tea&coffee asia

VOLUME 13 NUMBER 1

1st Quarter 2011 (February, March, April) 2011 41 2 3

Visit us at TCWC, SingaporeMarch 21-23, 2011Stand No. 316

1st Quarter 2011 tea&coffeeasia 3

News & Views: 4 From the Publisher 6 Editor’s Blog 8 Equipment News 10 Tea Time 14 Coffee Round Up 58 Health Bytes 60 Events 60 Advertisers Index

Features: 20 Comeback of a Mythical Coffee French Bourbon Pointu

26 Japan’s Tea Turns from Green to Black

30 Universita del Caffe Bangkok

36 People You Should Know in China

38 India Welcomes its New Coffee Board Chairman Jawaid Akhtar

42 Zealongs New Zealand’s New Oolong Teas

46 Organic or Inorganic Coffee: That is the Question!

50 The Quality of Tea is in the Sensory Evaluation

54 Liquid Analysis for Coffee and Tea Extraction The Key to Profi tability

56 Tech Tips Filter Drip and Espresso

ContentsTea & Coffee Asia Quarter 1, 2011 (February, March, April)

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4 tea&coffeeasia 1st Quarter 2011

Advertising Representation:

EASTERN HEMISPHEREAsia/Middle East/Oceania

Eastern Europe/RussiaGlenn Anthony JohnTel +66 2255 6625Fax +66 2655 2211

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China 中国Helen Xu Fei

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WESTERN HEMISPHERE(including Africa)

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©2011 October Multimedia Inc. TEA & COFFEE ASIA is published quarterly in February, May, August and November by October Multimedia Co., Ltd., with production and distribu-tion overseen by October Inter Co., Ltd., 1126/2 New Petchburi Road, Vanit Bldg. 2 Room 1403A, Bangkok 10400 THAILAND. Tel +66 22 55 66 25, Fax +66 26 55 22 11 E-mail: [email protected]. www.teacoffeeasia.com; www.octobermultimedia.com.

From the PublisherA Ding in the DongVietnam’s recent devaluation has caused ruffles across the region as other exporting nations interpret the move as an attempt to gain an edge as orders from traditional markets such as the US and Europe remain flat. This 5% reduction in the dong’s value against the US dollar, coupled with raising interest rates to 8% (an increase of 1%), was anticipated by economists noting that more dollar-priced luxury items were being imported than were being offset by foreign income. As GDP grows, the Vietnamese have become more prosperous and have resorted to over-consumption of imported goods, producing an over-heated economy.

But whether the recent financial adjustment actually gives Vietnam an advantage over its regional competitors in

the tea and coffee industry is questionable.Vietnam’s tea and coffee prices, as with all its export items, are quoted in US dollars, so while the trad-

ers may stand to earn slightly more by buying from farmers in dong, selling at market prices in dollars and then repatriating the money to earn a higher dong value, the actual cost of exported coffee and tea in dollar terms will remain much as they are now. Price-wise, Vietnam will not become more competitive compared to other Asian markets

Meanwhile, double-digit inflation, coupled with a weaker dong, means that the cost of inputs for farm-ers will inevitably rise. Without government support in input loans or subsidies, neither of which have been proposed, next year’s crop may suffer from quality and productivity issues if farmers skimp on fertilizers and pesticides.

One factor that could affect exports in 2011 is that farmers may be more willing to sell earlier this year, rather than sticking to the standard practice of holding onto crops in anticipation of obtaining higher prices later in the year, as the current foreign exchange rates will most likely work in their favor.

Vietnam cannot afford to further devalue its currency. With the current rate of inflation, the government has a political interest in ensuring that GDP continues to grow. Farmers will be keen to cash out early and minimize the effects of a tightening monetary policy that will inevitably follow the devaluation cycle.

If the timely supply of coffee beans becomes more dependable, this in turn should offer a more posi-tive inducement for buyers to enter into contract agreements and for traders to service them efficiently, a scenario that has been hampered by shortages blamed on speculators manipulating the market in recent memory.

For a while now, foreign direct investment has been switching from real estate to the manufacturing sector, and this is an encouraging trend as experts suggest Vietnam needs to import more infrastructure products and fewer luxury items. However, it seems the luxury segment will continue to grow as a widening middle class is wont to conspicuously spend some of their hard-earned cash.

So, for companies that rely on importing products to serve the “aspiring” class, such as international coffee shop chain Gloria Jeans, the devaluation clearly affects the bottom line as import costs in dollars erode earnings in dong. But Gloria Jeans’s case, forward planning allowed for currency fluctuations and the prognosis remains bullish for continued growth.

For tea and coffee traders, the supply of product ought to be more predictable than in recent years as farmers opt to cash-out faster, but in overall terms, Vietnam’s comparative competitiveness as a tea and coffee exporter is unlikely to be overly affected by the devaluation of the dong.

The crunch, if there is one will most likely only become evident when next year’s crop comes in.Glenn Anthony John

Publisher and Editor


The Editor’s BlogEditor & PublisherGlenn Anthony John

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Managing Editor& Associate Publisher

Heneage [email protected]

Art DirectorSomjet Thitasomboon

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Contributing WritersSherri Johns

Vikram KhuranaSunalini MenonJane PettigrewHelen Xu Fei

TranslationsHelen Xu Fei

Director, October Inter Co., Ltd.

Boonthin [email protected]

PhotographyWaree Mitchell

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Days of ChangeIn the US, the word ‘tea’ these days has acquired an increasingly po-litical implication. The Tea Party, a broad-based, loosely connected coalition with pretenses of challenging the nation’s long-time two party shop, has hijacked the word ‘tea’, painting sinister overtones over its previously benign associations. The Tea Party is comprised of a diverse membership reflecting all walks of society, including sober republican-types disappointed with the direction the GOP has

taken in recent years, distressed democrats and assorted intellectually challenged wackos, extremists and creationists.

Weak attempts at humor aside, the Tea Party offers a focus for those angry at the status quo to vent their frustrations and to influence and change the system.

Meanwhile, across the Middle East, long-festering waves of anger are toppling governments as pro-testors, comprising a diverse membership reflecting all walks of society, take to the streets to vent their frustrations at oppressive governments and demand change. In some instances, the transitions have, by Middle Eastern standards, been relatively peaceful, thus far. But there is considerable concern as to what sort of government might follow and how societies will change. In other countries, such as Libya, where as I write this hundreds of protestors and innocent civilians are already feared dead, reportedly murdered by mercenaries and die-hard Gaddafi loyalists, the threat of outright civil war and chaos remains a very real possibility.

The Middle East is a major tea consuming region. Already, sales of tea to the affected countries have suffered as credit and confidence dries up. Traders in tea producing nations are watching events unfold with alarm as getting signed contracts now seem in doubt. While tea – as well as coffee – generally continues trading at record prices, uncertainty over the Middle East’s commercial viability and future demand may yet precede a price slump.

These facts are not wasted on Darjeeling tea plantation owners. Having survived two years of poor rainfall they are now bracing for ongoing unrest and strikes, spurred most recently by police shooting protestors. This turmoil threatens production of the all-important first flush, which generally earns 30-40% of their annual income.

