Christmas Strawberry Cake Milk
Japan – Strawberry Christmas cake is one Japan’s most beloved holiday traditions, made with fluffy sponge cake, whipped cream and strawberries. Starbucks new holiday beverage is inspired by the sweet confection, made with steamed milk, strawberry compote and white mocha syrup, finished with whipped cream, strawberry topping and crushed biscuit. Also available as a Frappuccino-blended beverage.

Snowy Cheese-Flavoured Latte
China – A new holiday beverage made with baked cheese-flavoured sauce blended into classic espresso and topped with light whipped cream, blueberry-flavoured sprinkles and star-shaped crisps.

Toffee Nut Crunch Latte
China, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Europe – Shots of rich espresso join the flavours of buttery toffee nut and subtle notes of toasted nuts in the Toffee Nut Crunch Latte. The crescendo is a whipped cream peak sprinkled in a crunchy toffee nut topping. Sip it hot or have it blended with ice for a cool and cozy treat.

Christmas Dessert Latte
China – Inspired by the traditional British Christmas pudding, Christmas Dessert-flavoured Latte combines steamed milk, espresso and Christmas pudding flavoured sauce that’s finished with whipped cream, a drizzle of caramel sauce and mixed fruit sprinkle.

Cranberry White Chocolate Mocha
Latin America – Back by popular demand, Cranberry White Chocolate Mocha, Starbucks signature espresso is combined with freshly steamed milk and luscious white chocolate, then topped with whipped cream, a tart cranberry drizzle and crystallized cranberry sugar.

Duo Cocoa Mocha
Asia Pacific – Chocolate meets coffee with the new Duo Cocoa Mocha, made with silky swirls of dark and white chocolate fancifully combined with rich espresso. Finished with whipped cream, half drizzled in mocha and the other half dressed up with a dash of crunchy cocoa nibs. Available hot, iced and as a Frappuccino-blended beverage.

Speculoos Latte
Asia Pacific – Spice cookies, called speculoos in Belgium, are a winter favourite in Europe. It’s also the inspiration for this new beverage, where caramelly sweet goodness and fragrant warm spice dance with bold espresso. The beverage is topped with whipped cream, caramel drizzle and spice cookies for added crunch. Available hot, iced and as a Frappuccino-blended beverage. Also known as Caramel Cinnamon Cookie Latte in some markets.

Dark Cherry Mocha
Latin America and the Caribbean – Espresso with bittersweet mocha sauce, dark cherry-flavoured syrup and steamed milk. Topped with sweetened whipped cream.

Toasted White Chocolate Mocha
United States and the Caribbean – Made with rich espresso, steamed milk and flavours of caramelized white chocolate topped with whipped cream and candied cranberry sugar.

Chestnut Praline Latte
United States and Canada, Latin America – A blend of fresh espresso and flavours of caramelized chestnuts with freshly steamed milk, topped with whipped cream and spiced praline crumbs.

Caramel Brulee Latte
United States and Canada, Latin America – This holiday beverage features a combination of smooth espresso, velvety steamed milk and a caramel brulée sauce. It is then topped with whipped cream and a caramel brulée topping. This beverage is sure to be a returning Christmas favourite in our markets. Also available iced or as a Frappuccino-blended beverage.

Gingerbread Latte
United States, Europe, Middle East and Africa – For the ultimate drink to get you into the festive spirit, the Gingerbread Latte has everything you need. Topped with a gingerbread whipped cream and crunchy wafer, the sweet and delicately spicy gingerbread flavours mingle with espresso and steamed milk. It is finished with a touch of ground nutmeg.

Eggnog Latte
United States, United Kingdom – The return of the Eggnog Latte is celebrated by fans around the world. Made by combining Starbucks espresso with creamy, steamed eggnog and served with a dusting of ground nutmeg, it gets everyone in the mood of the season.

Peppermint Mocha
United States and Canada – A holiday classic made with Starbucks signature espresso and steamed milk sweetened with flavours of chocolate and peppermint, all topped off with whipped cream and chocolate curls.

Hazelnut Mocha
Argentina and Uruguay – This local favourite features luxurious bittersweet chocolate infused with a delicious hazelnut flavour, combined with espresso and steamed milk. Finished with whipped cream and classic mocha drizzle, this delectable warm beverage has been a new holiday classic in Argentina and Uruguay for the past couple of years. Available hot, iced and as a Frappuccino-blended beverage.

Christmas Brulee Latte
Europe, Middle East and Africa – A seasonal take on the traditional crème brulée – creamy eggnog milk is steamed with a rich crème brulée sauce and mixed with fresh espresso, then finished with a few shakes of Christmas Brulée sprinkles.

Salted Caramel Brownie Hot Chocolate
Europe, Middle East and Africa – Steamed milk and mocha sauce are combined with salted caramel sauce for this holiday treat. The beverage is topped with a salted caramel brownie whipped cream and finished with a blend of brownie crumbles and salted caramel brittle for that perfect balance between sweet and salty.

Flat White with Cinnamon Spice
Europe, Middle East and Africa – A subtle hint of cardamom, vanilla and cinnamon spice is mixed with Starbucks espresso for a Flat White with a sophisticated twist (can also be ordered as a latte). Cinnamon spice sugar is steamed into milk and poured over espresso, for a festive spark with a morning coffee.

The post Starbucks Announces Global Holiday Beverages Line Up appeared first on Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

Created to be compatible with Nespresso machines, the capsules are 100% aluminium, whereas most capsules usually contain a certain amount of plastic that must be separated before recycling. This means consumers just need to scoop out the coffee into their household waste or compost and then put the capsule into their recycling bin.

Colonna Coffee, based in Bath, England, was founded by Maxwell Colonna-Smalls, a portrait artist turned three-time UK barista champion and coffee connoisseur. Since opening his coffee shop-come-tasting-destination in 2009 – he insists it’s not a cafe – Colonna has worked with researchers from the University of Bath to discover how to get the best out of coffee, from the water to use to freezing beans before grinding them.

As a roastery, Colonna offers single origin coffee in three genres: foundation, discovery and rare. Foundation coffees have a balanced, clean, and full-bodied flavour profile. The discovery genre is full of coffees with exciting and distinctive flavours, whether it is aromatic and floral, or packed full of fruit. The rare genre offers the most sought after lots from auctions and prestigious farms around the world. As harvesting seasons change, so do the coffees in each genre. Colonna celebrates this seasonality by showcasing a variety of coffees in their capsules throughout the year.

“There are multiple coffees we have at the roastery which we think taste best in capsules, better than in espresso or filter form…we’re really excited to be launching these capsules,” Colonna-Smalls told Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. “Capsule coffee is also really efficient in that machines only use the water you need, the amount of coffee you need, but there is still waste [in the capsule itself].”

Moving forward, Colonna is looking at creating a closed loop production cycle where used capsules are returned to the shop, the aluminium is recycled into new pods and the coffee grounds go to an organisation called Bio-Bean, who create biofuel out of the grounds.

Colonna Coffee capsules are available from their website and stockists including Harrods, Selfridges, Amazon Wholesale and specialist coffee shops worldwide. Prices start at £11.00 for 20 capsules. In addition to capsules, Colonna’s coffees are available in whole beans and decaffeinated varieties roasted for espresso or filter.

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Aroma and taste descriptors are most easily understood when primary flavours are referenced for the perceived attribute. When attributes are categorized into groups it becomes difficult to understand their meaning without additional training or explanations. Confusion is created when conclusions are used for flavour descriptions or when adjectives or verbs are used in place of nouns when presenting descriptions. The use of primary food terminology adheres to the tenants of TRUE descriptions. A primary food word is one that has a tangible reference found in nature, at a grocery store, or within a set of calibration standards. Familiarity with basic taste terms is developed through sensory training using calibration samples for aroma and taste and aligning with other cupper and tasters for the appropriate use of the terms.

