May 2012

May 2012 Vol. XXV No. 5

www.CoffeeTalk.com

“Kick the Can”­ – Coffee Packaging Innovations page 10

This Month: 16

Conveyors in the Roasterie

18

Tea Trends 2012

20

Café Profile – MadCap Coffee Co

22

Roaster Profile – Nossa Familia Coffee

Contents

7

Letters to the Editor

8

The View

8

From Miles & Kerri

Calendar 16 Conveying in the Roasterie

“Kick the Can”­– 10 Coffee Packaging Innovations

by Ashley Prentice

16 Getting from PointB,AC,toDPoint &E

18 Tea Trends 2012

by Rocky Rhodes

18

Six Notable Specialty Tea Trends for 2012

by Kim Jage

20

Retailer Profile – MadCap Coffee

22

Roaster Profile – Nossa Familia Coffee

24

Rocky Rhodes

22 Nossa Familia Coffee

Who We are Owners

CEO/Publisher/Advertising Director Kerri Goodman-Small, ext 1 | 877.426.6410 | 206.795.4471 kerri@coffeetalk.com Editor-in-Chief Miles Small, ext 2 | 206.795.2835 miles@coffeetalk.com

International Development

26 29

Newsbites

Rocky Rhodes, 818.347.1378 rocky@coffeetalk.com Bill Kaprelian, ext 7 bill@coffeetalk.com

Design

Advertiser Index

Print Design Marcus Fellbaum, ext 5 marcus@coffeetalk.com Web Design Justin Goodman, ext 6 justin@coffeetalk.com

Administrative

Administrative Director, Accounting, Subscriptions Ashley Prentice, ext 4 ashley@coffeetalk.com

Feature

4

“Kick the Can”­– Coffee Packaging Innovations

Mailing Info

Mail: HNCT, LLC, 25525 77th Ave SW Vashon, WA 98070 Phone: 206.686.7378 Fax: 866.373.0392 Web: www.coffeetalk.com

Disclaimer CoffeeTalk does not assume the responsibility for validity of claims made for advertised products and services. We reserve the

right to reject any advertising. Although we support copyrights and trademarks, we generally do not include copyright and trademark symbols in our news stories and columns.

Circulation: CoffeeTalk (ISSN 1084-2551) is mailed monthly (10 times per year) with combined June/July and November/ December issues, also bonus mailing/distribution for Education Guides and foodservice/hospitality and coffee conventions/shows throughout the year.

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Copyright © 2012, HNCT, LLC, All Rights Reserved

May 2012

There’s a fresh crop every year.

Sip and savor new teas from around the world. Explore new products that enhance the experience. Celebrating 10 years as the premier event for specialty tea, the 2012 World Tea Expo will be all new.

Join us and fall for the leaf again.

WWW.WORLDTEAEXPO.COM • (702) 253 1893 JUNE 1-3, 2012 • LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER

Letters to the Editor Passage of HB 280 is Important for Hawaii Coffee Industry

Coffee is one of Hawaii’s signature products. The legendary Kona origin has been part of the mystique of Hawaii for nearly 200 years. High-quality Hawaiian coffee is a unique export crop in that it is almost exclusively grown on small family farms that help to support resilient rural communities. However, the very success of Hawaii’s coffee has led to problems of counterfeiting that the coffee industry must address in order to protect the integrity of Hawaiian coffee in a global marketplace.

HB280 seeks to repeal mandatory coffee certification for quality standards while giving Hawaii’s valuable coffee origins more protection.

Deep budget cuts in 2009 set Hawaii’s Department of Agriculture on its heels, shrinking the department’s budget by 19%. Numerous positions were eliminated, including coffee inspectors. With the loss of all but one inspector position in Kona, the viability of the inspection service was crippled. This year’s growing season has been marked by increasing delays for inspection and certification. Coupled with impacts from Coffee Berry Borer, severe drought, and rising shipping costs, the coffee industry has reached a tipping point. Delays of up to four weeks hurt the industry, crimping cash flows to farmers and producers alike, strangling commerce.

The certification process has become a restrictive bottleneck, damaging the industry it was intended to protect. Inspector positions have not been restored notwithstanding industry efforts. The pain will continue if a remedy is not found. Our primary competition is not within our borders, but overseas where our wage and benefit burdens don’t exist. Long delays combined with relatively high production and shipping costs combine to make one of Hawaii’s signature crops less competitive in the global marketplace. Clearly a change is needed.

There are two aspects of coffee certification that inspections address: minimum quality standards and origin. Currently, in order to sell coffee as of Hawaiian origin, minimum quality standards must be met. Sophisticated buyers who pay the prices that Hawaiian coffees command typically request samples in advance. These samples are evaluated to a much higher standard than HDOA’s standards by panels of highly skilled, accredited cuppers with discerning palates. The ultimate arbiter of quality is the buyer. If coffee buyers are not demanding minimum quality certification by HDOA, HB280 will make quality certification voluntary. If they are, it would continue to be available on a fee-for-service basis.

www.daterracoffee.com.br

Secondly is certification for origin. This inspection helps ensure that the coffee is accurately represented by the seller with respect to where it is grown. Maximum penalties are currently up to a $1,000 fine and up to one year in prison, or both, and enforcement lies with HDOA. These penalties are not having the necessary deterrent effect. A fine of $1,000 is less than the value of a single bag of quality Hawaiian green coffee and HDOA has never put anyone in jail.

Passage of HB280 would make false labeling (counterfeiting) of Hawaii-grown coffee a felony punishable by a $10,000 fine and up to five years in prison. The bill provides for enhanced record keeping and reporting and gives law enforcement statutory authority to enforce the laws. HB280 gives Hawaii’s valuable coffee origins more protection than they have ever had before; certainly more than what exists today. The ability for producers to opt out of minimum quality certification will reduce HDOA’s workload, eliminate delays, and help rural locations that have been historically underserved by inspectors.

It’s important to note that Hawaii’s current certification rules do not regulate roasted coffee nor any coffee not moved out of the growing region. If the market can voluntarily regulate quality in these trading environments, the same is true at other levels.

While much of Hawaii’s coffee is produced on small family farms, large scale production is also found on plantations located on Maui, Kauai, Molokai and Oahu. Given this diverse spectrum of producers, it’s uncommon when such a broad array of stakeholders agrees upon any issue. This is one of those landmark occasions when growers and producers, large and small, government, and law enforcement agree on a solution.

HB 280 is less costly, improves Hawaii’s competiveness, helps rural underserved locations and protects Hawaii’s valuable origins better than ever before.

That sounds like a change for the better.

Chris Manfredi, Ka’u Farm Bureau This opinion is endorsed by the collective membership of the Hawaii Coffee Association, Kona Coffee Council, Hawaii Coffee Growers Association, and the Maui Coffee Association

7

The View Well…Duh!

W

e have now turned the corner on the first round of industry tradeshows. Starting with Coffee Fest – NY, through the National Coffee Association, The SCAA, and the NAMA OneShow we have been bombarded with new ideas and information. In truth, much of what we think about over the coming year is either directly or indirectly a result of something we found out during these shows. Every now and then there is one of those “Well...Duh!” moments when I see something that has been right in front of me for years – something obvious that I finally caught on to.

I have a little philosophy about learning and age, when we folks of a certain age can no longer remember things from ‘the ago’, we often find this worrisome; not me! Instead, I think that in my middle age, my brain is finally dumping all those black or white “absolutes” that so define the fragile pride and self-esteem of those folks starting on the path across the clearing called ‘a career.’ Whereas before I was determined to design my world and businesses around the things I was certain I knew, now I strive to explore and design my future, and the future of our businesses, using tools and ideas that I have discovered which I never knew existed.

So, I shouldn’t be too surprised when, in a conversation at the Cafe de Costa Rica SCAA booth with Mario Arroyo, I was caught completely off guard by an idea within a system I thought I pretty much knew completely - the Costa Rican Law Number 2762 enacted in 1933 that ensures fair pricing for coffee along the entire in-country supply chain. The part that surprised me was so obvious that it was truly a ‘duh’ moment. Every mill, regardless of size, has a metal box called a fanega into which the growers pour their cherries, instead of weighing their bags as in most countries.

Farmers are paid by the number of fanegas they deliver the mill.

One of Mario’s presentation slides happened to show the difference in

volume between fully ripe cherries, mixed ripe and unripe, and all unripe.

The difference in volume was amazing. Then it hit me, the fanega system in Costa Rica was able to reward quality with a clear and quantifiable method - the more fully ripe coffee a farmer brought to the mill, the more fanegas he filled and the more money he made. Farmers who are not as careful and have a lot of unripe cherries make substantially less money for the same (approximately) weight because they fill fewer fanegas!

Brilliant! Such a simple and elegant method of incentivizing farmers to focus on quality. What a great way to reward care in picking and handling - cash.

So, my next question obviously was...why is Costa Rica the only country that requires the use of fanegas by government mandate and penalty of law?

