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A Simple Analysis of Coffee Consumption

Posted by Peter Tam on March 22, 2008 at 2:00am

Consumption Analysis.pdfWhen we look at the statistic figures of coffee consumption for different countries or regions, we may use different way and units for them. Then, we may have different pictures or understandings of them. For Italy, they used to count in cups, for some reason, while for other countries, they used to do in consumed amount of coffee beans or grounds. For example, for some Scandinavian countries, people consumed the most amount of coffee in kg comparing any other counties of the world. While in Italy, they consumed the most cups of coffee comparing with other countries. List of some figures of coffee consumption for several countries, Finland, 11.1 kg/person (about 1,110 cups) 50 M kg, 74% retail, 26% hotel and restaurants Norway, 9.6 kg/person (about 960 cups) Sweden, 9 kg/person (about 900 cups) Denmark, 8 kg/person (about 800 cups) Holland, 6.9 kg/person (about 690 cups) Italy, 600 cups/person (about 4.2 kg)How can it be like this?When we analyses those figures, we have to take the following elements into account. Sorts of coffee drinks, and the coffee grounds used for a cup For drip coffee, it needs about 10 grams of coffee ground for a cup, while for espresso, it needs only around 7 grams for a  cup. Convert to the cups of a kilograms, it can make 100 cups for drip coffee, and 140 cups for espresso. Lost of coffee grounds The most consumed drip coffee is at home, while for espresso, it is normally in a café, where people pay more attention  to save the coffee grounds as possible. So we assumed the lost for drip coffee is 30%, while 10% for espresso (for our  cafes, it is only 5%). Considering the social condition in the Scandinavian countries, 30% of lost should not be too highly  assumed, or even lower than the fact. At home, people may also drop some part of the drip coffee made due to too much  consumption or low temperature or simply in a hurry to do something.Integrate the above two reasons, we made the following calculation and the table below.　　　　　　ton 　kg 　　　cup/kg 　　cups 　　　lost 　　net cupscoffee-1 　　　10 　10,000 　　100 　　1,000,000 　30% 　　700,000espresso-1 　　5 　5,000 　　140 　　700,000 　10% 　　630,000　coffee-2 　　　10 　10,000 　　100 　　1,000,000 　30% 　　700,000espresso-2 　　7 　7,000 　　140 　　980,000 　 10% 　　882,000　coffee-3 　　　10 　10,000 　　100 　　1,000,000 　30% 　　700,000espresso-3 　 10 　10,000 　　140 　　1,400,000 　10% 　 1,260,000In the above table and the calculation, we give three examples. One is 5 tons comparing to 10 tons, and the second one is 7 tons comparing to 10 tons, while the third one is 10 tons comparing to 10 tons. In the first example, the consumed cups of coffee can be similar, and for the second, the cup number is rather higher than the drip coffee, around 26% more than the drip coffee even if the consumed coffee is only 70% of the drip coffee. While for the third example, the coffee consumed is the same, but the coffee drinks in cup is much higher than the drip; 80% more.There are also other elements, but those two are enough to explain the difference and can be the most influenced reasons.This is a simple analysis of the consumed coffee for different countries or regions. If any comments or corrections, it is extremely expected.Peter Tam, Kaffa Café

