July 22nd, 2009 - Gerald "Gerry" Pugliese
It’s not that surprisingly really. The economy is hurting and people are losing their jobs, so late nights drinking coffee and stressing out seem obvious.
Maybe that’s why the organic coffee sector in the U.S. and Canada grew 12% last year. In 2008, North America imported 89 million pounds of organic coffee, tallying $1.3 billion.
Industry experts admit organic coffee costs a pretty penny. So how did pricey coffee thrive in an economic depression?
It seems food safety is weighing heavy on people’s minds and most people believe organics are safer, said one research consultant.
But 2009’s forecast for organic coffee is more schizophrenic. All last year industry analysts expected the market to tank, but since it didn’t. This year’s growth prediction of 4.5% to 15% leaves plenty of wiggle room.
The news about organics and the economy is nutty. Just yesterday it seemed organic was doomed by the depression, but this report seems encouraging, weird.
Via Reuters.
Read More:
Market for Organic Coffee in North America Grows
Tags: organic coffee
Posted in Organic, Organic Food | 1 Comment »
July 19th, 2006 - Barbara Feiner
Now through Monday (July 24), Coeur d’Alene, Idaho-based Café Avion Coffee Roasting Co. is donating $1 to a scholarship fund for aspiring female pilots for every pound of Aviatrix blend organic coffee sold. All of the company’s coffees are certified organic, and most are fair trade-certified.
Aviatrix is a medium roast with notes of blueberry and spice, featuring beans from Indonesia, Africa and Central America. It’s “an exotic blend of intriguing coffees from three different origins of the world,” says Bart Shields, the company’s head roaster. “It’s my new favorite blend.”
Donations benefit the Ninety-Nines, an international organization of women pilots that supports females in aviation. Scholarships, first established in 1940 to honor Amelia Earhart’s memory, help cover pilots’ flight training or tuition.
“There’s really no better way to promote our product than by supporting aviation, something we’re very passionate about,” says Café Avion Founder Denver Wilkinson. “The Ninety-Nines is a great organization to support.”
Aviatrix may be purchased from Café Avion’s website or by calling (877) 432-7890 (toll free). The company also offers a variety of organic single-origin coffees and signature blends, including Mexico Chiapas, Peru Café Femenino, Mystere Espresso and Sumatra Decaf.
Read More:
Drink Organic Coffee, Support a Female Pilot
Tags: cafe avion, coffee, coffee beans, organic coffee
Posted in Organic Food | Comments Off
March 30th, 2006 - Barbara Feiner
The next time you head for your favorite organic coffeehouse, check to see whether it carries the Mocafe Organics line of mocha frappes from Aliso Viejo, California-based Innovative Beverage Concepts, Inc. The company has produced the first certified organic and Fair Trade frappes for baristas.
Beverage selections include Fair Trade Organic Dominican Forestero Cocoa Mocha, Organic Belizian Vanilla Latte and Organic Vera Cruz Caffe Latte. Even better, each mix contains no fat.
Baristas can add a shot of perfectly extracted organic, Fair Trade espresso to ice and milk to create “the ultimate blended mocha frappe, ” the company notes. Mocafe Organics packages its mixes in 10-lb. coffee bar boxes.
Why choose organic cocoa when you make organic food choices?
Cocoa is one of the most heavily sprayed crops in the world (along with coffee), and most major retail brands use nonorganic cocoas in their blended mocha mixes. Mocafe Organics’ cocoa beans come from 600 small-scale organic farmers in the Yacao project in the Dominican Republic. (Click here to learn how organic cocoa beans are transformed into chocolate.)
Read More:
Dining Out: Organic Frappes & Lattes
Tags: cocoa, organic coffee, organic ingredients
Posted in Organic Food | Comments Off
March 22nd, 2006 - Barbara Feiner

When Food and Wine magazine published its annual “Obsessive’s Guide to Coffee” this month, an organic coffee company ranked fourth among the top boutique roasters in America.
Barefoot Coffee Roasters, based in Santa Clara, California, is a full-service coffee/espresso bar and artisan organic coffee roaster. All coffees are roasted fresh in the café by skilled artisans who use old-world, small-batch techniques. All of the coffees are sustainable, and more than 85% are certified organic, shade grown and fair trade.
“Holy cow! We are so honored to be recognized for our obsessive coffee quality,” says Andy Newbom, Barefoot’s chief espresso officer. “Great coffee, like great wine, takes an immense amount of dedication and passion to do well. We treat coffee as the culinary art that it is. Great taste is the No. 1 goal.”
Food and Wine also ranked its top 10 favorite coffees (out of 157 sampled), and two of Barefoot’s single-origin coffees placed: Finca Vista Hermosa Guatemala, bought directly from a family farm in Guatemala, and Costa Rica, with notes of tangerine and apricot.
“We are a small family farm striving to produce the best coffee we can,” says Edwin Martinez, owner of Finca Vista Hermosa. “It is so rewarding having a relationship with a quality-focused coffee roaster like Barefoot Coffee Roasters. We know that our coffee is in good hands and will be roasted and prepared with the same care and passion we put into it. Having our coffee chosen as one of the top 10 coffees in the country by Food and Wine magazine is such a reward for all the hard work we do all year.”
Read More:
Organic Food Shopping: Barefoot Coffee Roasters
Tags: coffee, food shopping, organic coffee, Organic Food
Posted in Organic, Organic Food | Comments Off