I think that the answer touches the ugly dark grey area of sustainability. Any effort to develop a sustainable economic system in the coffee lands inevitably requires that farmers be paid more. As the President of Honduras said in Portland at the SCAA, ensuring that farmers are paid more for their coffee distributes much needed cash across a wide spectrum of rural communities and the small businesses that serve them. More cash for farmers means greater prosperity in underserved rural communities around the world.

Coffee is unique as a consumed product because of the extraordinarily wide universe of beneficiaries who financially depend on the price of coffee for survival.

True sustainability cannot be achieved without the unambiguous determination on the part of consuming countries to pay more for coffee at the farm level. As long as the only skin in the game is money, then the buyers will never allow a system such as exists in Costa Rica to become universal. When trader companies believe that there is more to business than the economic bottom line alone, then and only then, will a truly sustainable business system be possible.

It all seems so obvious.

Cheers,

Calendar

8

May 4-6

International Coffee Expo - Melbourne, Australia

June 8-10

Coffee Fest - Chicago, IL

May 4-6

AASCA Coffee Championships - Melbourne, Australia

June 12-15

SCAE - World of Coffee Exhibition and World Barista Championship - Vienna, Austria

May 5-8

National Restaurant Association Show - Chicago, IL

June 17-19

Fancy Food Show - Washington, D.C.

May 7-11

2012 Guatemala Cup of Excellence Competition - Guatemala

June 21

Cup of Excellence Live Auction - El Salvador

May 10-12

Green Coffee Association 2012 Convention - Atlantic City, NJ

June 24-25

Southwest Foodservice Expo - Dallas, TX

June 1-3

World Tea Expo - Las Vegas, NV

June 26

Cup of Excellence Live Auction - Nicaragua

June 8-10

Latte Art Championship - Chicago, IL

July 3

Cup of Excellence Live Auction - Costa Rica

May 2012

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“Kick the Can” – Coffee Packaging Innovations How to Select the Right Kind of Packaging for your Coffee

by Ashley Prentice

R

oasters meticulously select the green beans and then carefully roast them to bring out the aromas and flavors, so that ultimately their customers can enjoy a perfect cup of coffee. However, as we all know, these properties degrade over time. Oxygen and moisture affect the quality of roasted coffee, and after a couple weeks, your masterful creation will become stale. For this reason, selecting the right kind of packaging can guarantee that your customer will get a high quality product. However, with the plethora of packaging options out there, what type of packaging should you select? And what are the best practices and methods involved in the selection and labeling of packaging?

Why Packaging Matters

According to Mark Howley, Chairman and CEO of PBi (Pacific Bag) “Coffee is adversely affected by oxidative rancidity. It is generally believed coffee taste will degrade within 10-14 days after roasting if coffee is exposed to oxygen.

Packaging has a huge impact or effect on quality if distribution time extends beyond a week or so.” In addition, Guy Wray, Marketing Manager at MOCON Inc. says “Launch a product without adequate packaging and you’ll see the permeation of water vapor and/or oxygen in or out of the package, and that can rob the product of flavor, color, and taste. In this case the product fails, not because it wasn’t a good, but because it was poorly packaged and had too short a shelf life.”

“The selection of the proper barrier packaging for the expected shelf-life is critical since the flavors can be lost by using the wrong type of packaging” Says Robert Pocius president of TekPak. So the first and probably most important factor you should determine with your supplier is the barrier level of the packaging (from oxygen and moisture).

Types of Packaging

There are various packaging styles to select from: Bags; metal cans; glass jars; and in the past couple of years we have seen the rise in demand for the single serve, and in correspondence the packaging for it. In the bag section, the main styles are: Stand out pouch, Paper tin tie, Side gusseted bag, or Quad seal bag.

When selecting the type of packaging you want to use it is important to take the following factors into consideration: Barrier level; resistance of the material so that it can endure any shipping and handling; protection from external odors; heat seal strength; and FDA approval of the packaging.

According to Joy Weedon, Sales and Marketing Manager for Pack Plus Converting “If you are packaging freshly roasted coffee, you definitely need to go with a foil bag with a one-way degassing valve to extend the shelf life and allow the roasted coffee to de-gas. Unlike a tin tie paper bag, a foil bag can be heat-sealed making it air tight and tamper proof.” In addition, Jeffrey Teich, Vice President, of North Atlantic Specialty Bag says, “A multi-layer structure, as well as the use of a one way degassing valve, will give coffee the freshest flavor.”

Another important factor to consider when selecting packaging is flavored coffee. “Some ingredients in flavored coffees can affect package integrity, so it is important to select packaging that is particularly designed to handle these products” says Heather Beaubien, Sales Manager at Printpack, Inc. In order to get optimal results, it is essential to communicate to your suppliers all the aspects regarding your coffee, and the goals and expectations you have for your product.

10

Depending on the size and quantity of your production, you might decide to automate the packaging process. As your company grows, you may want to consider automating parts of this process if you are seeking to increase output by 2 to 3 times. According to Bob Kelly, President of General Packaging Equipment Co. “As a packaging machinery manufacturer our task is to

supply equipment that will form fill seal packages reliably.

That is, the machines will run with a minimum of attention, accurately meter the product into the packages and make attractive packages with seals that do not leak.”

Finally, for the testing and analysis of your packaging, “Use MOCON’s MultiCheck system to reduce your package testing costs by using just one package to cover all 4 tests” says Guy Wray, Marketing Manager at MOCON Inc. This is a great way to avoid distribution of inadequately packaged coffee.

De-gassing Coffee

After roasting, coffee releases CO2, up to 1000 cc per pound.

Fresh whole beans will release gases for several weeks after roasting. While many Roasters might allow their coffee to de-gas in storage by letting it sit for 72-hours before packaging, valves allow you to package your roasted coffee right away. The main purpose of a valve, such as the one-way degassing valve, is to allow these gases to escape, without allowing any external gases, such as oxygen, to come in. According to Nick Greco, Business Development Manager, at Avery Dennison Designed and Engineered Solutions “The Avery Dennison Flexis™ Air for Coffee valve, for example, helps eliminates the bricking effect that occurs when packaged coffee travels over high elevations, such as the Rocky Mountains.”

On the other hand, Modified Atmospheric Packaging (M.A.P.), refers to a Roaster who within a few hours of roasting, evacuates the bag of all oxygen, and flushes it with inert gas such as nitrogen (to fill the voids that used to be taken up by air), and then thermally seals the bag. This is all done by specialized food-processing equipment.

Packaging As a Marketing Tool

As a roaster you may not have a huge budget, if any, set up for marketing and promotional purposes. Therefore, packaging becomes your primary medium of communication with your customers, and can play fundamental role in how you get your message across. “Use packaging as your billboard to get the message out about your product” Says Teich. In addition, Joy Weedon says, “A great shelf appeal gets you that first purchase and hopefully the great coffee inside cements a repeat purchase.”

Thickness measurements

MIl - 1 mil = 1/1,000 inch = 0.001 inch Gage - 1 ga = 1/100,000 inch = 0.00001 inch Pacific Bag, SCAA Packaging: 201

Flexible Packaging Materials •

Polyester (PET) - Clear tough, abrasion resistant, printable, temperature resistant, moisture resistant.

•

Aluminum Foil (Foil) - The best oxygen and moisture barrier, silver color.

•

Metallized Polyester (Met Pet) - Vacuum metabolized for oxygen and moisture barrier.

•

Polyethylene (PE) - Seal layer, bulk, moisture barrier - LLDPE, LDPE.

•

EZO or Easy Open - Blend of OE and something that doesn’t seal PE for peel seal, bulk, moisture barrier.

•

Biaxially Oriented Nylon (BON) - Puncture resistant, tear resistant, chemical barrier, medium oxygen barrier.

Pacific Bag, SCAA Packaging: 201 continued on page 12

May 2012

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Packaging

continued from page 10 According to Rodrigo Sanchez, Vice President of Masipack “’There is no second chance to make a first good impression,’ so choosing the right labeling for your product is an important step to take into consideration.” When selecting the colors, message, images, material, etc. for or your packaging, ask yourself, what message do you want to communicate to your customer?

What do you want people to perceive from your coffee? “The quality of the coffee can also be equated with the quality of the visuals - high quality graphics indicate to a consumer that there is a high quality product inside” says Beaubien.

There are many creative ways you can market your brand through your packaging, Beaubien from print pack suggests: “2-D scan codes, which consumers can scan with their smartphones for more information. This adds an extra dimension of experience for the consumer that can lead to repeat purchases.” In addition, Chris Burger, Coffee Market Manager at Fres-co System USA, Inc. adds, “It is easy to integrate promotions, and connect with your consumers through social media beyond the cup of coffee; and get their feedback to improve your product, package, service, and gain insight from your consumers.” Find ways to be creative with your packaging, and make sure to engage your customers as part of your branding strategy.

When labeling, Burger suggest taking into consideration “The guidelines and requirements established in the market by regulatory organizations.” In addition he also recommends the usage of “High quality printing that will allow the coffee producers or roasters to communicate their brand identity.