A General Idea of Coffee Industry in China

Posted by Peter Tam on March 21, 2008 at 7:24am

The Chinese coffee market was started to grow about ten years ago. That was 1997. Maybe in 1992, few of cafes independent from grand hotels were established, but not many. So, I would consider the start of Chinese coffee market was about 1997. For example, one of the famous cafe chain in Beijing, Scrupting Times, was established in 1997. This is one of the commercially succeeded cafes in Beijing.It was about ten years later than in the States, considering the fact that Starbucks started to contact the VC investors in US, and none of them would believe their succeed in the middle of 1980s, for espresso drinks only.We started to investigate the coffee market in China in 2000, and learnt that the market was started to grow fast.Since then, more and more cafes established together with more and more coffee roasters and related dealers. There were also a lot of coffee lovers, or called intended lovers. They looked around the whole city to find good coffee and good cafes.Around that time, 2001, almost none of cafes know really how to brew espresso. The most or all you can see and get were the cup about 200 ml, or 7 oz, for espresso (about 80% full, that was around 6 oz or 160 ml). Only in Starbucks, one can get the espresso in around 30 ml or so, but they were not drinkable, according to the taste buds of most people.The number of coffee roasters had been increase and so is the number of cafes. But, due to the poor quality of their coffee drinks, very few of cafes can be kept openning till now. The Scrupting Times are very few of them, together with few of others.Why the number of cafes had been increased? Because the number of opened cafes had been bigger than the number of closed cafes always, even if the number of remained cafes is very small.Under the name of SCAA or not, there had been several Barista Training centres in Beijing, and world wide recognized espresso brewing skills had been learnt and followed among some of the baristas, including the competitors for the WBC local game for China. The results of that was still poor quality of coffee drinks for almost all cafes in China. They were poor, so that almost no one can get used to drink espresso in China.I was the first guy to tell people that espresso should be a tasty coffee drink, and to find out the way to make it taste good. In our first cafe, which had been closed for years, few people learnt that espresso can be so nice to drink. Since our cafes were closed and they can not find it any more, none of them drink espresso any more, if you ask any of them. Only recently, the end of 2004, we have a partner as Pass By Bar and their sales of pure espresso drinks occupied 22-23% of the total coffee drinks in cups, which is rather high among the cafes where clients are served by both espresso drinks and drip coffee. Last year, two of cafes opened by our trainees in Peking, and several in other cities.Let's come back to the Chinese coffee market.In China, one can find mostly Starbucks, but not any other big chain of cafes. Maybe some small, but not all legal.(to be continued)

Starbucks Ordered to Pay More Than $100 Million in Back Tips

Posted by Matt Milletto on March 21, 2008 at 5:27am

Oh boy ... SAN DIEGO — A Superior Court judge on Thursday ordered Starbucks Corp. to pay its California baristas more than $100 million in back tips and interest that the coffee chain paid to shift supervisors. San Diego Superior Court Judge Patricia Cowett also issued an injunction that prevents Starbucks' shift supervisors from sharing in future tips, saying state law prohibits managers and supervisors from sharing in employee gratuities. Starbucks spokeswoman Valerie O'Neil said the company planned an immediate appeal of the ruling, calling it "fundamentally unfair and beyond all common sense and reason." Read full article here

Updates and Redesign Features

Posted by Matt Milletto on March 21, 2008 at 5:22am

So as many of you can tell, there have been a substantial redesign to how content is displayed on the site. Also, there are a lot of updated features! It will take a few days I think to get used to the new stuff, but it is all well thought out and adds a lot of functionality to the site.

Starbucks Coffee Company to Acquire the Coffee Equipment Company and Its Revolutionary Clover(R) Brewing System

Posted by Matt Milletto on March 19, 2008 at 8:14am

Not sure what to think about this ... still in shock a bit. Will post more later. Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ:SBUX) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire The Coffee Equipment Company and its proprietary Clover(R) brewing system. The Coffee Equipment Company is a privately held coffee equipment developer and manufacturer based in Seattle, Wash. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Read full article here

