gourmet variety from the island of Java best upholstery cleaning some plain coffee using the term just to make it a more attractive, not to mention expensive, commodity? Adding to the mess, when looking up the word itself on the search engines can take you to pages of undecipherable computer programming language when all you wanted was a hot cup.

That being said, when looking specifically for Indonesian coffee, the most common is Java Estate. But if you want a treat, look beyond Java and let your taste buds feast on Sumatra Mandehling instead. It is sure to erase any confusion.

Pentingnya Perlindungan Indikasi Geografis atas Produk Lokal

2008-09-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

Jakarta - Di tengah gencarnya penerapan kesepakatan Organisasi Perdagangan Dunia (WTO) mengenai pengakuan atas hak kekayaan intelektual (TRIPS) dalam beberapa tahun terakhir, upaya-upaya meningkatkan perlindungan atas produk-produk yang menunjukkan kekhasan daerah tertentu makin meningkat. Itulah yang dinamakan sebagai indikasi geografis, yang menunjukkan bahwa barang yang dibuat memang berasal dan dijual dari wilayah aslinya dengan menunjukkan cita rasa yang unik dan kualitas yang khas.

Misalnya, minuman anggur beralkohol wine khas Bordeaux, yang benar-benar dibuat dan dipasarkan oleh para produsen di kota anggur Prancis. Begitu pula dengan asinan lobak dan sayuran kimchi yang memang khas diproduksi dan keuntungannya dinikmati oleh para petani asal Korea.
Di Indonesia sebenarnya banyak komoditas khas yang dapat ditonjolkan dan dilindungi melalui penerapan peraturan indikasi geografis sehingga menguntungkan para produsen lokal. Sayangnya, perlindungan indikasi geografis tersebut belum diterapkan di Indonesia sehingga produk-produk lokal dapat dengan mudah “dibajak” oleh produsen asing.
Hal tersebut terungkap saat beberapa pakar perdagangan internasional bertemu di Jakarta, 6-7 Desember. Bersama dengan beberapa pejabat dan produsen lokal, mereka membicarakan potensi penerapan perlindungan indikasi geografis atas produk-produk komoditas khas Indonesia.

Belum Dilindungi Hukum

Pengamat komoditas dari Pusat Penelitian Kopi dan Kakao Indonesia, Surip Mawardi, mengungkapkan bahwa sebagai negara kepulauan yang memiliki lebih dari 17.000 pulau dan keragaman hayati, Indonesia memiliki banyak produk lokal yang unik dan beragam. Contohnya kopi toraja, pala banda, batik pekalongan, lukisan bali-batuan, ubi cilembu, lada hitam lampung, kayu manis sumatera barat, jeruk nambangan, sarung samarinda, dan lain-lain. “Sayangnya belum ada satu pun produk asal Indonesia yang dilindungi perangkat hukum tentang indikasi geografis,” kata Stephane Passeri, pejabat dari EC-ASEAN Intelletual Property Rights Cooperation Program (ECAP). Oleh karena itu, menurut Passeri, tidak mengherankan bila produk-produk khas di Indonesia rentan dibajak dan dipalsukan.

Mengenai masalah tersebut, Surip menyajikan contoh menarik mengenai nasib kopi toraja. Bagaimana kopi khas asal suatu wilayah di Sulawesi Selatan yang memiliki cita rasa unik antara rasa asam dan pahit tersebut rentan dieksploitasi dan dipalsukan oleh pihak luar. Awal reputasi kopi toraja dimulai ketika perusahaan Kimura Coffe Co tahun 1934 memuat iklan kopi tersebut. “Aroma dan perasanya dikenal terbaik di dunia.... jumlahnya sangat sedikit sehingga hanya dinikmati para pencinta kopi. Ini adalah TORAJA COFFEE, hasil impor toko kami,” tulis iklan tersebut.
Ironisnya, kendati terkenal kopi toraja terkesan sudah menjadi milik asing. Menurut Surip, sejumlah perusahaan kopi asing menggunakan beberapa merek dagang yang menggunakan nama Toraja, seperti Avance Toraja Coffee (Jepang), Brooks Toraja (Jepang), Ariosto Toraja Arabica Coffee Sulawesi (Jepang), Toradja Prince Coffee (Belanda) dan Toarco Toraja Coffee (Jepang). Selain itu, karena harga kopi toraja pada pertengahan 1980-an sampai dengan 1990-an dikenal lebih mahal dari kopi arabika dan kopi dari daerah-daerah lain, maka memicu terjadinya pemalsuan kopi toraja. “Akibatnya mutu menurun, bahkan menjadi inferior dan kualitasnya tidak stabil, sehingga harga jatuh,” kata Surip.

Segera Disosialisasikan

Mengenai rendahnya kualitas produk-produk khas lokal seperti kopi toraja dan lain-lain, menurut Passeri, itulah sebabnya mengapa komoditas yang sudah bernilai tambah asal Indonesia kurang diterima di pasaran Eropa. “Produk-produk khas negeri Anda terkenal tidak konsisten dari segi kualitas dan pengemasan. Salah satu sebabnya, kurangnya kesadaran dari kalangan produsen lokal mengenai pentingnya perlindungan indikasi geografis,” kata Passeri. Dia menilai bahwa Indonesia ketinggalan dengan beberapa negara Asia Tenggara lainnya seperti Thailand dan Vietnam yang sudah menerapkan perlindungan indikasi geografis atas beberapa produk lokal.

“Thailand sudah melindungi beberapa komoditas khas seperti beras Surin Hom Mali Pile, asam manis Phetchasun Sweet Tamarind, dan beberapa barang kerajinan. Sedangkan Vietnam sudah mematenkan produk saus ikan khas Pulau Phu Quoc,” kata Passeri.

Ketertinggalan Indonesia tersebut diakui Direktorat Jenderal (Ditjen) Hak atas Kekayaan Intelektual (HAKI) Departemen Hukum dan HAM Indonesia, yang mengakui belum ada asosiasi atau institusi di tanah air yang khusus menangani perlindungan indikasi geografis. “Tanpa dilindungi peraturan indikasi geografis, daya saing produksi kita menjadi lemah sehingga harga produk asal Indonesia di pasaran menjadi sangat murah,” kata Emawati Junus, Direktur Merek dari Ditjen HAKI.

Oleh karena itu, dengan mendapat dukungan teknis dari Passeri dan para peneliti ECAP lainnya, pemerintah Indonesia sejak 2004 mulai mengampanyekan pentingnya perlindungan indikasi geografis. Dengan memberikan dukungan dan perlindungan indikasi geografis tersebut, para produsen dan petani setempat dapat menikmati keuntungan yang besar karena produk khas mereka tidak akan dibajak ataupun diklaim oleh pihak luar.

“Bila sudah ada perlindungan indikasi geografis, produk khas wilayah yang bersangkutan tidak boleh diklaim atau dipalsukan oleh perusahaan di tempat lain atau di negara lain,” kata Passeri. Bila ada pelanggaran atas peraturan indikasi geografis, si pelanggar akan mendapat sanksi baik secara bilateral maupun di tingkat multilateral seperti di WTO. Sedangkan Emawati mengungkapkan, pemerintah sedang menyiapkan peraturan mengenai perlindungan indikasi geografis atas produk Indonesia sejak setahun lalu. “Sebanyak 95 persen telah rampung dan akan segera disosialisasikan ke semua provinsi,” kata Emawati. (renne kawilarang)

COFFEE IN INDONESIA

2008-09-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

Indonesia produced 420,000 metric tons of coffee in 2007. Of this total, 271,000 tons were exported and 148,000 tons were consumed domestically. Of the exports, 25% are Coffea arabica and the balance is Coffea canephora. [1] In general, Indonesia’s Arabica coffees have low acidity and strong body, which makes them ideal for blending with higher acidity coffees from Central America and East Africa.

1 History
2 Cultivation
3 Sumatra, Mandheling, Lintong and Gayo
4 Sulawesi, Toraja, Kalosi, Mamasa and Gowa
5 Java
6 Bali
7 Flores
8 Papua
9 Harvesting and processing
10 Coffee research
11 Coffee Associations
12 See also
13 Notes
14 External links
15 Further reading

History

The Dutch governor in Malabar (India) sent a Yemeni or Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) seedling to the Dutch governor of Batavia (now Jakarta) in 1696. The first seedlings failed due to flooding in Batavia. A second shipments of seedlings was sent in 1699. The plants grew, and in 1711 the first exports were sent from Java to Europe by the Dutch East India Company, known by its Dutch initials VOC (Verininging Oogst-Indies Company which was established in 1602. Within 10 years, exports rose to 60 tons per year. Indonesia was the first place, outside of Arabia and Ethiopia, where coffee was widely cultivated. VOC monopolized coffee trading in 1725 to 1780.

The coffee was shipped to Europe from the port of Batavia (now Jakarta). There has been a port at the mouth of Ciliwung River since 397 AD, when King Purnawarman established the city he called Sunda Kelapa. Today, in the Kota area of Jakarta, one can find echoes of the sea-going legacy that built the city. Sail driven ships still load cargo in the old port. The Bahari museum occupies a former warehouse of the VOC, which was used to store spices and coffee. Menara Syahbandar (or Lookout Tower) was built in 1839 to replace the flag pole that stood at the head of wharves, where the VOC ships docked to load their cargos.[2]

In the 1700s, coffee shipped from Batavia sold for 3 Guilders per kilogram in Amsterdam. Since annual incomes in Holland in the 1700s were between 200 to 400 Guilders, this was equivalent of several hundred dollars per kilogram today. By the end of the 18th century, the price had dropped to 0.6 Guilders per kilogram and coffee drinking spread from the elite to the general population.[3]

The coffee trade was very profitable for the VOC, but less so for the Indonesian farmers who were forced to grow it by the colonial government. In theory, production of export crops was meant to provide cash for Javanese villagers to pay their taxes. This was in Dutch known as the Cultuurstelsel (Cultivation system), and it covered spices and a wide range of other tropical cash crops. Cultuur stelsel was iniated on coffee at Preanger region of West Java. In practice however, the prices set for the cash crops by the government were too low and they diverted labor from rice production, causing great hardship for farmers.