Printing up to ten colors in rotogravure, using lacquer finishing, and adding reverse printing, gives them the opportunity to transform their packaging in a great marketing tool.” However, the CEO of PBi comments on the fact that many small roasters cannot afford the cost of custom printed packaging “A 12oz. custom printed bag typically requires a minimum run of approximately 20,000-25,000 bags and artwork/set up costs… The solution for the smaller roaster is to use a pressure sensitive label applied to one of the solid color stock bags sold in single case quantity (i.e. 500-1000 bags)” says Howley.

Gorsich, Director of Marketing at LBP Manufacturing says, “Packaging has a lifecycle – manufacturers and operators should be aware of raw materials sourcing, manufacturing processes, and disposal.” Robert Pocius from TekPak Solutions recommends, “Using a Packaging that is verifiably Home Compostable and Biodegradable in Landfills, Forests, Rivers, Lakes and Oceans, this will show the customers that the Roaster is concerned about the health of the Planet.”

Various innovations and technologies are continuously being developed in the Packaging world, “The recent development of the Biotre® lamination by PBi received the Best New Product – Packaging award at SCAA 2012. Biotre allows coffee roasters the first opportunity to protect their coffee while also preserving the environment. It’s a great step forward!” Says Howley.

In a recent session at the SCAA in Portland, Packaging 201, Bill Walters from PBi discussed some of the trends he sees in packaging. He mentioned the rise in use of the Block Bottom Bag (BBB), which is a solid bottom bag that allows the package to stack well. Furthermore, Walters mentioned the increasing awareness of the importance of adequately packaging green beans, and the recognition of Vacuum seal packaging for Green Beans, specifically in the Specialty Coffee Market.

Selecting the perfect packaging will allow you to add value to your product.

The right kind of packaging should extend the shelf life of your product, preserve the quality, and deliver freshly roasted coffee to your customer. A qualified supplier should be able to adequately answer your questions, and direct you to choose the packaging that will best meet your goals and needs.

Moreover, make sure you are using your packaging as a marketing tool, as it might be the only way you are reaching your customer. Do not risk the integrity of your product by failing to select the right kind of packaging.

Resource Guide to Packaging Fres-co System USA, Inc. www.fresco.com 215.721.4600

Your packaging should tell consumers the story of the coffee inside. Where is it from? Is it organic, Fair Trade, or Direct Trade? Is a customer indirectly supporting a cause buy purchasing your coffee? Consumers like to know what is behind the product they are consuming. Make sure to maximize your billboard space through your packaging, since this might be the only way you are reaching a customer.

General Packaging Equipment Co. www.generalpackaging.com 713.686.4331 LBP Manufacturing www.lbpmfg.com 800.545.6200 Masipack/Fabrima www.masipack.com

Trends

Sustainability and earth-friendly practices have been a popular topic in the past years, and this mentality is here to stay. “In today’s world that is a major factor to consider because we need to think about the future generations and not only about what benefits us now” says Sanchez. In correlation, Sherry

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877.827.5270 Pacific Bag, Inc. www.pacificbag.com

Finally, a lid that will help avoid unintentional spills. It is happening daily at coffee shops and restaurants where coffee spills on the counter, floor, or even worse… on the customer. Many times the cause of these spillages is that the lids are not secured on the cup properly. And while spills can be bothersome and inconvenient, in some cases they can be dangerous.

The uVu™ Lid provides a safer and more secure customer coffee drinking experience than any other lid in the market today. The lid contains several patented and patent pending features, which visually, audibly, and tactilely confirm a firm fit and seal on a beverage cup. Patented visual cues or slots immediately show a consumer or retail employee/barista whether the lid is seated on the cup. If the lip of the cup is present and viewable through all four slots, the lid is securely seated and ready to use. If any of the slots are left exposed with no cup lip showing, the customer or retail employee/barista is immediately prompted to press down on that exposed point thereby sealing the lid. These particular interference points differ from conventional “plug fit lids” which require countervailing sealing points from the outside of the lid as well as the inside. It amounts to a firmer seal, yet allows the lid to be removed relatively easily when the customer wishes to add condiments (such as sugar, cinnamon, etc.) to the hot beverage.

909.902.9929 Printpack Inc. www.printpack.com 404.460.7000 Sixto Packaging www.sixtopack.com 305.662.7144 TekPak Solutions www.tekpaksolutions.com 416.505.3839 continued on page 14

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12

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Packaging

continued from page 12

Flexible Packaging for Coffee: The Eco-Friendly Option

By Felipe E. Sixto Director of Sales & Marketing; Sixto Packaging The evolution of packaging has significantly affected the way many products are processed, packaged, transported, and ultimately sold on store shelves.

One area within the broader retail food/beverage sector that has benefited from the extensive packaging options available is the coffee market. Advances in high barrier materials have allowed many coffee roasters to extend the shelf life of their products, use high graphic eye catching designs, reduce their carbon foot print, all the while saving considerable money.

The energy savings equivalent of changing all steel coffee cans to flexible packaging is more than 17,200,000 gallons of gasoline per year. That is without taking into account the fact that flexible packaging is lightweight and uses 20% less space in shipping further reducing transportation emissions. Flexible packaging is also resource efficient, having a product weight to packaging ration of nearly 29:1 compared to 3:1 to metal cans with a plastic lid and 5:1 for a plastic container with a lid.

Flexible packaging, often criticized, decried, and outright attacked, is in fact a victim of disinformation. Flexible packaging in fact offers significant value and sustainability benefits to product manufacturers, retailers, and consumers that are often overlooked. The majority of the benefits actually come from the reduced environmental impact of using less material and resources to produce.

Even though the environmental benefits of flexible packaging is evident over the use of rigid containers in many food and beverage sectors, the flexible packaging industry is investing heavily in research and development of bioplastics which are either biodegradable or composed of biological materials or both. Furthermore, the American Chemistry Council recently created a new Flexible Film Recycling Group, whose focus will be to try to improve the recycling rate of plastic films, particularly, high barrier laminates like those used in coffee packaging. Upcycling partnerships with companies like TerraCycle often result in significant reduction of flexible packaging waste ending up in the landfill.

According to “A Study of Packaging Efficiency as it Relates to Waste Prevention” by Franklin Associates, producing a typical 12oz flexible packaging coffee pack produces 69% less greenhouse gas emissions than an 11.5oz steel coffee can. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that the production of the flexible packaging delivers a 50% reduction in BTU consumption and a 71% reduction in overall solid waste. Moreover, the February 2007, “Coffee Conundrum” case study by The ULS Report, found that a typical flexible packaging coffee brick pack reduces the weight of waste to landfill by 72% vs. metal cans even taking the recycling rates of cans into account.

In a Packaging & Technology Integrated Solutions, LLC study, cradle-to-grave life cycle consumption and CO2 emissions data was compared between an 11.5 oz (product weight) metal can with a plastic lid, plastic container with a lid, and a flexible packaging bag. Whereas the metal and plastic containers energy consumption MJ/11.5oz ratio is 4.21 and 5.18 respectfully, the flexible packaging bag’s ratio is 1.14. Furthermore, emissions KG CO2 e/11.5oz was estimated at 0.33, 0.17, and 0.04 respectively.

When a coffee roaster takes into account the environmental benefits listed above, the significant cost differential between flexible packaging and rigid containers, and the diverse packaging options for packaging coffee including roll stock for automated machines, zippered stand up pouches, gusseted premade bags with and without degassing valves; Flexible packaging should be the clear choice.

Sixto Packaging is a family owned and operated flexible packaging convertor.

They specialize in high barrier packaging for the snack food, coffee, and pet food industries.

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Getting from Point A to Point B, C, D & E

by Rocky Rhodes

H

ow often have we heard that, “The shortest distance between two points is a straight line”? But in coffee we ask, “What is the gentlest way we can get from point to point?” We move tons of coffee in our shops no matter how big or small. It is just a scale of tons that determine the method to be used.

Initial Investment

In specialty coffee, we are concerned about coffee’s physical appearance as well as cup quality. Certain convey systems like bucket elevators, and load systems that drop from tall heights can cause a lot of broken beans and affect the appearance of the coffee. While this might not affect cup quality Jeremy Raths of The Roastery in MN says, “Broken beans shows a lack of caring for quality.” Darryl Blunk of Apffels Coffee points out that some pneumatic conveyors can release a lot of the volatiles of coffee, especially ground coffee so another method is preferable.

We’re lucky we have roasters to listen to – they’ve told us what’s important to them – gentle conveying + low breakage rates = happy customers – they’re referring to their customers of course! But we recognize a bit of pride in the processes they’ve nailed down in-house.

This article will explore the problems that need to be solved in moving product in a coffee plant. When you think it through there are a dozen places or more that you have to move the product. The next logical step then is exploring solutions to the problem by different conveyance systems.

No matter what the scale of your shop, you have to move product for the same reasons. This chart shows the basic flow of coffee from green to shipping in a coffee plant. As a plant operator you will make conveyance decisions based on the following criteria:

Effect on coffee quality

Choosing a system based on your size, and scalability for forecasted growth is important. I had a small roasting plant.

I used the ‘Rocky-vey’ system and it worked for me. I lost weight and did not need big expensive equipment. I would probably use a different system next time because it cost me in time. That was time I could have used to grow my business.