ASCAP, BMI and SESAC's Harassment of Small Coffeehouses is Bad Business

Posted by 3d7lj1n4xxk7t on March 19, 2008 at 5:30am

Let me make something very clear at the outset of this post: Both my husband and I are songwriters and artists and as such have a vested interest in license and distribution royalty rights--in fact, it makes us absolutely giddy to be paid for our work. That being said, I find the harassing, heavy-handed tactics employed by ASCAP, BMI and SESAC against small, independent cafés to be not only petty and tiny-minded but also shortsighted and just plain bad business.ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) and SESAC (Society of European Stage Authors and Composers) are the three main licensing agencies, representing composers and music publishers worldwide. While few if any would argue against the positive need for their existence, they have become monopolistic bullies under the guise of unionization.KING 5 Television in Seattle, WA reported on Monday about the issue of public broadcast of music CDs and digital music in cafés, highlighting two locally owned coffeehouses, Caffe Bella, with only one location, and Diva Espresso, which has six shops. While the reporter did not make it clear as to whether Diva Espresso was targeted, the owner of Caffe Bella was, forcing her to make a choice between paying hundreds of dollars in licensing fees to the agencies, playing commercial radio or going with satellite radio. She chose satellite radio, with fees paid automatically, at $150 per year, a hefty amount for a single shop to carry while working mightily to keep afloat.Again, I have nothing against artists getting paid and I wish more of us actually did receive fair compensation for our work, but the amount of time, effort and money these huge licensing agencies spend on tracking down small, independent businesses is simply a waste. Not to mention the animosity they create by threatening legal action against coffeehouse owners who, in a good year, see a mere 1-2% profit margin. The fines for not paying licensing fees can be astronomical, reaching into the ten of thousands of dollars and driving people right out of business. In sharp contrast, ASCAP alone raked in $863 million in revenue last year.The small café is most often the best friend of songwriters and musicians, giving play to those who rarely if ever get airtime on commercial radio stations and introducing their work to a wider audience. This is free publicity, free marketing and free advertising, the real value of which is undeniable. ASCAP, BMI and SESAC not only represent big artists, but hundreds of thousands of struggling, largely unknown artists. It is these artists, making up the majority of the agencies' membership, who stand to lose the most when their leaders tread the path of harassment and intimidation of small business.So what is the solution? My suggestion is that members of ASCAP, BMI and SESAC exercise their own muscle of sheer numbers to convince the agencies' leadership that their heavy-handed tactics against small, independent coffeehouses and other businesses is not in their best interest and is in reality doing more harm than good. Perhaps a compromise can be reached in which businesses that operate less than a certain number of locations--let's say six--can receive a waiver from the agencies to play CDs and digital music free of charge. In exchange, the businesses would publicly display detailed information about the music being played, complete with composing and publishing credits, and where the music can be purchased.The main goal of ASCAP, BMI and SESAC is to obtain fair compensation for work done by their members. In tandem with working to make sure that large businesses, radio stations and other broadcast mediums pay their share of fees, the agencies' leadership must also recognize the value of marketing and advertising to the public so that their members can grow an audience who will purchase their material. But if the agencies continue to cut off one of the best avenues of marketing and advertising, one for which neither they nor their members pay a cent, they have lost sight of their goal and the negative consequences of that rest solely on their shoulders.It's time to work together, people, for the benefit of all.Post originally published by Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee.

Easter Egg Hunt on PT's website!

Posted by Holly on March 18, 2008 at 12:38pm

This year we decided to try something new for the Easter holidays. We are having an Easter Egg Hunt on our website through Easter Sunday! Go to www.ptscoffee.com and see if you can find little eggs that offer promotional codes!

Putumayo Recording Artist to Perform at Coffee Kids 20th Anniversary Dinner

Posted by Coffee Kids on March 18, 2008 at 10:27am

Our 20th Anniversary Celebration scheduled for May 3, 2008, at the SCAA Conference and Exhibition in Minneapolis, Minn., just keeps getting better. We’re happy to announce that Luca Mundaca, a recording artist with Putumayo World Music, will be performing at the event.

Mundaca, a self-taught guitarist and vocalist, has appeared on the Putumayo compilations "Women of the World Acoustic" and "Brazilian Lounge." She was born in Chile and moved with her family to a small town south of Sao Paulo, Brazil, when she was six. At age 15 she began teaching herself to play guitar and has dedicated her life to music. For more information on Mundaca, check out her MySpace page!

Along with Mundaca’s performance, Coffee Kids 20th Anniversary Dinner celebration will feature a short Coffee Kids movie and a variety of speakers including Founder Bill Fishbein, Executive Director Carolyn Fairman, Board President Rob Stephen and longtime contributors and representatives from our partner organizations in Latin America.