When there is confusion, additional discussions are required to identify the actual taste or aroma character being perceived. This becomes inefficient for an operation and may result in inappropriate or incorrect descriptions being used for coffee. These additional discussions are challenging when cuppers/tasters are working to understand each description across language, regional or cultural differences. Examples of conclusion or category words that are to be avoided when communicating coffee descriptions:

• Green – describes coffee that is early-crop harvest, under-ripe, recently milled, or has not has enough time to rest before analysis. Specific tastes that could be identified individually include: grassy, green pepper, green bean, onion, and broccoli, among others.
• Aged – a measurement of time not taste, used as a conclusion when coffee presents tastes and aroma of paper, malt, cereal, cardboard, oats, peanut shells, and rice.
• Past crop – a measurement of time not taste, used as a conclusion when coffee presents tastes and aroma of paper, malt, cereal, cardboard, oats, peanut shells, and rice.
• Old – a measurement of time not taste, used as a conclusion when coffee presents tastes and aroma of paper, malt, cereal, cardboard, oats, peanut shells, and rice.
• Tired – a measurement of time not taste, used as a conclusion when coffee presents tastes and aroma of paper, malt, cereal, cardboard, oats, peanut shells, and rice.
• Processed – often used to describe decaffeinated coffee and thought to indicate over-processing to remove caffeine or the character of the water used in decaffeinated coffee processing. Specific tastes that could be identified individually include: hay, straw, paper, cereal, malt, cardboard, peanut shells, nut skins, and rice.
• Low-grown character – often used to describe coffee that lacks intensity of flavour, mild acidity, thin body, and may also include grassy, dirty or earthy undertones.
• Roasty – used to describe the effects of roasting instead of the character of the coffee, for example the taste of burnt sugar, earthy, dirty, smoky or ashy characters found in dark roasted coffees or coffees exposed to exhaust smoke.
• Edgy – used to describe coffee that is not clean and/or not sweet.
• Harsh – also used to describe coffee that is not clean and/or not sweet.
• Off-cup – used to indicate a coffee cup that lacks uniformity with other cups, or has an unidentified taint or fault.
• Bright, Crisp & Sharp – terms used to describe organic acids that are astringent, tart or lack sweetness.
• Sound – A term used to indicate when coffee is free of defects.

To avoid confusion when creating reviewing coffee sensory descriptions, it is most efficient and effective to use primary food words, which have a single item that can be used for calibration, either from a grocery store, or a flavour training kit.

Training and sensory acuity may affect the words used in creating coffee descriptions. Also, the quality of the coffee is a key contributing factor to the degree of generalization or specificity of the descriptive words used. Eg, a coffee may be described as having fruity, spicy, and nutty characters. By this description it is unknown if the cupper is a novice and has not been fully trained in identify and describing taste, or if the quality of the coffee does not allow for more specific taste characters to be perceived and listed.

Fruity is a category descriptor that obviously includes all fruits. This category can be divided into citric and berry, thus diverging on the fruit identity and increasing the level of specificity. Further detail perceptions would be to identify the actual citric fruits perceived or berries perceived. Many specialty coffee descriptions identify the individual variety of lemon or lime. This level of great details requires a highly trained cupper who is calibrated to lemon and lime standards and a high-quality coffee that has the inherent taste characteristics. Without one or even both to occur, a description that may include Kaffir Limes, Key Limes, Limequates, Meyer Lemons, Rangpur Limes, Tahiti Limes and Eureka or Lisbon lemons, will lack both credibility and believability.

Coffee Product Descriptions

Merchandising is the promoting of items for sale. Any action that stimulates the buyer’s interest and entices consideration for purchase intent is merchandising, including advertising, packaging, price, and promotion. It is most effective when the buyer understands the information which is presented in a clear and concise manner. When descriptions create too many questions, or present incomplete or include technical jargon, merchandising will adversely affect the buyer’s purchase decision.

Industry jargon and abbreviations are appropriate only when the seller and potential buyers are both familiar with the terms and a communication short-hand is appropriate. However, armatures, home-roasters and consumers may be confused by our verbal short-hand.

When offering products to consumers, additional explanations and more detailed descriptions are required, specifically answering why the information presented is important and how it will affect the quality of the coffee. Consumers expect TRUE descriptions. Information that is obvious to professionals may be unknown to consumers, thus it is always recommended to identify the information being presented to avoid confusion. Green coffee descriptions are commonly used to merchandise roasted coffee products, illustrating the relationship and importance of describing descriptions accurately and appropriately.

Each company should adopt a standard format for coffee description, which over time, will become familiar to returning customers. An important note: regular customers will gradually gain knowledge and sophistication, so before changing the format of coffee descriptions carefully consider how those changes will affect new and novice consumers. What benefits one consumer group may alienate another. Detailed explanations for coffee descriptions may be presented on the company’s web page, within the foodservice menu or retail display, and are not always feasible to include on the coffee packaging. In the foodservice environment, TRUE product descriptions and detailed explanations should always be part of employee training and available to any employee who needs to answer a consumer’s question.

Green Coffee Descriptions

Commonly used to establish provenance, promote the sourcing practices, or explain the quality of the coffee, green coffee descriptions are obviously a critical component to merchandising green coffee products and are not more common when merchandising roasted coffee products. Often a point of differentiation from one product or company to another, green coffee descriptions establish the expectations for quality, value and sensory experience.

Green coffee descriptions may require explanation relevant to quality, sensory profile, and price:

• Regional Identification – What is a Yirgacheffe or Huehuetenango?
• Varietal/Cultivar – Why is Bourbon or Geisha important to state?
• Altitude/Density & Other Identifiers – What is meant by PW, EP, HB, SHB, HG, MCM, SHG?
• Processing Types – How are the different methods significant?
• Certification – Why is it significant and what does it mean?

Recently, a colleague visited a local coffeehouse that offers specialty quality coffees in their pour-over station. The featured coffee was Panama Pacamara and the price was USD $9 for a 12-ounce cup. When compared to usual prices for pour-over, French press and vacuum pot preparation in the US, this drink is about two to three times more expensive. The merchandising and description for this expensive handcrafted beverage, Panama Pacamara, was grossly incomplete, and was further exacerbated when the barista was asked about the coffee provenance and roast development. The barista’s only response was Pacamara coffee from Panama. This exchange and poor description is tantamount to merchandising a bottle or can of craft beer as ale from Colorado and selling it for two to three times the usual price.

Both are examples of descriptions that are not TRUE.

Roasted Coffee Descriptions

The message of hospitality is to never give the customer a reason to shop elsewhere. Confusing and incomplete merchandising may force buyers to look elsewhere for coffee. When buyers are unable to connect with the product through the description there is low confidence of purchase or repeat purchases.

As professionals, we know our industry has many differences of opinions and company-specific terminology regarding quality identifications for coffee. TRUE descriptions are not vague and are aligned with the industry as whole. Examining roast level’s descriptions, the roast development spectrum may be divided into categories, there has been limited industry alignment on the use of light, medium, and dark description. Recognized roast terms used in merchandising, such as: American, cinnamon, city roast, full city roast, Vienna roast, continental roast, French roast, Italian roast, etc, are not standardized and often create confusion for the consumer. When comparing several packaged coffees that all use the same roast level identification, there will surely be several different levels of roast development or coffee colour, often with a wide range from light to dark. Consumers are further confused when seeing company-specific references. Eg, a light roast from a company that specializes in dark roasted coffees may be darker than a dark roasted coffee from a company that specializes in light roasted coffees. Standardization or a universality of roast development language or roast colour identification would contribute to greater understanding by consumers.

Descriptions are not TRUE when confusion is created and consumer expectations are not met. Flavour descriptions, roast description, coffee quality, origin information, etc, must always follow the TRUE model or a point if disconnection will occur between the seller and the buyer, or between the professional and the consumer.