A different approach was taken by Apffels coffee when building a new roasting facility for their nearly 100 year old roasting company. “We wanted to control dust, reduce labor, have flexibility, speed and a system that would not harm the quality of the coffee,” said Darryl Blunk, CEO. They installed a versatile Cablevey system to transport coffee from the multiple production stations. “From the time we open the bags of green coffee until it leaves the shipping dock, the coffee is never touched by human hands.” Says Blunk.

Karl Seidel, Marketing Manager Cablevey Conveyors

It would be awesome to start an operation completely scaled for your business over the next 10 years and have unlimited funds to put in the ‘perfect plant.’ But in the real world we start up, chase the business, grow, and make plant decisions based on where we are and where we think we might grow. This can lead to an interesting selection of different systems.

Operating Cost

Running the convey systems requires manpower and energy consumption. The best system is one that requires the least amount of manpower and the least amount of energy to run. If you still have to manually feed a convey system then you only save the manpower of the actual transport. It is better to also automate the feeding of the convey system. As far as energy goes, it comes down to how many motors and how much horsepower is required to run them.

With today’s energy prices, that can be a huge operational consideration.

Jeff Dudas, CEO of Spiroflow Systems Inc. has to deal with all sorts of products that need conveying besides coffee. All plants however express similar needs. “One of the big requests we get is to reduce dust in production.” Spiroflow Systems continues to work on their cable pull system to machine the puck size to minimize dust. These systems also have dust collection areas to help in that regard.

Spiroflow Systems also created a ‘super sack’ loader that continuously limits the fall height of product to eliminate both dust and breakage of beans and thereby maintaining the quality appearance of the coffee.

So, consider your options carefully when building upon your plant’s equipment and layout. There are lots of ways to get from Point A to Point B, but hopefully you have a basis to at least start to make an informed decision.

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Reliability

When your plant relies on convey systems to do the work of strong backs, it is important that the machine operates without down time. Most plants have to come to a screeching halt if a convey system anywhere in the plant fails because everything backs up. You will also probably no longer have the manpower in place to do the work that the convey system does. So having the systems vigorously maintained is crucial for long-term success.

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Phone: (877) 333-MASI • (863) 644-3900 E-mail: coffee@masipack.com

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May 2012

Six Notable Specialty Tea Trends for 2012 From Quality Tea and Matcha Lattes to Tea-enhancing Wares and Cold Brew Green Tea, These Are Some of the Hot Retail Developments That Will Be Covered at World Tea Expo, June 1 – 3.

by Kim Jage

A

t World Tea Expo, we always strive to stay one step ahead of emerging trends, so we can deliver a relevant event to participants that fuels business growth. Accordingly, we’re pinpointing quality tea, growth in tea retail, cold brew green tea, green tea popularity, Matcha lattes and tea-enhancing wares as six of the key tea trends for 2012.

World Tea Expo, the largest and most prominent B2B event for the industry, is taking place June 1 – 3 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and all of these trends will be covered – as well as numerous other hot topics. At the event, attendees can: taste cold-brewed green tea and the latest Japanese Matcha lattes; gain current knowledge regarding tea retail growth, supply chain transparency and FDA regulations; learn how to capitalize on tasting trends; and taste for themselves whether or not the newest tea ware on the market does in fact enhance the flavor of tea.

Trend No. 1. – Quality Tea on the Rise The tea industry is educating tea consumers about quality, thus improving their palate and desire for better tea. We’re still a bit behind here, but many retailers and manufacturers are making progress, and consumers are increasingly looking to buy better teas; they want to know what makes certain teas high quality rather than relying on the manufacturer’s word or enticing packaging. At the same time, industry members continue to discuss and ask one another, “How do we internally define quality,” and that is great. We are scrutinizing our own product; we are asking what Fair Trade really means; and we are asking if products calling themselves readyto-drink [RTD] tea should contain a minimum of tea total dissolved solids, or if tea-flavored sugar water should be allowed to call itself tea. We are also seeing big tea buyers take notice of the high-quality winning teas from the North American Tea Championship, a professionally judged tea competition. A win here means that a third party professional has assessed quality, and that is making a significant difference for manufacturers when closing major deals.

Trend No. 2. – Tea Retail Continues its Upward Trend The tea retail trend hit a nice stride in 2011, and it will continue to move up quickly in 2012. Last year, for example, tea retailer Teavana launched its IPO and Canadianbased DavidsTea opened two retail stores in N.Y.C., adding to its line-up of 69 locations. Most recently, Teavana acquired Canadian –based, Teaopia which has 46 stores. And Starbucks Coffee Company hired tea-retail expert Charles Cain as its new vice president for Tazo tea merchants and operations, which leads to much speculation regarding Starbucks’ plans to launch tea retail outlets. At World Tea Expo, the industry is set to discuss the future growth of tea retail – and what will happen in 2012 – in a session called “Will Tea Ever Be as Big as Coffee?” Right now, in the United States, there are currently more than 25,000 coffeehouses and around 3,500 tea retail locations.

Trend No. 3. – Green Tea Grows in Popularity Green tea is moving ahead of flavored and blended herbal teas, in terms of popularity.

No doubt due to its association with health and the preferences of ageing Baby Boomers and conscious Millennials, green tea is experiencing a growing consumer base, and that will continue this year. According to Packaged Facts’ Tea and Ready-toDrink Tea in the U.S., 4th Edition, green tea is currently the No. 2 top flavor for U.S. tea product introductions (the No. 1 spot is blended teas). Among households purchasing loose leaf tea, green tea edges out herbal and fruit/spice teas with black tea as No. 1.

The study notes that green tea is the No. 1 selected specialty tea product selected by customers at restaurants and retail establishments.

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Trend No. 4. – Tea-enhancing Tea Wares Glassware maker Reidel creates some of the finest wine glasses and decanters, and it’s said that these special glasses make a significant difference in the taste of vino, bringing out the depth, flavor and balance. And now, as the general populous continues to build a sophisticated palate, innovators are emerging and looking at ways they can enhance the tea drinking experience on a more sophisticated level. In fact,

one stellar example of tea-enhancing tea ware is the 2012 World Tea Expo Best New Product Award winner 1660 London, for its 1660 Tasting Cups. The company won the top prize in the category of Tea Ware. These cups are each shaped to enhance the drinking experience of green, black, and fragrant teas.

Trend No. 5. - Cold Brew Green Tea Cold brew green tea is expected to be big in 2012. Last year, Japanese manufacturer Yamashiro Bussan Company launched the first cold brew green tea at World Tea Expo. This year, branded cold-brew green tea takes the stage, including Swirl Tea,

by Breezy Springs LLC. Breezy Spring products are already sold in Whole Foods Markets and Publix Supermarkets, to name a few. Swirl is a trendy new concept that combines premium green tea with convenience. Its unique, slender tea bag goes into a water bottle for brewing anywhere. It also uses all natural ingredients, is naturally decaffeinated, zero calories, and contains no sugar or gluten. We predict that with Swirl Tea’s cold-brewed green tea on grocery store shelves, there will be a larger consumer base and awareness for this product category in 2012. Imagine the delight consumers will have when they realize they can enjoy green tea without worrying about over-steeping it or water temperatures causing the tea to taste like burnt grass.

Swirl Green Tea – Cold-Brewed On The Go!, by Breezy Spring LLC, won a 2012 World Tea Expo Best New Product Award in the category of Tea as an Ingredient.

Trend No. 6. – Matcha Lattes (Real Ones) Unlike the poor quality Matcha lattes that have “crashed and burned” in the past, there are now superb product offerings in the market. All of these use real and highquality Japanese Matcha, blended with minimal sugar but packed with flavor, such as AIYA America’s Matcha Zen Café Blend. Matcha lattes are already wildly selling in Canadian foodservice establishments, and we suspect the time has come for American restaurants to catch on in 2012. They are easy to make, require no additional equipment, taste delicious and are packed with the nutritional benefits of Matcha.

They’re certainly a wonderful alternative to over-roasted coffee after a lovely dinner.

Tea Growth in 2012 & Beyond On the whole, tea continues to grow in the marketplace, and many companies – like 2012 World Tea Expo exhibitor finum by Riensch & Held – are nurturing an urban tea culture, where consumers are discovering full-leaf specialty teas. finum offers a range of products, including stylish drink ware in combination with unique filtering components for tea. The company agrees that more young people are drinking tea because they like it, because it suits their image, because it fits into their life style.

“They are of course health conscious,” says Christian Justus, CEO of finum, “and tea must blend into their social and ecologic environment – in the office, at a party on the street.” The company is trying to make it easier to prepare good, high quality tea to the standard that the Chinese and Japanese are accustomed to.