In Europe, the economic woes that befell the globe in 2008 are still working their way through the system. Bailouts for Ireland, Portugal, Greece and Spain are straining the euro-zone. Throughout the region, painful economic reforms and cost-cutting measures, often coupled with even fiercer taxation policies inflicted on hard-pressed populations already suffering the effects of rising unemployment and diffident economic growth, are further fanning the embers of discontent.

Back in the US, the Tea Party may want to consider that its inspiration, the Boston Tea Party of 1773, a protest against a discriminatory British tea tax designed to support the monopoly of the East India Com-pany, and which was also comprised of a diverse group of protestors from all walks of society who wanted to vent their frustrations at the oppressive colonialist government and demand change, is widely credited as being a pivotal event along the road to the American War of Independence, a blood-letting exercise that decimated a couple of generations a few years later.

So, we are living through times of great change. Across the world, dissatisfied populations are becom-ing increasingly empowered, largely thanks to technology such as the internet and smart phones, and are grasping the opportunity to challenge the status quo. Old orders are under attack, and not only in the Middle East, and inevitably more will be forced to change. It is often not clear what new political and social structures might arise to take their places.

For tea and coffee farmers, the political challenges and uncertainties gripping not only their own coun-tries but many consuming nations around the world are yet another factor that they must figure in to the equation when it comes to planning next year’s crop.

Tea and coffee, commonly regarded by most global consumers as indispensible commodities along-side rice, sugar and flour, were once luxuries in many parts of the world; a risky investment for traders, costly to ship, heavily taxed on arrival and available only to the wealthy elite. Given the strains to the fabric of an increasing number of societies that we are seeing today, is it possible that, at least in some nations, this could once again become a reality?

Heneage MitchellManaging Editor/Co-publisher

Cover: The 2010 WBC fi nalists enjoying themselves at the Nuova Simonelli training center in Italy

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ItalyWBC champs tour Nuova Simonelli Making a cup of coffee. That’s how it all began for the three day-visit of the top contestants in the latest World Barista Championship. The world’s fi ve best barista, selected at WBC 2010 were special guests of Nuova Simonelli during their trip in Italy. The visit was a reward for their efforts during the WBC 2010 competi-tion to allow the best baristas to expand their knowledge of the WBC sponsor’s technological excellence.

Accompanied by Cindy Chang, executive director WBC, and senior person-nel from Nuova Simonelli, the champion baristas Michael Phillips (USA), Raul Rodas (Guatemala), Scottie Callaghan (Australia), Soren Stiller Markussen (Den-mark) and Domatiotis Stefanos (Greece) spent three days in the land of Aurelia, their “adventure partner” during the WBC championship.

The journey started at Nuova Simonelli training center, the baristas main area of interest, to see a display of Nuova Simonelli coffee machines, including all the various components needed to create a machine that meets baristas’ needs.

Lauro Fioretti, head of SAT (technical service), explained several of the ex-aminations and tests carried out on the machines to the distinguished guests, as well as various company projects and new design solutions. A journey into the academic and research world allowed the guests to understand Nuova Simo-nelli’s manufacturing philosophy: from examining granules of coffee to energy saving and testing with the wind tunnel and the anechoic chamber (a room de-signed to stop refl ections of either sound or electromagnetic waves. It is also in-sulated from exterior sources of noise. The combination of both aspects means it simulates a quiet open-space of infi nite dimension) and.

“I was really excited about the strong investment in research,” said Scottie Callaghan, Australian barista champion. “The study of these issues, which we bar-tenders give great importance to, is certainly a great help in disseminating coffee culture around the world, which is the main goal of the WBC.”

Soren Stiller Markussen, barista champion from Denmark, thanked the tech-nical and commercial staff at Nuova Simonelli for the great support and assis-tance they gave him during the World Barista Championship in London.

“I really appreciated the superb availability of the technicians during the tri-als, the machine and the assistance provided at the most exciting times during as well as before the competition,” added Stefanos Domatiotis, Greece’s barista

champion. “The day before the London event I passed the Nuova Simonelli stand. They were all working, all involved in get-ting ready. However, they recognized me, greeted me and, even though the stand was not yet ready, invited me to try out the machine. I was really surprised at the welcome, the great kindness and the at-tention given to us baristas. Nuova Simo-nelli was a great partner for me during the WBC.”

GermanyNZ chooses NeuhausTechnology made in Germany is in de-mand all over the globe, including, now, at the other side of the world in New Zealand.

Champion baristas Michael Phillips (USA), Raul Rodas (Guatemala), Scottie Callaghan (Australia), Soren Stiller Markussen (Denmark) and Domatiotis Stefanos (Greece) spent three days in the land of Aurelia, their ‘adventure partner’ during the WBC championship

Neuhaus Neotec’s RG 150 specialty roaster is to be installed at Cerebos Gregg

Close-up of the RG 150


Recently, the North German manufac-turer of roasting plants, Neuhaus Neotec, re-ceived an order for the installation of an RG 150 roasting plant at Cerebos Gregg’s Ltd. in Dunedin in the south of New Zealand.

Together with the affi liated company Cerebos Australia, Cerebos Gregg’s supplies Oceania’s coffee drinkers with various coffee blends. The Cerebos group includes brands such as: Robert Harris Cafe, barista@home, Atomic, Caffe L’affare and Bruno Rossi which are all wellknown in New Zealand.

The specialty roaster RG 150 for Cerebos Gregg’s is mainly characterized by a very pre-cise roasting process ensuring uniform qual-ity as well as by a fl exible and rapidly adjust-able control technique. It will start operation in the middle of this year. With a batch size of 150kg, the RG 150 roasts up to 1,500kg of coffee per hour.

Redesign for roller mill Probat, the global market leader in roasting machines, equipment for coffee production facilities and related equipment, is proud to present numerous new and enhanced prod-ucts at Interpack 2011, to be held in Dues-seldorf, May 2011. The centerpiece of this year’s presentation will be the completely redesigned coffee grinder (roller mill), which provides new possibilities for coffee grind-ing.

With the introduction of single serve cof-fee capsules, the demand for ground coffee quality control has increased. Accurate grind-ing; reproducible particle size distribution as well as the ability to manipulate the particle size distribution are required to optimize ex-traction and achieve the desired fl avor in the resulting cup of coffee. The industry stan-dard grinder for capsule production for the past several years has been the Probat three-stage roller mill. Probat engineers have now pushed the roller mill design to a new level. Probat is pleased to introduce a completely new grinder series that includes a variable number of grinding stages, optional individ-ual roller drives and further innovations. This grinder series can produce particle sizes rang-ing from very fi ne, Turkish ground coffee through complex particle size distributions which are required for capsule production. Probat also provides a modern PC control system with an easy to use operator interface terminal, which simplifi es grinder operation and control.

At the last Interpack in 2008, Probat high-lighted the Saturn, the new centrifugal roaster.

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This year Probat is excited to showcase the new concept of the tangen-tial roasters, called Jupiter. In development of the new Jupiter roasters, Probat focused on fl exibility.

“The roasting machines of the new Jupiter series are extremely versatile with regard to the combination of roast supply air temperature and volume fl ow,” according to Rainer van der Beek, director of sales and marketing at Probat. “Thus they allow specifi c aroma and roasting profi les – both with short and long roasting times.”

Further innovations in the roaster segment include the Probatone 60 drum roaster with fully-automatic controls and the revised Probatone shop roasters with batch sizes of 5 and 12kg.