Knowing the details of the contents within a coffee package or of a coffee beverage through the use of TRUE descriptions will help prevent disappointment and purchases of coffee that will not suit the preferences of the consumer.

Spencer Turer is VP of Coffee Enterprises in Hinesburg, Vermont. He is a founding member of the Roasters Guild, a licensed Q grader, and received the SCAA Outstanding Contribution to the Association Award. Turer is an active volunteer for the Specialty Coffee Association and the National Coffee Association of the USA.

The post Describing Descriptions Part II appeared first on Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

“Once the cold brew phenomenon moved beyond coffee and into tea, we started getting requests,” says Colleen Norwine, Cooper Tea executive director of sales and marketing. “Everyone loved the taste of cold brewed tea and wanted to capitalize on the higher price point it commands; but there wasn’t a practical way for high-volume restaurants to serve it. We’re excited to be the first to provide a solution.”

BW Cooper’s Cold Brew Tea Concentrate (CBTC) offers operators a simple way to add cold brew tea to the menu without burdening staff with a time-consuming preparation process. The commercial concentrate requires no onsite brewing or extracting equipment. Cooper Tea steeps the tea for hours in cold water at their Colorado microbrewery. This time-intensive process removes bitterness and produces a “cold brewed tea” with a superior, uniquely smooth and refreshing taste profile. Restaurants can create signature and seasonal flavours by adding flavour syrups, fresh fruit or botanicals.

For easy storage, the concentrates are packed in shelf-stable, 32oz miniature milk jugs. Each “mini-jug” of concentrate makes three gallons of cold brew tea when mixed with water. Batches of tea can be made based on demand — one gallon, two gallons or a full three-gallon batch. This reduces the amount of stale tea thrown out, conserves water and improves environmental sustainability in local communities.

The product is USDA-certified organic and has just two ingredients: organic black tea and water. International Tea Master and company founder Barry W Cooper selected the organic black tea used in the proprietary blend. Cooper has over 50 years of experience cupping, blending and brewing teas.

Specializing in premium teas for the foodservice channel since 2003, Boulder County, Colorado-based Cooper Tea Company is known for its signature BW Cooper’s Iced Brew Teas, and Third Street and Pixie Mate micro-brewed chai and tea concentrates.

For more information, visit: CooperTea.com.

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Tea consumption is thriving in the UK. According to the 2018 Tetley Tea Report, one in five consumers are drinking more tea than they did a year ago. Furthermore, 34% of tea drinkers are willing to pay extra for more premium brands. Evidencing the interest in more premium tea, the report found that 29% drink more loose-leaf tea out of home than this time last year.

Pursuant to the intense interest in specialty tea and herbal/fruit teas, Tea & Coffee World Cup offered a wide array tea presentations and workshops headed by Jane Pettigrew of the UK Tea Academy. The UK Tea Academy’s classes included: The Basics of Brewing & Comparative Tasting, Cupping & How to Taste Tea, Tea & Cheese Pairing and Tea & Chocolate Pairing. Other tea sessions included Flavour, Fruit & Herbal Creations presented by Sinas GmbH & Co KG (see Blending Tea at Tea & Coffee World Cup, which posted on our website on 4 September), Introduction to Japanese Tea presented by Wollenhaupt GmbH and Matcha, From Traditional to Modern presented by J-Port Green Tea.

In the conference area, Jane Pettigrew presented twice: Why Your Customers Deserve More – Why Good Tea Matters, in which she offered attendees examples of poorly brewed tea and properly brewed tea; and World Tea Trends in which she covered everything from black and green tea to matcha, kombucha and cold brew tea, while highlighting specialty tea and explaining the difference between actual tea and herbals and fruit infusions. “The term tea is used universally to mean pretty much anything that is dunked in hot – or cold water – and drunk as a beverage…since researchers and pollsters tend to include herbals and fruit infusions in their figures, but what we at UK Tea Academy are interested in is TEA – made from the tea plant – camellia sinensis,” said Pettigrew, noting that while some may think an ‘umbrella’ term is fine, there is a difference between tea, herbals and fruits and “it does matter as the ingredients of tea leaves are different and the health benefits of tea are different from all other infusions.”

Nigel Melican, the president of the new European Tea Society, during his presentation, explained the need for a new tea association focused on “creating and inspiring excellence in the specialty tea community through innovation, research, education and communication.”

Those attendees interested in specialty coffee had myriad presentations and classes from which to choose. Emma Haines of the London School of Coffee (and a Specialty Coffee Association trainer) offered several classes including: Introduction to Cupping, Brewing Part I and Brewing Part II. Sean Elder of James Aimer Ltd and an SCA trainer, held three classes during TCWC: Advanced Cupping, Sensory and Cupping for Defects and To Blend or Not to Blend. For those interested in the “backend” side, Edward Anderson Brown, of Ally Coffee, who placed third at the 2018 UK Roasting Championships, taught The Effects of Roasting Degree, which examined how different roasting approaches affect the final cup of the coffee.

Cup of Excellence

In a special session, the Alliance for Coffee Excellence cupped the top 10 Cup of Excellence winners from the recent Burundi competition, as well as a selection of COE winners from the recent Rwanda competition. After cupping the Burundi coffees, one attendee exclaimed, “I’ve never before had the opportunity to taste the top 10 coffee from any COE competition. These are amazing.” The Burundi and Rwanda coffees will be going up for auction in just a few weeks.

In his presentation, A Farm to Cup Story, Howard Barwick, European business development manager at Olam Specialty Coffee pointed out that specialty coffee is “more than one single definition, action or circumstance,” noting that “location has influence,” before detailing 15 segments that bring coffee from “the farm to the cup.”

Paul Stack, president of the SCA and operations director at Marco Beverage Systems, spoke about the opportunities for coffee and tea companies to innovate – and the need to do so in this age of technology and connectivity, and where millennials dominate. For coffee and tea companies to find success or even remain relevant in today’s climate, Stack said, “It’s about sustainability, provenance, quality, production, service and atmosphere.”

Other featured presentations were from companies such as INTL FCStone, Euromonitor International, Probat-Werke, the Alliance for Coffee Excellence, Union Papertech Ltd, as well as David Veal, the former brand ambassador of the SCA, whose presentation, The UK Market: A Journey Through Time, chronicled coffee’s history in the UK, and former SCA president, Mick Wheeler, who spoke about Papua New Guinea’s new coffee grading standards.

Exhibitors such as Alstrom-Munksjö, Dethlefsen & Balk GmbH, GEA Process Engineering, Gladfelter GmbH, Haelssen & Lyon GmbH, IMA/Petroncini, Mount Everest Tea, NDC Technologies, Neuhau Neotec, Oxalis, Purico Filtration Paper, Royal Greens, Ruben Gandia Threads, Swiss Pack Europe, Tsubakimoto Kogyo Co Ltd, and Zwirnerei AD Wutach Gmbh, all showcased their latest products, equipment and technologies.

Next year’s Tea & Coffee World Cup will return to Asia so stay tuned for the announcement of the location and dates.

The post Specialty Tea & Coffee Reign at Tea & Coffee World Cup 2018 appeared first on Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

As well as meeting an array of international tea and coffee professionals, I attended a fascinating Tea Workshop, hosted by sinas GmbH, entitled Flavour, Fruit and Herbal Creations. The charming and charismatic Tobias, ably assisted by the two Sarahs, described the 11 ingredients that would go into the final blend that we would create during the workshop. These were: rosehip; safflower; lemon peel; blue butterfly flower; orange peel; lemongrass; lime peel; stevia leaves; sweet apple pieces; lemon myrtle and white apple pieces.

Tobias explained the importance of which ‘element’ of the ingredient is used to determine the quality of the final product. Using an apple, he demonstrated that if you only use the flesh of the apple, and not the skin or the pips, you will have a different ingredient, and a more expensive one, than if you just chop up a whole apple, pips and all.

