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The CFIA said the Dongsuh Frima, Maxim and Nescafe-brand products, all imported from South Korea, might contain milk that isn’t declared on the label.

Being recalled are Dongsuh Frima coffee creamer with UPC 8 801037 000559 or 8 801037 000627, Maxim original coffee mix with UPC 8 801037 010732, Maxim decaffeinated coffee mix with UPC 8 801037 010824, and Nescafe coffee mix with UPC 8 801055 161096.

The recalled products were distributed in British Columbia and Alberta.

With everything that the coffee giant, Starbucks, is trying to do to turn itself around, nothing seems to be helping. The economic slump isn’t helping one bit either as consumers are slowing down on purchases of specialty coffee from the once dominating force in the coffee industry.

New rivals have emerged, offering specialty coffee now are other food industry giants like McDonalds. Recently, McDonalds started offering a variety of specialty coffee beverages, and consumers are obviously enjoying the opportunity.

To read a little more about the problems Starbucks is facing, visit: New York Times - Starbucks Profits Falling

Read more here: Sara Lee Sustainable Coffee

Based in Downers Grove, Ill., Sara Lee Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of high-quality, brand-name products for consumers throughout the world.

Well, with that said I had to get my hands on some of their coffees. A post on their blog/news section indicated that they were just recieving their 2008 crop of Peruvian Café Selvanica. This is a very special coffee that Fidalgo Bay buys full containers of at specialty coffee specification standards.

Besides being a terrific bean, what’s different about this coffee is that it is packed at the mill in Peru with a special thick kraft paper liner inside the traditional burlap sack. This liner keeps the coffee protected during its trip on the Pacific Ocean. The coffee beans are beautifully bright green and have a floral fresh artichoke aroma when you open the bag.

The coffee is roasted two ways, and blended post roast to create an excellent blend that is sure to please coffee drinkers of all walks.

They were kind enough to send me several samples of the blend, as well as some green coffee which I still mean to roast and cup. I did have the opportunity to sample the Cafe Selvanica with some of my coffee loving friends. When we were finished, we compared notes and scores to come to an agreement that this was infact an excellent coffee!

Cafe Selvanica (Fidalgo Bay) Coffee Review

Roasted By Fidalgo Bay Coffee Roasters - Burlington, Washington

• Roast: Blend
• Origin: Peru
• Crop: Current (2008)

Aroma: Mild Chocolate, slightly smokey, floral. A sweet almond aroma is also present.

Wet Fragrance (crust): Nutty, chocolate aromas burst from the cup as it steeps. Breaking the crust produced some wonderful fruity and floral aromas as well.

Acidity: The acidity was somewhat mild, but bright and winey. Rather pleasant!

Body: A medium, buttery body is found in this cup.

Flavour: Very clean, somewhat light in flavour. This coffee presents itself well for those who like a lighter roast of coffee with a little smokey, roasty flavour in the cup as well.

Aftertaste/Finish: A very pleasant aftertaste that lingers for quite some time……making your tongue crave the next sip!

I love Peruvian coffees, and this coffee was exactly what I look for in a great coffee from the Andes mountains of South America!

I rate this coffee 86/100 on my cupping sheet.

Crisis sparks Canadian recall of instant coffee

Canwest News Service
Published: Tuesday, September 23

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said early today a Canadian importer of instant coffee was pulling several of its products because they may contain melamine.

Thai Indochine Trading Inc., based in Markham, Ont., voluntarily recalled several of its instant coffee products after learning the Taiwanese manufacturer had issued a recall in Taiwan, the agency said.

The instant coffee products were sold under the Mr. Brown 3-in-1 brand in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba, and include Mandheling Blend Coffee, Blue Mountain Blend and Arabica Coffee. The recalled brands were produced between April 9, 2008 and Sept. 12, 2008 and have best-before dates ranging from April 9, 2010 to Sept. 12, 2010.

There have been no illnesses associated with the consumption of the product, the agency said.

With the amount of coffee I drink, I produce quite a bit of refuse in the form of either stale coffee, or spent coffee grinds after brewing up my 5 morning pots of coffee. This led me to wonder just what I could be using this seemingly unusable waste for. The following methods are tried and true uses for your old coffee……whole bean or ground coffee.

Coffee Composting for Plant food

Many planets such as rosebushes, azaleas, and camellias that prefer acidic soils will appreciate the leftovers from your morning cup. The coffee will change the chemistry of the soil slightly making it more acidic. Coffee grinds and old stale beans can also be composted adding nutrients to your compost bin.