By mid of 1970’s the Ducth East Indies expanded Arabica coffee growing areas in Sumatra, Bali, Sulawesi and Timor. In Sulawesi the coffee was first planted in 1750. In North Sumatra highlands coffee was first grown near Lake Toba in 1888, followed in Gayo highland (Aceh) near Lake Laut Tawar in 1924.

In 1860, a Dutch colonial official, Eduard Douwes Dekker, wrote a book called “Max Havelaar and the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company”, which exposed the oppression of villagers by corrupt and greedy officials. This book helped to change Dutch public opinion about the “Cultivation System” and colonialism in general. More recently, the name Max Havelaar was adopted by one of the first fair trade organizations.[3]

In the late eighteen hundreds, Dutch colonialists established large coffee plantations on the Ijen Plateau in eastern Java. In the 1920’s smallholders throughout Indonesia began to grow coffee as a cash crop. However, disaster struck in the 1876, when the coffee rust disease swept through Indonesia, wiping out most of Typica cultivar. Robusta coffee (C. canephor var. robusta) was introduced to East Java in 1900 as a substitute, especially at lower altitudes, where the rust was particularly devastating.

The plantations on Java were nationalized at independence and revitalized with new varieties of Coffea arabica in the 1950s. These varieties were also adopted by smallholders through the government and various development programs.

Cultivation

Today, more than 90% of Indonesia’s coffee is grown by smallholders on farms averaging one hectare or less. Much of the production is organic and 19 farmers’ cooperatives and exporters are internationally certified to market organic coffee. There are more than 20 varieties of Coffea arabica being grown commercially in Indonesia. They fall into six main categories:
Typica – this is the original cultivar introduced by the Dutch. Much of the Typica was lost in the late 1880s, when Coffee Leaf Rust swept through Indonesia. However, both the Bergandal and Sidikalang varieties of Typica can still be found in Sumatra, especially at higher altitudes.
Hibrido de Timor (HDT) – This variety, which is also called “Tim Tim”, is a natural cross between Arabica and Robusta. It was first collected in East Timor in 1978 and planted in Aceh in 1979.
Linie S – This is a group of varieties was originally developed in India, from the Bourbon cultivar. The most common are S-288 and S-795, which are found in Lintong, Aceh, Flores and other areas.
Ethiopian lines - These include Rambung and Abyssinia, which were brought to Java in 1928. Since then, they have been brought to Aceh as well. Another group of Ethiopian varieties found in Sumatra are called “USDA”, after an American project that brought them to Indonesia in the 1950s.
Caturra cultivars: Caturra is a mutation of Bourbon coffee, which originated in Brazil.
Catimor lines – This cross between Arabica and Robusta has a reputation for poor flavor. However, there are numerous types of Catimor, including one that farmers have named “Ateng-Jaluk”. On-going research in Aceh has revealed locally adapted Catimor varieties with excellent cup characteristics.

Sumatra, Mandheling, Lintong and Gayo

Coffee from this western-most island in Indonesia is intriguing and complex, due to the large number of small-holder producers and the unique “Giling Basah” (wet hulling) processing technique they use. At the green bean stage, coffee from this area has a distinctive bluish color, which is attributed to processing method and lack of iron in the soil.

Coffees from Sumatra are known for smooth, sweet body that is balanced and intense. Depending on the region, or blend of regions, the flavors of the land and processing can be very pronounced. Notes of cocoa, tobacco, smoke, earth and cedar wood can show well in the cup. Occasionally, Sumatran coffees can show greater acidity, which balances the body. This acidity takes on tropical fruit notes and sometimes an impression of grapefruit or lime.

Mandheling is a trade name, used for Arabica coffee from northern Sumatra. It was derived from the name of the Mandailing people, who produce coffee in the Tapanuli region of Sumatra. Mandheling coffee comes from Northern Sumatra, as well as Aceh. Lintong

Lintong coffee is grown in the District of Lintongnihuta, to the south-west of Lake Toba. This large lake is one of the deepest in the world, at 505 meters. The coffee production area is a high plateau, known for its diversity of tree fern species. This area produces 15,000 to 18,000 tons of Arabica per year. A neighboring region, called Sidikilang, also produces Arabica coffee.

Gayo Mountain coffee is grown on the hillsides surrounding the town of Takegon and Lake Tawar, at the northern tip of Sumatra, in the region of Aceh. The altitude in the production area averages between 1,110 and 1,300 meters. The coffee is grown by small-holders, under shade trees.

Coffee from this region is generally processed at farm-level, using traditional wet methods. Due to the Giling Basha processing, Gayo Mountain coffee is described as higher toned and lighter bodied than Lintong and Mandheling coffees from further east in Sumatra.

Sulawesi, Toraja, Kalosi, Mamasa and Gowa

The Indonesian island of Sulawesi, formerly called the Celebes, lies to the north of Flores. The primary region for high altitude Arabica production is a mountainous area called Tana Toraja, at the central highlands of South Sulawesi. To the south of Toraja is the region of Enrekang. The capital of this region is Kalosi, which is a well known brand of specialty coffee. The regions of Mamasa (to the west of Toraja) and Gowa (to the south of Kalosi), also produce Arabica, although they are less well known.

Unlike many of Indonesia’s islands, Sulawesi is geologically ancient, dating back more than 100 million years. This long history has resulted in soils with a high iron content – thought to affect coffee flavor.

Sulawesi coffees are clean and sound in the cup. They generally display nutty or warm spice notes, like cinnamon or cardamom. Hints of black pepper are sometimes found. Their sweetness, as with most Indonesian coffees, is closely related to the body of the coffee. The aftertaste coats the palate on the finish and is smooth and soft.

Most of Sulawesi’s coffee is grown by small-holders, with about 5% coming from seven larger estates. The people of Tana Toraja build distinctively shaped houses and maintain ancient and complex rituals related to death and the afterlife. This respect for tradition is also found in way that small-holders process their coffee. Sulawesi farmers use a unique process called “Giling Basah” (wet hulling).

Java

Java’s Arabica coffee production is centered on the Ijen Plateau, at the eastern end of Java, at an altitude of more than 1,400 meters. The coffee is primarily grown on large estates that were built by the Dutch in the 18th century. The five largest estates are Blawan (also spelled Belawan or Blauan), Jampit (or Djampit), Pancoer (or Pancur), Kayumas and Tugosari, and they cover more than 4,000 hectares.

These estates transport ripe cherries quickly to their mills after harvest. The pulp is then fermented and washed off, using the wet process, with rigorous quality control. This results in coffee with good, heavy body and a sweet overall impression. They are sometimes rustic in their flavor profiles, but display a lasting finish. At their best, they are smooth and supple and sometimes have a subtle herbaceous note in the aftertaste.

This coffee is prized as one component in the traditional “Mocca Java” blend, which pairs coffee from Yemen and Java. Some estates age a portion of their coffee for up to three years. As they age, the beans turn from green to light brown, and the flavor gains strength while losing acidity. These aged coffees are called Old Government, Old Brown or Old Java.

Bali

The highland plateau of Kintamani, between the volcanoes of Batukaru and Agung, is the main coffee growing area. Many coffee farmers on Bali are members of a traditional farming system called Subak Abian, which is based on the Hindu philosophy of "Tri Hita Karana”. According to this philosophy, the three causes of happiness are good relations with God, other people and the environment. The Subak Abian system is ideally suited to the production of fair trade and organic coffee production.

Stakeholders in Bali, including the Subak Abian, have created Indonesia's first Geographic Indication (G.I.). Once it is recognized by the government, this G.I. will protect Kinatamani coffee from blending or mis-labeling.

Generally, Balinese coffee is carefully processed under tight control, using the wet method. This results in a sweet, soft coffee with good consistency. Typical flavors include lemon and other citrus notes.

Flores

Flores (or Flower) Island is 360 miles long, and is located 200 miles to the east of Bali. The terrain of Flores is rugged, with numerous active and inactive volcanoes. Ash from these volcanoes has created especially fertile Andosols, ideal for organic coffee production. Arabica coffee is grown at 1,200 to 1,800 meters on hillsides and plateaus. Most of the production is grown under shade trees and wet processed at farm level. Coffee from Flores is known for sweet chocolate, floral and woody notes.

Papua

New Guinea is the second largest island in the world. The western half of New Guinea is part of Indonesia. The Indonesian half of the island was formerly called “Irian Jaya”. Today, it is known as Papua, and it is divided into two provinces – Papua and West Papua.

There are two main coffee growing areas in Papua. The first is the Baliem Valley, in the central highlands of the Jayawijaya region, surrounding the town of Wamena. The second is the Kamu Valley in the Nabire Region, at the eastern edge of the central highlands, surrounding the town of Moanemani. Both areas lie at altitudes between 1,400 and 2000 meters, creating ideal conditions for Arabica production.

Together, these areas currently produce about 230 tons of coffee per year. This is set to rise, as new companies are setting up buying and processing operations. These companies are assisting farmers to obtain organic and fair trade certification, which will significantly improve incomes. The area is extremely remote, with most coffee growing areas inaccessible by road and nearly untouched by the modern world.

All coffee is shade grown, under Kaliandara, Erytrhina and Abizia trees. Farmers in Papua use a wet hulled process. Chemical fertilizer pesticide and herbicide are unknown in this origin, which makes this coffee both rare and valuable.

Harvesting and processing

All Arabica coffee in Indonesia is picked by hand, whether it is grown by small-holders or on medium-sized estates. After harvest, the coffee is processed in a variety of ways, each imparting its own flavors and aromas to the final product.

A small number of farmers in Sulawesi, Flores and Bali use the most traditional method of all, dry processing. The coffee cherries are dried in the sun, and then dehulled in a dry state.