The ingredients were sourced globally, including Spain for the lemon peel, Egyptian lemongrass, lemon myrtle from Malaysia and Turkish apple pieces. The blue butterfly flowers, which produce a brilliant blue colour when brewed, hailed from China. Well known in Asia, these flowers are rapidly becoming popular in European products. Stevia, the wondrous calorie-free sweetener from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant, has been used as a sweetener in its native Brazil and Paraguay for many thousands of years.

The ingredients’ provenance and profiles were described in detail and brewed in 11 individual teapots, which we then tasted. Needless to say, the brightnss of the hue did not always reflect the strength of the flavour. Stevia, almost colourless, was incredibly sweet. Rosehip, a rich golden colour, had very little flavour. My personal favourite was the lemon myrtle, a crisp, invigorating taste with subtle scented hints of lemon.

Individual tastes

After the tasting session, all 11 ingredients were emptied, bag by bag, onto a cloth-covered table. A volunteer was called to gently ‘blend’ by hand, the 11 ingredients. The resulting blend was then brewed by Tobias for five minutes. The result was, surprisingly, a luminous apple green colour. The taste was a refreshing combination of scented, citrus and apple fruit flavours, though no one flavour dominated.

For me, the stevia gave too much sweetness to the blend, but as the other participants gave their opinion, for some the sweetness was perfect, while for others it was not sweet enough. As Tobias explained, younger people can recognise bitter flavours much more than older people – we lose our ‘bitter’ taste as we age. Like children in a candy store, we busily filled our bags with the dried blend to take home, having thoroughly enjoyed participating in such a hands-on workshop. – Sarah McRitchie, Editorial Director, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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Protein Blended Cold Brew is made with slow-steeped Starbucks Cold Brew, alternative milk and plant-based proteins for a non-dairy beverage that’s a good source of protein. This beverage is inspired by the popularity of cold brew coffee and a growing interest in plant-based proteins. Starbucks Cold Brew continues to be a favourite since joining the cold coffee menu in 2015. Additions to this platform include Nitro DRAFT Cold Brew, Cold Foam Cold Brew and Protein Blended Cold Brew.

Starbucks baristas craft the Almond Protein Blended Cold Brew beverage by blending Starbucks Cold Brew with almond milk, plant-based protein, almond butter, Banana Date Fruit Blend and ice. A grande Almond Protein Blended Cold Brew has 270 calories, 12 grams of plant-based protein and retails for approximately USD $5.95.

Starbucks baristas craft the Cacao Protein Blended Cold Brew beverage by blending Starbucks Cold Brew with coconut milk, plant-based protein, cacao powder, Banana Date Fruit Blend and ice. Cacao Protein Blended Cold Brew has 10 grams of plant-based protein.

With more than 170,000 ways to customize beverages at Starbucks stores, customers can create a favourite drink that fits their lifestyle, even with the new Protein Blended Cold Brews (additional cost may apply), such as adding a whole banana in place of Banana Date Fruit Blend, adding an extra packet of plant-based protein to double the amount in the cup, adding an extra shot or two of Starbucks Espresso Roast, or even adding a shot of decaf Starbucks Espresso Roast in place of Starbucks Cold Brew.

Protein Blended Cold Brew is available while supplies last at Starbucks cafés nationwide. For more information, visit: www.starbucks.com.

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Each combination has been developed by JING’s head of tea, Tom Price, who spent two-years sourcing and selecting ingredients and even more time yet blending them to create products structured for texture, balance and a lasting finish, rendering infusions that are bright and expressive on the palate, and designed to deliver superior, natural flavour.

“We’re confident that with our new JING Fruit & Floral range, we’ve got a tea for every palate,” says Price. “Our unique micro-drying process means we lock in flavours that are otherwise lost in the standard infusion and, by using large, real pieces of fruit and natural flowers, we are able to reveal the true essence and taste of these beautiful ingredients.”

All the infusions in the Fruit & Floral range are caffeine free. The new range includes:

• Pineapple & Osmanthus: Intensely fragrant, bursting with tropical pineapple aroma and delicate, floral notes from whole heads of chamomile and osmanthus – a flower prized in Asia for its incredible natural scent of ripened fruit. Together, they create a deliciously sweet and thick, yellow infusion that feels syrupy in the mouth. Smoothed with soft chamomile and honeyed in character with pineapple and osmanthus for a lasting, juicy finish.
• Raspberry & Rose: The subtle perfume of whole rosebuds is imbued with the tart fragrance of real raspberry pieces and the ripe, fruity aroma of osmanthus flowers. This soft pink infusion feels jammy on the palate and is complemented by the gently sour character of rosehip shells, delivering complexity and an elegant, delicately floral finish.
• Strawberry & Rooibos: The sugared-scent of natural strawberry pieces and uplifting elderflower fragrance gives away to a ruby-red infusion that offers warming comfort in the depths of a rich, rooibos undercurrent. Smooth, sweet and velvety in the mouth, it finishes with a lingering, rounded softness.
• Green Apple & Hibiscus: Whole pieces of crisp green apple, hibiscus petals and lengths of spicy lemongrass reveal a zesty aroma and yield a beautifully pink infusion. Vibrant with a fruit-acidity that feels quenching yet balanced in the mouth, a touch of pineapple finishes the blend, all together delivering a grassy-sweet and tart finish.

Tea lovers can buy the new range the JING Tea online shop at https://jingtea.com/shop/tea-type/fruit-and-floral-tea.

London, England-based JING Tea was founded in 2004 by Edward Eisler. Inspired by Asia’s great tea cultures, JING teas reflect the local terroir and production methods refined by masters over millennia. They do not blend from multiple origins, but source extensively to find the best teas that represent their place and people. Picked and then packaged at source for superior freshness, JING guarantees only the freshest teas.

JING has established itself as a leading supplier of tea within the fine food and beverage industry, supplying many of the world’s hospitality leaders, with listings in 60-Michelin starred restaurants (with a total of 98-Michelin stars celebrated across all restaurants). In 2011, JING launched its website making its tea available to customers at home.

For more information about JING Tea, visit: www.jingtea.com.

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Aduna Super-Teas, organic infusions powered by nutrient-rich African superfoods, have been specially crafted using high quality active botanical ingredients to bring out your natural vitality. Made with whole pieces of fruit, herbs, leaves, flowers and spices, Aduna Super-Teas are available in five new flavours, each with its own unique character, benefit, taste profile and aroma:

•VITALITY: Lemon, Ginger & BAOBAB: A revitalising, light and refreshing infusion combining zesty lemons with an invigorating kick of ginger – powered by nutrient-rich African baobab fruit;
•RELAX: Cinnamon-Spiced CACAO: A luxurious dark chocolate aroma leads you to a light, cocoa-flavoured tea enriched with warming spices & boosted with restorative cacao, helping promote a sense of calm;
•CLEANSE: Mint, Nettle & MORINGA: A natural digestif with a lively, clean green flavour combining earthy undernotes and a cooling fresh mint finish – super-charged with nutrient-rich moringa leaves;
•DETOX: Green Tea & TURMERIC: A bright, earthy green tea balanced with warming turmeric, a pep of citrus and a twist of pepper; this purifying blend is rich in taste and character; and
•RADIANCE: Rosehip, Aloe Vera & HIBISCUS: full bodied, fruity and floral with berry notes, this perfectly balanced infusion is a powerhouse of antioxidant-rich botanicals, giving you a glowing complexion.

The infusions have been created to be equally as delicious served hot or iced, making them ideal all year round.

“We have developed our African Super-Teas in response to consumer demand for more excitement, innovation and functionality in the fast-growing fruit and herbal category,” says Andrew Hunt, co-founder and CEO of Aduna. As well as tapping into the trends for superfoods, ethical consumerism and premiumisation; our range features some truly unique new flavours, helping drive category and margin growth for retailers.”

