Brews N News

The Importance of Purchasing Organic – The Environment is Only the Beginning

by Jane M. Bell

By now many are aware of how the purchasing power of organic coffee drinkers has lead to improvements in the environmental health of our planet. Fair Trade Certified has also become more of a household term as well. But we are only scratching the surface. Coffee as an industry is so much more.  Sustainable farming has played a huge role in the US war on drugs and increasing the quality of life in many Central American countries.

By creating an economically sound alternative for regional farmers and their families, sustainable coffee farming keeps growers above the poverty line and more importantly, out of the drug industry. A few more pennies per cup at home or the local coffeehouse is not too much to ask if it means fewer drugs on our streets.

Your daily brew, depending on your purchasing decisions, can be more a lot more then “Just a cup of coffee.” The $9 billion specialty coffee industry, with recent growth in the organic coffee market, creates huge social and political impact all over the world. The personal economic impact on your wallet isn’t as much as one may think.

Coffee, when compared with other beverages, is the best deal by far. Even with recent increases in prices as a result of last December’s Tsunami disaster and other global influences, coffee is still a great value. Currently Consumers pay about 27 cents per 6 oz cup of the world's best home brewed Organic, Fair Trade coffee.

We realize that asking coffee drinkers to dig a little deeper into their pockets is a very touchy and difficult subject to broach. Consider the last time you paid 27 cents for the finest glass of wine the planet had to offer? We are not talking about bottom of the barrel dregs. If one takes into consideration the social impact of that 27 cents, it’s value is multiplied exponentially and it’s impact on our wallets is practically nothing.

There is a lot of bad coffee that is served in the $23 billion coffee industry. A great cup of organic, Fair Trade coffee is a far better value then a fancy named, over-priced, flavor-less “coffee drink” from a cookie cutter coffeehouse that relies on hype and gimmicks instead of real consumer value. We may be a small company in this industry, but we will not compromise our promise and commitments to our planet, farmers, consumers and communities.  It’s more then a cup of coffee to us.

About 65% of our coffee come from South and Central America. Our buyers are committed to teaching sustainable and organic growing methods. They spend weeks working with these farming coops. It’s not always easy to convince them that organic coffee is the way for them to go. Growers want to know that their energy and efforts are worth while. If they commit to organic growing methods, we commit to buy their coffee for a minimum of five years at prices much higher then they’d get from regular coffee market buyers. These are areas where kidnappings and encounters with roadside “death squads” and guerilla fighters are common. Over the years, with each repeat visit from our buyers, we have developed alliances and create quality of life improvements visible throughout entire communities.

Copyright 2005 Jane Bell. All rights reserved. OrganicPlanetOnline.com.

Turn Up the Heat

When the temperatures drop, there's nothing better than a good cup of hot cocoa, especially if it's a cup of Dagoba cocoa mix. Voted "Best Organic Hot Chocolate" by the American Culinary Institute, Dagoba drinking chocolates offer a European style mix with bits of Belgian organic dark chocolate. This non-instant mix must be combined with heated milk or milk alternative and creates a very decadent experience for the mature palate.

Want to spice up your life? Then try Dagoba's "Xocolatl" - the legendary drink of the Aztecs. Dagoba has added chilies and a hint of cinnamon to their award-winning Authentic hot cocoa mix, for a blend that is sure to warm you from the inside out!

If you're tired of cocoa powders that don't mix well and the bland taste of other mixes that really aren't very chocolatey, you'll love Dagoba Authentic Hot Cocoa Mixes. Just add a tablespoon or two to a cup of milk or milk substitute, sit back and savor the moment of indulgence! Visit us online for more decadent chocolate products!

What Makes Dagoba Chocolate So Good?

One of the many reasons I personally love Dagoba Chocolate is because you can literally taste the love! Dagoba was founded in 2001 by Frederick Schilling. He spent many hours in his home kitchen, passionately creating the perfect chocolate bar. In his first production facility, he poured and wrapped the bars by hand for the first 2 years. Now that is a passion for chocolate!

Just 4 years later, Frederick Schilling’s dedication has brought forth a full line of award-winning products including bars, drinking chocolates and baking essentials. All of Dagoba products are Certified Organic and Kosher and many are Fair Trade Certified.

