by Emily Oak, Director, WBC and AIR Training & Development Manager

From June 23-25th at Olympia, in Kensington London, the world’s best baristas and coffee professionals gathered together under one roof to celebrate all facets of the specialty industry. Baristas from more than 50 countries represented their individual nations competing against each other in a bid to win the global title.
This year was fresh and even more interesting for two main reasons. Firstly, it was the first time a semi final round was introduced into the competition. This added a layer of complexity and difficulty for competitors and judges. Secondly, there were more than 15 second or third time champions competing. This mean the standard of performance was higher than it has ever been before. Australia’s reining Barista Champion Scottie Callaghan, (who was also World Latte Art Champion 2006 and Australian Barista Champion 2007) put in a solid performance, making it through both the preliminary and semi final rounds to the final of the championship, no easy task at all. Scott came away with the third place trophy, making him the third best barista in the world. Combined with the efforts of the rest of ‘Team Australia’ competing in a whole range of competitions (Latte Art, Good Spirits and Cup Tasting) Scott’s placing helped secure the overall team trophy for Australia…. Well Done!

“Being ardent followers of world politics, we cannot help but admire the man” says Will. And, as Will goes on to explain, Obama’s heritage reads like a list of great coffee growing areas- with Kenya and Indonesia producing some of the finest arabican coffee in the world. “This is an opportunity to recognize this significant stage in history we are currently enjoying with a blend that matches the background” says Will – well, coffee does not get much more cutting edge than that!

Blend Description:
Great depth of character, strong, and eloquent.  This very appealing blend unites coffees from Africa, Indonesia and the Americas.  Formidable middle palate flavours, syrupy, with an uplifting finish. Excellent drink for going forward!

The London-based International Coffee Organisation estimates that global coffee production in 2008/09 will reach about 131 million 60kg bags, up from a previous estimate of 128 million, according to Reuters Business News.

The revised estimate comes as Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry’s crop supply department, Conab, raised its estimate for Brazil’s 2008/09 coffee crop to 45.85 million bags, up from 45.5 million projected in May. The ICO estimates the 2007/08 global coffee crop unchanged at 118.2 million bags.

World coffee consumption was seen climbing to around 128 million bags this year if current growth rates continue, up from 124.7 million in 2007. The report didn’t give details on the expected implications for future coffee prices.

Bruderer instead started screaming and leaned on the horn. “Then I realize I’m leaning on the horn like this because I’ve got hot, hot coffee. So, wham, I just flung that coffee at him, and I know I got him, because there was no coffee in the van,” she told CBC News.

As her attacker pulled back, scalded by the steaming-hot cup of black coffee, he cut her right thumb, then left the car and ran away. Bruderer said it was worth the fight. “I just decided, what, you little punk, you’re not going to get the better of me. I might be 60 … but I just fought with everything in me.” Bruderer needed four stitches to her finger to close the wound from the hunting knife’s blade.

In recognition of her fighting spirit, her grandchildren have given her a new nickname: ‘Ninja Nanny’.

Source: AOL News Canada
30^th August 2008

As you may know, this magazine is a supporter of the concept of fairly-traded coffee, but it’s interesting to see how the Fairtrade organization (run under the auspices of Oxfam aid organization) has become proprietary about the use of the ‘fair trade’ terminology.

Several newspapers have reported a recent spat between McDonalds, which uses Rainbow Alliance coffee [www.rainforest-alliance.org], and the Fairtrade Organization. It centres around the use of the word ‘fair’. The problem is that McDonalds have recently been running TV commercials showing South American coffee farmers, and using the words ‘a fair deal for workers’ in their script.

Click here to go directly to this topic on the Crema Forum to share your opinion and read what others have had to say, or/

The Fairtrade Organisation took exception to this, and McDonalds agreed to change their wording to ‘a great deal for workers’, however it does raise the question – what’s in a brand name, and whether Fairtrade’s branding includes exclusivity over common English usage, such as a ‘fair deal’.