Aduna’s specialty organic blends are served in tea pyramids enabling superior brewing power and flavour. The blends are visible through a window allowing consumers to see the quality, texture and colour of the ingredients.

Aduna’s range of African superfood powders and superfood energy bars are sold in 2,000 stores in 18 countries. In the UK, the company supplies over 1,000 retailers including Holland & Barrett, Ocado, Whole Foods and Planet Organic. African Super-Teas, began shipping this week, and will be available to buy its current retailers including Whole Foods Market and As Nature Intended in the UK from September. They have an MSRP: £4.99 for 15 tea pyramids.

Aduna is an independently owned social enterprise, which means it is driven by purpose as well as profit. It sources its ingredients wherever possible from small-scale producers in Africa. It has its own supply chain for baobab fruit in Upper East Ghana, through which it has created sustainable incomes for over 850 women producers, enabling them to provide basic needs for their families. As such, every bar helps create sustainable incomes for rural African households.

For more information, visit: www.aduna.com.

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“Peet’s Coffee is excited to launch Nespresso Original Line compatible capsules for fans of intense espresso,” says Robyne Eldridge, senior director of CPG marketing, Peet’s Coffee, Emeryville, California. “The Peet’s Espresso aluminum capsule format gives coffee connoisseurs the freedom to be their own barista at the ease of a button, enjoying the complexity of our signature dark espresso conveniently at home or at the office. In less than a minute, anyone can enjoy a perfectly pulled, mess free, beverage.”

Peet’s Espresso flavours range from 8 to 11 in intensity and come in 10-count cartons with a MSRP of USD $7.50 each:

• Ricchezza — layered textures of complex espresso with notes of blossom, berry, brown sugar. Intensity 8.
• Crema Scura — thick espresso inspired by Peet’s coffee bars with full-bodied earthy, nutty notes balanced by a creamy enduring finish. Intensity 9.
• Ristretto — delivers a touch of chocolaty truffle complemented by crushed spice, rich fruit and bold espresso smoothness. Intensity 10.
• Nerissimo — an indulgent balance between espresso’s bitter bite and a crème brûlée sweetness. Intensity 11.

Peet’s Espresso is now available at select retailers throughout the United States such as Target, as well as at Amazon.com and Peets.com. To learn more, visit www.adeeperdark.com.

For more information on Peet’s Coffee, visit www.peets.com.

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“A lot of operators assume that their tea sales will decline in the warmer months, but this doesn’t have to be the case” says Louise Cheadle, Teapigs tea taster. “Because our tea temples contain real ingredients (like real pieces of fruit or whole cardamom pods) they’re bags of real, intense flavour and this makes them super versatile. Operators should consider making iced teas in the summer or tea lattes in the winter, and then promoting this with customers as a ‘tea of the week’ or ‘tea of the month’.”

Teapigs is offering free training to teapigs’ stockists at their in-house tea school in Brentford, where stockists can learn more about tea and how to make a variety of tea recipes, including super fruit iced tea, chocolate and mint tea shake and a matcha mocktail. The tea school teaches stockists how to easily produce individual servings of these drinks as well as supplying instructions for larger-scale foodservice preparation, such as the recipe above.

For more information, visit: www.teapigs.co.uk.

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Produced exclusively for Toby’s by Luis Paolo Pereira, a farmer in Santuario Sul, Brazil, the roast represents an exciting shift towards agricultural experimentation in Brazilian coffee cultivation. Using a rare Yirgacheffe heirloom variety from Ethiopia, Pereira’s new coffee brings a profile of ripe stone fruit and sweet peonies, a far cry from Brazil’s typical dark, bold and nutty varieties.

Santuario Sul will be carefully roasted every Tuesday at Toby’s Estate’s Williamsburg headquarters, and will be available in limited quantities each week while supplies last (likely through the summer) in cafés and online at Toby’s Estate. Santuario Sul retails for USD $15.50 per 8-oz bag.

Toby’s Estate Coffee is a small batch coffee roaster founded in Brooklyn, New York. As roasters and baristas, they believe that each coffee can tell a story, and seek to share that in every cup. Co-owners Adam Boyd and Amber Jacobsen opened the flagship cafe and roastery in 2012 on a then-deserted stretch of North 6th Street in Williamsburg. The shop quickly became the unofficial clubhouse for the burgeoning neighbourhood, allowing Toby’s Estate to expand into new boroughs, verticals and retailers. Now with a robust wholesale business that includes clients such as Dean & Deluca, Google, Le Bernardin, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, Whole Foods and many more, state-of-the-art educational facilities, and five neighbourhood cafés, Toby’s Estate strives to make sophisticated and complex coffees as approachable as possible.

For more information, visit: www.tobyestate.com.

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Each new product is designed to provide a ‘Miles Moment’ in the day from sleepy moments to wake up moments. The tea and fruit segments in each teabag or ‘tea kites’ as Miles calls them, will be larger than usual to improve the taste. The new pack design and new machinery will allow Miles to adapt the range with different blends including limited edition products and seasonal blends. The range currently has the following flavours:

• Super Green, Matcha & Turmeric
• Fennel, Orange & Hibiscus
• Green Tea & Chamomile
• Berry Berry
• Rooibos, Boabab & Chai
• Lavender, Limeflower & Rose
• Ginger & Lemongrass
• Liquorice, Peppermint & Spearmint
• English Breakfast

“This is an exciting new market for Miles, being a family business for generations it’s important as we adapt to current trends,” says John Halls, operations director at the Minehead, Somerset, England based company. “This new premium range will provide us with a relevant offering for the ever-growing green tea, herbal and fruit tea market.”

Miles Tea and Coffee is a family run business established in 1888. The West Somerset-based business creates quality tea, coffee and hot chocolate. Following a recent rebrand Miles are promoting the West Country by partnering with local communities, West Country businesses, and sponsorship. Miles products are available in Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsburys, the Co-op among several other stores. The new premium teas range in price from £3.99 to £4.75 per 37.5 grams.

For more information, visit: https://www.milesteaandcoffee.com/.

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“The launch of Teavana packaged tea in grocery is just the beginning of the journey to bring consumers some of their Teavana favourites in a new, accessible format where they purchase their groceries,” says John Culver, group president, international, channel development, and global coffee and tea. “Since our acquisition of Teavana five years ago, we have continued to build distribution outside of Starbucks stores,” he says. “We remain committed to executing our plan to increase our tea business to USD $3 billion over the next five years through Starbucks global retail, packaged tea, and ready-to-drink premium Teavana Craft Iced Teas.”

The selection of six premium tea sachets are inspired by consumers’ favourite Teavana blends:

• Youthberry: A citrus-berry white tea blend featuring mango, orange, hibiscus and rose petals.
• Peach Tranquility: Soft peach and tropical fruit with delicate herbal notes of lemon, verbena, and a chamomile finish.
• Citrus Lavender: Inspired by artisanal cocktails, this blend pairs zesty orange and sweet pineapple with lavender blossom and sage notes.
• Jade Citrus Mint: Lemon citrus notes with green tea and a refreshing spearmint finish.
• Imperial Spiced Chai: Traditional chai spices and a Chinese oolong tea base, featuring cinnamon, tropical fruit, and citrus notes.
• Earl Grey Crème: An innovative take on an English classic – creamy vanilla and soft lavender are added to black tea and oil of bergamot citrus fruit.

The Teavana packaged tea sachets have a MSRP of USD $5.99 per 1.59 ounce (45 g) container.

Seattle, Washington-based Starbucks acquired Teavana Holdings in 2013. The company sold its Tazo tea brand to consumer packaged goods giant, Unilever in 2017, to focus its tea efforts on the Teavana brand. Starbucks also announced in 2017 that it was closing mall-based Teavana stores.