Most farmers on Sulawesi, Sumatra, Flores, and Papua use a unique process, called “Giling Basah” (or Wet Hulling). In this technique, farmers remove the outer skin from the cherries mechanically, using rustic pulping machines, called “luwak”. The coffee beans, still coated with mucilage, are then stored for up to a day. Following this waiting period, the mucilage is washed off and the coffee is partially dried for sale.

Collectors and processors then hull the coffee in a semi-wet state, which gives the beans a distinctive bluish-green appearance. This process reduces acidity and increases body, resulting in the classic Indonesian cup profile.

Larger processing mills, estates and some farmer’s cooperatives on Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi and Bali produce “fully washed” coffee.

The most unusual form of coffee processing in Indonesia is “Kopi Luwak”. This coffee is processed by the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphoditus). The animals eat ripe coffee cherries and their digestive process removes the outer layers of the fruit. The remaining coffee beans are collected and washed. Coffee experts believe that the unique flavor of Kopi Luwak comes, at least in part, from the extraction of natually occuring potassium salts from the beans during the digestive process. This results in a smooth, mild cup, with a sweet aftertaste. Kopi Luwak is very rare, and can retail for moer than $600 per kilogram.

Coffee research

The Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute (ICCRI) is located in Jember, Java. Current activities of ICCRI in the coffee sector include:
Land mapping to identify new areas for coffee production
Research on coffee diseases and identification of resistant planting material
Farmer training on improved production and processing techniques
Supply of coffee seedlings for improved varieties
Supply of coffee processing and testing equipment

The Agribusiness Market and Support Activity (AMARTA) is conducting research on the effectiveness of the Brocap Trap technology in Toraja, Sidikilang and Gayo. This trap is designed to catch the Coffee Cherry Borer (CCB) insect, a major pest in coffee. It was developed by CIRAD, a French agricultural research institute. Brocap traps have been extensively adopted by coffee farmers in Central America

Coffee Associations

Indonesia’s coffee industry is represented by two associations. The Association of Indonesian Coffee Exporters (AICE), also known by its Indonesian acronym “AEKI”, is composed of Arabica and Robusta coffee exporters. AICE was founded in 1979 and it issues compulsory export licenses for coffee.

The Specialty Coffee Association of Indonesia (SCAI) formed in 2008. SCAI members focus exclusively on the production, export and marketing of Indoensia’s Arabica coffees. This includes farmers’ cooperatives with 8,050 members, exporters, roasters, importers and coffee retailers in the Arabic coffee industry.

Bali - Coffee Plantations

2008-09-23T05:33:00.000-07:00

From: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art24831.asp

Bali - Coffee Plantations
Guest Author - Taisha Turner

The island of Bali, Indonesia has numerous coffee plantations. The Dutch introduced the coffee bean to the island and exported it worldwide. Long after Bali gained independence from the Netherlands, coffee plantations are still major money makers. They produce coffee for export and double as tourist attractions.

The romantic tropical history lures visitors across the seas. People want to see the Bali plantations carved from the steamy jungles. They want to view sunsets while sitting on the veranda sipping a tall cool drink under a gently swaying fan. They want to smell the fragrant ripe coffee berries. They want to hear insects chirp off in the distance. These sights and sounds are what Bali represents to many people around the world.

There are two ways to experience this Bali. One is vacation on a coffee plantation. The other is to take a day tour.

Villas and suites are available for rent. They are delightful way to enjoy the old colonial plantation life. You can stroll on the grounds while soaking up the atmosphere. Luxury and service are part of this delightful paradise. Imagine waking and drinking coffee grown on the grounds.

Coffee plantation tours are available to the visitor. There are several tour operators from whom to choose. The tours range from a couple of hours to a full day with meals included. You can hike through the humid jungle to reach the plantation. Or, secondly ride an air-conditioned bus complete with bottled water. There are provisions available for the disabled.

The coffee plantations’ tours are fascinating. The main consideration is the size of the plantation. On a small plantation the visitor is likely to see the trees harvested by hand. This experience is great for the romantic craving for the past. On the larger plantations the ripe red berries tend to be mechanically harvested.

Robusta and Arabica are the species grown on the island. Robusta coffee is grown on the high terraced mountainsides. Arabica is grown at lower altitudes. The mild temperatures and frequent rain showers are ideal for successful harvests.

The coffee of Bali, Indonesia is world known. The island Java lends its name to a cup of “java.” Don’t miss a visit! You will remember the experience with every cup of coffee you drink in the future.

Map of Indonesia

2008-09-19T18:27:00.001-07:00

Coffee in Indonesia

2008-09-18T22:56:00.000-07:00

From : http://www.expat.or.id/info/coffeeinindonesia.html

Among the numerous luxuries of the table...coffee may be considered as one of the most valuable. It excites cheerfulness without intoxication; and the pleasing flow of spirits which it occasions...is never followed by sadness, languor or debility.
-Benjamin Franklin

The statement by Benjamin Franklin has perhaps become more meaningful with time. Little did he know that 200 years later, people would not only continue to enjoy coffee but that coffee would become a trendy beverage marketed and enjoyed in all parts of the world.

Because of its popularity, coffee has become one of the five highest traded commodities in the world. Most of the countries that produce coffee are located close to the equator. Because of its geographical location, Indonesia’s climate is highly suited to the growing and production of coffee. Currently Indonesia is the 3rd largest producer of coffee in the world.
Brief History of Coffee in Indonesia

Coffee was not a native plant to the archipelago. In the 17th century, when Indonesia was still under Dutch occupation, the VOC brought Arabica coffee plants to Indonesia. They were interested in growing the plants and sought to break the worldwide Arab monopoly on the coffee trade.

The Dutch Colonial Government initially planted coffee around Batavia (Jakarta), and as far south as Sukabumi and Bogor. Coffee plantations were later established in East Java, Central Java, West Java, and in parts of Sumatra and Sulawesi. Large areas of forested land were cleared and cultivated specifically for the development of these plantations. The growth of coffee plantations was responsible for the development of a lot of infrastructure in Central Java during the turn of the 19th century. Roads and railways were needed to transport the coffee beans from the island interior to the ports where the coffee was loaded on ships and exported.

Prior to World War Two, Central Java, in particular, had a very strong rail transportation system that brought coffee, sugar, pepper, tea and tobacco out of the province to the port city of Semarang. East Indonesia, East Timor, and Flores were also producing coffee during this period. These islands, however, were still under Portuguese rule. The Portuguese had also imported Arabica coffee plants, but they were from a different root stock that what the Dutch had imported.

Near the turn of the 19th century a huge portion of the coffee plants in Indonesia, as well as Sri Lanka and Malaysia, contracted coffee rust. Coffee rust is a fungus that creates the growth of a fine yellow-orange powder like substance that starts on the underside of the leaves of the plants. This fungus spread very quickly and wiped out entire plantations, devastating the colonial Indonesian coffee industry. The east side of the islands was also affected, but not to the extent that Java was hit because of the different root stock they had planted. Some plantation owners did not replant coffee plants but opted for tea or rubber trees instead which they felt were less prone to disease. Many of these plantations still remain in operation today.

The Dutch responded to the coffee rust by importing and planting Liberica coffee. This variety had a short-lived popularity and was also affected by disease. The Liberica cherry can still be found throughout Java, but is seldom used as a commercial crop in Indonesia. The Dutch colonial government then opted for the more resistant Robusta variety to replant the affected plantations. Robusta still makes up around 90% of the coffee crop in Indonesia today.

World War II and the struggle for independence played a big part in subsequent changes in the Indonesian coffee market. today. Plantations were taken over briefly by the occupying Japanese. After independence, the plantations throughout Indonesia either came under the control of the new government or were abandoned. Many colonial plantation owners fled the country to avoid being arrested. Today close to 92% of coffee production is in the hands of small farmers or cooperatives.
Coffee Production in Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi

There are three main coffee growing areas in Indonesia. Java is the one of the largest islands in the archipelago and also the largest producer of coffee. Java is renowned for its gourmet Arabica coffee. Arabica coffee is most suited to altitudes over 1500m. It grows well in temperatures of 16-20 degrees Celsius. Arabica plants tend to be more prone to disease, so farmers must pay close attention to the plants while they are growing. Java is also known as producing one of the finest aged coffees in the world in Old Java. Javanese coffee beans can be stored in warehouses for two to three years. This increases the strong full bodied taste that Arabica is known for.

Another major coffee producing island in Indonesia is Sulawesi, which was once known as Celebes. Coffee grown in Sulawesi is mostly processed using the dry method. . The most famous coffee growing region in Sulawesi is Toraja, where the coffee grows in the mountainous area near the center of the island 1500 meters above sea level. Coffee in the region is grown using traditional practices of coffee cultivation, mostly on privately owned smallholder plantations. Picking and sorting of the coffee cherries is done by hand making the coffee of very high quality as only the best cherries are picked. This type of growing and harvesting is utilized due to the very mountainous terrain and the haphazard planting of the coffee trees, resulting in a yield of only 300 kilo per hectare of coffee. Toraja Arabica has a very distinguished personality in terms of its full bodied taste paired with caramelized aroma, and a crisp and clean aftertaste. The earth and the other vegetation of the region are partly responsible for giving the coffee its flavor. The low annual yield of Toraja’s Arabica makes this coffee highly sought after by coffee connoisseurs worldwide. Toraja Sulawesi coffee is particularly popular in Japan. There is a very limited supply of Toraja coffee in the world due to the cultivation practices and conditions. The highest grades of Toraja coffee are normally reserved for export.