Yes, tea is on the rise. And according to projections from Packaged Facts, in their study Tea and Ready-to-Drink Tea in the U.S., 4th Edition, tea retail market growth will edge up from approximately 6.6 percent in 2012 to 8.7 percent in 2014, reaching $8.3 billion in that year. World Tea Expo presenter David Sprinkle, research director for Packaged Facts, notes, “The horizon for tea indeed looks bright. Factors spurring continued overall growth of the tea market include: the success of refrigerated and RTD tea; the acquisitions of Honest Tea and Sweet Leaf Tea that will continue to expand the distribution channels for these and other organic and specialty brands; the rapid expansion of specialty tea retailers such as Teavana; increased emphasis by Starbucks and other coffeehouses on their tea offerings; the sustained promotion of tea by the big restaurant chains, led by McDonald’s; the proliferation of tea rooms and other tea offerings at foodservice; the continued recognition by consumers of tea’s healthy properties and their switch to tea from carbonated soft drinks.” Sprinkle will present, “Understanding the Retail Shopper of Tea Products” Saturday, at World Tea Expo.

Kim Jage is the sales and marketing director, World Tea Media, a division of F+W Media. To learn more about these trends and other hot tea topics, register for World Tea Expo at www.WorldTeaExpo.com.

May 2012

Retailer Profile: Mad “Cap” of Coffee

by Maxim Vershinin MadCap Coffee Company 98 Monroe Center NW Grand Rapids, MI 49503. www.madcapcoffee.com info@madcapcoffee.com

S

up guys! Good times at SCAA in Portland, no? If you were there, maybe you got a chance to meet up with Ryan Knapp, the co-owner of MadCap Coffee Company in Grand Rapids, MI. This 26-year old is pretty remarkable; his roastery/cafe is one of the most succesful ones in Michigan, his roasting skills create buzz around his many wholesale customers on the East Coast, and his barista dexterities knock female customers off their feet. I had an opportunity to interview the guy and here is what came out from our conversation: V. Hi Ryan! Traditional question brother, how did you dip your feet in coffee?

K. Hi Max! About 5 years ago, I was finishing up college and had no idea what to do with my Theology degree. About that time, I made a trip to East Africa, mostly Uganda and a little bit of Rwanda. I guess I was kind of inspired by how much of an effect coffee could have on countries’ economies and Rwanda specifically, which experienced so much of this during the last couple of decades. Coffee has been its number one export commodity, so on that side of things I was really intrigued by it. And then I started working as a barista in this cafe in a small town in Illinois, and had no idea how much coffee would draw me in.

I fell in love with making espresso, and brewing coffee.

Trevor Corlett and I decided to open up MadCap Company together in Grand Rapids, a place where we could deliver the highest level of quality and focus on delicious coffee without cutting corners on any step of the chain.

lot of fancy breweries and restaurants. Sometimes that standard of quality is hard to deliver because it is hard to find somebody who wants it. Specialty coffee isn’t for everyone and not everybody gets excited about it, but that is ok, the more people are excited about it the better (laughs).

V. I have heard that MadCap buys coffee from this sweet farm Finca de Dios, Guatemala. Please tell me about your relationship with it.

K. Quality and relationships are the two things that we are really focused on as a business. We have been buying from Finca de Dios since the first year that we have opened, and we visit it every year. Currently, every coffee that we purchase from them is part of a relationship: we are commited to them - farmers know that we are gonna pay money for their coffee no matter what.

V. What is one of the most effective methods that you have found as far as promoting the public’s interest in specialty coffee?

K. I believe the most succesful method for us has been our Sunday service, where we pair different foods and coffees in a sit down manner. It is not a common cupping experience, it is more closely related to a fine dining experience. Sometimes when you do a cupping format it can be a little intimidating and less sensible for consumers and we want to offer something that is a little more comfortable and unique.

V. Que bueno! What kind of foods do you pair and what has been the general reception from the public?

K. We usually work with local companies to deliver the food to us. The choice varies depending on the service. On our first service we had blueberries, cheese and bisquits. In another one we did chocolate pairings. The main goal is to complement and to highlight the coffees we use.

V. Ah, I see... It could be interesting for some to know why it’s hard to deliver quality coffee in a small town?

K. We were in a super small town, of about 15,000 people maybe, and it is difficult to do coffee with the quality that we wanted to do in such a low traffic area, so we were looking for a bigger city than that. We found Grand Rapids to be an attractive city with a very accepting food culture.

The specialty coffee movement was pretty new in Michigan as a whole in the entire state, so we thought we had a lot to offer, and it has been a great community for us so far.

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As far as the reception it has been really, really good so far. The most exciting part about it is having people coming back during the week after the Sunday service and asking more and more questions about the stuff they learned during it.

V. We are nearing the end of our interview, is there something that you would like to share with our caffeinated audience?

K. Yeah, for sure! I think we have grown so much as an industry that you see more and more roasters that are excited to see great coffees.

However, more than often I find myself talking with other roasters, and they will say I wish I could do something this way, but I am not able to do this because my customers will get mad, or I don’t have any money. For example, they are afraid to buy expensive coffee because they don’t think their customer base will pay 50 cents more for a better coffee, but I think there is a lot that we can do. Get out of the box and don’t be afraid to operate differently!

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Roaster Profile: Seeds to Cup with Nossa Familia Coffee

by Maxim Vershinin

Nossa Familia Coffee Portland, Oregon 97209 www.familyroast.com

B

ooyakasha! I am here with none other than Augusto Dias Carneiro, a Brazilian sixth-generation farm owner, who came to the U.S. back in the 90s to bring his home grown coffee to the market. This is how Nossa Familia, the company that we all know started. I met up with Augusto right before he took a group of yankees to his farm in Brazil to make them work hard for capirinhas, and to show what it takes to produce some “quality” beans.

V. Hi Augusto! I know it is a delicate question, but why did you start bringing Americans to work on your coffee farm? Is it one of the ways to promote your brand?

C. Laughs... It is combined, but primarily it’s for fun. Doing tours is one of the possibilities for me to go to Brazil more often. I guess I have always wanted to show off what my family does, and this is one way of making it come true. This is the 4th time that I am taking a group from the States to Brazil, and it has been a great success.

I thought it would be really fun to showcase what we do in Brazil. With the help of my cousin Gabriel, I brought back 75 pounds of roasted coffee, and got really good feedback here in Portland, so I thought “Wow! Maybe we have something here.”

Later, I was able to make a handshake agreement with my grandpa at the farm, and he allowed me to bring in a whole container under the condition that I would pay my family back in about a year. I think I was able to pay it off in about 14 months, which is just a bit longer, but everybody was happy that it worked. From there on, we grew to what we are today.

V. Did you have somebody roast the beans for you when you started out in America?

C. Sure! A big part of my success was due to having a local partnership with a roaster here in Portland because we didn’t have to acquire all the equipment and roaster “know-how” for many years. We grew the company with our partner roaster for many years, but since last year, however, we roast our own coffee. We have a stateof-the-art Loring roasting machine, so now we

Last year for example, we were harvesting coffee amongst the people at the farm. They wanted to know what these gringos did back home. We had a doctor with us, and the farmers were so shocked and impressed that an American doctor came to harvest coffee along their side. It really makes farmers proud of the work that they do.

V. We all start something, somewhere, sometime.

How did you start your successful business here in the U.S.?

C. I came to study in the U.S. back in 1996 and graduated with a mechanical engineering degree.

It took me three years before I realized that it wasn’t my cup of tea, and started looking for other possibilities. My family has this beautiful coffee farm with this rich tradition of around 120 years, and I grew up around it.

22 May 2012

are pretty much completely a seeds-to-cup coffee company!

V. Oh, ya! I heard about this nice rig that everyone is talking about - Loring. Gimme the details.

C. Yeah, we really really love our Loring. You know Loring was a new piece of equipment at a time, and it wasn’t yet that well known when I started researching what equipment I would put in. However, once I read about how it worked and the engineering behind it - I think maybe because of my engineering background- I fell in love with it instantly. At first glance it appears to cost more than other conventional roasters, but the reality is that it comes with an afterburner, scale, loading cart and elevator, all of which are worth tens of thousands of dollars if you buy them separately: also not to mention the fuel efficiency of the Loring.

So then I needed to know if it roasted coffee well.

So I actually flew down to the plant to see how it was made and where it was made. Then I had some of my green beans roasted in a Loring at a place that had one, and they turned out great. In the end we are extremely happy with our Loring.

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Elegant Stupidity

by Rocky Rhodes

photo: Trish Rothgeb

I

n the market where my company was wholesaling coffee there was an unwritten set of rules with the roasters in the area:

“I guess so, but why have you made it so complicated and collaborative. It kind of seems like you are gaming the market and controlling prices?”

1) We would not actively poach others accounts. There is plenty of business to be had, we didn’t need to hurt each other

And you know what… in a sense that is EXACTLY what our industry does.

And EVERYONE in the quality supply chain wins as a result INCLUDING this customer. This point was reinforced over and over again at the SCAA conference in Portland. We are an entire industry devoted to the concept that QUALITY in coffee is a game changer for the world. It seems that we are more concerned with making coffee better than by competing for business in the conventional sense.

2) If a customer of another roaster reached out to a new roaster, it was fair game. (Usually a courtesy call was made to inform the other roaster that the activity was ‘customer generated’. It was also helpful to find out if the customer was someone to steer away from due to pending bankruptcy or other reasons!)

3) If there was a NEW account we would all compete fiercely and then congratulate the winner. (Often side bets of dinner were placed on who would get the business.)