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Tea, coffee and cocoa are all on the commodities markets. During the latter part of the past century, with many newly independent countries joining the supplier side within a continued development of global trade patterns, the United Nations established several International Commodity Agreements (ICAs) and International Commodity Bodies (ICBs) to monitor appropriate supply for the consumer/importing markets whilst ensuring appropriate revenue to the producers. They include: the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO) set up in 1957, the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) in 1963, the International Sugar Organization (ISO), and more on cotton and other commodities.

Another set of International Commodity Bodies (ICBs) are the Intergovernmental Groups (IGG) created within the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), such as IGG Tea, set up in 1975. Other IGGs monitor rice, citrus fruit, meat, etc.

Tea, coffee and cocoa are all classified as international agricultural commodities. Given their importance as revenue crop for the producing countries and their respective international trade flow, the UN intergovernmental structures oversee providing useful tools for a global monitoring of supply and demand and appropriate governance of the value chain.

In order to compile production, consumption and trade statistics for coffee and cocoa, the ICO and the ICCO operate with a specific crop year that runs from 1 October to 30 September of the following year. The data are expressed in green beans for coffee and raw beans for cocoa, hence the need for conversion factors for roasting and processing, in order to account for the number of cups of espresso or of chocolate bars.

Tea statistics are established in line with the calendar year and always refer to the finished product, the processed dry tea leaf, referred to by stakeholders as “made tea.” This is the tea that is traded and shipped, hence, no need for conversion factors.

In the context of agricultural production, the green leaf, as harvested, is an important reference element that pertains to the yield of the tea gardens, which can vary greatly, according to plant variety, geographical location, agricultural practice and harvesting methods, and age of the bushes, etc. Tea may therefore be considered as a crop and as a food and beverage product that offers good transparency and easy comprehension for overall market assessments.

The term commodity comprises tangible products that are wholly or for a major part interchangeable, ie fungible and standardized, traded in bulk and sold freely at prices that fluctuate according to supply and demand. This implies that there are the commodity teas for the mainstream markets on one side, and the teas that are neither interchangeable nor standardized, but quality-specific and even special on the other side.

The key data issued by FAO-IGG Tea and the International Tea Committee (ITC) show that the tea market has some important specificities. Preliminary data published by the ITC for 2017 reveals that total production amounts to 5.7 million tonnes, of which only 1.8 million tonnes are exported, hence subject to international trade, ie 31.3 percent. This is a rather small proportion, and which is decreasing year after year. In comparison, and based on estimates by Euromonitor International and ICO data for coffee, more than 74 percent of coffee production is exported, of which 52 percent is to North America and Europe.

Tea’s global production is shared out according to the process, with black tea dominating with 58 percent, green tea accounting for 32 percent, other teas around 10 percent. Another dividing line shows that black teas are shared between CTC teas at 62.6 percent and orthodox leaf teas at 37.4 percent.

Commodity Tea Producing Countries

Tea, coffee and cocoa are all three highly labour-intensive crops and grown predominantly by smallholders for a huge share of the output, which is estimated to stand at over 60 percent for tea and at over 80 percent for coffee and cocoa.

In 2017, tea exports represented less than one-third of the global output, amounting to 1.78 million tonnes. Although the two big producers, China and India, consume most of their own cups, they have exported 355,300 tonnes (t) and 240,700t respectively. The balance of the export trade volume comes from other tea exporters, the most important ones being Kenya, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia and Argentina, which together represent 959,500t, whilst the remaining 25 other tea exporters sell 222,900t in the market. China and Vietnam export mainly green teas, while Kenya, Sri Lanka, India and Argentina export mostly black teas, and Indonesia both. Furthermore, most of the black tea exports are CTC, except those from Sri Lanka.

In this complex scenario, there is a red thread leading straight to the commodity teas, and that is the set of 11 big Tea Auction Centres, which handle the large part of commodity teas in India (Kolkata, Guwahati, Siliguri, Kochi, Coimbatore, Coonoor), in Bangladesh (Chittagong), in Sri Lanka (Colombo), in Indonesia (Jakarta), in East Africa (Mombasa), and in Central Africa (Limbe). According to ITC 2016 data, these 11 tea auction centres have handled 1.29 million tonnes of tea, mostly black CTC teas, with the exception of Sri Lanka, which produces only orthodox leaf teas. Commodity black teas, the bulk of which go directly to the various domestic markets, may be estimated to represent around two million tonnes, plus an additional estimated 250,000t of green teas, exported in bulk as gunpowder from China, and as green filler teas, mainly from Indonesia and Vietnam.

Commodity teas can most likely be traced back to the British Rule, which introduced industrial tea processing, with the CTC method, in India and East Africa. In the 1950s, Britain controlled 85 percent of the world’s tea trade, stated Mike Bunston OBE, past president of the ITC and chairman of the London Tea Auction, which closed in 1998 after 300 years of operations. The past glory of British involvement in tea is also being recorded by the London Tea History Association, with the intent to safeguard the memories of an important activity that has fashioned tradition and lifestyle, centred around the supply chain with the London Tea Auction a vital part of it.

The system of the tea auctions is closely linked to former British Rule, with trade platforms set up in newly independent producing countries and providing efficient tools for the sale of commodity teas into mainstream markets, be they basic packed bulk teas or tea blends for tea bags.

There are also multinational tea packers that source big volumes directly from their own estates and blend their commodity teas for the mass market, packed or in tea bags. Many of these teas are mechanically harvested. With Unilever’s Lipton brand as number one, the 10 biggest operators concentrate 27 percent of the global retail value, according to Euromonitor International.

Finally, there are the instant tea manufacturers, which supply the ever-growing RTD market, and such leaf will be purchased as commodity teas. ITC data finds the biggest instant tea producers today are China, India, Kenya, Chile and Argentina.

China: The Cradle of Tea

China is where the tea bush has prospered for nearly 5,000 years, has been cultivated for over 3,000 years, and where hundreds of different tea varieties have developed according to climate, soil and specific environments. Most people will drink their local teas. “In China, we do not blend teas,” said Yun Jing Zhong, aka Vivien Messavant, who runs the oldest Chinese tea house in Paris. “All our many different teas have a specific taste, cup colour and leaf shape, blending does not make sense.”

China does not have tea auction centres. “It does not appeal either to the producers or to the wholesale agents to negotiate on a public platform,” said Kelly Ye from the Guangzhou International Tea Trading Centre (GTTC), which launched in 2010 to replace the traditional Fang Cun tea market with its hundreds of small family-run tea shops. “But we are aware of the need to have an international trade platform, so we offer good visibility to the well-established regional brands and suggest that they go for more transparency, namely by labelling product details and prices in our GTTC showrooms,” she said. “We hope that it will work out, but it is the opposite of a privately negotiated contract.”

French tea expert, Katrin Rougeventre, said with China having become the biggest player as the world’s number one tea producer and consuming 86 percent of its output, they are living by their own rules. There are no Chinese commodity teas on the market in China, but there are some big volume bulk green teas, which are custom-made for export. Even the black CTC teas, sourced by Unilever Lipton China from the Dianhong Company in Yunnan to make British-style tea bags for Western consumers in China are origin teas, as they come from one specific area. There are no commodity teas in Japan or Korea.

With a growing awareness in the West of the fine qualities of origin teas, there is a strong trend towards introducing high-end and value-added teas. Many producing countries have begun investing in specialty teas, and now consumers can buy white teas from Kenya, Sri Lanka and from Indonesia, and green teas and wulong teas from India. More options, new products, innovative processing will make tea even more attractive, thereby increasing consumption and higher retail value. However, the market will continue to rely on the bulk of commodity teas, in order to offer an affordable cup to the millions of consumers who will not go without their favourite beverage.