Coffee Pest Deterrent

You can add ground coffee beans to the plant pots in your house. It will help keep flies and other mites at bay and also improve the quality and texture of your soil. Be sure not to mix too much in as excess use could cause mould or other issues. CATS! Yes, keep your kitty away from your vegetable and flower gardens by simply sprinkling coffee grounds around the plants.

Coffee Cleaning Product

Ground coffee is slightly abrasive. These grounds can be used as a scouring agent for greasy and grimy stain-resistant objects. Be sure to use this only on surfaces that won’t be scratched easily.

Coffee Deodorizer

Here is one tip that I thought was particularly interesting. When changing your garbage bags, pour whole, un-ground beans into our trashcan before putting the new bag or liner in. The next time you change out the garbage, dump the old beans into the trash bag and add new ones to the bottom of the bin before replacing the bag. Coffee is also amazing at absorbing foul odours in your fridge or freezer. Dry them thouroughly and then put them in a bowl in your refrigerator or freezer. You can also use coffee grinds by rubbing them on your hands to get rid of food prep smells like garlic, onion or fish.

Cleaning your Coffee Grinder

If you have a coffee grinder at home, you can clean it by grinding minute rice in it. Once you’ve ground the rice, remove it from the grinder and discard in your composter. Next, add some old stale coffee beans to the coffee grinder to remove any leftover residue from the rice that was ground previously.

This fellow was out fishing when he hooked into what is known as a ‘Weaver Fish’. Apparently, most stings from this fish come from people swimming at beaches where the fish is known to hide under the sand. People commonly step on them and wind up with a sting on their foot. The fish is not known to be very deadly, although respiratory failure and gangrene have been reported.

It seems that while the man was removing the fish from his hook, he was stabbed by the spines in the dorsal fin of the fish, and immediately felt the pain in his hand while it was moving up his arm. A call to the coastguard recommended immersing his hand in hot water to reduce swelling and pain. The only hot liquid on board the vessel was coffee, so he used it and found that the swelling and pain immediately began to dissipate.

You can read the entire story here: Coffee Heals Fisherman

The goal of the Ethiopian Trademark agreement is to form a new partnership between Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee and the countless coffee roasters around the planet that purchase, roast and sell Ethiopia’s fines coffees. Sidamo, Yirgacheffe and Harar/Harrar are very well known gourmet coffees in the industry. In the past, Ethiopian coffee producers and exporters have had few opportunities to work directly with brokers/importers and roasters.

Who Is Responsible For The Agreement

The Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) is responsible for this initiative along with the Ethiopian Fine Coffee Stakeholder Committee. The E.F.C.S.C. is made up of coffee producer unions, private coffee exporters and other organizations with direct responsibility for the development of the coffee industry in Ethiopia. Many coffee roasters that share this passion for Ethiopian coffees are joining the growing family of licensed distributors.

In February, 2007, the first historic meeting between Ethiopian Stakeholders and licensed distributors in more than sixty companies from across Africa, the United States, Europe and Asia took place. Forty seven Ethiopian fine coffee exporters as well as three coffee producers unions have signed the trademark agreement and joined the growing network of licensed distributors.

This past May, Ethiopia was chosen to be the featured country representing coffee at the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s annual coffee conference. The Stakeholder Committee and the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office were on hand to answer the questions of companies wishing to join the growing network licensed distributors of Fine Ethiopian Coffees.

A member of Planet Bean, Bill Barrett made a firm reply to this column which was published on Saturday August 23, 2008. The article, as it appeared in the mercury was edited for length, but I’m posting the original, un-edited version here. Links are available at the end of this article to read the initial column written by Gene Callahan as well as the edited response written by Bill Barrett.

Fair Trade A Fair Shake For Coffee Farmers

Author: Bill Barrett, Planet Bean Coffee


Fair Trade came under fire recently with an opinion column written by Gene Callahan in the Guelph Mercury. This reply to the column was written by Bill Barrett. Bill has been involved in experiments in economic democracy like fair trade and co-operatives in Guelph, Ontario for over two decades. He is a founder of one of Canada’s first fair trade certified coffee companies, Planet Bean Coffee.

The response to the column written by Mr. Callahan was published in the Guelph Mercury on Saturday August 23, 2008.

The Fair Trade Certified coffee market is not only fairer to farmers than the conventional coffee market, it is an uniquely remarkable way to stimulate economic growth in some of the poorest communities on the earth.

With this statement I hereby throw down the gauntlet in direct challenge to an opinion editorial written by Gene Callahan and published in the Mercury on August 14. Mr. Callahan’s opinion that fair trade is damaging to participating farmers can only be described as uniformed and grossly misleading.