This code of conduct made us service our accounts tirelessly. It demanded an attention to ever increasing quality. It made us better coffee companies and all of our businesses grew as a result.

When talking with a respected customer, restaurant chain owner, and friend this concept was explained. He was told how the coffee industry supported each other in an effort to make coffee better and in return the ‘rising tide lifted all ships’. That this effort in turn taught customers like him to seek better quality coffee and that the whole producing world ended up being better for it. When quality of service, and product improved, we all, including the customer, were better for it.

Because of the explanation, there was an expectation for a dreamy-eyed response of praise as to the brilliance of the holistic concept of the entire process. The clouds should part, angels would sing because we in the coffee industry strive to make the world better! The customer, however, had a different take on the economic model. He called it: Elegant Stupidity!

This was obviously not the expected feedback. A conversation then ensued regarding the flaws in the plan. He said, “Look, the market takes care of itself.

Do a great job and be rewarded. Do a sucky job and lose business. It is the customer who should decide who competes for the business, not the vendors.”

The clouds closed back up again and the angels were silent. Could it be that coffee is just another commodity product that follows the rules of every other product and service in the world? Is the romantic nature of the industry just important to us insiders and no one else could care less? Do people say they want high quality coffee and farmer’s lives to be better but really don’t want to be the ones that pay for it? Could the world be that cynical?

The answer is yes, there are parts of the consumer base that don’t care about what we do and the blood, sweat and tears we put in to making the products we sell. They don’t care that we try to make the world a better place. Yes there are cynical people and yes we in the industry can have a tendency to take ourselves too seriously at certain times.

Obviously the customer was misguided and needed to be convinced. “Do you like the quality of the coffee?”

“Sure! I love it!”

“Do you pay a fair price for it?”

“I will pay more for quality and yes this is a fair price.”

“Do you feel you could get better coffee at a better price from a different vendor?”

“Honestly it has never crossed my mind to change because I like what I have.”

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“Then we are saying the same thing in regards to market forces at play. You get a great product at a great price and, if you wanted to, could go and try out other vendors but you don’t because you don’t have a reason to do so. You are a satisfied customer and our system of Elegant Stupidity has worked for you.”

On the show floor we saw equipment manufacturers talking about how to maximize flavor, not profits. We saw producer groups describing the care they put into growing and how that changes flavor. We saw social groups showing us that there are needs in these growing areas that we as an industry can uniquely address.

Off the floor in meeting rooms were dozens of classes and lectures designed to educate and stimulate discussions on how to do the right thing for our products, business, industry and the world. The greatest minds of the world pondered the future and suggested what we can do now to have what we want ongoing.

I certainly didn’t feel the hours, dollars and effort spent at the show by the nearly 10,000 people was representative of something called ‘Elegant Stupidity’.

Let’s dig a little deeper and see if it makes sense. The total coffee market is huge. We deal with a small but growing segment we affectionately call ‘specialty’. In that segment there are market forces that concern its long term viability. Supply and demand are driving forces that we see as something we can affect with programs and activities.

On supply, we try to promote ‘green’ projects because we see the effect of weather on production. We also see poverty and urban migration as factors that diminish farm production so we devote aid money and put programs in place to deliver higher wages for the work. We devote countless volunteer hours and dollars to education on agricultural practices to strengthen trees, increase yields and increase the number of planted hectares. We support social and health programs that increase the quality of life for farming communities in hopes they will continue to farm.

We do this as an industry for a number of reasons. Alone we can only do so much but collectively we are funded, nimble and willing to help. We may spend company money to do it, but we do it for the industry as a whole because we are all in it together.

On the demand side we do all that we can to promote quality. This includes teaching each other the skills we have learned so they can be better. We create guilds to organize and concentrate the learning by industry segment. We have associations to help promote quality coffee to the marketplace. All of this is done so the consumer will demand quality coffee over commercial coffee.

What other industry teaches its competitors ‘industry secrets’ so they can compete more fully?

Given this culture is it surprising that we employ the selling practices that the above customer referred to as Elegant Stupidity? We tend to not want to eat each other’s children but make sure that there are always new customers rising up to our standards of quality. We do this as we do everything else in the industry: By building as a group so we all thrive and survive. The result is a customer that gets high quality at a fair price, and a world that can sustain increasing demand by decreasing pressures on supply.

Turns out the customer was right. It IS Elegant Stupidity. In fact it is VERY elegant. And it makes our industry work! This also proves what we knew in the service sector: The customer is always right.

Rocky can be reached at rocky@INTLcoffeeConsulting.com

May 2012

NewsBites Georgia-Pacific Professional Strengthens Procurement With SFI® Certified Sourcing As part of its broad commitment to sustainability, Georgia-Pacific Professional announced today it meets Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) certified sourcing requirements at manufacturing sites that make the company’s broad range of washroom, wiper and foodservice products. The SFI certified sourcing label tells customers and consumers that the virgin and recycled fiber used at GeorgiaPacific Professional’s manufacturing sites meets SFI certified sourcing requirements. For more information on Georgia-Pacific Professional, please call 1-866-HELLO GP (435-5647) or visit us at www. gppro.com.

Knutsen Coffees Introduces New Filter Brew Single Serve Coffee By The Cup At SCAA Exposition In Portland, Oregon After more than thirty years of sourcing and importing the finest coffees in the world for specialty roasters, Erna Knutsen has embarked on an innovative project to make them available to consumers, one perfect cup at a time. Erna Knutsen, the Queen of Specialty Coffee, launches filter brew single serve coffees, allowing consumers to enjoy fresh brewed coffee with ease, anywhere, anytime.

Brewing is easy. Only hot water and a cup are needed.

Simply open the package, tear the filter end, spread the cardboard “wings” over a cup rim, and pour hot water through. Slow drip ensures full extraction.

Each packet contains ten grams of the finest coffees on earth. GoBe Coffee is the exclusive roaster and

packager of Knutsen Coffees fresh brew single serve.

Knutsen Coffees will distribute and be seeking distribution for this exciting new product. Knutsen Coffees will offer Signature Blend, Jamaica Blue Mountain RSW Estates and a decaffeinated option.

Knutsen Coffee packets are perfect for hotels, travel, offices, picnics, camping, salons, hospitals, any place where coffee connoisseurs demand the finest, and are 100% compostable making them “a green single serve option”. For more information contact Knutsen Coffees 1-415-922-1826 or visit www.knutsencoffee.com . john conti Coffee Celebrates 50th Anniversary On March 31st, 2012, the john conti Coffee Company celebrated the 50th year in business. Beginning in 1962 as a Vending Company, young John Conti started his business out of his garage, one man, one truck. Since that humble beginning, the Company has grown to be the regions largest importer and roaster of Specialty Coffees and the only local Coffee Service Provider in Louisville, KY. Branches for the Company are located in Louisville, KY, Lexington, KY, Evansville, IN with satellite branches in Nashville, TN, Cincinnati, OH, and Indianapolis, IN. For more information, call 800-928-JAVA (5282), visit our web-site: www. johnconti.com, or like us on Facebook

America’s Best Coffeehouse will be determined and crowned at Coffee Fest Coffeehouse expertise will be on stage when eight semifinalists converge at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle this September, to compete for first place, $2,500 in cash, the championship trophy, and the America’s Best Coffeehouse Championship title. A menu of espresso, cappuccino, latte, flavored latte, two manually brewed coffee options, plus a daily special will be posted during Coffee Fest Seattle, September 21-23, for the inaugural DaVinci Gourmet America’s Best Coffeehouse competition. Dueling coffeehouse teams of three employees each will be filling roles such as barista, bar back, and greeter/cashier, who will serve attendees and judges. Applications may now be submitted by any coffeehouse in the Western region for the competition at Coffee Fest Seattle in September. Eastern region coffeehouses may now apply for the competition at Coffee Fest New York in March 2013. Central region coffeehouses may apply for the Central region competition at Coffee Fest Chicago in June 2013. To see more information, apply to compete, and vote for your favorite coffeehouse please visit www.coffeefest.com and plan to come see the eight finalists fight for the championship for each region at Coffee Fest. For more information about all the shows, go to www.coffeefest.com.

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Neither Eko Brands, LLC nor Ekobrew has any affiliation with Keurig® or K-Cup®. Keurig® and K-Cup® are registered trademarks of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.

May 2012

CUSTOM PRINTED CARDS MAGNETIC STRIPE HICO/LOCO EMBOSSING/TIPPING SIGNATURE PANEL ENCODING BARCODES

www.packplus.com Toll Free: 1.877.722.5888

Home of the widest selection of packaging products for coffee, tea, food and other specialty items.

Call us for a FREE quote on customized packaging!

E: info@packplus.com

27

NewsBites Weldon Flavorings now available online, Sampler bottles in 1 oz size!!

Weldon Flavorings has responded to customers’ demands by offering a total line of Coffee and Iced Tea/Water Flavorings in their sampler size bottles. These 1 oz. bottles contain 33% more flavoring and will now flavor 25 servings.