Barbara Dufrêne is the former Secretary General of the European Tea Committee and editor of La Nouvelle Presse du Thé. She may be reached at: b-dufrêne@orange.fr.

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“People love both the flavour and the colour,” says Alicia Binion from Starbucks research and development (R&D), who created the new beverage. “It’s bright and vivid, something you would want to take a picture of to share with friends.”

The new Mango Dragonfruit Refreshers joins the permanent Starbucks menu alongside other Refreshers beverages including Strawberry Acai, Very Berry Hibiscus Starbucks Refreshers beverage, Pink Drink, and Violet Drink. The beverage is available at participating Starbucks stores in the US and Canada starting today (19 June). A grande (16-ounce) beverage is under 100 calories.

“Even the name dragonfruit sounds magical,” Binion says. “It’s one of those up-and-coming flavours. The red-fleshed fruit is less common and helps make this drink so fun and unique.”

Customers can also enjoy a creamier version of the beverage by requesting coconut milk instead of water. Called “Dragon Drink,” it features creamy swirls of coconut milk mingling with the fruity mango and dragonfruit flavours.

This summer, Starbucks customers are encouraged to share photos of their favourite afternoon pick-me-up on Instagram using the hashtag #AfternoonMade for the new Mango Dragonfruit Starbucks Refreshers beverage or other delicious, handcrafted cold drinks. Each Friday beginning 13 July, select user-generated photos tagged with #AfternoonMade will be featured on Starbucks Instagram stories. To find your favourite afternoon-inspired beverage, visit Starbucks Afternoon Made menu.

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Arabica Selection was developed through an extensive research and development process that harnessed illy’s deep institutional knowledge and resources. Over the past 24 months, illy’s in-house Aroma Lab, Sensory Lab and Food Science Lab collaborated with roasting experts at the company’s headquarters in Trieste, Italy to create specific roasting profiles to spotlight the most beautiful aromatic and taste notes within in each origin’s bean. That is how, and why, Arabica Selection Brazil naturally carries an intense, caramel-dominant taste profile, while Arabica Selection Ethiopia is delicate and alive with floral notes.

“It all starts with the unique illy blend, developed consistently year after year, that give us deep knowledge of the coffee origins combined with our direct trade model that works closely with coffee growers to produce the highest quality Arabica beans,” says Massimiliano Pogliani, CEO of Trieste, Italy-based illycaffè, s.p.a. “From there, the full power of our scientific resources and expertise enter the equation, which in this case created proprietary roasting profiles for each origin to create extraordinary taste experiences for passionate coffee lovers.”

illy’s expertise in producing its illy blend, encompassing the world’s nine best Arabica coffees, plays an essential role in this latest product development. The single origins for Arabica Selection are the backbone of the blend, deconstructed in a way for coffee lovers to experience them individually and uniquely pronounced. The research and development process included chemical and sensorial analyses with over 50 roasting samples to fine tune each Arabica Selection variety. As part of the process, illy’s green (or pre-roasted) coffee department identified specific beans from each origin country that met criteria specially developed for Arabica Selection, which were then stored prior to roasting under optimal conditions for temperature and humidity.

Arabica Selection whole bean 250-gram cans and K-Cups are available in North America at illy caffè bars and retailers such as Sur La Table and Bed Bath & Beyond, and online at www.illy.com.

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Cold brew coffee has become increasingly popular due to its smoother, less acidic taste. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s cold brew coffee is a blend of its premium Bali Blue Moon and Ethiopia Yirgacheffe coffees with real chicory that is delicately roasted and steeped cold for 20 hours. The cold brew process uses time instead of heat, providing a rich and delicious coffee experience. The resulting Cold Brew Coffee is smooth, balanced and refreshing with a crisp walnut and black cherry finish. The Vietnamese Cold Brew Coffee is The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s dark-roasted Cold Brew Coffee combined with sweetened condensed milk for a creamy, bold coffee taste.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s cold brew teas are made with a mild, refreshing Scottish Breakfast black tea or a delicate, floral Jasmine green tea, steeped cold for five hours. Cold brewing gently extracts flavours from the teas, without any bitterness.

• Mango Cold Brew Tea: Cold-brewed Scottish Breakfast tea blended with sweet mango purée;
• Black Cherry Cold Brew Tea: Cold-brewed Scottish Breakfast tea blended with black cherry puree;
• Raspberry Cold Brew Tea: Cold-brewed Scottish Breakfast tea combined with the popular fruit flavour of raspberry;
• Peach Jasmine Cold Brew Tea: Delicately cold-steeped Jasmine tea combined with peach puree for a sweet and refreshing beverage with a delicate floral finish.

The following cold brew varieties are available year-round: Cold Brew Coffee, Raspberry Cold Brew Tea and Peach Jasmine Cold Brew Tea.

“We’re true coffee and tea aficionados and know that our guests expect the highest quality from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf brand,” says Nurit Raich, senior director of product innovation of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. “Our international sourcing credentials combined with our coffee and tea expertise has created a new way for our guests to enjoy coffee and tea that highlights the carefully curated flavour experience.”

Los Angeles, California-based The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is a leading global roaster and retailer of specialty coffees and teas. The company currently has more than 1,200 retail locations across the globe and can also be found in grocery aisles as well as specialty locations including airports and hotels.

For more information on The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf or the new cold brew coffee and teas, visit www.coffeebean.com.

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“We use clean label ingredients [in all our products including the bubbles] so the bubbles come from coconut water, but the flavour is not overly coconut,” says Andrew Kraus, director product innovation, Caribou Coffee, Minneapolis, Minnesota. “The bubbles have a unique texture and are something differentiated from the standard bubble tea tapioca pearls.”

Caribou Coffee is the first national coffeehouse in the US to offer bubbles in iced coffee drinks. “Bubble tea is great, and we wanted to bring it to our guests,” says Kraus. “We thought two additional ways to delight our guests are with the Matcha Tea Cooler and putting bubbles into a classic Caribou coffee drink (the Caramel Coffee Cooler). We expect guests to add bubbles to their favourite cold coffee or tea drinks as well.”

Available for a limited time only, the bubbles can be added to any of Caribou’s existing iced beverages or enjoyed in the new line of Bubble Drinks. Caribou Coffee’s new Bubble Drinks include: Raspberry Green Tea (iced), Matcha Tea Cooler (blended), and Caramel Coffee Cooler (blended).

Caribou Coffee guests can also enjoy a new line of matcha beverages, which includes:

• Matcha Tea Cooler with Bubbles: matcha powder, vanilla, half & half, and Caribou Coffee’s shake mix blended together and served on a bed of bubbles or coconut jellies flavoured with caramel;
• Matcha Vanilla Tea Latte: matcha powder, vanilla and steamed milk.

Launched in about 400 Caribou stores across the US on 3 May, and available until the end of summer/Labour Day (based on actual sales volume), the new Bubble and Matcha beverages’ pricing varies by market but is aligned with Caribou’s Signature beverage pricing (Coolers, Mint Condition Mocha, etc), at approximately USD $5.00 each.

Founded in 1992, Caribou Coffee is the second largest company-operated premium coffeehouse in the United States with more than 263 company-owned stores and 50 Coffee & Bagels stores in partnership with Einstein Bros. Bagels, 142 domestic license locations in 19 states and 268 international franchise stores in 12 countries. Caribou Coffee provides high quality, handcrafted beverages and food options to fuel life’s adventures, both big and small. Known for a commitment to sustainability, the company was the first major US coffeehouse to serve 100% Rainforest Alliance-certified coffees and espresso. Caribou Coffee products can also be found in grocery stores, mass retailers, club stores, foodservice providers, hotels, entertainment venues and online.

For more information, visit www.CaribouCoffee.com.