Dagoba is family owned and manufacture in small batches at their 100% organic facility. Their unwavering attention to quality has brought them many accolades including “Best Organic Bars” by Food & Wine, “World’s Best Chocolate” by CNN/Money and “Best Dark Chocolate” by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Dagoba defines the Art of Chocolate Alchemy by using a blend of ancient and modern methods that preserve the integrity of the bean. Dagoba uses only the finest cacao beans and the purest ingredients. Chocolate bars include both blends and single origins; ensuring that you will experience cacao in its purest and fullest form.

Whatever your chocolate persuasions may be, Dagoba offers something to satisfy you. We invite you to indulge your senses to the fullest. Click here to shop for Dagoba Chocolate products.

The Campaign to Humanize the Coffee Trade

Be honest: When you drop by your local coffee house...

...do you ever think about the farmers who grew that coffee, thousands of miles away?

When you pay the bill...

...do you ever wonder: How much of this money will the coffee farmers and their families actually get?

An international network of activists wants you to start thinking about it, because they say they've figured out a simple way that you can affect the global economy and transform the lives of farmers: Look for coffee with the special label marked "Fair Trade." Read the full story here...

The Lure of Chocolate

For some people, the lure of chocolate can be overwhelming. Cocoa contains certain chemicals and sensory properties that make the product very appealing. Cocoa contains theobromine (a chemical related to caffeine). The sugar in chocolate releases serotonin (a brain chemical related to a positive sense of well-being). The smooth, rich taste of chocolate (and sometimes the fillings) provides sensory pleasure to the taste buds. In addition, many people use chocolate as a reward and learn to associate the product with positive self-esteem. In spite of its physical properties, chocolate is not a physically addictive food. However, some people may find themselves psychologically addicted to chocolate. Learn more about chocolate here.

The Effect of Hurricane Katrina on Coffee

Flooding from Hurricane Katrina has placed approximately 8 per cent of the world’s coffee supply - which is stored in warehouses in New Orleans - under threat.

In a statement issued by the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), Dr Néstor Osorio, executive director of the International Coffee Organisation (ICO), said he estimated that the loss of 96,000 tonnes of coffee stored in New Orleans would take a year to replace and would raise the price of coffee.
 
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) has said that “no further delivery notices may be issued for coffee to be delivered in the Port of New Orleans until the condition of the warehouses and the coffee located there can be determined”.
 
The port stores green coffee from Central and South America bound for US roasters. About 1.6 million bags are stored in and around New Orleans, according to Judy Ganes of J Ganes Consulting in New York, which is about 27 per cent of green coffee stored in the US.

According to CNN Money news report, coffee futures advanced about 4 per cent on Thursday, extending this week's gains on continued concerns about hurricane damage to coffee storage and roasting facilities in New Orleans.

CNN Money said NYBOT’s washed Arabica contract for December delivery rose 3.90 cents to settle at US$1.0495 cents a pound, after trading between US$1.0110 and a three-week high of $1.0550. March Arabica climbed 3.70 cents to reach US$1.0805 cents a pound, while more distant deliveries rose 3.30 to settle at 3.65 cents.

"Today we had index funds buying more," Rodrigo Costa, vice president of institutional sales at Fimat USA, told CNN Money, attributing the growing fund interest to uncertainty about some 1.6 million bags of green coffee stored in New Orleans. “You will have a big draw down of US stocks if the coffee was damaged by the hurricane,” said Costa.

“Today we have no extent of the damage. It's still being evaluated,” said New York Board of Trade Chairman Frank Schoenhut. “As far as being able to characterise the loss of coffee or the impact to the market is difficult,” he explained, noting that the extent of the damage - which will probably determine future price movement - will not be known for some time.

Don’t Be Tricked By Your Halloween Treats!

Make the Switch to Fair Trade Chocolate and Help End Child Slavery on Cocoa Farms

During Halloween commercial chocolate manufacturers enjoy their BIGGEST sales to children. Unfortunately, chocolate is no treat for the hundreds of thousands of child cocoa laborers that work helping their families on farms or even toil as slaves.

There is a solution -- Fair Trade Certified Chocolate! Fair Trade guarantees farmers a fair price for their cocoa, so they can feed their families and keep their kids in school. Fair Trade does not allow abusive child labor or forced labor. Click here to read the full article...