Customers can sample a variety of flavors before ordering the larger pump bottles or they can carry the sampler bottles in their pocket or purse to enjoy when on the run. All of Weldon Flavorings’ are sugar free, as well as free of any artificial sweeteners, creamers, powders, and syrups. Because these pure liquid flavorings are not pre-sweetened, each coffee or tea beverage can be made unsweetened or sweetened to each individual’s taste. They are also non-allergenic and gluten free. Weldon’s Coffee Flavorings come in 12 flavors with seasonal favorites available. The Iced Tea/Water Flavorings come in 6 flavors: Guava-Passion Fruit-Mango, Raspberry, Mango-Orange-Passion Fruit, and Peach with 2 new flavors, Blueberry and Mint, which were added this Spring. Weldon Coffee & Iced Tea/Water Flavorings can be purchased online at www.WeldonFlavorings. com. For additional product information, contact Weldon Flavorings at info@weldonflavorings.com or (502) 797-2937.

Olde English Tea Company Announces sale of “Tea A Magazine®” The Olde English Tea Company announced today that it has completed the sale of its magazine, TEA A MAGAZINE® to ITEM Media of Plymouth Meeting, PA. Under the purchase agreement, ITEM assumes all printed and online publishing rights to the title, effective immediately. “TEA was the first magazine in the United States for tea consumers, back in 1994, and we are delighted that ITEM Media will be taking it forward for the next generation of tea consumers and enthusiasts,” says Pearl Dexter, Founding Editor of TEA, and President of Olde English Tea Company.

“ITEM has an enviable track record of growing magazines in niche markets, and we are looking forward to watching TEA grow further, under their management.” Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ms. Dexter will stay on with the magazine as Founding Editor, and further new appointments will be announced soon. ITEM Media is a global media and communications company, publishing magazines and information in the electronics, healthcare and food/beverage markets. www.item-media.net.

Catch The Ride!

Follett Corporation has a brand new marketing campaign that features their unique and proprietary ice through a tube technology. RIDE™ - remote ice delivery equipment, allows a Follett Chewblet® ice machine to be placed up to 75 feet away from the beverage dispenser or ice storage bin and still automatically deliver ice to the dispenser or bin. The new campaign features a Chewblet ice “spokesperson” to educate the end user on how RIDE technology works using animation, print ads and a microsite. Visit www.remoteicedeliveryequipment. com to learn about the unique RIDE technology!

Founded in 1948, Follett Corporation is recognized as a leader in the manufacturing of ice-related equipment for the foodservice and healthcare industries and enjoys a broad customer base, which includes commercial and non-commercial clients worldwide. For more information, contact Follett Corporation at 610-252-7301 or visit www.remoteicedeliveryequipment.com.

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The Italian Beverage Company wins Queen’s Award for International Trade The Italian Beverage Company is the producer of the Simply brand and supplier to the coffee-shop trade of flavored syrups, sauces, shakes, chocolate drinks, frappes, smoothies, and so on, Boughton’s Coffee House wrote. It wins the Award for its achievement in growing its overseas sales by 257 percent over the last three years. The company is currently working

with distributors in over 40 countries and has just opened its own office in the USA. Boughton’s Coffee House is the recognized leading news source for the UK hot beverage trade. They publish a monthly printed magazine, and email newsflashes whenever anything happens. See their news website www. coffee-house.org.uk Printpack Offers Exclusive Packaging Portfolio For Coffee and Tea With 55+ years of packaging experience, Printpack specializes in developing customized packaging solutions for a wide range of consumer markets.

Printpack offers a complete portfolio of packaging options exclusively for the coffee and tea market, including Whole Bean Rollstock, Brick Pack Rollstock, Fractional Pack Rollstock, Stand-up Pouches, Stabillo Bags, Paper Sachets, Stickpacks with SimpleTear®, High Fidelity Shrink Labels, and Barrier Thermoformed Cups and Lidding.

The comprehensive portfolio—along with Printpack’s technical and commercial expertise in materials science and cutting-edge barrier solutions—can help brand owners gain peace of mind, enhance product protection, and increase sales at the shelf. To further bolster the portfolio, Printpack also offers a variety of value-added services—material and package engineering, packaging machinery assessment and package testing, to name a few. To learn more about Printpack, visit www.printpack.com.

EAG/Tea Packs Offers Private Label Solutions on a Wide Range of Products EAG/Tea Packs a leading manufacturer and bulk supplier of premium teas, herbs, and spices have introduced their new specialty coffee line. The company’s goal is to provide a one-stop shop by creating the ability to deliver a wide range of product & services. The company currently offers a large selection of loose teas, tea bags, iced tea, botanicals, dried fruits, purees, spices, coconut products and more. Now spanning the globe, they bring you a full line of specialty coffees, green beans or roasted and packaged to your specifications. In addition the company offers a nice selection of packaging solutions for all your Private Label needs. EAG/Tea Packs is dedicated to providing you an environment that promotes growth, goodwill and success. Look no further, call for more information, please contact 1-877-345-7832 or visit www.eastamericangroup.com Sherri Johns Joins Alliance for Coffee Excellence as Marketing Director The Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) is expanding its management team with the addition of Sherri Johns as the Director of Marketing, Training and Events. After her role as head judge for multiple Cup of Excellence® competitions and her successful management of Whole Cup Consulting and numerous Ultimate Barista Challenge programs, Sherri will come on board the staff of The Alliance for Coffee Excellence to coordinate the many international conferences and training courses that ACE has planned for the future. She will also lend her skill to marketing efforts in support of membership development. The Alliance for Coffee Excellence owns and manages the Cup of Excellence program. In 2012, the Cup of Excellence will be hosted in Brazil, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Mexico, Rwanda, Burundi, and Colombia. Through its transparency and rigorous selection process, the Cup of Excellence competitions and auctions have returned recordbreaking prices to winning coffee farmers since 1999. For more information log on to www. cupofexcellence.org Insight Beverages® New Café Supreme Insight Beverages®, a leader in specialty hot beverages for more than 30 years, is proud to announce its newest product line, Café Supreme, which offers high quality soluble cappuccino and cocoa beverages at an affordable price point. Available in a wide range of proven taste winners and enticing seasonal May 2012

flavors that can build traffic and drive sales, Café Supreme products are made from the same, high quality ingredients as Insight Beverages’ leading products. The premium dispensed cappuccino and cocoa beverages are offered in the following flavors to appeal to a wide variety of customers: Hot Chocolate, Cocoa Supreme, Caramel Macchiato, English Toffee Cappuccino, High Energy Mocha Cappuccino, Original Cappuccino, French Vanilla Cappuccino and Fat Free French Vanilla Cappuccino. Café Supreme cappuccinos and cocoas are also supported with a complete merchandising program to generate trial and repeat business. For more details visit www.insightbeverages.com Finum’s TEA CONTROL 0.4 wins Good Design Award Finum’s Tea Control™ 0.4 glass pot is shock-heat resistant. The BrewStop filter basket is made of Tritan ™ (BpA-free) providing an attractive appearance, functionality, durability and dishwasher safety. The stainlesssteel knob on the lid completes the elegant design. A turn of the lid slows the brewing process keeping the taste uncompromising. Tea Control™ 0.4 won the Good Design Award 2010 (Chicago Athenaeum) and was nominated for German Design Price (Designpreis Deutschland 2012). For more information visit www.finum.com.

North American Bag now Converting in house North Atlantic Specialty Bag is happy to announce that they will be converting their own packaging with the help of their sister company, North Atlantic Converting. NAC will produce a range of packaging from stand up pouches with zipper closure to flat pouches. On-site valving application is also available. To learn more, visit their online Packaging catalog at www.activpak.com or www.northatlanticbags.com.

Advertisers Index

Company.................................................................Phone........................................................... Web.................................................................................Page