Sumatra is another major coffee producing area of Indonesia. Sumatra produces two of the world’s most famous and high quality coffees - Mandheling and Ankola (seldom-used market name for Arabica coffee). Sumatra Mandheling coffee is produced outside the city of Padang, in the west coast coffee district. This coffee is characterized by a low-key acidity and a heavy, almost syrupy, body with a concentrated and complex flavor. Grown in west-central Sumatra, both of these coffees are dry-processed and are renowned for their unique and rich flavor. Indonesia’s most highly sought after specialty coffees are the Toraja and Mandehling.
Coffee Plants

Coffea Arabica, known as Arabica coffee, accounts for 75-80% of the world's production. Coffea canephora, known as Robusta coffee, is more robust than the Arabica plants, but produces an inferior tasting beverage with higher caffeine content. The coffee plant can grow to heights of 10 meters, if not pruned, but normally the trees are pruned to a reasonable height for easy harvesting. Coffee trees flower twice a year. In Sumatra the season runs from November to January and in Java from late July through to September. The flowers grow in bunches that hang from the tree. Only about 25% of the flowers will grow into coffee cherries. The Arabica species is self-pollinating, whereas the Robusta species depends on cross pollination. After pollination the fruit remains almost dormant for 6-8 weeks. After this time the cherry starts it rapid growth stage where it goes from the size of a pin head to the final cherry size within a 15-week period.
Coffee Processing

Once the cherries have reached a level of ripeness where the outer skin turns red, the picking begins. Bigger estates often do strip picks using machinery whereas the smaller plantations will hand pick the coffee cherries. Hand picking is of course the preferred method as only the choice cherries picked and the pest infected beans and debris can all be sorted out. Beans at this newly picked stage can only last two days before they need to be further processed. This is the processing method most commonly used for Toraja coffee.

The next stage of processing produces “green coffee”. There are two methods that are used to do this: the dry method or the wet processing system. The dry method is predominately used in Sumatra and by small hold farmers in Java, Bali, and Flores. This method involves drying the beans outside under the sun. The beans are laid out either on a concrete pad, or on sacking laid out on the side of the road. Ideally the stacks of bean should not be more than 5 cm high and the beans need to be turned every two hours to ensure correct humidity level is achieved before hulling. It is vital to avoid being rained upon.

The drying process can take several weeks. Over this time the beans are raked and turned as often as needed to ensure a universal drying effect is achieved. Once the outer area of the bean begins to fall off, the coffee is ready to have the pulp removed. It is normally dried until the moisture content of the bean is approximately 11%. The mulching is done by machinery- although some of these mulching machines are still hand driven! The final product is a green bean, about 1/3 the size of the original cherry. The dry method produces coffee that is heavy in body, sweet, smooth, and complex.

The second method of drying coffee is the wet processing system. Wet processing means the bean can begin the final preparation stage immediately after being picked. Instead of drying under the sun the cherries are processed through a water system. This process results in a coffee that is cleaner, brighter, and fruitier. The pulp of the coffee cherries is removed to release the two coffee beans inside. The beans then sit in water for 24-48 hours to ferment. This is the heart of wet processing--when the fine, acidy flavor of great coffee is produced.

The fermenting process softens the outer skin which makes it easy to remove. The system works well although there are often times when the sugar in the beans can ferment, causing the flavor of the beans to be affected. Most large coffee estates in Java use this system as it speeds up processing and generally makes selection of the final green bean much easier. The quality of green bean from wet processing is generally higher.

After fermentation, the remaining pulp is washed off and the beans spread out to dry. The coffee can also be dried in a mechanical dryer, powered by a wood, gas or solar power. As in the dry method the beans need to be dried until the moisture level reaches a[proximately 11%. The coffee is then referred to as parchment coffee and is ready to be warehoused in sisal or jute bags until readied for hulling.

Machines are used to hull the parchment layer (endocarp) from the wet processed coffee. Hulling dry processed coffee refers to removing the entire dried husk -- the exocarp, mesocarp and endocarp -- of the dried cherries. Green coffee can last for years if it is stored in the correct conditions. It is vital that it is not exposed to high humidity as this will cause molding. It can also absorb flavor from other things stored around it so to avoid tainting the taste care must be taken in choosing the warehouse location.
Roasting Coffee

Roasting transforms green coffee into the aromatic brown beans that we purchase, either whole or already ground, in our favorite stores. Most roasting machines maintain a temperature of about 550 degrees Fahrenheit. The beans are kept moving throughout the entire process to keep them from burning and when they reach an internal temperature of about 400 degrees, they begin to turn brown and the caffeol, or oil, locked inside the beans begins to emerge. Throughout the roasting process the beans must be kept moving so they don't burn or roast unevenly, and cooled, or quenched, when the right moment has come to stop the roasting. Coffee that is not roasted long enough or hot enough to bring out the oil, has a pasty, nutty, or bread-like flavor. Coffee roasted too long or at too high a temperature is thin-bodied, burned, and industrial-flavored. Coffee roasted too long at too low a temperature has a baked flavor. Roasting must be stopped at precisely the right moment to obtain the flavor and roast desired. The beans are quickly dumped into a metal box, where pyrolysis continues until the beans are quenched with either cold air or a light spray of cold water. Most specialty roasters air-quench their coffee.

Some coffee producers do not have their own roasting machines and rely on others to roast their beans for them. During the roasting process the water that is contained in the bean evaporates making for a lighter yield than what was originally put in the roaster. This makes it impossible to rely on weight to ensure that the beans that went into the roaster are in fact the beans that come out. For this reason many producers in Indonesia will supervise the entire roasting process of their beans as some ethically challenged roasters have been known to switch the quality of bean that they are roasting with an inferior quality or even take out some of the beans and replace the beans with corn. After corn has been roasted with coffee, it is almost imposable to detect.
Grinding and Brewing Coffee

To truly get the best taste from coffee it is best to grind the beans just before brewing it. It is best to use 10 g (2 tablespoons) of ground coffee for each 180 ml (6 fluid oz) of water. Keep these proportions consistent, regardless of the quantity you make. You can adjust proportions to taste, but remember that skimping (i.e., grinding finer and using less coffee) makes for a thin, bitter brew. The taste of ground coffee will start to deteriorate almost an hour after grinding so it is best to grind only what is to be used immediately. Grind the coffee as fine as you can make it without losing any through the holes in the filter of the coffee maker. Never grind it to a powder. Completely pulverizing it destroys the essential oil, which becomes vaporized by the heat and friction of the grinding process. Too fine a grind will cause over extraction and bitterness. Too coarse a grind will cause watery coffee. the appropriate grind should allow the coffee to finish dripping in several minutes.

Brew with hot water, as opposed to lukewarm or boiling water. Boiling damages coffee flavor because it vaporizes much of the coffee essence while it continues to extract other bitter chemicals. Don't percolate or reheat coffee; it has the same effect as boiling, only less so. Don't hold coffee for very long on the heat for the same reason. Coffee can be kept warm over a burner for only about 20 minutes before the flavor starts to become unpleasant. A temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal, which means bringing the water to a boil and then waiting a couple of minutes before brewing. It is better to keep your coffee in an air pot or vacuum server to keep it hot rather than keeping it on heat for long periods of time.

Coffee Press:
The coffee press is a modern variation on the traditional open pot style. Hot water is poured over coarse ground coffee and allowed to steep for approximate four minutes. A mesh filter is then pushed down to the bottom of the pot which separates the coffee from the grounds. The brew is normally a better quality than drip coffee since paper filters remove subtle flavors and add a taste all their own.

Drip Coffee Makers:
This type of coffee maker is among the most popular and convenient. It is best to use a permanent metal mess or synthetic filter for these units as it will improve the taste of the coffee.

Espresso Brewing method:
This method of coffee making uses pressure rather and gravity to brew. This type of brewing is becoming increasingly popular not only in commercial but home use. The coffee is inserted in a small container and water condensed from steam is passed through it under high mechanical pressure to brew the coffee. Most machines will have other steam taps for frothing milk for cappuccino. In Italian, the word espresso means "individualized". These brewers are a bit more complicated to use, but tend to make a much better cup of coffee. This type of brewing is normally used by barista to make cappuccino and espresso in up scale coffee shops.

Other brewing methods include traditional Italian stove-top coffee makers, vacuum brewers, and cold water extractors.
Enjoying Coffee in Indonesia

As expatriates, residing in one of the major coffee producing countries in the world, you have a wealth of opportunities to taste new coffees, visit the actual plantations where they are grown, and learn more about the beverage you enjoy so much!

Jakarta and other major cities have numerous coffee shops and cafés where brews from different countries can be enjoyed in a quiet and comfortable atmosphere. Indonesian consumers have embraced the worldwide coffee craze with gusto and you’ll find Starbucks (US), Coffee Bean (Singapore), Segafredo (Italy) and others in malls in major cities. It is ironic that a huge amount of Indonesian coffee is shipped overseas, processed, and then shipped back to Indonesia to be sold under these familiar international labels at worldwide prices.

Some of the best coffee can be sampled at small “warung kopi" (roadside stall) where kopi tubruk is often served in a glass. A visit will certainly be a memorable experience, as traffic whizzes by, and the locals try to figure out what a foreigner is doing in a warung! Be forewarned, Indonesians drink their coffee with LOTS of sugar, and warung kopi is served with the grounds steeping in the bottom of your glass! Take that last sip with caution! You may be surprised once again if you ask for kopi susu (coffee with milk) as it may be prepared with canned sweetened condensed milk! Many people often joke that you have to strain the coffee grinds through your teeth when you drink this type of coffee, or refer to it as 'mud coffee'..

Grocery stores offer a wide variety of Indonesian coffees and specialty shops offer you the chance to taste locally roasted specialty coffees. Premier JJ Royal Toraja coffee is sold at the Jakarta Duty Free shops in the airport, Bali’s Putri Bintang Kencana Duty Free Shops, Bali Deli, and Ranch Market locations. With the recent restrictions concerning the amount of liquids allowed on the airplane, coffee has become a great gift. Especially with JJ Royal’s innovative packaging, where emphasis is put on maintaining the freshness of the coffee and its attractive design. Coffee tasting sessions can be set up with JJ Royal or Caswell’s Coffee and you’ll soon educate your palate and learn how to distinguish the differences between many types of coffee. This is a great activity for an office get together or a community group activity.