Probat Controls innovations include the new plant control system, Pilot Plant, and the completely revised roaster control system, Pilot Roaster. Both new systems improve operator access to critical details while making the controls easier to use. Data input modules ease entry of relevant produc-tion data. To improve data management, Probat Controls are designed to link to ERP systems, which provides greater access to production data and the ability to generate statistical analysis of operations data.

ChinaTpresso launched in Beijing Eric Favre, the inventor of the iconic Nespresso system, left Nestle in 1990 to head Swiss fi rm Monodor, which contract manufactures around 500 million coffee capsules annually.

Favre, who says that he “has been working for 30 years on tea,” recently unveiled his new Tpresso system in Beijing, China. Tpresso uses a capsule sys-tem to deliver a variety of fi ne teas, brewed to perfection.

Favre is looking to Asian, particularly Chinese, consumers to embrace the new technology.

“Five hundred years ago tea was sailing overseas and crossed oceans to arrive in Western Europe,” he said. “Today, Tpresso comes from Switzerland to China with its new patented technique, offering Chinese consumers a wonderful drink and rejuvenating tea’s image in the country it was born in.”

Tpresso offers “perfect control of all parameters” including temperature, pre-watering, volume and,preservation of the original aroma of the tea


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KenyaEgypt worries tradersFears that poitical uncertainty in Egypt may soon start to negatively affect the price paid at auction for tea in Momba-sa if it continues have tempered jubilation at recent record export earnings, according to a report dated February 7.

Egypt is a signifi cant buyer of Kenyan tea, particularly for specially blended dusts, accounting for around 21% of its total export sales. But brokers representing Egyptian buyers have been noticeably absent at recent auctions, fan-ning concerns that if the popular uprising lasts much longer, warehouse space will become an issue and traders and sell-ers will be hurt.

“Most of the tea was purchased in December when the prices were high, now they are low. What will happen is a lot of defaults. So they (Egyptian buyers) may buy low to average the prices,’ according to Peter Kimanga, a tea man-ager at Global Tea and Commodities Kenya Ltd, quoted by Reuters. “The dust grade is suitable for tea bags so traders are likely to move away from the good grades which are more expensive,” Kimanga said. “Kenya may lose as much as 30% in auctions over the next month should the Egyp-tian situation remain unresolved.”

Sri LankaExports top Kenya’sA record US$1.37 billion was collected in tea exports by Sri Lanka in 2010, earning the country more than Kenya, despite the latter’s greater export volumes.

The income, an increase of 16% over that of 2009’s drought-affected crop, was generated by sales of 314 million kg, itself 8% higher than last year’s production.

“Interestingly, Kenya exported a highest-ever 441 mil-lion kilos in the year 2010,” according to a tea broker quoted by Lanka Business Online. “The approximate US dollar value was US$859 million. Kenya produced a highest-ever 399 million kg, a sharp improvement on the drought-crippled 2009 fi gure of 314 million kg.”

Sri Lanka exports more added-value tea and earns a higher income accordingly, the report said, citing that 65% (143.9 million kg) of Sri Lankan tea is exported in packets and 9% in tea bags. Most of its green tea exports of 5.7 mil-lion kg also fall into these segments.

Wooing RussiaSri Lanka aims to launch an “aggressive” marketing cam-paign in a bid to boost exports to one-time leading importer Russia, which as recently as 2006 bought 43% of Sri Lan-ka’s exports but now buys only 28%, according to minister of plantation industries Mahinda Samarasinghe, quoted in the local media.

“We are not happy at all with this loss of market share with one our biggest tea buyers: this is not an acceptable situation,” Samarasinghe said. “On our last visit there we met the minister of agriculture in Russia and discussed ways of increasing our market share for Ceylon tea there, as it is well-known for its quality which has never been com-promised. We will in the near future launch an aggressive marketing campaign to recover our lost tea market in Rus-sia,” Samarasinghe told a group of Russian tea buyers in Colombo recently.

Poor weather has brought down crop estimated for the January harvest by about 30%, but the shortfall may be recovered from the February crop, according to Jayan-tha Karunaratne, managing director of Impra Tea, who last year exported about 3 million kg of Ceylon tea to Russia.

Indonesia, Kenya, India, Vietnam and China have all gained market share in Russia at Sri Lanka’s expense, a function of the higher cost of Ceylon tea, according to Kar-unaratne.

“We bear a high cost in packing our tea,” he said. “These costs must be brought down, other brands like Liptons are now packing their tea in several countries. Also we are not allowed to import tea into the country as the protests from the producers are strong. To counter this situation we must fi nd a strategy or suffer the consequences.”

IndiaStandard CTC gradesAbout 90% of the tea India produces is CTC, but the cur-rent grading system identifi es 60 or more grades, presenting a challenge for producers, auctioneers, and buyers to truly know what they are getting.

To address this long-standing confusion, the Tea Board of India has issued a circular announcing that it is standard-izing the grade structure for different types of CTC nation-wide effective March 1.

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The Tea Board has been studying the grade issues surrounding CTC for some time, and has worked closely with pro-ducers and auction buyers’ associations and auction organizers.

“It will now remove confusion in the domestic as well as the overseas markets on the matter,” said Assam Tea Plant-ers’ Association (ATPA) chairman AR Kasera, quoted in the local media.

The new guidelines allow for eight grades of CTC broken leaf, three grades of CTC fanning and eight grades of CTC dust.

Prices to rise 7%?Interviewed on CNBC-TV18, Aditya Khaitan, managing director of McLeod Russel, said that he believed Indian tea prices could increase by 5% to 7% in 2011.

Citing reduced production Kenya, Khaitan was bullish over prospect for In-dian tea exports this year.

“India is running on inventory levels right now,” he said. “India today, is sit-

ting on a 100 million kg defi cit as we begin the year. This is the fi rst time in the history of the tea industry where we have seen this kind of shortage. India itself is running very low on in-ventory levels. If we do have the Af-rican drought now and the months of April-May-June is the quality pe-riod for Indian Assam teas and are the exportable type of teas, this will lead to a higher export price for us in Assam and in McLeod Russel…it is looking very good for us going into the season.

“There is very big variant that’s taking place now in India,” Khaitan said. “There is a vacuum for quality teas and there is a huge demand for that. For that the premiums are very good and there is a slight premium for common teas. It just depends on how we start the year in terms of our weather and our crop. Overall, if I look at it on a year-to-year basis, I expect a 5% to 7% increase over this year.”

ChinaContinued momentumIn an interim performance report issued recently by UniIever chief executive Paul Polman, the makers of Lipton tea reported that its sales in China are continuing to grow “in single digit fi gures,” spurred by a growing preference for milky tea, the convenience of tea bags and trading up to pyramid bags.

He said that Unilever had beat-en its sales targets for the last three months of 2010 and that the com-pany was experiencing “continued momentum” in China.

Tea centre for FujianAnxi county in Fujian province has started construction on a RMB150 million (US$22.8 million) tea garden devoted to tea culture.

The 27 Ha facility will encom-pass a 10km section of a Tieguanyin tea plantation showcasing tea pro-duction and traditional crafts.

Work is expected to be complet-ed in three years.


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ICA 2007 enters into forceThe International Coffee Agreement (ICA) 2007 governing international cooperation on coffee, entered into force on February, 2, 2011. It is the seventh ICA since 1962 and will last for 10 years, with the possi-bility of extension for a further 8 years.