Download a spooky door sign proclaiming your home a Fair Trade Trick-or-Treat household, along with information and materials to share with your friends and neighbors about how they can get involved.

Need candy to hand out at the door? Order it from us online! 

Lady Mendel's Tea room in New York

Since opening five years ago, Lady Mendl's Tea Salon has been consistently rated the best and most romantic Tea Salon in New York City. Guests enjoy a scrumptious five-course tea, consisting of a variety of finger sandwiches, fresh baked scones with clotted crème and jams, and a large selection of fine teas.

You can find it at the Irving Place
56 Irving Place New York, NY 10003

Lady Mendl's Tea Salon
# 5-Course high Tea
# Served Wed through Fri : 3pm or 5pm seating
# Sat, and Sundays: 2pm or 4:30pm seatings
# Reservations required:  212-533-4466
# Bridal showers / Tea parties     Contact:  Susanne or Shawn
# $30 or $45 per person plus tax and gratuity.

Chai Tea

Chai Tea
Chai is actually the term for tea, Chai Tea refers to Indian Spiced tea, more accuratly Masala Chai; masala is the Hindi word for spice and chai means tea.
In China the caracter for tea in the  Mandarin dialect is pronounced:"chá" .

So lage parts of the world refer to waht we call tea as Chai. But the basis of a Chai Tea or Indian Tea as we use here in the west and India is the adding of spice and or herbs to the tea and thus making a diffrent brew altogether.
One belive that Masala Chai was invented somewhere in the 19th century in India after the British began cultivating tea in India, to compensate for the inability to produce enough tea .
In India there is almost one Masala Chai recipe to each family, there is no right or correct chai tea.

There are however certain basic involved to make a Masala Chai:

1. Tea, black of any kind you like
2. Sweetener, white sugar is mostly used, although honey and molasses are frequent too.
3. Milk, or other such creamers.
4. Spice, most commonly used are cardemom, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and peppercorn.

Te Chai can be made a wast array of ways but a typical one, is to add the spice and sweeteners and boil for a few minutes add the tea and milk, bring to a boil and steep for a few minutes before serving.

Green Cardemom Chai
Serves 2

1. 2 1/4 cups water
2. 2 cardamom pod, whole, split
3. 3/4 cup milk
4. 6 teaspoons sugar
5. 2 teaspoon Lemon Ginger Green tea

Bring water and milk to almost a boil. Add cardamom and steep 3 minutes, uncovered. Add tea. Stir lightly. Steep 2 minutes more, uncovered. Strain and enjoy.

Fair Trade, An Alternative for Small Farmers and Workers

Fair Trade is an initiative for small farmers and wage workers in the South, who have been restrained in their economical and/or social development by the conditions of trade.

Fair Trade is an innovative, market-based approach to sustainable development. It helps family farmers who live in developing countries, gain direct access to international markets. Fair Trade also helps these farmers develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace.

Fair Trade teaches farmers how to market their own harvests and receive a fair price for their products. This leads to a higher standard of living for both the farmer and his family, as well as the community. Fair Trade empowers farming families to take care of themselves - without developing dependency on foreign aid.

The Fair Trade Certified Label(TM) guarantees:

A fair price ~ Farmers receive a fair price for their product, which allows them to properly feed their familes and enables them to send their children to school instead of working in the fields.

Quality products ~ Because farmers receive a fair price for their product, they can avoid cost-cutting practices that sacrifice quality. You are guaranteed to receive the highest-quality products, when a Fair Trade Certified Label(TM) is attached.

Environmental Stewardship ~ Most Fair Trade coffee, tea and chocolate available in the USA is certified organic and fair trade. When you purchase these products you are helping to maintain biodiversity, provide shelter for migratory birds and helping to reduce global warming.

Look for Fair Trade Certifed (TM) label. By choosing Organic Planet's Fair Trade products you are directly supporting a better life for farming families through fair prices, direct trade, community development and environmental stewardship.

To learn more about the numerous benefits of purchasing Fair Trade Certified(TM) products, visit TransfairUSA.

Click here to download a copy of the Fair Trade Standards for Cocoa.