Dinner reservations for the event are required. Please contact Heather Ferraro at heather@coffeekids.org or 505-820-1443 for reservations and details.

Great American Dessert Expo Crap !

Posted by Loren Anthony on March 18, 2008 at 8:00am

OK who else is pissed at these freaking people from Great American Dessert Expo calling every 3 hours claiming that they're still affiliated with the CoffeeFest* and begging you to buy admission tickets??They keep calling my cell phone @ that!Not just that but after attending the Coffee Fest Atlanta (which was tons of fun by the way) I noticed all these companies were "cold calling" me and saying I gave them my number at their booth when I KNOW full well I didn't !!It's pretty low and poor business practices. Something needs to be done about this.* What they're really doing is dropping the CoffeeFest's name and saying "this is the great american dessert who showed with coffeefest last year" they say it in a vague way to make u think they're still affiliated.

Help me get to Copenhagen!

Posted by Lita Lopez on March 17, 2008 at 6:00pm

Hello Barista Colleagues!I have entered a contest with the Travel Channel asking Anthony Bourdain to take me to Copenhagen for the World Barista Championship. Please view, rate and add your comments! Thanks so much!http://yourtrip.travelchannel.com/clip.aspx?key=4484DE291DBC04D1

Latte Art War Declared!

Posted by 3d7lj1n4xxk7t on March 17, 2008 at 11:59am

Peter Pachal of the high tech blog DVICE has posted a video of a modified Philips 8155 x-y flatbed plotter printing out detailed latte art with edible ink. While it's a clever little gadget, it takes about two extra minutes and that's way too long to have my latte just sittin' there.Baristas who practice the time honored skill of latte art have not yet responded to this most recent and provocative move by the computer/robot race into the their territory, but when they do, man, ya better duck 'cause the foam is definitely gonna be flyin'.Link (via Coffee Talk)Post originally published by Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee.

Great Lakes Regional Competition

Posted by Jake Randalll on March 17, 2008 at 6:30am

Lets be honest,This weekend was nothing less than amazing. It was full of drama, passion, and freaking amazing people.Thanks to everyone this weekend who painted a beautiful picture of what true community looks like. I am so thankful that I am apart of something that represents passion, intimacy, and commitment.

Coffee Kids Voice from the Field: Miriam Canto Juarez

Posted by Coffee Kids on March 17, 2008 at 6:30am

Miriam Canto Juarez is a 13-year-old from the community Ocotitlan, Ixhuatlan de Café, Veracruz, Mexico. She takes part in programs run by Coffee Kids partner, Self-Managed Development (AUGE).

"I am part of the children’s savings group called ’Coral,’ this year with the help of Coffee Kids, our group has received training to help us become facilitators, or as we call them, ’promoters.’ We learned about the different types of leadership and other topics like drug addiction, domestic violence, sex education and alcoholism. Since I am also part of a group of women in the GMAS program called ’Las Americas,’ everything I learn with the Coral group, I share with my women’s group

"The ’Las Americas’ group is around 30 women. My mother and one of my sisters are also members. Doña Clara Palma, the coordinator of the GMAS groups and of the children’s savings groups, asked me to share what I learn in my children’s group with the women’s group because it is important to share what you learn. I enjoy this a lot and we use active lessons that are like games and so we learn with more ease.

"Currently, I am studying in secondary school and when I grow up I would like to be a teacher because I really like to teach. The topics that I like most are leadership, because I think that we women can also direct things. And I like to explain things related to the environment because they are very important and because we cannot afford to lose what we have.

"When the women in my group listen to me, I feel great because I don’t feel nervous talking in public. Before I was nervous and scared, but not anymore. I’m not paid for this work, but I gain confidence in myself and now the women in my group know that they can listen to children as well as adults."

Happy St. Patricks Day! May all your coffees be Irish.

Posted by Matt Milletto on March 17, 2008 at 5:18am

Follow the classic recipe from the Buena Vista in San Fran. You Ritual peeps better be down there right now! Happy St. Patties everyone! - Matt

What the hell I think I am doing...