“I would like to thank all ICO member governments for their commitment to rat-ifying the ICA 2007. I would also like to extend a warm welcome to five new mem-ber governments, Liberia, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen who will in-crease the geographical representation of coffee producers and consumers under the new agreement. The ICA 2007 is an important instrument for development cooperation and will promote a sustain-able coffee economy for the benefit of all stakeholders particularly small farmers in producing countries,” said José Sette, executive director

The entry into force was triggered by the deposit of an instrument of ratifica-tion on February 2 by the government of Brazil. To date 34 governments have ratified, accepted or approved the agree-ment and a further 13 governments have signed it.

The objective of the agreement is to strengthen the global coffee sector and promote its sustainable expansion in a market-based environment for the bet-terment of all participants in the sector. Important innovations include a new chapter on the development and funding of coffee development projects, and the establishment of a consultative forum on coffee sector finance, responding to the need for increased access to informa-tion on topics related to finance and risk management in the coffee sector. The range of statistical data will be expanded, enhancing market transparency, and a new promotion and market development committee will oversee activities includ-ing information campaigns, research, capacity-building and studies related to coffee production and consumption.

In 2010, the world coffee trade gener-ated export earnings of around US$16.5 billion for producing countries. Around 600 billion cups of coffee are consumed every year.

The text of the agreement and more in-formation can be found at: www.ico.org.

HollandUTZ sales up almost 50%A total of 121,234 metric tons of UTZ Certifi ed coffee was sold in 2010, an increase of almost 50% compared to the previous year. According to UTZ Certifi ed, one of the largest sustainability programs for coffee, tea and cocoa in the world, the record sales show increasing demand for sustainably sourced coffee and also through the increased willingness to invest in and commit to sustainability by the mainstream market’s biggest players like Sara Lee, Ahold Coffee Company and Migros.

Brazil continues to be the biggest seller of UTZ Certifi ed coffee. In 2010 that country was responsible for the sales of 51,574 metric tons of green coffee. Vietnam is the second largest with 24,065 metric tons.

A total of 157,168 estates and smallholders have been UTZ Certifi ed in 23 origin countries. With this, the number of awarded certifi cates in 2010 increased by 65% compared to the year before. This means the indepen-dent position of farmers has been reinforced. Farmers are trained in the professionalization of their agricultural practices and operational manage-ment. This improves the quality of the product and allows them to produce higher volumes at lower costs. This in turn enables farmers to negotiate a better price for a better product and to improve their standard of living. Moreover, farmers who work with UTZ Certifi ed in the global marketplace receive a premium for their crop and they don’t have to pay for taking part in the program.

Already, companies from 42 different countries are registered as UTZ Certifi ed buyers. Sara Lee, Friele and Ahold Coffee Company are, amongst others, large mainstream buyers of UTZ Certifi ed coffee. They have there-fore contributed greatly to the strong increase in sales. In the past fi ve years Sara Lee for example has become the world´s largest buyer of UTZ Certifi ed Good Inside coffee thanks to cumulative purchases of more than 110 million kilos of the commodity. The company committed to more than triple that amount in the next fi ve years and purchase at least 350 million kilos across all its markets and product segments. UTZ Certifi ed Good Inside will be Sara Lee´s main partner for sustainable certifi cation.

Country Sales 2010 Brazil 51,574 MTVietnam 24,065 MTHonduras 14,732 MTColombia 6,625 MTPeru 5,910 MT

Top fi ve sales UTZ Certifi ed Good Inside green coffee in metric tons


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Brazil Declining output in 2011Coffee production in Brazil is expected to decline by up to 21% in 2011 compared to 2010’s record crop. Around 43-47 million bags of coffee are expected to be delivered and arabica analysts predict a rise in coffee futures in the fi rst half of 2011 as a result.

Domestic consumption of coffee is, conversely, on the rise, and Brazil may overtake the US as the largest coffee consuming nation by 2012.

Coffee consumption has seen around 4% annual increase since 2004 and is expected to rise by 5% again this year, according to Brazil’s coffee industry associa-tion, ABIC,

“The number of cups consumed per day is more. People are not just drinking coffee at breakfast but also espresso, lattes and cappuccinos in bars and restau-rants, contributing to the increase,” according to ABIC executive director Nathan Herskowicz.

TanzaniaHighest prices ever Best quality Tanzanian coffee earned the highest pric-es ever recorded at auction during January auctions.Benchmark grade AA coffee fetched US$339.80 per 50 kg bag

as high grade coffee harvesting all-time high at this week’s auction as the harvest of high-quality supply dwindled, traders said on Friday.

“Coffee growers are enjoying the best prices on record at the moment because of the prevailing scar-city of coffee in the market,” according to Geoffrey Mwangulumbi, executive director of the Association of Kilimanjaro Specialty Coffee Growers, quoted in local media. “The prices recorded at this week’s auction for premium grade coffee are the highest seen in history. They have never reached this high before.”

KenyaCrop forecasts slashedInsuffi cient rainfall has seen Kenya’s coffee produc-tion outlook slashed by almost a quarter, but expecta-tions of higher prices and a possible 7% increase in exports may offset the pain for farmers, according to James Wahome of the Kenya Coffee Board, quoted by Bloomberg. .

“It wasn’t a very good harvest between October and December,” he said. “There was mostly dry weath-er and most of the coffee is rain-fed.”

Kenya has two harvests, a larger one from October to December and a “fi ller” harvest from April to June.

Wahome said that Kenya may reach only 40,000 tons this season to September 30, signifi cantly lower than the 55,000 tons initially projected.


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IndiaStarbucks, Tata MOUStarbucks and Tata Coffee have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) that is ex-pected to see a further development in the relationship between the two companies.

Starbucks, which sources its Indian coffee from Tata, is seeking to introduce its coffee shop business to India and to develop its domestic coffee sourcing and roasting base in collaboration with Tata.

The MOU allows for possible development of Starbucks outlets on Tata-owned commercial and ho-tel properties as well as coffee export options.

“We believe India can be an important source of coffee in the domestic market as well as across the many regions globally where Starbucks has opera-tions,” according to a statement by Howard Schultz, Starbucks c.e.o.

ASEANCoffee Federation growsThe Philippines has formally joined the ASEAN Cof-fee Federation (ACF), an organization formed to help promote the interests of ASEAN coffee producers, ac-cording to a statement issued by the Philippine Coffee Board (PCB).

Representatives from Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand recently met in Pattaya, Thailand and Pakse, Laos as the ASEAN Cof-fee Federation gathers steam.

“It is so inspiring to hear from other coffee players that our Mindanao and Cavite coffees are world-class,” said PCB chairman Nicholas Matti, quoted in the Daily Inquirer. “We just need to increase our production as our Philippine coffee is very much respected in and around Asia.”

“Our barako and civet coffee are specialty coffees with high demand,” added PCB co-chair Pacita Juan. “We Asians should taste coffees fi rst from ASEAN, before we promote other origins. There is so much good coffee in our region, we need to support each other in promoting our Asian coffees.”

The ACF expects representatives from Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam to join its meetings in 2011.

VietnamCrop insuranceCoffee farmers in the Central Highlands in Dak Lak province are to be offered crop insurance for the fi rst time in a trial run being established by Bao Minh Insur-ance Joint Stock Corporation.

The pilot scheme will provide coverage for losses and business interruption loss due to insuffi cient rain in the insured period.