In the interest of transparency I must say that for more than a decade I have been involved in promoting, and for much of that time, earning a living from Fair Trade. I am a founder of one Canada’s first Fair Trade coffee companies, Guelph’s own Planet Bean. Therefore, my very livelihood is wrapped up in the relationship I have with Fair Trade Certified coffee farmer families.

As for Mr. Callahan, his writing comes to us through the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) whose perspective is akin to The Heritage Foundation, The Cato Institute, and Canada’s Fraser Institute. The FEE is heavily influenced by conservative economists including the late Milton Friedman. Friedman was a key economic ideologue for the Bush administration, creators of the elephantine U.S. trade deficit, the credit crisis, and a massive debt. According to the U.S. National Debt Clock, the debt was more than $9.5 Trillion on Aug. 15. It is from this pedigree of economic philosophy that Mr. Callahan draws his perspective. Well, sort of … much of what he has written in his opinion piece appears to be a direct rip-off of a paper published this spring by Marc Sidwell of Britain’s Adam Smith Institute, captivatingly entitled “Unfair Trade”. I guess in the free market of ideas about the free market there is no need to give credit where credit is due. At least we can thank Mr. Callahan for shortening that thirty page dirge.

The FEE is funded by businesses and individuals who receive tax deductions for donations. Mr. Callahan is in no way exposed to the vagaries of the market, unlike most of the world’s small scale farmers. Just as an aside, wouldn’t it be nice to see the world’s economic pundits’ opinions traded on some stock exchange to find their true worth in an unfettered and unsubsidized market?

He begins his critique of Fair Trade with a classic economic discussion of the “law” of supply and demand. According to free-marketistas, demand will dictate supply and the market will develop a “natural” equilibrium between the two. Maybe, but it never has. Pesky “law-breakers” like the World Bank and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are always messing with “nature”, and creating the conditions for shocking market volatility. Coffee provides us with a stunning example.

In the late 80’s, arabica coffee prices soared as a result of some frost which damaged a significant part of the harvest in Latin America, limiting supply. This brought in the speculators, more of those “law-breakers” who further drove up the price.

Subsequently, in one of those uncanny light bulb moments at the World Bank, the bank’s economists noticed that the price of coffee was going up so they decided it would be a good idea for the farmers of Vietnam to stop growing food and get into coffee. They set up attractive financing mechanisms to encourage farmers to switch over - which they did. Coffee takes several years to bear fruit, so by the time the Vietnamese brought their coffee to market, the price had started to recover from the frost. Suddenly there was a massive oversupply, which drove the price into the ground. Coffee farmers around the world were devastated in what has become known in the industry as the “coffee crisis”. Vietnamese farmers now had coffee, not food, and traditional coffee farmers couldn’t sell their coffee for enough to buy the food they needed.

This spring, coffee prices once again began to rise as capital from the turmoil of the U.S. credit crisis flowed to commodities. This influx of cash continues to drive up the price of agricultural commodities like coffee. Billions of dollars have been made by coffee speculators on the NYC, not a penny of which has gone to the farmers.

It is important to note that the market price of coffee is determined at the New York Commodities Exchange (NYC), not at the farm gate. The price of coffee can go up, down or sideways, but the market price never reflects what the farmer gets. The farmer always gets a lower price, in some cases a fraction of the NYC price, especially when the market price is down. Mr. Callahan may be shocked to find out that most of the world’s small scale coffee farmers live in earthen huts, have limited or no access to clean water, cook over open fires with wood they have gathered themselves, do not have electricity, and certainly do no have a high-speed internet connection to the NYC so they can monitor the price of coffee to get the best price at their farm gate. They do have a home economy that enables them to produce a great deal of what they need, but the money generated by growing coffee is vital for items like shoes, children’s school uniforms, medicines, etcetera.

Market interventions and speculation are the reality of global trade. They are far from natural. Small-scale coffee farmers feel the pain while World Bank economists merely reflect upon their experiments over a single malt scotch. One Guatemalan farmer told me that at the time of the coffee crisis, they were getting thirty-five cents a pound for their raw coffee in the conventional market. Seventy-five cents is the internationally agreed upon cost of production per pound. The Fair Trade Certified minimum price starts at more than $1.30. Planet Bean pays farmers between $1.55 - $2.75 per pound.

Mr. Callahan suggests that farmers faced with difficulty making a living, should migrate to someplace else. In fact this is exactly what happened following the “coffee crisis” . Many coffee farmers are now a part of the global migration of people from rural to urban areas. The collapse of all kinds of farm based economies is fuelling rapid urbanization around the world. Research has shown that very few of these migrants find work in the city and instead find themselves living on the streets or worse. Research has also shown that Fair Trade Certified coffee farmers have a low level of migration and stay on their farms.