Posted by Bel Townsend on March 16, 2008 at 11:52pm

Even the words terrify me now. "Upgrade Proposal". I have to write exactly what I want to do with this project, 4000 words, and then a panel interview to defend The Plan. I've still got a couple of months, but it is now becoming obvious that before I can convince other people that this is a good, plausible idea, I need to figure out once and for all what that idea actually is.I've been faffing. Farting around with vaguely academic concepts and seeing how they could possibly be applied to my main obsession of the moment: coffee. I am employed to work on the Waste of the World project, which incorporates a lot of different themes, but focuses on reexamining what we think of as 'waste' in social terms. Our "team" - that is, Joby, Anna and I, are charged with research the concept of Food Waste. To me, this meant Coffee Waste.There are a lot of different forms of 'waste' in the coffee industry. Physical waste on the plantations - what happens to coffee that doesn't sell? What happens if the crops are diseased? What happens if the roaster screws up somehow? And then at the retailers - what about all the crap espressos trainee baristas make that cannot be served? Then there is all the branded packaging - most of it can be recycled, but generally isn't.And even if you throw away your branded cup, is it somehow worth it if you have become slightly more aware of that brand? Storage packaging: if you don't store it right, the coffee goes stale and you have to throw it. If you do store it well, you can't recycle the foil bags...And then there is the idea of waste of knowledge. An infinite and complex array of skills go in to this industry, everything from grading green beans, roasting to perfection, to baristas drawing rosettas as latte art on the top of our drink.. Does all the effort that's gone in to making the coffee get wasted if the bored barista screws it up in the shop? And even if she gets it perfect, is all that expertise wasted on customers who come in for their venti, 1-shot decaf syruped-to-hell soy crappyfrappemockacino and then go home and drink instant?Most significantly though, is trying to find whether or not all this waste, physical and conceptual, is actually necessary. If there is a demonstrable demand for high quality, speciality coffees in the UK, and if these specialty coffees inevitably create more waste to produce, then the waste is justified. However, if in the UK we are still clinging to our teapots and drinking Nescafe instant, or perhaps, going to Caffe Nero or Starbucks for the 'lifestyle' - buying in to the brand, for instance rather than the coffee itself, then the waste involved in this industry becomes meaningless.How do I go about answering all these questions? The anthropologist in me is bouncing up and down going "Participant Observation!" "Multi-site ethnography!" I don't know if human-geographers have other methods, but good ol' PO sounds appealing to me. With emphasis on the PARTICPANT bit. I WANT to see what it's like to pick coffee: I am going to a tiny co-op farm in Nicaragua, and a big commercial farm in Costa Rica. I would love to learn how to roast coffee professionally, so I am going to try and find an independent roaster and the one that supplies a big chain like Caffe Nero. Finally, I want to see if my own barista experience is 'typical' of the industry, and so I intend to compare the goings on in an independent cafe (hopefully, Gusto Italiano in Sheffield) and at a branch of Caffe Nero. Constantly comparing big and small, independent and commercial will, I hope, give a better all-round view of the industry...So, I've got a lot of Ideas, and when I get really into this, I buzz... it's exciting, I want to get on with it!! But, first, I've just got to translate all of the above into formal academic speak, then add in references and inteliigent sounding theory, and then timescales and costings and ... aaaaaaaargh. Bureaucracy and academic prostitution!! aaaargh indeed! Sometimes, the fact that I have a certain responsibility to the uni to produce intensive, innovative, accessible and practical research is enough to crush any creativity and enthusiasm. I am Lost in Caffienation, again.

tapping pitchers

Posted by Noelle on March 16, 2008 at 6:04pm

sooo... i know that tapping the milk when you are done steaming seperates the milk and microfoam, but with a good swirl doesn't it adequately mix it in again to make it velvety smooth?Someone told me that I should be able to make foam so perfectly that you don't have to tap it or swirl it before you pour. Is that true? I don't recall if I've ever seen anyone NOT tap the pitcher. Is that a goal I should aspire to? anyway...I'm just learning to do latte art and stuff, so any help with that would be cool too :)