Apparently Fairtrade’s representatives accused McDonald’s and the Alliance of straying away from its core aim – which is to improve the environment – and of moving on to Fairtrade’s turf. But the Alliance’s spokeswoman in London, Anita Neville, hit back at Fairtrade, saying its rivals were ‘denying them the chance to market two out of the three pillars of its program’ (these are ethics, environment and economics).

We have had numerous complaints from coffee roasters in Australia about the attempts to turn Fairtrade into just another (commercial) brand [see: the Forum >> Trade page,]. This latest spat certainly seems to corroborate these complaints.

Click here to go directly to this topic on the Crema Forum to share your opinion and read what others have had to say.

Analysts said the trend would further be supported by a sizeable drop in export volumes of the commodity following hitches in several producer countries including Brazil.

A market report by the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) showed that exports during the first nine months of the coffee year 2007/08 fell by 4.3 per cent to 71.29 million bags-triggering a tight market condition that upholds prices on demand factors.

Kenya is among export countries that suffered slumps in production of the 2007/08 partly due to a spell of cold weather over several growing areas that also triggered incidents of Coffee Berry Disease (CBD).

Challenges have also emerged for several other countries including the world’s largest producer, Brazil, whose opening stocks for the crop year 2008/09 slumped to 11 million bags-the lowest level recorded since the 1980s.

The effect triggered by the imbalance is already being felt in the market, with consumers emerging the losers on increased retail prices of the commodity at the end of the chain.

In July, international prices of coffee braved a downward correction despite the ICO composite indicator price falling from $142.99 per pound to $132.17 per pound. The average prices for July however remained firm at $132.78 per pound compared to $130.51 per pound in June.

The ICO composite indicator prices captures trends in key futures markets such as New York and operations at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) are also largely reflective of the changes in such key markets.

“This firmness reflects the general increase in prices of agricultural and mineral commodities. In response to these rising price levels, retail prices have been going up in most importing countries,” ICO executive director Nestor Osorio said.

The organisation warned the export volumes may not stabilise in most countries because of growing cost of production triggered by higher in put prices. “The weakness of the US dollar in relation to some currencies and the increase in the costs of inputs and labour are obstacles to the development of coffee farming in many exporting countries.

In these circumstances, it is unlikely that the volume of world production will be as large as some sources suggest  for crop year 2008/09″ he said.

Due to the production situation, the organisation said it would maintain its production estimates for the 2008/09 crop season at 128 million bags while its estimates for the 2007/08 crop year would also remain unchanged at 118.1 million bags, a fall of 6.6 per cent compared to crop year 2006/07.

“Even though this is a high production year in the two-year Brazilian crop cycle.The supply response to current price levels is unlikely to be significant, particularly in Central America where production costs are relatively high and in some African countries where the coffee industry has experienced difficulties in recent years. In addition, opening stocks for crop year 2008/09 are expected to be at their lowest levels for many years.” said Mr Osorio.

Well, it had to happen. Not wanting to say ‘I told you so’, but we’ve been forcasting the demise, or at least the diminishing, of the Starbucks’ empire in Australia for a number of years. 

A recent article in The Australian newspaper refers to recent sour news out of the company’s US [Seattle] headquarters as a possible reason for Starbucks’ abrupt decision to close 61 of its 84 Australian stores, but we have felt for a long time that there was a much stronger reason – the inherent strength of Australia’s domestic espresso industry.

On observing Starbucks’ worldwide rise over a number of years, they have clearly been a phenomenal success story in most countries where their tentacles have reached, but for a few countries – most notably Italy, and now Australia. And the reason is clear – its the strength our own domestic espresso culture.

A recent second place in the World Barista Championships in Copenhagen, along with three consecutive winners of the World Latte Art Championships are testament to this. It’s actually a huge compliment to the increasing strength and depth of our own unique espresso culture!

Ashley Felderhof, Founding Director of Crema Magazine, was interviewed by ABC News Radio to give his opinion on the demise of Starbucks in Australia. Click here to listen to the interview.

The story goes on to explain that Uganda is Africa’s second biggest coffee producer after Ethiopia and has become a major player in robusta coffee production after political unrest in former top grower Ivory Coast slashed output.