If you’re looking for a travel adventure, check with your travel agent to see if there are coffee plantations that you can visit during your travels around the archipelago. Even without a formal agri-tourism program, most plantation owners are more than happy to allow you to take pictures of harvest and various processing that you happen across. If your Indonesian is up to the task, you can talk with the agricultural workers and learn even more!

Whatever your interest, use your time in Indonesia to learn more about coffee !

Glossary:
Coffee: kopi
Black Coffee: kopi pahit
Coffee with milk: kopi susu
Coffee with sugar: Kopi manis or kopi dengan gula
Coffee plantation: Perkebunan kopi
Coffee steeped in a glass (with grounds): kopi tubruk

Next hot commodity? Arabica coffee beans

2008-09-12T23:32:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, September 5, 2006

Next hot commodity? Arabica coffee beans

By CLAUDIA CARPENTER AND NGUYEN DIEU TU UYEN
BLOOMBERG NEWS

New York, home of the $4 cup of coffee, may be where the commodity gets its next price jolt.

Prices for arabica coffee beans on the New York Board of Trade could climb more than 20 percent in the next 12 months and outperform some of this year's best commodities investments, including copper and silver.

Demand for the beans is coming from Procter & Gamble Co., whose Folgers brand is the best-selling U.S. coffee, and Kraft Foods Inc., the maker of Maxwell House. Coffee sellers are turning to the arabica beans traded mostly in New York after a cheaper coffee variety called robusta rallied to a seven-year high in London last month.

"Now that robusta is moving up, it's bringing other grades into play," said Raymond Keane, a coffee trader in Charleston, S.C., for Balzac Bros. & Co., which supplies the commodity for Procter & Gamble and Kraft.

Coffee in New York may reach $1.30 a pound by the middle of next year, said Michael Coleman, managing director at Singapore-based Aisling Analytics, who helps run the Merchant Commodity Fund with $370 million. Arabica futures are little changed at about $1.08 this year, while robusta on the Euronext.liffe exchange in London jumped 30 percent.

The forecast for New York coffee compares with Macquarie Bank Ltd.'s prediction for a decline in copper, which jumped 75 percent this year. Silver, up 46 percent so far, will gain only 17 percent in 2007, Zurich, Switzerland-based analyst Edward Ennis at Julius Baer Holding AG forecast in July.

The International Coffee Organization forecasts a 2 percent rise in global coffee consumption to 7 million tons, helped by record growth at Seattle-based Starbucks Corp., the world's largest coffee-shop owner. Brazil, the world's biggest coffee producer, is unlikely in 2007 to repeat its bumper crop of 2.49 million tons this year, according to Conab, the forecasting agency for the nation's Agriculture Ministry.

About two-thirds of the world's coffee comes from arabica beans, which are used by coffee shops such as Starbucks. The rest is robusta, used in instant coffee, espresso and low-cost blends. Robusta beans give an espresso its froth, or "crema," and have about twice as much caffeine as arabica.

Coffee futures in London have risen in the past year as production from Vietnam, the largest robusta grower, declined because of a drought. Prices reached $1,586 a metric ton Aug. 22, the highest since 1999, after water damaged inventories in Italy.

Arabica prices haven't kept pace because Brazil this year is harvesting its second-biggest crop ever. Chances are Brazil's 2007 crop will decline because trees usually rest after a big harvest.

Dry weather is also hurting Brazil's plantations, and the flowering that starts in October will be damaged if there is no rain soon, hurting next year's crop.

Coffee roasters such as Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble change the mix of bean varieties they use depending on price and consumer tastes.

"To the extent the ratio between the two contracts is way out of line, there must become a price point where arabica will become more viable than robusta," said Sean Corrigan, chief investment strategist at Diapason Commodities Ltd., which manages $5 billion of commodity investments.

The price spread between New York and London coffee is the narrowest in two years, boosting the appeal for buyers looking to use more of the mild-tasting beans. The premium for the most-active arabica contract is 38 cents a pound, down from 92 cents in March 2005, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Famous Coffee Quotes

2008-09-12T23:14:00.000-07:00

I could serve coffee using my rear as a ledge.
Jennifer Lopez

I judge a restaurant by the bread and by the coffee.
Burt Lancaster

I like cappuccino, actually. But even a bad cup of coffee is better than no coffee at all.
David Lynch

The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee and I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun.
John D. Rockefeller

Starbucks represents something beyond a cup of coffee.
Howard Schultz

China traditionally has been a tea-drinking country but we turned them into coffee drinkers.
Howard Schultz

Coffee is the common man's gold, and like gold, it brings to every person the feeling of luxury and nobility.
Sheik Abd-al-Kadir

Coffee is real good when you drink it it gives you time to think. It's a lot more than just a drink; it's something happening. Not as in hip, but like an event, a place to be, but not like a location, but like somewhere within yourself. It gives you time, but not actual hours or minutes, but a chance to be, like be yourself, and have a second cup.
Gertrude Stein

Give a frontiersman coffee and tobacco, and he will endure any privation, suffer any hardship, but let him be without these two necessaries of the woods, and he becomes irresolute and murmuring.
U.S. Army Lt. William Whiting, 1849

Strong coffee, much strong coffee, is what awakens me. Coffee gives me warmth, waking, an unusual force and a pain that is not without very great pleasure.
Napoleon Bonaparte

I would rather suffer with coffee than be senseless.
Napoleon Bonaparte

If you want to improve your understanding, drink coffee; it is the intelligent beverage.
Sydney Smith

Coffee, according to the women of Denmark, is to the body what the Word of the Lord is to the soul.
Isak Dinesen

The morning cup of Café Nair is an integral part of the life of a Creole household. The Creoles hold as a physiological fact that this custom contributes to longevity, and point, day after day, to examples of old men and women of fourscore, and over, who attest to the powerful aid they have received through life from a good, fragrant cup of coffee in the early morning.
The Picayune Creole Cook Book (1901)

Black coffee must be strong and very hot; if strong coffee does not agree with you, do not drink black coffee. And if you do not drink black coffee, do not drink any coffee at all.
Andre Simon

Nescafé no es café. (Instant coffee is not coffee.)
Mexican saying

Coffee makes us severe, and grave, and philosophical.
Jonathan Swift, 1722

Coffee - Illustrated

2008-09-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

Difference: Arabica vs. Robusta

2008-09-12T21:22:00.000-07:00

Arabica vs. Robusta

What is the difference between Arabica and Robusta coffee?

While both widely cultivated, Coffea Arabica (Arabica) and Coffea Canephora (Robusta) display marked differences. The beans are different. The plants are different. And consequently, the use varies as well.

Arabica is grown at higher altitudes. Its cultivation demands great care, and it can be likened to the finest grapes grown at the world’s leading vineyards.

Robusta, as the name suggests, is a hardier plant, and it displays greater resistance to climate and weather conditions, diseases and heat.

Perhaps the most significant difference rests in the cup.

Arabica is distinctly milder and more aromatic. It possesses fewer sharp and bitter tastes than Robusta, and it is therefore considered the superior species by those who cultivate specialty coffees, single estates and varietals.

Robusta is renowned for its higher caffeine content, which is why Italians began using it for espresso.

The coffees are also botanically different. Arabica’s greater complexity derives from its 44 chromosomes – twice the number of Robusta. An Arabica bean is flatter and more elongated; in addition, and the furrow on its flat surface is elongated. It is relatively deep green in color before roasting, sometimes with a bluish tinge.

The Robusta bean is more convex and roundish. The bean’s furrow is straight, and it is pale green with grey or brownish tinges.

Arabica is the more expensive of the two, another factor in why Robusta is sometimes used in blends.

KOPI - Komoditi Unggulan

2008-09-12T21:15:00.001-07:00

(dari : http://disbunbali.info/komoditi_unggulan.php?id_komoditi_unggulan=1)

Kopi Arabika

Sifat-sifat dan karakteristik varietas kopi Arabika antara lain:

Varietas S 795

Habitus tanaman: tinggi agak melebar dengan daun rimbun menutupi batang.

Percabangan tidak teratur, ruas batang agak pendek, cabang sekunder, cabang tersier, cabang balik dan cabang cacing tumbuh sangat aktif sehingga diperlukan sering mewiwil. Daun bulat telor dengan ujung runcing, permukaan dan tepi daun bergelombang. Bunga: pembungaan besar pada awal musim hujan dan bunga susulan cukup banyak. Ruas yang pernah berhubungan dapat berbunga kembali akan tetapi jumlah buah sedikit. Bunga mekar agak pagi. Buah: buah muda agak memanjang warna hijau dan buah masak agak bulat warna merah hati. Pemasakan buah tidak serentak sehingga perlu panen bertahap. Daya hasil 1,5 ton/ ha dengan populasi 1600 pohon/ ha. Ketahanan terhadap hama penyakit: pada ketinggian > 1000 n tahan terhadap penyakit karat daun (hemileia vastatrix B et Br.), sedangkan < 900 agak rentan.

Cita rasa: baik.

Varietas Kartika

Habitus tanaman: katai.

Percabangan agak lentur, ruas pendek, pembentukan cabang sekunder, cabang kipas sangat aktif. Daun bulat telor dengan pangkal daun ujung runcing. Helai daun tebal dan kaku. Bunga: pembungaan lebih cepat dibandingkan kopi S 795. Bunga mekar agak siang. Buah: buah agak bulat dengan ukuran seragam. Biji lebih kecil dibandingkan dengan S 795. pemasakan buah tidak serentak sehingga perlu panen bertahap. Daya hasil 2 ton/ ha dengan populasi 2.500 pohon/ ha. Ketahanan terhadap hama penyakit: pada ketinggian > 1000 m tahan terhadap penyakit karat daun (hemileia vastatrix B et Br.), sedangkan < 900 tidak tahan.

Cita rasa: cukup.

Varietas Andung Sari (AS)

Habitus tanaman: katai.