IndiaGrowers see gainsPoor weather in other coffee producing nations and short-term supply concerns have helped drive coffee prices up for many In-dian coffee farmers,

There are still challenges facing the sector, including higher fer-tilizer costs and a shortage of farm workers.

While higher prices earned in 2010 helped farmers offset losses from 2009, “production is less, and the scarcity of laborers is forc-ing growers to engage temporary hands at high wages,” according to Coffee Board of India member Nanda Belliappa, quoted in the Times of India. “Manure prices have also shot up,” he added.

Lavazza plant in 2012By the middle of 2012, when it is expected to open, Lavazza’s new US$27.5 million coffee roasting and packing plant is expected cre-ate over 150 jobs in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh.

With a potential annual capacity of 1,400 tons, The Italian cof-fee group, which operates in over 90 countries worldwide, will produce beans, capsules and ground coffee intended initially for domestic and subsequently Asia Pacifi c distribution at the facility.

Lavazza’s push into India (it bought the Barista Coffee Compa-ny and Fresh & Honest Cafe in 2007) is fueled by expectations that India is growing to become its second largest market after Italy, according to deputy chairman Giuseppe Lavazza.

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“Losses and costs incurred from low levels of rainfall would be calculated against the Cumulative Rainfall Index as measured at the designated rainfall gauging station and published by Central Highlands Regional Hydro-Meteorolog-ical Centre of Viet Nam,” according to media reports. If the trial is successful, the company plans to extend agri-insurance coverage to all coffee and rice farmers.

PhilippinesSagada invites cuppersSagada, one of Cordillera province’s lead-ing coffee producers, is inviting a panel

of cuppers, including members from from Australia and Canada, to join its annual fi esta in an effort to boost the lo-cal coffee industry’s exposure to a wider audience.

The Cordillera Regional Arabica Coffee Council, tasked to promote the local beans, hit on the idea as a way to train and educate local producers as well as to promote their coffee beans.

Since the coffee industry is not yet fully developed, we also have to catch up on the skills level,” according to committee member Richard Abellon, quoted in The Inquirer newspaper.

“We are more trained in produc-tion than service. In other countries such as the United States, Japan, and South Korea, they have their own coffee school because the market re-quires that there should be training on coffee tasting.”

Council member Elizabeth Wal-lang, Sagada’s agriculture technolo-gist added that the town’s arabica beans can compete with the world’s best beans

“If we are skilled on cupping, we will be able to develop the fl avor of our coffee,” according to Abellon. “Some people prefer it mild, others prefer it strong, while others prefer it earthy. If we develop our tastes, then we can promote our coffee ef-fectively.”

IndonesiaCrop down by 8.3%?Poor weather conditions may see Indonesia’s crop dip by 8.3%, to around 550,000 tons against last year’s 600,000 tons, according to Indonesian Coffee Exporters As-sociation (AEKI) secretary-general Rachim Kartabrata

“Extreme weather and extensive rainfall would make coffee beans fall or decay,” he said, quoted by Bloomberg.

Kartabrata also said that coffee bean theft was another factor affect-ing crop results.

Agriculture Ministry statistics for coffee production in 2010 indicate a lower total crop size than AEKI’s (479,000 tons against initial projec-tions of 698,000 tons).

Export volumes are predicted to decrease by both parties and by the USDA foreign agriculture service, which sees production of 480,000 tons and a drop in exports of about 17%.

However, the export defi cit would be offset by an anticipated rise in coffee prices as world supply in general is expected to be lower due in part to a smaller Brazilian harvest.


By B

arbara Dufrene

Occurring simultaneously in two French islands, La Réunion and New Caledonia, both just above the Tropic of Cancer, but 3,500 miles apart, these two revivals were generated by the coffee passion of a CIRAD scientist, Frederic Descroix, and of a pharmacist who decided to restore a family plantation, Jean Paul Belhomme.

A mythical coffee?There is no record of coffee trees showing a Christmas tree shape, dwarfi sm, small leaves and short internodes, with sharp ended beans containing only half of the average caffeine content, yielding an incomparable cup profi le: the Bourbon pointu, or Sharp bourbon. So where does the Bourbon pointu come from? How did it develop? Where can one fi nd these coffees today?

Although the history of coffee it not completely assessed it is assumed that cultiva-tion started in south western Ethiopia at the end of the fi fth century; from there coffee plants were introduced to Yemen as early as 575 AD. During the following centuries the habit of coffee consumption gradually expanded in the Arab peninsula following the religious conquest of Islam, spreading from the holy cities of Mecca and Medina to Egypt fi rst and then to Constantinople.

Comeback of a Mythical Coffee: French Bourbon Pointu

Science has fully confirmed that the Bourbon pointu is

in fact a mutant

Hédiard celebrated its 140th anniversary with offerings of Bourbon pointu


All this coffee was grown in Yemen and exported through the port of Mocha generating considerable wealth for the Rulers of Yemen, who carefully preserved their monopoly until 1690.Then a clever Dutch seaman had succeeded to smuggle away some coffee plants. Introduced to the Dutch possessions in today’s Indo-nesia the fi rst commercial crop arrived in Amsterdam in 1721, thus allowing the Dutch to dominate the coffee trade in Europe for a while.

One coffee bush offered as a gift to French king Louis the XIV in 1714 by the lord mayor of Amsterdam eventu-ally started off coffee production in the French possessions in the Caribbean which prospered abundantly from 1750 onwards; also in 1714 another gift of 26 coffee plants from the Sultan of Yemen to the French king was taken directly to another French possession in the Indian ocean, then called Île Bourbon, which is today’s Ile de la Réunion. Prospering ex-tremely well in this volcanic subtropical island the coffee crop developed and in 1731 it provided the complete supply for the French market.

That was 270 years ago, but it is shows very clearly that throughout the past cen-turies already coffee has always been an asset of considerable economic importance

Bourbon pointu from la Réunion on sale at Hédiard in Paris


High quality plant material can survive for

decades until the passion of coffee

lovers offers them appropriate conditions

to rise again

and has generated wealth but also woe and furthermore a lot of science and re-search.

When the coffee trees from Mocha ar-rived in the Isle of Bourbon in 1714 they were Coffea arabica cultivars of Ethiopian origin which had been raised in Yemen for over 1,000 years. Scientists have since established two distinct groups of culti-vated varieties which are distinguished by genetic analysis: the ‘Bourbon’ and the ‘Typica’ coffees.

Science has also fully confi rmed that the Bourbon pointu is in fact a mutant; it was discovered in 1771 by a local cof-fee estate owner named Leroy and then specifi cally selected in all the island of Bourbon for its draught resistance. Ini-tially called Café Leroy, the name Bour-bon Pointu was given to this variety from 1920 onwards, the botanic specifi cation being Coffea arabica Laurina.

Renamed Ile de le Réunion in 1793, the following decades brought climatic disasters, replacement of coffee by sugar cane, plant pests and so on, which all to-

gether gradually resulted in a major decline of the coffee crop. However the very subtle fragrance of its Bourbon pointu coffee had made it a world-renowned luxury product and a sought after rarity by the 19th century. Therefore, some French settlers who left la Réunion in the 1870s to colonize the island of New Caledonia in the Pacifi c Ocean took some of these coffee bushes with them in order to preserve this high quality re-source. Prospering well in these new surroundings, good harvests were soon realized.