Agtron............................................................................................. 775.850.4600................................................................. www.agtron.net .......................................................................................... 30 Bridge Brand Chocolates............................................................. 415.677.9194................................................................. www.bridgebrandschocolate.com . ......................................................... 30 BriteVision....................................................................................... 415.546.2029 ............................................................... www.britevision.com .................................................................................. 14 Cablevey Conveyors.................................................................... 641.673.8451................................................................. www.cablevey.com .................................................................................... 17 Canterbury Coffee Corp............................................................. 888.273.8684................................................................. www.canterburycoffee.com ..................................................................... 29 Coffee Fest..................................................................................... 800.232.0083................................................................. www.coffeefest.com .................................................................................. 25 Curtis............................................................................................... 800.421.6150................................................................. www.wilburcurtis.com ................................................................................ 21 Custom Card Solutions, Inc.......................................................... 303.790.0400................................................................. www.ccsicards.com ..................................................................................... 27 Daterra Coffee............................................................................. 330.941.2555................................................................. www.daterracoffee.com.br .........................................................................7 Descafeinadores Mexicanos SA de CV....................................+522.717.127.066........................................................ www.descamex.com .................................................................................. 30 EAG / Tea Packs........................................................................... 877.345.7832................................................................. www.teapacksusa.com .............................................................................. 27 Eagle Web Press........................................................................... 800.800.7980................................................................. www.eaglewebpress.com ......................................................................... 26 Ekobrew.......................................................................................... 206.571.0289................................................................. www.ekobrew.com ..................................................................................... 26 Espresso Me Services................................................................... 360.213.0715................................................................. www.espressomeservice.com ................................................................... 27 Everpure......................................................................................... 800.942.1153................................................................. www.everpure.com .................................................................................... 30 Finum by Riensch & Held GmbH & Co. KG..............................+49.407.34240.............................................................. www.finum.com ........................................................................................... 19 Follett Corporation....................................................................... 610.252.7301................................................................. www.follettice.com ..................................................................................... 22 Fres-co System USA, Inc............................................................... 215.721.4600................................................................. www.fresco.com .............................................................................................6 General Packaging Equipment Co............................................ 713.686.4331................................................................. www.generalpackaging.com ................................................................... 28 Grounds for Health....................................................................... 802.241.4146................................................................. www.groundsforhealth.org ....................................................................... 30 Inbru................................................................................................ 314.991.1700................................................................. www.inbru.com/Inbru-Sample-Pack_p_61.html . ................................. 12 Insight Beverages.......................................................................... 888.799.1589................................................................. www.insightbeverages.tom ..........................................................................9 International Coffee Consulting Group....................................818.347.1378................................................................. www.intlcoffeeconsulting.com .................................................................. 29 Java Jacket.................................................................................... 800.208.4128................................................................. www.javajacket.com ............................................................................ 23,30 Knutsen Coffees, Ltd..................................................................... 800.231.7764................................................................. www.knutsencoffees.com .......................................................................... 30 LBP Manufacturing........................................................................ 800.545.6200................................................................. www.lbpmfg.com ....................................................................................... 13 Loring Smart Roast........................................................................ 707.526.7215................................................................. www.smartroaster.com .................................................................................3 Masipack/Fabrima....................................................................... 863.644.3900................................................................. www.masipack.com . .................................................................................. 16 Melitta SystemService USA, Inc................................................. 847.717.8900................................................................. www.melittasystemservice.com ................................................................ 23 North Atlantic Specialty Bag...................................................... 877.827.5270................................................................. www.northatlanticbags.com ..................................................................... 27 OptiPure......................................................................................... 800.333.2556................................................................. www.optipurewater.com ........................................................................... 27 Orleans Coffee Exchange........................................................... 800.344.7922................................................................. www.orleanscoffee.com ............................................................................ 27 Pacific Bag, Inc............................................................................... 800.562.2247................................................................. www.pacificbag.com ................................................................................. 29 Pack Plus Converting.................................................................... 909.902.9929................................................................. www.packplus.com ..................................................................................... 27 Plastic Parameters Inc................................................................... 877.594.0805................................................................. www.plasticparameters.com .................................................................... 20 Pod Pack International, LTD......................................................... 225.752.1160................................................................. www.podpack.com .................................................................................... 26 Printpack Inc................................................................................... 404.460.7000................................................................. www.printpack.com ................................................................................... 11 Scolari Engineering S.p.A............................................................ 856.988.5533................................................................. www.scolarieng.com .................................................................................. 32 Service Ideas, Inc.......................................................................... 800.328.4493................................................................. www.serviceideas.com .............................................................................. 30 Sixto Packaging............................................................................ 305.662.7144................................................................. www.sixtopack.com ................................................................................... 27 Smoothie Essentials Supplement-Boosts....................................415.382.6535................................................................. www.smoothieessentials.com .................................................................... 27 Spiroflow Systems, Inc.................................................................. 704.291.9595................................................................. www.spiroflowsystems.com ....................................................................... 15 Stalkmarket Products (Asean Corporation)..............................503.295.4977................................................................. www.stalkmarketproducts.com ............................................................2, 30 TekPak Solutions............................................................................ 416.505.3839................................................................. www.tekpaksolutions.com ............................................................................7 Tightpac America inc.................................................................... 888.428.4448................................................................. www.tightvac.com ...................................................................................... 30 uVu Lid Company.......................................................................... 561.982 7770................................................................. www.uvulid.com .......................................................................................... 31 Venco Business Solutions.............................................................. 800.762.9962................................................................. www.vencosolutions.com . .......................................................................... 27 Vessel Drinkware........................................................................... 855.883.7735................................................................. www.vesseldrinkware.com ........................................................................ 21 Vita-Mix Corporation................................................................... 800.437.4654................................................................. www.vitamix.com/thequietone ................................................................ 30 Weldon Flavorings........................................................................ 502.797.2937................................................................. www.WeldonFlavorings.com .................................................................... 29 White Coffee Corp...................................................................... 800.221.0140................................................................. www.whitecoffee.com ............................................................................... 30 World Tea Expo............................................................................ 702.253.1893................................................................. www.worldteaexpo.com ..............................................................................5

A compostable barrier bag with a valve?

In case quantities?

You better believe it...

Pacific Bag, inc. www.pacificbag.com 800.562.2247

29

AllStar Tools Water treatment

Air Pots

Decaffeination

Sleeves

Cups & Lids

Descafeinadores Mexicanos SA de CV

Java Jacket

StalkMarket Products

Everpure

Service Ideas Incorporated

800.942.1153 www.everpure.com

800.328.4493 www.serviceideas.com

The leading manufacturer of water treatment equipment for foodservice applications.

Everpure offers filtration, reverse osmosis, softening, and scale control systems plus complete customer support programs and services.

Introducing the Color Me SVAC! 4 sizes: 2.2, 2.5, 3.0 & 3.7 Liter; NSF® Approved 4-6 Hour Insulation.

Designate contents with 5 colors available: Black, Blue, Brown, Green & Orange.

Blender

Vitamix 800-4DRINK4 www.vitamix.com/ thequietone

800.208.4128 www.javajacket.com

503.295.4977 www.stalkmarketproducts.com

Finally you can drink a great tasting water decaf.

Our process that has been organic certified since 2003, preserves the original characteristics of aroma and flavor of the green coffee beans.

Java Jacket provides the best insulation of all sleeves on the market. Protects customers from hot or cold to-go beverages, and provides a more grippable surface than other coffee sleeves.

StalkMarket Products, a leading provider of compostable products, offers the world’s first certified compostable Ingeo™ hot cup and lid system from Planet+ that meets the rigorous composting requirements of Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI).

Training Resources

Chocolate

Vacuum Container

Green Coffee Importers

Seattle Barista Academy

Bridge Brands Chocolates 888.732.4626 www.bridgebrands.com

Tightvac

Knutsen Coffees, Ltd.

888.42.TIGHT www.tightvac.com

800.231.7764 www.knutsencoffees.com

1-800-927-3286 www.seattlebaristaacademy.com

+522.717.127.066 www.descamex.com

Well known for delivering incomparable versatility and value through its revolutionary product performance, Vitamix once again delivers an industry first, The Quiet One™. Engineered to provide dramatic sound reduction, world-class reliability, unparalleled speed of service and a perfect blend every time.

The Seattle Barista Academy is your source for Professional Barista Training. We offer espresso training classes with handson experience in grinding coffee, steaming, extraction, drink fabrication, latte art, barista training with barista certification, and education materials and CDs.

Coffee Lover’s Chocolate pairs irresistible quality chocolate with coffee, and irrefutably drives up retail sales.

Private label options make a good concept even better.

Tightvacs are the ultimate Coffee & Tea container!

Our unique patented Tightvac closure system allows the gasses from the beans to escape – without letting oxygen back into the container.

Tightvacs guarantee the smooth flavor your customers pay for.

Award winning purveyors of the finest green coffees in the world. Call us about our exclusive 100% Estate Grown Jamaican Blue Mountain grown at over 4,000 feet on a farm established over 200 years ago. Supplies EXTREMELY limited.

Erna Knutsen, President & Founder.

Roasted Coffee

Charitable Giving

Non-Profit

GOURMET FLAVORINGS

Coffee Analysis

White Coffee Corp.

Track the Impact 619.889.1997

Grounds for Health (802) 241-4146

Monin

Coffee Analyzers

800.221.0140 718 204 7900 www.whitecoffee.com White Coffee creates customized blends and packaging for industry leaders. Wide variety of varietals and flavors available. Exclusive licensee of Kahlua, Entenmann’s & MoonPie flavored coffees.

Fair Trade, Organic, Kosher, NSF certified.

www.tracktheimpact.com

www.groundsforhealth.org

800.866.5225 www.monin.com

775.850.4600 www.agtron.net

How do you measure and track your social impact? Is it easy and cost-effective? Do you do it? Profits4Purpose connects for-profits with non-profits so we all profit.

Grounds for Health works with coffee-growing communities to establish sustainable cervical cancer prevention programs.

Together with our coffee cooperative partners, we break down the barriers that stand between women and preventive care.

With 200 of the finest flavored syrups, sauces and purees available to the coffee industry, Monin ensures ultimate taste and creativity for successful beverage solutions.

THE TOP ROASTERS WORLDWIDE CHOOSE AGTRON Trust the consistency and quality of your roasted coffee.

Made in the USA, simply the most accurate and repeatable Roast Analyzers available.

And remember, only an Agtron reads like an Agtron. Support and roasting instruction provided by Carl Staub.