Percabangan mendatar, tegak lurus batang utama dan agak lentur. Daun berbentuk oval agak memanjang dengan ujung meruncing dengan ukuran lebih besar daripada Kartika. Helai daun tipis dan lemas dengan tepi bergelombang. Bunga: hampir sama dengan Kartika. Buah: hampir sama dengan Kartika. Daya hasil 2 ton/ ha dengan populasi 2.500 pohon/ ha. Ketahanan terhadap hama penyakit: pada ketinggian > 1000 m tahan terhadap penyakit karat daun (hemileia vastatrix B et Br.), sedangkan < 900 lebih tahan dibandingkan dengan Kartika.

Cita rasa: cukup baik.

Klon BP 42

Habitus tanaman: perawakan sedang dengan tinggi tajuk ± 2 m.

Percabangan: cabang agak mendatar dengan ruas batang pendek. Daun bulat besar, permukaan dan tepi daun bergelombang, pupus daun berwarna hijau pucat dan daun tua hijau gelap. Bunga: pembungaan agak lambat dan penyerbukan paling baik. Buah: dompolan buah antar ruas cukup rapat, buah berukuran besar dan buah masak berwarna merah cerah. Daya hasil 0,8 ton/ ha dengan populasi 1.200 pohon/ ha.

Potensi Daerah Bangli - Kopi Arabika

2008-09-12T21:06:00.000-07:00

A. Komoditas Kopi Arabika

1. Sentra

a. Kecamatan Kintamani

2. Luas tanaman : 3.819,110 Ha. Produktif 2.700,780 Ha

3. Sisa Potensi : 15.908,044 Ha

4. Produksi : 1.697,159 ton kopi beras

5. Pemasaran

a. Kemitraan dengan PT. Tirta Harapan bali, baru menyerap 18,63% dari total produksi

b. Koperasi Sekar ( Puslit Koka ) Jember menampung 10,617 ton kopi HS

6. Musim panen : Mei-Agustus

7. Fasilitas pengolah hasil

a. 1 unit mesin pengolah basah

b. 4 unit mesin Pulfer olah basah dengan kapasitas 24 ton/hari ( dimiliki oleh 4 kelompok )

c. 1 unit mesin sangria

d. 4 unit rumah pengering dengan kapasitas 24 ton/ 21 hari

e. Tahun 2002 kopi gelondong yang bisa diolah secara basah : 1.581,646 ton

f. Yang belum diolah secara basah 6.904,149 ton gelondong basah

8. Peluang Investasi

a. Pengembangan/perluasan areal

b. Pengolahan kopi system basah

c. Pemasaran

d. Pengolahan kopi bubuk

Banyuatis Coffee Manufacturing in Buleleng

2008-09-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

Banyuatis Coffee Manufacturing in Buleleng
(Source: http://www.bali-travelnews.com/Batrav/Batrav191/buleleng.htm)

Coffee is a remarkably familiar drink for the Balinese community. Coffee trunk grows well at cool-climate land such as at the territory of Buleleng (North Bali). Most of the territory is good for coffee plantation. Species of coffee cultivated here are Arabica (Coffee arabica) and Robusta (Coffee canephora). From time immemorial Buleleng is the biggest coffee producer in Bali so several inhabitants of South Bali flocked to work there as coffee harvester.

As coffee supplier, either in the form of bean or ready-to-use powder, Buleleng has several enterprises of coffee milling. These enterprises are managed both traditionally and modernly by means of sophisticated and modern machines. One of the moderately well known coffee manufacturing in Buleleng is the Kopi Banyuatis. This company is located at Pemaron Village, precisely on Jalan Singaraja-Seririt. It is close to Baruna Beach, or 2 km east of Lovina Beach.

The Kopi Banyuatis manufacturing was founded by Ketut Englan in 1976. He processes the coffee produced by local farmers from his village, Banyuatis, into the ready-to-use coffee powder. Originally, the company was located at Jalan Diponegoro Singaraja. Then, it was relocated to Pemaron Village to expand its business. Such business is now handled by Gede Harjasa (30) on account of the bustles of Ketut Englan as enterpriser in Buleleng.

Its raw materials are supplied by farmers at the surroundings of Pupuan and Banyuatis Villages. The purchased coffee is the dry one with an certain amount of resolved water content so that the coffee bean can be processed straightforwardly. Coffee selection is performed by the company through special tests. It is intended to maintain the quality of its production.

The process undergone by the coffee bean into powder begings from the oven, then it is milled and packaged in compliance with the needs. "Our company employs 27 workers consisting of 6 persons in charge on the phase of baking; 3 persons at the milling division to make it into powder and 9 others at packaging division that makes the coffee ready to sell. Administration assistance comes to 2 persons and marketing 6 persons," observed Gede Harjasa.

This company processed 30 tons of coffee monthly. Its products are marketed in different kinds of packages, namely 50g, 100g and 500g. First class coffee consists of the Arabica and Robusta within certain amount of composition. It results in typical distinguished aroma and flavour to Banyuatis coffee, while second world-class coffee is the Arabica mixed with Robusta within certain amount of percentage. It then emanates the aroma and flavour, typically Banyuatis, while for the second class of coffee, the product is blended with the mixture of corn powder.

Up to these days, this company remains to apply the firewood within the baking process in oven. An oven tube containing 75 kg of coffee is baked for an hour and then milled for an hour, too. (BTN/I Ketut Supir)

Kintamani Coffee - not Export Quality

2008-09-12T20:39:00.001-07:00

Kopi Kintamani tak Penuhi Standar Ekspor

Bangli, Bali Post -

Produksi kopi Kintamani setahun mencapai 20.000 ton kopi gelondongan basah*. Namun belum seluruhnya diolah dengan tepat untuk memenuhi standar ekspor. Dari jumlah itu hanya 917 ton (5%) yang dibeli PT* Tirta Harapan Bali diolah agar memenuhi standar ekspor, sisanya 19.083 ton (95%) masih diolah petani secara sederhana. Artinya, masih diperlukan sarana pengolahan kopi yang tersebar sampai ke Subak Abian di Kintamani.

Hal itu diungkapkan Bupati Bangli I Nengah Arwana, Minggu (30/12) kemarin. Menurutnya, dari 20.000 ton kopi gelondong basah setelah diolah diperkirakan mencapai 4.000 ton kopi beras tiap tahunnya. Sebab, pengolahan kopi yang berkualitas belum bisa dilakukan oleh petani sehingga kualitasnya di pasaran sedikit menurun.

Padahal pertanian dan perkebunan, sektor unggulan untuk mendongkrak peningkatan pendapatan asli daerah (PAD*) Bangli. Menurutnya, kopi Kintamani sudah mampu menembus pasar Asia karena rasa dan aromanya sangat disegani wisatawan Jepang. Karena itu diharapkan petani memanfaatkan bantuan penggilingan kopi yang diberikan Pemprop* Bali karena masih banyak subak-subak di luar Bali yang memerlukannya.

Dia minta Pemprop Bali agar tetap memperhatikan petani kopi di Kecamatan Kintamani terutama bantuan mengingat dana yang tersedia di Bangli sangat terbatas. Apalagi, dana yang dialokasikan lewat APBD* 2001 ke Dinas Perkebunan dan Pertanian Bangli sangat kecil sehingga belum mampu membantu semua petani di empat kecamatan secara merata. �Kami akan berusaha memperjuangkan dana yang dialokasikan ke Dinas Perkebunan, Pertanian dan Kehutanan dalam penyusunan APBD 2002 sehingga sektor ini tetap menjadi primadona,� paparnya.

Sementara Kepala Dinas Perkebunan Bali, Ir. I Wayan Badra Wisnaya mengatakan, perkebunan rakyat sudah menjadi kegiatan ekonomi kerakyatan di pedesaan. Dari areal perkebunan seluas 169.287 hektar di Bali, hampir 99 persen perkebunan rakyat.

Dikatakan, pengembangan usaha perkebunan harus menggunakan teknologi dan berorientasi pasar. Sebab, kualitas produksi akhir sangat dipengaruhi oleh jenis dan kualitas sarana produksi, proses produksi dan penanganan hasil produksi pada tiap subsistem agrobisnis. �Kami berharap subsektor pertanian dapat tumbuh menjadi usaha yang mampu bersaing tinggi di pasar luar negeri dan domestik,� paparnya.

Dijelaskan, di pasaran dunia jenis kopi yang diperdagangkan arabika. Karenanya kebijaksanaan nasional mengembangkan kopi arabika sangat tepat untuk meraih peluang harga permintaan pasar yang tinggi. Namun secara nasional kopi Indonesia termasuk Bali masih banyak menghadapi masalah, di antaranya mutu kopi yang dihasilkan kurang baik, terutama yang berasal dari perkebunan rakyat,� katanya.

Ditambahkan, produksi kopi di Kintamani yang dapat ditampung dan diolah secara basah PT Tirta Harapan Bali hanya 917 ton atau 5% dengan harga dasar Rp* 1.840 per kilogram. �Nilai jual yang berhasil diraup petani kopi Kintamani mencapai Rp 1.834.000.000,� tuturnya. (057)

Bali Coffee - Export Opportunity

2008-09-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

Update Tanggal : 27-Sep-2007, 14:04:34
Indonesia berpeluang meningkatkan pangsa pasar kopi di Eropa
Sumber Berita : Sekretariat Jenderal

Pernyataan tersebut dikemukakan oleh Dr. Massimiliano Fabian, Ketua SCAE (Specialty Coffee Association in Europe) dan Dr. Vencenzo Sandalj, Presiden Associazione CaffÃ¨ Trieste Italia pada acara pertemuan dengan pengurus dan anggota AEKI pusat di Jakarta pada tanggal 14 September 2007 yang lalu. Pertemuan bisnis antara beberapa pengusaha kopi Italia dan pengurus dan anggota AEKI ini juga dihadiri oleh Menteri Perdagangan Mari E. Pangestu, sedangkan Menteri Pertanian diwakili oleh Dirjen P2HP Djoko S. Damardjati.