However, later on the same plant pests were striking and coffee rust - hemilea vas-tatrix – destroyed most of the coffee plantations in New Caledonia. The plants were replaced by robusta coffee bushes imported from Madagascar.

So back to point zero in New Caledonia, as had happened earlier in la Réunion.

Revival in la RéunionOnly a few coffee connoisseurs in Europe still remembered the last exports of Bour-bon pointu dating back to 1942 when some Japanese coffee experts from Ueshima

visited La Réunion in 1999. Having trav-elled here with the intention of tasting some local Bourbon pointu, they fi nally concluded that it had vanished. Together with the local authorities they decided to call a contest to comb through the ex-isting plantations to look for remaining specifi c Bourbon pointu bushes. Even-tually, around 260 of them were identi-fi ed. Given this great interest, the French government decided to assist in funding a research project in order to re-launch this gourmet coffee production.

The world famous French research body CIRAD was invited to direct the operations. In 2002 Frederic Descroix was dispatched for this mission. His fi rst step was to select 27 mother plants as starter plant material, then 113 plots were

Ida Marc Bourbon pointu from New Caledonia

Bourbon pointu coffee fl owering on la Réunion

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planted all over the island in 2003. All the plot parameters were carefully registered in order to link them eventually to the cup profi le and identify the best crop condi-tions. All coffees are handpicked and the post-harvest treatment is carried out with great care. The cup evaluation is regularly carried out by 12 experts according to ISO 6668 and the analytical results have helped identify the best soils, the best microclimate and the best altitude thus selecting optimal conditions for the pro-duction of gourmet coffees, which come in 4 quality grades: grand crû, sublime, authentic and original. In 2007 the fi rst sales were run in Japan by Ueshima, who had registered the name Bourbon pointu as their industrial property in Japan and thus has the exclusive right to sell these coffees. The 2,200 packs of 100g of cof-fee were sold out within one day. In 2010 production output has reached around

1,000 kg and some of this crop was set aside for the French market. Thus the famous fi ne food store Hédiard in Paris announced some Bourbon pointu sales to celebrate the company’s 140th anniversary but their small stock was sold out within a week in October, 2010.

A new gourmet coffee specialist in Paris, l’Arbre à Café, is currently the only place with a contractual supply arrangement for the grand crû and the sublime beans and they sell respectively for €205 (US$282) and €195/kg. This coffee is today amongst the most select and most expensive in the world, which is very rewarding for the produc-ers who have accepted to join the project and to take on the burden of thes extremely labour intensive specialty coffee beans.

Revival in New CaledoniaThis is a family saga that begins with grandfather Marc Boucher accompanied by his young wife Ida settling in New Caledonia in 1920, where he bought a big piece of land on the South coast of the island for planting café Leroy from the remaining stock

brought by the fi rst settlers. He also in-troduced some completely new plants, such as peach and prune trees and saf-fron. After he died in 1945, the 10 chil-dren all went to town and the big estate was gradually left to run wild. One of the daughters, Odette, aged 94 today, had al-ways remained extremely fond of the es-tate though and it was her suggestion that her daughter and son in law, both phar-macists, undertake to revive this paradise of her childhood..

The adventure started in 1998 by naming the estate after the ancestor founding couple ‘Ida Marc’. Exploring the place Axelle and Jean Paul Belhomme were fascinated to discover all the trees and bushes which had remained from the grandfather’s French farming traditions and also the few Bourbon pointu or café Leroy bushes, which they carefully se-lected from the presently unkempt veg-

Harvesting Bourbon pointu on New Caledonia

la Réunion Bourbon pointu coffee cherries

Ida Marc Bourbon pointu: award-wining coffee


The 2009 yield has proudly reached 2,000 tons of parchment coffee, all fully traceable

etation. Guided by Odette‘s memories and investing a lot of energy and passion the Belhommes have gradually turned the estate into a model coffee plantation.

Today there are 14 plots with 30,000 coffee bushes, of which 26,500 are Bour-bon pointu, the rest being Typica and some yellow Bourbon. The 50 different types of shade trees not only protect the coffee bushes from the sun but also from the wind. Hurricane Erika, which devas-tated the island in 2003, uprooted 14,000 of the coffee bushes, which have been replaced since. Situated in an altitude of 350m to 400m, the estate is on a rather steep slope, which makes the use of me-chanical equipment impossible. Further-more the huge nickel resources employ most of the local workforce so that it is really hard to fi nd labour for working in the coffee plantation, and every year there are more problems to hire enough local village women to do the picking.

On the other side the mining industry has brought an important colony of work-ers from Korea, which means that there are some very knowledgeable coffee lovers amongst the management, with whom the owner can discuss coffee cupping, when they meet up in his Dojo for some Kendo practice. Indeed JP Belhomme has not only practiced Kendo for the last 20 years, he also teaches and was appointed 5th Dan in November 2009 at the Saitama Budokan, near Tokyo. His Ida Marc Bourbon pointu won the fi rst prize in 2007 at the local food competition and the second price at the Seoul barista championship in 2009 and every year his Korean customers buy more of it. The 2009 yield has proudly reached 2,000 tons of parchment coffee, all fully traceable; the de-pulping and washing is carried out with rain water from a huge under-ground tank. For the past three years or so the estate has received regular visits from Japanese and Korean tourist groups who always admire the beauty and sustainable management of the estate and ask where they can buy these coffees at home.

Former splendorThese two recent and uncommon revivals demonstrate that high quality plant material can survive for decades until the passion of coffee lovers offers them appropriate condi-tions to rise again to their former splendor. It is reported that amongst those who claimed their preference for Bourbon pointu are French writer Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) and British statesman Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965). They certainly used traditional brewing methods and it is still strongly rec-ommended to use the fi lter drip method in order to fully enhance the exceptional fl avor of these rare premium coffees.

It is also very rewarding for both of the French origin places that the attraction and reputation of these mythic coffees allows them to set off the high production costs, because coffee lovers are prepared to pay premium prices to acquire some cups of these limited supplies.

New Caledonian Bourbon pointu parchment

Harvesting coffee cherries on Ile de la Réunion


I

By Jane P

ettigrew

Japan is generally recognized as a major producer of world-famous green teas. So why are Japanese tea farmers turning more and more to the manufacture of black tea? During a recent visit to the country, Tea & Coffee Asia found out why.

n 2009, Kaoru and Miyoko Kayano, Japanese tea makers, won a three star gold award at Britain’s Great Taste Awards. They were not the fi rst Japanese tea manu-facturers to win such an accolade – the Satsuma Eikokukan Museum won a two

star gold prize in 2007. Most people would perhaps quite naturally assume that those prizes were given to typical Japanese green teas – perhaps sencha, gyokuro or matcha. But, in fact both prizewinners were black teas, made in Kagoshima Prefecture, a region that was, until the 1970s, famous for its fragrant, honey-fl avored, smooth black teas. Now more and more smallholder Japanese tea makers are once again making black varieties.

Japan’s Tea Turns from Green to Black

More and more smallholder Japanese

tea makers are once again making

black varieties

Black tea made by Tea Master Hatsuro Katsumata, a master of hand-rolling Japanese Sencha green tea. He makes the black tea by applying hand-rolling technology to the leaves and buds of a hybrid cultivar, Shizu-7132, which is a hybrid from a Japa-nese small-leaf species (Camellia sinensis var. sinensis) and a large-leaf one (C. sinensis var. assamica) from India. Photo courtesy Akiko Nakamura van Eyck of Shizuoka Tea Co Ltd.