St. Patrick's Eve

Posted by Troy Reynard on March 16, 2008 at 12:50pm

'Twas the night before St. Pat's Day and all the through the house,Just one creature was stirring, the wee Guinness mouse.All the pint glasses were on the bar top with care,In the hopes that St. Patrick soon would be there!Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Tips for a Cure, Contributing to Race for a Cure to Breast Cancer

Posted by James "Cosmo" Cramer on March 15, 2008 at 7:00pm

So, I had my first fund raiser at my little coffee bar, I challenged my customers to raise money for the Race for a Cure, to cure breast cancer. I matched the first $100 dollars of tips raised we raised a total of $233.00. It was an easy way to give back as well as a great way to connect with my customers. Many of them came up and told me their stories and thanked me for doing a little bit to build awareness and to give back to the community.On a side note the event also increased my bottom line; I had new customers coming by because they wanted to be a part of the action.I would love to hear what others are doing to give back to their communities.Thanks and HugsCosmo

Meeting "The Hoff" and today's cupping for joy.

Posted by Jason Dominy on March 14, 2008 at 2:30pm

First, let me say James Hoffmann is every bit a champion as his title establishes him. What a great guy to educate people about coffee, I mean, really. A nice guy, very personable, with the ability to guide you in the ways of espresso without you even knowing it. Bloody brilliant, I say. I went along with most of our small coffee company, and we were all impressed with the whole thing. It was great to hear him talk of his ride to the top, and to be able to see him work his espresso magic right before us. Thankfully, our president was chosen to try one of his signature drinks, and even more thankful was he was also willing to share. The drink was more chocolatey than I thought would be, and I didn't really taste the tobacco, I more felt it. I liked the hint of rosemary, too. It's clear it was a great drink that could win any competition. And the guy knows his stuff about all the food science parts, too. It was a blast. Here's me hoping to glean just an ounce of his wisdom. (Thanks to George Holt for taking the picture!)

Here's the link to the pics I took: http://gallery.mac.com/jasonandapril#100137&view=carouseljs&bgcolor=black&sel=3We had our monthly cupping today, and despite a few cancellations, it was a great cupping. Today we did our Dilworth Guat, Yirgacheffe, Sumatra, and Green Mountain's Newmans Own Organic Colombia Especiale. As you would expect, the Yirg was the favorite, and it's just so stinking fruity right now, I love it! It's that combo of lemons and blueberries that blows me away every time. Our Roastmaster Chad has really done an awesome job with this coffee, as he does with all our coffees. It's a great feeling to be able to cup with coffees you're proud of. Anyway, this cupping had a few people that own their own shops, one that I'm helping open a shop, and a realtor. A great group. Leaves me looking forward to next month's cupping and barista jam.Here's the link to the pics from today's cupping: http://gallery.mac.com/jasonandapril#100152&view=carouseljs&bgcolor=black&sel=4(On a side note, I spent this afternoon training a staff of 10 servers, a GM, and a chef on espresso and drink-making. It was on the way home, that it really hit me. They were very excited about learning about espresso and drinks, and there's alot of time we are only thinking about educating the people who come in our shops, like they're the only ones interested, but it's just not true. Like the realtor that came to the cupping today in his tie, there's a world of people out there who just need someone to ignite that passion within them to learn more, and I am thankful to have a job where I can ignite that flame. It's a real privilege, that's true. But a great responsibility, and it innately makes you want to be better at what you do. It's a never-ending cycle, and that's what I love about coffee. The "quest" never ends. The "Holy Grail", if you will, remains that vision in the sky we seek. Life in coffee is good.)

ratemyrosetta.com

Posted by Nicely on March 14, 2008 at 8:42am

Greetings Coffee Crusaders! Just found this site called ratemyrosetta.com thought you'd all like to check it out! If you have already I'm sorry, just new to this entire network that I never knew existed!

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.