Dalam perbincangan secara informal dengan pengusaha kopi Italia tersebut, Menteri Perdagangan menyambut baik kedatangan pengusaha kopi Italia ini dan juga pertemuan semacam ini karena dengan melihat langsung perkopian Indonesia maka pengusaha kopi Italia dapat mengetahui potensi dan kemampuan Indonesia dalam menyediakan kopi dunia. Menteri mengharapkan kunjungan ini akan memberikan daya dorong bertambahnya sharing pasar kopi Indonesia untuk kawasan Italia dan Negara sekitarnya. Selanjutnya Menteri juga mendukung agar AEKI ikut berperan aktif pada pameran kopi Espresso bulan Nopember tahun 2008 yang akan datang dan juga mendukung pastisipasi AEKI pada pameran tunggal Indonesia di Trieste pada bulan Nopember 2007 yang akan datang yang mengedepankan thema â€œbuah tropis dan minuman Indonesiaâ€�.

Seperti diketahui bahwa kunjungan pengusaha kopi Italia ini merupakan program yang dirancang KBRI Roma bidang Pertanian dengan Asosiasi Kopi Trieste dan SCAE. Sebelum ke Jakarta ronbongan berkunjung ke Palembang dan bertemu dengan Gubernur Sumatera Selatan yang diwakili oleh Sekretaris daerah da serta mengadakan pertemuan bisnis dengan AEKI Sumatera Selatan serta melakukan uji rasa beberapa kopi produksi Sumatera Selatan. Dari hasil uji rasa terhadap 4 sampel kopi dari daerah produksi yang berbeda, menurut mereka kopi Semendo memberikan cita rasa terbaik daripada kopi dari daerah lainnya.

Setelah berkunjung ke Jakarta, tanggal 16 september 2007 rombongan pengusaha kopi Italia ini juga mengunjungi pelabuhan dan pergudangan kopi di Surabaya. Di daerah ini rombongan menyaksikan proses bongkar muat di pelabuhan Tanjung Perak dan juga mengunjungi gudang penyimpanan kopi milik PTPNXII. Rombongan menyatakan kesan positifnya terhadap kualitas kopi yang siap di ekspor oleh PTPN XII. Malam harinya rombongan juga mengadakan pertemuan dengan pengurus dan anggota AEKI Cabang Jatim yang dipimpin langsung oleh ketuanya Bapak Yahmadi.

Tanggal 17 September 2007, rombongan menuju Bali dan melihat kebun kopi arabika di daerah Bangli, Kintamani. Di daerah ini rombongan juga melakukan uji rasa kopi antara yang di fermentasi selama 12 jam dan 36 jam. Menurut mereka cita rasa kopi yang dihasilkan dari proses fermentasi selama 12 jam memiliki rasa yang lebih baik dan cocok untuk selera orang Eropa, sementara cita rasa kopi dari kopi yang difermentasi selama 36 jam lebih cocok untuk selera orang Amerika, Jepang dan Australia.

Kepala Dinas Perkebunan Provinsi Bali mengatakan bahwa peluang ekspor ini memotivasi para petani kopi arabika untuk meningkatkan produksinya. Kopi Arabika yang diproduksi di Kintamani memiliki rasa khas kopi kintamani beraroma jeruk. Hal ini dikarenakan budidaya tanaman kopi di daerah kintamani diselingi oleh tanaman jeruk.

Dilaporkan bahwa tahun 2006, luas areal kopi arabika di Bali seluas 7.511 ha. Areal ini menciut selama lima tahun terakhir. Paa tahun 2002, luas lahan kopi arabika didaerah itu seluas 9.460 hektar. Produksi tahun lalu sebanyak 2.679,058 ton sedangkan tahun ini siperkirakan sebasar 2.067 ton.

Dalam acara perpisahan di pelataran lobby hotel Asthon Resort Bali tempat rombongan menginap, Atase Pertanian KBRI Roma menyatakan bahwa kunjungan ini akan dinilai berhasil jika ada follow up positif dari hasil pembicaraan rombongan ini dengan pihak terkait Indonesia, baik dari aspek bisnis, maupun aspek perbaikan kualitas kopi Indonesia dan juga segi penelitian terkait tanaman kopi. Selanjutnya Attani KBRI Roma juga mengharapkan dukungan Asosiasi Kopi Trieste dan SCAE pada pameran tunggal Indonesia di Trieste pada bulan Nopember 2007 dan juga program pertemuan bisnis kopi antara Indonesia dengan Italia saat pameran kopi espresso bulan Nopember tahun 2008 yang akan datang.

Jenis kopi yang dihasilkan Prop. Bali adalah jenis kopi arabika dan kopi robusta. Tersebar di Kabupaten Jembrana, Badung, Gianyar, Bangli, Karangasem, Buleleng. Daerah terluas pengembangan dan produksi tertinggi kopi Arabika adalah Kab. Bangli
Produksi Tahun Terakhir (2002) : 3,768,420.00 Ton

Eco Friendly Balinese Coffe

2008-09-12T20:33:00.000-07:00

05/07/08 12:25
Bali Produksi Kopi Ramah Lingkungan

Denpasar, (ANTARA News) - Bali salah satu sentra pengembangan kopi di Indonesia bertekad meningkatkan mutu matadagangan kopi ramah lingkungan mengikuti permintaan dan selera pasar dunia.

"Petani kopi sejak lama diarahkan menggunakan pupuk kandang dan pembasmi hama secara alami. Dalam proses pemeliharaan mereka menghindari penggunaan pupuk organik dan zat kimia," kata Kepala Dinas Perkebunan Propinsi Bali Ir Gede Ardhana didampingi Kasubdin Program Ir Made Sudarta di Denpasar, Sabtu.

Ia mengatakan, proses produksi kopi yang ramah lingkungan tersebut menjadi salah satu persyaratan dalam menembus pasaran ekspor, sekaligus memenangkan persaingan di era global yang semakin ketat.

Negara-negara maju seperti Jepang, Prancis, Amerika Serikat dan sejumlah negara lainnya, memberlakukan persyaratan bebas pestisida terhadap produk-produk hasil pertanian termasuk kopi yang dikonsumsi warganya.

Petani kopi di sentra pengembangan Kintamani, Kabupaten Bangli dan daerah-daerah pegunungan lainnya di Bali, telah menerapkan proses tersebut dengan baik.

"Petani kopi dalam proses pengembangan tanaman bernilai ekonomis itu dipadukan dengan pemeliharaan sapi, sehingga mereka memperoleh keuntungan ganda," ujar I Gede Ardhana.

Ia menjelaskan, petani kopi dalam keterpaduan tersebut, selain menikmati keuntungan dari penjualan sapi juga memperoleh pupuk kandang untuk menyuburkan tanaman.

Berbagai upaya dilakukan dalam proses budidaya kopi bebas pestisida, termasuk pemberantasan hama dengan menggunakan musuh alami (predator).

Petani kopi yang dipandu petugas lapangan melakukan proses pemeliharaan tanaman kopi ramah lingkungan. Upaya tersebut disertai penerapan petik buah merah, serta pengolahan dengan sistem olah basah.

"Mutu kopi hasil olah basah jauh lebih baik dibanding matadangan yang diolah kering," ujar I Gede Ardhana.

Bali memiliki tanaman kopi seluas 31.831 hektar yang terdiri atas kopi arabika 7.963 hektar dan kopi robusta 23.878 hektar.

Tanaman tersebut selama tahun 2007 menghasilkan 15.647 ton, terdiri atas kopi arabika 3.296 ton dan robusta 12.351 ton.

Dinas Perindustrian dan Perdagangan Propinsi Bali mencatat, matadagangan kopi dan hasil perkebunan unggulan lainnya semakin mendapat posisi yang baik di pasaran ekspor, berkat cita, rasa dan aroma yang khas yang mampu menarik konsumen untuk dinikmatinya.

Ekspor kopi dari Bali selama tahun 2007 senilai 78.704 dolar AS, hasil pengapalan 7,8 ton atau naik 54 persen dari periode sama 2006 yang hanya 50.838 dolar AS atas pengapalan 5,6 ton.(*)

COPYRIGHT © 2008

Arabica vs Robusta: No Contest

2008-09-09T23:45:00.000-07:00

by Sandi J. Holland in http://www.ineedcoffee.com/02/arabica/

Though my research on coffee revealed over 30 species of the genus, the major commercial coffee beans come from Arabica and robusta trees.

Arabica (Coffea arabica), named for the Arabs, is the better and more expensive of the two. These trees grow in semitropical climates near the equator, both in the western and eastern hemispheres, at high altitudes. Because ripe Arabica cherries (unroasted beans) fall to the ground and spoil, they must be carefully monitored and picked at intervals, which increases production costs.

Robusta trees (Coffea canephora), which are grown exclusively in the eastern hemisphere, also thrive in equatorial climates, but at low altitudes. Their cherries require less care since they remain on the tree after they ripen. Robusta beans have twice the caffeine of Arabica, but less flavor. Some supermarkets carry Arabica, but most of their brands are robusta. Coffee shops generally use Arabica beans, but because their brews are so strong, I don't enjoy them. I had always been satisfied with the various Maxwell House roasts and blends, until I bought my first bag of Arabica beans, ground them, brewed and drank the elixir.

To describe the taste of Arabica is difficult without using trite words like smooth and mellow. It has a round taste that is both rich and delicate, with good acidity. This does not refer to an actual degree of acidity, but to the sharp and pleasing taste that is neither sour nor sweet. The difference was evident in my first cup, probably because I had been drinking robusta for years. I was sold, high cost or not, and now I only buy Arabica.

In fairness, although most robusta coffee is of a lower grade and inferior to Arabica, there is a premium crop that is the top of the line for robusta beans. Premium robusta is primarily used in specialty espresso blends, and is never found in canned coffee. Though it only constitutes 5-15% of the blend, it is used because these beans add body to the taste and make a nice creama in the shot of espresso. This additional body distinguishes the blend in a cappuccino or latte. Premium robusta should only be used for espresso and not other brewing methods.