Rewinding the clockIn the 12th century AD, when the Japanese learnt from the Chinese how to cultivate and manufacture tea, it was green tea that they made and drank. But in the late 19th century, the Japanese government decided to try and increase revenue by expanding its exports of such valued products as silk and tea to the outside world. They had watched the successful export of black teas from China, India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) to the UK, Europe and the US and so determined to try and win a share of that market with Japanese-made black teas. Experts and technicians were sent to China to gain knowledge and experience in manufacturing methodology, and to India to collect seeds from assamica varietals of the tea bush. But the weather in Japan proved to be too cold for the assamicas and so, in 1901, a Tea Experiment Station was established at Makurazaki where research into the propagation of suitable black tea varietals began and black tea manufacture was developed. And since at the time Japan was also the ruling power in Taiwan, black tea manufacture started there too.

The varietals of the tea plant already established in Taiwan and Japan were better suited to green tea manufacture, and the black teas made from the harvested leaf gave aroma, fl avor, color and character that was much lighter and more delicate than is typical of the gutsy, punchy, strong teas made in India and Ceylon, and of the subtle, layered, complex black teas produced in China. They therefore failed to make an im-pact in the world market and attempts were made instead to increase their popularity in the domestic market. A taste for black tea had already built up following the launch of British brands, such as Lipton and Brooke Bond, during the fi rst decade of the 20th century but those foreign blends were subsequently banned at the outbreak of the First World War. The strict import controls continued for several years after the war had ended and this helped to boost sales of locally-made black brands.

In 1953, a program to breed black tea varietals of the camellia sinensis (work that had briefl y been closed down in 1946) resumed and continued into the 1960s. But as the Japanese government attempted once again to grow the national economy, bans on imports were lifted and an increasing number of foreign tea companies were granted licenses to sell their teas in Japan. By 1971, the 8000 tonnes of black tea that was being made by Japanese producers in the 1960s had been reduced to zero.

Japanese black tea since the 1970sLocal manufacturers turned back to making traditional green teas and, from the 1970s until recently, almost all the black teas consumed within Japan were imported from the UK or direct from India, Sri Lanka, China and other tea producing countries. How-ever, three recent changes in the market are having a noticeable infl uence on domestic tea producers who are once again manufacturing black teas.

The fi rst factor is a drop in the amount of green tea consumed in Japan – the inevi-table result of growing consumption of bottled iced teas which actually use a smaller quantity of leaf in the manufacturing process than is required to brew equivalent vol-


umes of hot tea. The second factor (resulting from that) is the decline in market prices for bulk green tea, especially for teas made from the second and third harvests in late spring and summer. The third contributory factor appears to be a growing interest amongst consumers in sweeter, smoother lighter black teas and aromatic oolongs and pouchongs.

But it is also important to recognize the fact that Japa-nese tea drinkers have started worrying about health issues to do with Plant Protection Agent (PPA) residue levels and so are buying more organic products produced both inside their own country and imported from elsewhere. When it comes to black teas, the Japanese still seem to be quite hap-py to import their black teas from the UK where they know stringent regulations control residue levels. But it seems that they are less confi dent when it comes to drinking black teas from elsewhere – perhaps because their government does not control the importation of black teas as tightly as it does that of green tea, and people feel less confi dent about the products that are available on shelf. There is therefore a growing interest in locally-produced black teas - and in fact Japanese companies are even making puerh-style aged teas in order to be quite sure that they know exactly how those teas have been made. And even though Japanese-made teas are more expensive, some people are prepared to pay more for a product that is guaranteed to be ‘safe’.

Advantages of black tea manufacture As well as meeting the demands for ‘healthy’ teas, increased black tea manufacture offers other advantages. New jobs are being created for young people in rural areas where they can now fi nd work hand-plucking the tea bushes, hand-rolling the leaf and carrying out other jobs for smallholder farmers. Approximately 200 farmers are now producing black teas and they can now offer more and varied products that appeal to a wider mix of customers. They still often use the fi rst spring harvest of young tender tea shoots to make quality green teas (which fetch high prices), but then switch to black later in the growing season when leaves and buds would give a lower, coarser quality. These teas fi nd their way onto the market through a network of local mar-kets (as is currently happening in other countries) where people gather to buy and sell organic and specialty foods

A Brief History of Japanese Black Tea Manufacture 1874 The Japanese government created a policy to manufacture black tea for world market 1875 Japanese technicians sent to China and India to study black tea and collect seeds 1901 Makurazaki Branch, Tea Experiment Station, Ministry of Agri culture and Forestry was established 1929 Kagoshima Prefectural Institute For Agricultural Development, Tea Division established; black tea breeding experiment designated by Ministry of Agriculture started 1939 Black tea breeding experiment by Ministry of Agriculture began 1946 Black tea breeding experiment stopped 1953 Black tea breeding experiment resumed 1971 Black tea breeding experiment comes to an end 1980 Makurazaki Experiment Station closed 2000 – 2010 More tea farmers once again start experimenting with black tea manufacture 2007 Japanese black tea wins two star Gold Award at Britain’s Great Taste Award 2009 Japanese black tea wins three star Gold Award at Britain’s Great Taste Awards

The clear coppery liquor brewed from Master Katsumata’s hand-rolled black tea. It is diffi cult to achieve this sort of rich color when hand-rolling leaves and buds from cultivars that are normally grown to make green tea. Photo courtesy Akiko Nakamura van Eyck of Shizuoka Tea Co Ltd.

The wet leaf of Master Katsumata’s black tea which is rolled to maintain the original shape of the plucked leaf and buds. Photo courtesy Akiko Nakamura van Eyck of Shizuoka Tea Co Ltd.


Producers have to work by a system of carefully monitored

trial and error to discover what makes the best teas

that are not available in the supermarket chains. These farm-ers’ markets are helping to fi ght back against the power of the multi-nationals and also create an opportunity for local food and beverage producers to sell products that are fresh, that taste good, and that bring quality and integrity back to the consumer.

Japanese black teas offer tea lovers an aroma and taste that is much more subtle and elegant than many of the imported strong black blends available in the stores. This is because the varietals of the tea plant traditionally grown in Japan have low-er catechin levels than those used to produce strong black teas in Assam, Nilgiri, Sri Lanka and Africa and so give a lighter color and character in the cup. The most commonly grown cultivar is ‘Yabukita’ which, when withered, hand-rolled, oxi-dized and dried, gives a sweet, honeyed aroma and fl avor with only very light hints of astringency and bitterness. The gently curved, hand-rolled leaf teas are often called ‘Kin Mei Cha’ or ‘Golden Brow Tea’. Some growers are now introducing more of the Benifuki varietal, which gives a stronger character that producers are hoping will also appeal to tea drinkers outside Japan. Other popular cultivars are Hatsumomiji, Benihikari, Saemidori and Yama No Ibuki.