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Agriculture doesn’t give you a salary,” said Guatemalan coffee producer Santiago Camposeco. He has been growing coffee in the northwestern department of Huehuetenango for over three decades. As he muses on his profession, he reaches for a steaming tortilla and sprinkles it with salt. It’s 5:30am, and he’ll be in the fields until sundown.

“We have bad times, and we have prosperous times, too. If there’s a lot of rainfall, it’s not good for honey production.” His adult daughter, Brígida Camposeco Sánchez, chimed in. “Same with the cold,” she added.

“Yes,” said Camposeco. “The coffee isn’t affected in the same way. It’s very important to diversify crops.”

Although their main business is coffee production, Camposeco’s family also tends beehives for pollen and honey, farms tilapia, and grows fruits like mango, banana and avocado. In 2017, he added passion fruit vines to his farm. Camposeco is a pioneer diversifier in his community, and he is not alone. Central American coffee producers who may have been able to get by on the cash crop when initially entering the business are finding it difficult to rely solely on coffee to pay the bills. They are growing more subsistence crops – food to feed their families – as well as more commercial crops to sell locally and internationally.

In a 2016-17 study on the effects of coffee leaf rust on smallholder farmers, 129 Guatemalan and Nicaraguan women coffee farmers were surveyed about their crop management and livelihoods (see previous article in the T&CTJ October 2017 issue). Seventy-eight percent of the Guatemalan coffee farmers and 83 percent of the Nicaraguans in the study produce other agricultural goods besides coffee.

Honey Bee Products

In Guatemala, apiaries can dually help raise farmer income and pollinate coffee crops. “We have seven apiaries,” said Sánchez. “Three of them have 50 beehives. And in the others, we have 25 to 35 hives. So, we have around 300 beehives in total.”

“Luckily we’ve gotten trained on how to collect bee pollen. Our co-operative showed us how to make little bee pollen traps,” she said. The bees crawl through the traps at the hive’s entrance, knocking the pollen off their legs and into a tray, which gets harvested. “Right now, there’s a lot of demand for pollen.”

The Camposecos aren’t the only farmers in their community who increased bee pollen and honey production during the devastating coffee leaf rust (or roya) crisis of 2013-14 and drought the following year. “We have the bee pollen to thank for getting us through in 2015,” said Bartola Ros. With two pre-teen daughters to support, she is grateful for the bees. “We didn’t have any coffee left to harvest after 2014.” Her family has been part of the Guaya’b Co-operative in Jacaltenango, Huehuetenago, for 17 years. When coffee production dropped due to coffee leaf rust, bee pollen became more than 80 percent of their income.

In the neighbouring town of La Libertad, Huehuetenango, a group of ten women piloted a honey bee co-operative project through the Esquipulas Cooperative. In 2016-17, they kept four beehives and trained on hive health and honey collection. Marta Gómez Cruz is a 29-year-old coffee producer who lost two thirds of her harvest to coffee leaf rust between 2014 and 2016. “We sold some honey this year, but we decided as a group to reinvest the money to buy sugar and other supplies for the hives. I’ve had to work on other farms to make ends meet, but I think it’s important to keep going with the bees so we can produce more next year.”

Vegetable Gardens and Medicinals

Throughout Central America, growing backyard gardens and medicinal herb beds help families meet their nutritional needs. “Four years ago, I started a garden on my property,” said Doña Flori of Huica, Huehuetenango in Guatemala. She lost 50 percent of her coffee harvest in 2014. As a single mother of four, she has only enough money to send her three sons to school. Her teenage daughter works on the farm.

“I went to some workshops with the Esquipulas Co-operative, of which I am a member. That’s where I learned how to incorporate new plants into my garden and my diet.” Standing in her garden, Flori pointed out the robust beets, carrots, onions, tomatillos, cabbage, and radishes, and then the medicinals. “These are the herbs. I grow basil, lemon verbena, parsley, cilantro, yerba buena, and that’s chamomile.” She handles the leaves with care.

“We also learned organic composting. I throw layers of dried corn cobs, ashes from the kitchen, and green material onto the pile. I tell my kids to go out into the hills and bring back green plants, then we chop them up to make layers,” Flori said. In March, she takes the compost pile out onto the concrete terrace and turns it. “If we are planting new coffee plants that year, I use it to start the seedlings. Otherwise, it goes back to the vegetables.”

Similarly, Fanny García Lopez of Estelí, Nicaragua is part of a medicinal plants project through her co-operative, UCA Miraflor. “I represent the women when we meet with other organizations.” The 33-year-old coffee producer is president of the internal women’s cooperative. The group had a five-year medicinal plants project funded by the United Nations Development Program. “We learned how to make salves, syrups and soaps, which we use medicinally and sell at the market.” She uses horsetail (Equisetum) for kidney health and narrow strap fern (Campyloneurum angustifolium) for building the blood and healing skin conditions. Other common medicinals among coffee farmers include moringa (Moringa oleifera), rue (Ruta graveolens), hierba buena (Mentha) and basil (Ocimum basilicum).

Basic Grains

Central American farmers have been growing corn and beans long before coffee was brought to the New World in the early 18th century. As people began to produce coffee for export, some farmers grew fewer basic grains and began to buy them with their coffee income. Corn and beans, however, remain central to agricultural production because of their cultural and nutritional importance.

When coffee prices plummeted in 2000, producing more basic grains was one of the ways that Central American farmers coped with food insecurity. Peasant farmers run out of staple food crops during the thin months, or los meses flacos – the yearly lull with little-to-no income preceding payment for their coffee harvests.

“We realized that planting our own beans and corn is more cost-effective,” explained Leyla Guillén Centeno of Las Grietas, Nicaragua. “On our new plot, we’ll harvest 15 sacks of beans and 20 sacks of corn.” This is enough to get their family through the year. Even though she lost a quarter of her coffee harvest to crop disease, she didn’t have to find other ways to bring in money for groceries.

Hortencia Girón produces coffee in northern Nicaragua near San Juan del Río Coco. “We decided to rent more land to plant beans and corn,” she said. Since she lost 90 percent of her coffee crop, she couldn’t afford to buy more farmland for growing food crops.

Uneven Diversification

Diversification helps farmers face changes in climate or the price fluctuations of the coffee market. Farmers also diversify their income beyond agricultural products: they are weaving, working as day labourers, and running small businesses. Farmers agree that diversifying income streams makes the household more stable in times of drought, price declines, or crop disease.

Even with its benefits, diversification doesn’t reach enough campesinos – peasant farmers – in the region. Home garden programs funded by NGOs, government-distributed seed and cooperative-level organic fertilizer trainings, for example, aren’t available everywhere. Rural agricultural development is uneven. Some farmers are not members of a cooperative, or they simply may be too remote for services to reach them on a regular basis. These are just some of the structural factors that make a farmers’ food security uncertain.

Recent research in Honduras, Nicaragua and Haiti reports that farmers need to diversify their risk, which will take a holistic approach to development. Diversification of agricultural goods needs to be supported by developing farmer agency, gender equity and social support networks. Crop diversification is important, but it is only a part of the solution.

When diversification does catch on, farmland can be as bountiful and efficient as the Camposecos’ plots in the misty highlands of Guatemala: avocado, papaya and banana trees tower over the coffee bushes. Bees silently pollinate anything in bloom. The family stands over a box of honeycomb in the early evening sun, chewing on the wax and extracting the silky sweet honey as a pre-dinner snack.

Once a week, Sánchez catches five fresh tilapia, then guts and fries them for the evening meal. “We can’t control nature,” she said. “We don’t own it. But hopefully this year there’s good weather.”

Anika Rice is a National Geographic Young Explorer, researcher and geographer who is studying agroecology in Central America and the United States. After earning her undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley in 2014, she worked on an organic herbal medicine farm, started a feminist agroecology podcast, and travelled in Latin America interviewing farmers.

The post We Don’t Own Nature: Coffee Producers and Diversification appeared first on Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.