Want some "P"s with that?

Different Coffee Bean stages! Aaron and Mane' with the taste chart.

This dude knows his stuff! The beans and the brewers of the world....




WE LOOOOOVE LEARNING!!!!

We recently had a presentation by Artisan Coffee which answered our pertinent questions. We thought it to be very interersting, especially the revelation that caffeine looks like crap; a blob of nasty gray ooze. We also learned that the Japanses guys are all like "Uhhhhngh! Let us make coffee a ritual!" And yeah.

Thanks guys! (Mane' and Aaron)

~Evan

Green Mountain Answers

So, we had to ask questions, right? Here they are!!! (No one is gonna read this, are they?)

1. Q: Aprox. what percentage of the coffee that you (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters) buy comes from Honduras? How is it sold?
A: 3%, and is only used in blends.

2. Q: Aprox. what percentage of the coffee you sell is Fair Trade?
A: 27%.

3. Q:Which flavor/blend is your most popular?
A: Many are popular, but in particular are the Vermont Country and Breakfast blends. The K-cup styles for Keurig machines are also very popular.

4. Q: Where and when was the company founded?
A: in 1981 as a small cafe' in rural Vermont, but the company is now based in Waterbury, VT.

5: Q: How is GMCR faring in this tough economical era?
A: Very well, we have expanded to many new areas and production rates along with profits are rising.

VERY EYE OPENING!!!

Honduran Coffee on the Rise...

As suggested below, Honduras may not have the most bustling coffee industry in the world, nor produce the best quality beans, but production is surely on the rise...In the 2006/07 export cycle, Honduras coffee exports were up nearly 10% from the previous year, as the country exported 3.22 million bags of coffee in that 12 month period. This made Honduras the second biggest coffee grower in Central America. Honduras plans to continue ramping up production in future years by increasing yields through farm care and increased fertilization.

As for the quality issue, gains are also being made, and some 100% Honduran coffee blends are beginning to appear, such as Cafe Welchez Gourmet Coffee, and they insist that their coffee is some of the finest in the world

~Jacob

Honduras coffee...a struggling industry

The coffee industry in Honduras, despite the quotes in the post below this, is still struggling to gain a foothold in the worldwide coffee trade. Only growing Arabica beans, their crop is thusly low grade and used primarily in blends. Green Mountain Coffee (who we will have interesting answers from on Wednesday) only buys a mere 3% of their coffee from Honduras. Although the odds are against them, the Hondurans have been hard at work trying to exploit their amazingly ideal coffee growing conditions which include climate, altitude, and other such conditions. They are trying to make coffee as important to their economy as bananas. Even though relatively low grade, their coffee is still good enough to stand on its own for most tastes. Honduras coffee is not unused though, it is extensively used in blends, it is just not used as an exclusive flavor.

~Evan

Honduran Coffee: Back from the brink

"When you ride through the Honduran highlands, you are traveling through some of the finest coffee country in the world. Keep your eyes out for Honduran coffee; it is a bush that is often planted in the shade of larger trees. There are over 90 million Honduran coffee bushes in cultivation. Pictured here is an early, clear-cut coffee plantation7 from the turn of the century. Honduran coffee, most of which is a rich arabica coffee, is used mainly by coffee retailers as a blending coffee but Honduran coffee certainly is good enough to stand on its own. Honduran coffee growers have not been able to “brand” Honduran coffee like growers in other countries have. Walk into any grocery store and you can find a can of coffee with the tag line "100% Colombian coffee." Guatemalan and Costa Rican growers have pulled off the same type of branding in the coffee boutiques. Honduran Coffee? Not yet. But stay tuned. As (if?) the infrastructure improves in Honduras, I believe you will see Honduras moving from the back seat to the front seat."

-sidewalkmystic.com

"Honduran coffee has been absent from the top ranks of the Specialty market, but that is all changing. It has all the environmental factors on its side: soil, altitude, climate. All it's neighbors have sophisticated coffee production: Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. But what is lacking is infrastructure, good coffee processing and transporting, capital and a distinct "name" in the consumer market. This means that even a good quality Honduran does not fetch a good price (and in fact many from Copan and Santa Barbara districts are smuggled into Guatemala and sold as such). Without a premium price for quality, the incentive for the farmer, the mill and the exporter have no incentive to incur the added expense that would realize the coffee's potential. So Honduran coffee ends up as a good mild blender, and not as a single-origin or farm-specific coffee. It is, clearly, a vicious cycle."

-sweetmarias.com

~Evan

Green Mountain Insider

So, we chose GMC for our company, and luckily, my dad's girlfriend is a manager for the local factory. So we have all of the insider information. Look back here everyso often for super confidential and informative coffee info.

I bet you all wished you were in this team.

~Evan

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