Surprisingly, I have found 100% Arabica coffee in Kroger decaffeinated and Eight O'Clock regular, both in bags of whole beans. If your coffee is Colombian, it will probably say Arabica on the side or back of the package, since this country produces nothing else. Guatemala, El Salvador, Tanzania and Kenya also produce all Arabica beans.

Once when I was a salesperson, a customer asked if we had leather handbags. After our discussion, I stated, "So, you really like leather purses, huh?" She asked, "Have you ever had a leather purse?" I tentatively said that I wasn't sure and she replied, "Well, once you've had one, you will never want anything else." I purchased a leather purse because of her conviction, and she was right.

So, I state with conviction that once you try well-brewed Arabica coffee, you may never want robusta again. It invades the tongue and palate with a delightful taste and divine aroma. You will be encouraged to close your eyes and savor the flavor, just as I describe in my poem Heavenly.

How to Make A Good Coffee

2008-09-09T23:28:00.001-07:00

First of all, you have to have something resembling a pot, made of stainless steel. The one with a lid / top-cover. I tried to find such a pot in a local market, but couldn't find one, instead I bought a stainless cup (about a size a bit larger than ordinary mug), with a lid / cover top.

Basic rule number one:
Never mix coffe and sugar before pouring the hot water ! Sugar should only be poured INTO A CUP AND NOT INTO THE POT, after coffee is poured into a cup / or mug.

1) Put a spoonfull or two of coffee into the pot
2) Pour a hot water - first half
3) Stir well with a spoon for about 30 seconds
4) Pour more hot water - second half
5) Stir well with a spoon for about 30 seconds
6) Cover the pot tightly and leave it for about 5 minutes
7) Ready to be served

You may ask, that simple ? Yes. Why stainless pot ? Because it heats up the coffee (water) better than any other pots. What cup should you use ? Again, better to use small stainless mug, instead of ceramic. It preserves the heat longer. Remember, cowboys by the campfire, they don't use ceramic cups.

By the way, coffee (black, no sugar, no milk) goes perfectly with donuts, even better with hazelnut muffins, nyam nyam.

Bali Arabica

2008-09-09T22:15:00.001-07:00

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alun_Evans

More on Alun Evans: http://www.merdekacoffee.com/index.php?88681.4745143056

Bali is known by many names to those who have visited the island. Many Indonesians refer to this slice of paradise as “Pulau Dewa” or “Island of the gods”. Since October 2002 the island has seen a marked downturn in the number of foreign tourists arriving to enjoy the scenic, cultural and religious diversity found here. Hopefully with a peaceful election campaign behind us, Bali will again see tourists returning in numbers.

Our visit to Bali in March was not a holiday, but rather a visit to look at the cooperative growing system for Arabica found in the highland areas of central Bali. Traditionally Balinese coffee was of the robusta variety. This is the coffee that many tourists visiting the island experience and love. The origins of Robusta here can be traced back to the beginning of the 20th century or earlier. Commercial Colonial plantations never made an impact in Bali because the Dutch did not get any degree of control over the island until the 1900’s. By this time the big plantations in Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi were already well established. The Robusta in Bali most likely came via traders from Ampenan in Lombok. The growing conditions in Bali are ideal for coffee trees, and small-scale production quickly spread in the cooler, higher altitude areas of the Island.

In recent times, with Robusta prices falling, Arabica has been planted in several areas of the Island. Some of these plantings are in commercial plantations, however the bulk are beans grown by small-holders in a number of villages saddling the volcanic peaks. Our visit was to examine the drying and processing facilities for this mountain grown Bali Arabica.

As in the rest of the coffee world, the small-holders make up the bulk of the growers, but receive little real financial reward for their efforts. Our concern is always to look for a way in which to help these small growers to improve their picking, drying and sorting processes in order for them to be able to market their coffee to the specialty coffee market outside of Indonesia. In most cases the growers are more than happy to listen to ideas on how to improve the finished quality of their product. In Bali the yields from the trees in raw cherries is very good. Most coop growers are uncertified organic- the costs of pesticides against the price for the finished bean do not make sense. The small holders almost universally follow the dry method of processing the beans. This involves laying the fruit out under the sun in large, flat concrete drying pens. The coffee is raked regularly to ensure the drying proceeds at a constant pace. Prior to drying the cooperative removes poor quality cherries- usually berries that are not ripe, have evidence of surface fungal diseases or berries that have been damaged by birds or other pests. After drying and removal of the remaining mucilage, the beans are again sorted. This time beans are sorted based on whether there is evidence of damage by borer, discoloration, black beans or split and broken beans. This is the extent of sorting- there is no screen sizing done by the cooperatives at origin, as normally the beans are on-sold to big producers who then sort further.

We like the early season greens that we saw in the highlands of Bali. The colours and firmness of the bean are good, as was the general quality. Test roasting resulted in us deciding that the dry-processed bean had some characteristics reminiscent of the lower altitude Java Arabica beans. A very mellow, slightly honey-dew taste…..We are looking forward to later in the year when we will be in Bali for the harvest of the bulk of the 2004 crop.
Alun Evans is a New Zealander living and working in sepcialty coffee in Indonesia. He has lived here since 1998 and is working towards a goal of promoting and devloping sustainable coffee in Indonesia.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alun_Evans

More on Alun Evans: http://www.merdekacoffee.com/index.php?88681.4745143056

Robusta vs. Arabica

2008-09-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

Taken from:

http://kaffee.netfirms.com/aboutme.htm
http://kaffee.netfirms.com/Coffee/robustavsarabica.html

Robusta vs. Arabica

There are two basic categories into which all species of coffee trees can be sorted. Although there are several varieties of each—each variety having its own character—this division into two large categories is useful for understanding the difference between a gourmet cup of coffee and an ordinary cup.

High quality blends consist of 100% Arabica beans.

Lower quality, cheaper blends may have some proportion of Robusta beans, or they may consist entirely of Robusta.

Arabica beans produce a superior taste in the cup, being more flavorful and complex than their Robusta counterparts. Robusta beans tend to produce a more bitter brew, with a musty flavor and less body. This distinction being made, you can see why high quality coffees should consist of 100% Arabica beans.

So why use Robusta at all?

Well, there are several reasons these beans are grown and used. First of all, we have the economical concerns driving the farmer to grow the crop.

Robusta coffee trees produce their first crops within about two to three years of being planted. Arabica trees require about four to five years to produce any fruit.

So the farmer has an inducement to grow the faster growing variety to take advantage of upswings in the price of coffee. Also, the Robusta coffee tree can grow under a larger variety of environmental conditions than can the Arabica. It is more tolerant of cold and grows well in a wider range of altitudes. Second, roasters buy the beans because they are generally cheaper than the Arabica beans. They can be sold to less discriminating consumers in the pre-roasted, pre-ground, pre-staled cans of supermarket “coffee”. They can be brewed and freeze-dried to make instant “coffee” without worrying about degrading an already questionable flavor (sorry to use the quotes again, I just can’t help myself). They can be used in blends with Arabica beans to make the blend cheaper for the roaster while still being able to make the claim that the blend includes Arabica beans. Finally, Robusta beans are higher in caffeine than Arabica beans and fuel the addiction many of us already suffer from. Of course, all of what I write here is a gross oversimplification but since it’s all I know about these beans, it will have to do.

But I haven't quite exhausted my knowledge yet. I do know a little about Arabica beans and how they differ from Robusta.

Arabica beans grow more slowly than Robusta but demand a higher price on the coffee commodity market. They are more limited in terms of where they can be grown, demanding a very precise temperature range and annual rainfall. I don’t know the exact range or I would tell you what it is. Also, they tend to do best, and produce the best bean, at higher altitudes. In fact, high altitude beans carry an extra premium because they are thought to contain more of the substances that make coffee so complexly flavorful than beans grown at lower altitudes. Perhaps this is because they grow more slowly the higher up the mountain they are planted.

Varieties of Arabica beans are grown all over the world and the different flavor characteristics produced by each growing region are distinctive.

Flavor can vary within a growing region due to factors such as weather, altitude, soil type, soil richness and whether there are shade trees on the finca (or coffee plantation). In addition, a coffee’s flavor can be affected by the processing methods used to separate the beans from the fruit. It is these varietal characteristics of the Arabica bean that makes it such a sought after product and many of the finer small roasters cup (that is, roast and taste) batches of coffee before purchasing it. For all of these reasons, the Arabica bean is good coffee.

But hold on, you say, don't the French and the Italians use Robusta beans in their fine blends of coffee? Actually, yes they do, and I'm delighted that you pointed it out. This is where we leave the realm of the coffee drinker who believes there is one true way to caffeinated salvation and enter the realm of the coffee agnostic.

I know intellectually that coffee I don't like can be good, but I'm just not sure I believe it.

In France (so I have heard) they sometimes use a blend of beans that is 55% Arabica and 45% Robusta. To each his own. This is also the country where they willingly add roasted chicory root as an adulterant.

They like it that way so for them it’s an acceptable blend of coffee. The Italians, too, use Robusta in their blends, probably because of its purported ability to improve the crema head on a cup of espresso.

I don’t know what blend is most common in Italy but I have read that a 10% inclusion of Robusta can have the desired effect on the crema of your espresso.

Robusta countries:

Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Angola, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Timor, Borneo, Vietnam, and Celebes.

Arabica countries:

Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Hawaii, Yemen, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Papua New Guinea.

Combination countries:

Brazil and India.

Bali - Robusta or Arabica ?

2008-09-09T09:50:00.001-07:00

Who cares ? As long as it tastes like coffee, it's coffee allright. Coffee should naturally be bitter, otherwise it's not coffee, but sugar.

Bedugul Coffee "looks" like cocoa powder, the colour is brownish rather than black. I always presumed that Bali coffee would taste like Lampung (Sumatra) coffee. But then, Lampung coffee and Medan (Mandhailing) coffee are different, even though both comes from Sumatra.

Now you can imagine the coffee of Bali. It's roasted on a wood stove fireplace. It tastes different. Better !