“The outlook is bleak. If the average global temperatures rise by two degrees or more, then most of Uganda is likely to cease to be suitable for coffee..this may happen in 40 years or perhaps as little as 30,” the report said.

The report, “Turning up the heat, Climate Change and Poverty in Uganda,” said effects of global warming like increasing temperatures, more intense rains and storms, had led to erratic rainfall patterns in Uganda.

Coffee output in 2007/08 (Oct-Sept) is seen at 2.85 million bags, up from 2.7 million the year before.

“According to the United Nations Environmental Programme, only patches of land on the periphery will still be able to grow coffee…In the meantime, coffee farmers are going to have to adapt to rising temperatures,” the report said.

Across much of Uganda, the climate is bimodal, meaning that there are two rainy seasons — the first from March to June and the second from October/November to December/January.

Rainfall during the rainy seasons has become unreliable, it said, adding that reduced rain during the March to June season was causing drought, reductions in crop yields and plant varieties.

The late season rainfall was coming in more intense and destructive downpours, bringing floods, landslides and soil erosion, it said.

“But, farmers have continued to invest in Uganda’s Robusta coffee and export earnings have continued to increase. This has helped protect losses from climatic problems,” said Philip Gitao, head of the East African Fine Coffees Association.

Farmers have also adopted good husbandry practices such as using more hardy coffee plants, added Gitao, who was quoted in the Oxfam report.

(Source: Reuters Kampala July 18th, 2008)

A terrible bout of Coffee Berry Disease (CBD) caused a drop in production in 2007/08 but a crop survey by the Kenya Coffee Traders Association (KCTA) held in May showed that unseasonal rains caused flowering in January-March.

“Due to unusual intense flowering of the coffee trees in January, a big proportion of the late crop will mature and ripen earlier than normal by nearly two months,” the Kenya Coffee Traders Association (KCTA) said in a report.

“The resultant out-phasing of the berry development and the CBD cycles is also expected to reduce crop losses attributable to the disease.”

The report also said the increased production would be on account of improved husbandry practices, favourable weather and the impact of the biannual production cycle.

The association said 62 percent of the crop would be grown by smallholder farmers and 38 percent by large estates.

Most coffee farmers have received increased earnings from their harvest which motivated them to produce more which KCTA said was reflected in the higher production forecasts.

“Due to higher realisations, crop husbandry is improving in most of the coffee growing areas. Innovative ways of delivering extension services in partnership with value chain players have also emerged,” it said.

The group however said rising costs of fertilisers, fungicides, fuel and new levies on irrigation water could undermine growth of coffee in the medium term.

“Moreover, underlying problems within co-operatives, in some of the regions, remain a major bottleneck to the full recovery of the (sub) sector,” it said.

Reforms in the industry, like allowing farmers to negotiate directly with buyers, have also boosted the crop.

Kenya accounts for less than 1 percent of the global coffee output but its Arabica beans are certainly favoured by many roasters for blending.

Source: Reuters Nairobi (Monday 14^th July 2008)

Roasters and baristi converged from all over Australia to showcase their coffee – and the crowds took the opportunity, as they lined up 20-30 deep at each stand, of tasting some of the best single origins and blends that Australia has to offer.

Also packing in the crowds in the Overseas Passenger Terminal, was the Domestic Espresso Machine Expo where the likes of Scotty Callaghan (2006 World Latte Art Champion) could be found in the stable of Espresso Company Australia, preparing coffees on a Giotto or Vibiemme. Or, you might have bumped into Jack Hanna (2007 World Latte Art Champion) as he was seen milling through the crowds. All the ‘usual suspects’ were present – Sunbeam, Saeco and Gaggia as well as Canberra’s Cosmorex Coffee showcasing the superb Diadema range of machines – the Junior and the more up-market Splendor. They were also making coffee for the passing parade and the perspex espresso machine, showing the internal machination, was a great attraction.

All in all, it was a great day. And if you did happen to get just a little bit tired of coffee, you could always sample the chocolates, tea or spices that were on display.

Definitely a date to put in the diary for next year. Click through to the Gallery to view more pictures from the day.