In 2002, I interviewed a woman tending her corn field in a valley in Oaxaca, Mexico. Although she was a coffee farmer, she was not selling into the Fair Trade market. She said her husband had left months earlier to cross into the U.S. to work illegally because they couldn’t make ends meet. She hadn’t heard from him and was worried for his life. Instead of migrating, some farmers will grow drugs as a means of generating cash for their household needs.

Migration is a brutal way to solve a trade problem, and the existence of borders makes it more so. Interestingly, Adam Smith identified borders as an impediment to free trade. He reasoned that people without the freedom of mobility would never have the ability to freely move in the market. I wonder if the elemination of the U.S. border is part of Mr. Callahan’s free trade prescription, or did he skip that part of Smith’s The Wealth of Nations.

In the midst of this nightmare market scenario, allow me make a small proposal. What if we, as agents in the marketplace, were to develop a system that would allow us to avoid the NYC, and all the speculators and middle men in the market? What if we could skip over the nation state and its WTO and World Bank trade manipulators, and have a direct trade with coffee farmers? What if we were to participate in negotiating a farm gate price that reflects our notion of value and that is reasonable to the farmer? Would that not be approaching the kind of trade system that would enable us the freedom to collectively benefit from a global free exchange of goods and services?

Fair Trade Certified products provide us with this unique way of interacting with the market. The process is globally organized by the Fair Trade Labelling Organization and various national initiatives like Transfair Canada. These third party entities ensure the authenticity of the fair trade relationship communicated through the Transfair label and are run, not by stock traders or government officials, but by citizens.

Given the attempt by fair traders to create authentic trade relationships globally, one wonders why Mr. Callahan doesn’t spend his time decrying the impact of things like agricultural subsidies which are great distorters of trade, instead of bashing the relatively marginal economic project of Fair Trade. For example in his own state, Alabama, cotton farmers have received millions of dollars from the US government as subsidies. Billions of dollars continue to be provided to US cotton farmers driving the global price of cotton down by nearly 25%. In January this year I visited Maharastra, India and interviewed the widows of cotton farmers whose husbands had killed themselves by drinking pesticides. The global depression of cotton prices was identified as a major cause of these suicides, now numbering in the tens of thousands . I also visited Fair Trade Certified cotton farmers in Gujarat, whose home economies were, in striking contrast, thriving as a result of fair prices. Cotton farmers in Africa are also being clobbered by the US subsidies.

Mr. Callahan expresses the need for coffee farmers to learn new and more viable trades. There is no doubt about that coffee growing regions to diversify their economies, but how should they go about it? These regions are very isolated, and rarely have anything resembling a community infrastructure. Even roads, which our friend Adam Smith described from a market development perspective as “the greatest of all improvements”, barely exist. What is most amazing about Fair Trade, from my perspective, is its ability to create social and economic infrastructure in a vacuum. The market brings people together and the face-to-face nature of Fair Trade causes people to create community organizations, co-operatives, credit unions, crop improvement groups, schools, and even roads. With a fair price for farmers’ products, there is enough wealth in the local economy to create the diversity and new enterprise development that Mr. Callahan advocates.

The Oromia Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union of Ethiopia, suppliers to Planet Bean, provides an excellent example. There are new schools, additional classrooms, medical stations, and clean water supplies that exist now, that were not around five years ago, specifically because people in Guelph and elsewhere bought their coffee. New roads are in the plans. There are women farmers in Peru who have been able to send their children to school and create a credit union, in part because of the Cafe Femenino coffee people have purchased here. The market is developing in these communities because of the business model we use - Fair Trade. Mr. Callahan should be happy to know that these markets, unlike his cotton farmer neighbours, develop with little state support because their countries are so poor.

At one point in Mr. Callahan’s text he makes a sudden u-turn from his free market fundamentalism and advocates that people should buy shade grown coffee to help the environment. For folks interested in this coffee you should know that virtually all of the Fair Trade Certified arabica coffee sold in North America is shade grown, but beware, it also helps farmers.

I am not suggesting that Fair Trade is perfect. It is, however, a far more equitable exchange of goods and services than is the conventional market. It is, in fact, another kind of market driven by people making informed, ethical and ecological choices. And it actually exists, unlike the “free market” fantasy world of Mr. Callahan.

Bill Barrett

The Original Articles as printed in the Guelph Mercury can be found here:

Gene Callahan’s - “Fair-trade coffee far from a fair deal”

Bill Barrett’s - “Fair Trade A Fair Shake For Coffee Farmers”