For those smallholders who wish to improve their black tea-making skills, training and advice is now available from the experts. Kanzo Sakata, Professor Emeritus at Kyoto Universi-ty’s Institute for Chemical Research, has been running courses to help farmers understand which varietals to grow, how to wither, how to roll the leaves by hand or by machine (most of the new producers roll by hand), oxidation times and drying temperatures. At a recent workshop run by Professor Sakata, 300 people came to learn and, although some approach this new venture very tentatively, with a little help and encourage-ment, they are becoming more and more involved and are growing in confi dence. Some have imported rolling machines and technical assistance from Sri Lanka; some are taking ad-vantage of the offer of help from Tea Research Stations and local government departments.

One of Professor Sakata’s specialist subjects is how aroma and fl avor develop during the different stages of tea manufac-ture and his work with different varietals used for both black and oolong teas will be of great value to Japanese producers and to other new tea makers around the world. As is happen-ing in the new tea growing regions of Hawaii and New Zea-land, producers have to work by a system of carefully moni-tored trial and error until they discover what makes the best teas. It is fascinating and exciting to taste the teas that result from their dedicated and committed work.


iBy H

eneage Mitchell

lly Caffe, the Trieste-based international coffee roaster, is recognized as having one of the most interesting and successful approaches to growing its brand in Asia.

illy’s roasted offerings come from beans sourced primarily in Brazil, Ecuador, Columbia, Kenya and Ethiopia, with “some components” from India. But it has tar-geted the world’s coffee-lovers with its all-encompassing desire to share the wealth of knowledge it is constantly acquiring and assimilating with all who appreciate a really good cup of coffee.

This strategy is evident in India, where illy, which uses arabica beans exclusively in its blends, nonetheless has been working with other interested parties to support robusta farmers through educational, training and promotional initiatives.

“illy’s focus is on expanding coffee culture, dedicated to the formation and training of coffee growers” sain Gian Carlo De Cesare, illy’s Thailand country manager.

The market is changing and illy works toward quality and sustainability, which is an essential combination. illy pays a premium for quality beans and within the guide-lines in the area of sustainability has the corporate responsibility to pay a fair profi t for growers. illy long ago targeted China as a potential gold mine, working hard to establish brand recognition in major population centers by having the the illy trademark in as many quality, prominent places as possible, from hotels to coffee shops to ice cream parlors, building brand awareness for illy and winning customers for the outlet.

The same strategy is seen in illy’s premier franchise, Espressamente Authentic Italian coffee bar at highly visible central hubs with high traffi c, such as airports and big shop-

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ping malls. Its most successful manifesta-tion is at the Venetian in Las Vegas.

In total worldwide there are 230 stores in 34 countries with 20 millions customers per year. In Asia, there are 30 Espressamente outlets.

Espressamente requires a master fran-chisee. Interiors are designed in Italy, and so a fi nancial partner contracts to open a determined number of outlets in the country in which they apply.

As one would expect, training for the Espressamente chain’s partners is a critical ingredient of their success. The Espressa-mente team are immersed in coffee fun-damentals, learning about coffee types, roasting techniques as well as food and beverage administration.

This degree of training is best ac-complished in a dedicated facility, which partly explains why illy developed its Universita’ del Caffe (UDC) department, a place where coffee lovers, baristas, coffee shop and food and beverage outlet operators, even barista’s training for championships that don’t use illy coffee, can go to learn all about coffee, from fundamental information to in-depth, inclusive courses. In 2010, there were eight UDCs established across the globe.

Now, illy is turning its attention to Thailand.


Why Thailand? Although there are diffi culties to overcome, particularly the high import duties on coffee and equipment, Thailand, with its burgeoning, sophisticated middle class and entrepreneurial, can-do attitude, is very much a part of illy’s global strategy.

The recent introduction of illy’s latest UDC in Bangkok, Thailand, is very much in line with the company’s philosophy: supporting the establishment and growth of a coffee culture, even if the direct returns may not be obviously apparent.

So how does establishing the latest UDC in Thailand fi t in with illy’s global strat-egy?

“Thailand is growing vertically in terms of coffee consumption,” De Cesare told Tea & Coffee Asia. “A lot of coffee shops have opened over recent years, but in 8-10 years, the market will be quality- oriented, so its a good time to establish the Universita del Caffe’ as the market is not yet clear on the quality aspects of coffee. Many Thais do not consider a hot beverage an experience in and of itself. illy wants to explain the difference between an illy experience and a cup of coffee.”

This highlights a signifi cant point, according to De Cesare.“illy has an obsession with quality,” he said. “Our main objective is to make sure

clients share this philosophy of coffee, not just the beans. The UDC is a training school that offers a complete theoretical and practical training on all subjects connected to coffee. But it is not a closed environment; UDC opens the doors to all that want to apply for the courses. Of course, illy clients get a special package in support of the loyalty.”

The UDC opened in October, 2010, although illy has been conducting training in Thailand for over six years already.

“We found it was very important to give the same, structured training programs in every country,” De Cesare said. “So in every UDC location worldwide, classes are conducted with the same learning process and didactical program.”

In fact, courses are open for all coffee lovers, not just baristas and illy franchisees. Coffee lovers can enrol for a four-hour training program. Customers of illy’s newly-introduced one and two group Metodo IperEspresso machines are among UCD’s student roster. The machines are designed to work with illy’s unique capsule system and aimed the single serve home and offi ce segments, as well as for horeca food service, hotels and restaurants.

“Customers are invited periodically to attend 4-hour coffee-lovers class at Uni-versita del Caffe to learn more about coffee,” clarifi ed De Cesare. “The technique is always the same regardless of coffee used – the difference is in the raw material, and illy’s philosophy over the past 80 years has been to spread whatever we learn – skill, knowledge –to everyone that is interested. It is a benefi t to everyone interested in cof-fee.”

And as Thailand’s coffee drinkers seek ever-more sophisticated experiences, UDC, which trains in Thai and English, is an idea whose time has come.

“The establishment of a “Universita del Caffe’ della Thailandia” here represents a big opportunity for Thailand to have a facility for professional coffee lovers to learn more about coffee and the coffee business. It’s a great support for existing clients. We want to give that extra edge and support to our customers fully, not just simply supply them with coffee beans.” In essence, the establishment of the “Universita del Caffe’ della Thailandia” represents a major component in the turn-key solution illy offers its customers. The company provides complete support and product range, plus train-ing.

In fact, UDC’s curriculum in Thailand also includes chocolate and tea as well as coffee, in line with Gruppo illy’s swelling portfolio of high-end tea, chocolate and other products. The long term goal of Gruppo illy is to develop a pillar of taste, where every company – drawing on its core character and competence – becomes the seg-ment’s benchmark for its high quality products.

“In the past few years, the company has expanded, and the holding group now has fi ve companies, which more accurately refl ects the changes that have taken place,”

“illy pays a premium for quality beans:

it has the corporate responsibility to pay a fair profit

for growers”

Close up of the iperEspresso coffee maker

Universita del Caffe’ – training room

Green coffee beans await roasting at illy Trieste


De Cesare explained. “Gruppo illy includes the tea producing company of Damann Freres, and it has the same philosophy as illy, aiming to offer only the best possible tea. Within the last seven years, Gruppo illy has added Domori, a chocolate company; Mastrojanni, a producer of superior wine from Tuscany; and Francis Francis, a coffee machine and design concept manufacturer. These companies are now all controlled by illy. The group is also a majority shareholder in Agrimontana, a company that manu-factures jam and ice cream ingredients.

Artists of the tasteThere is currently no Espressamente outlet in Thailand, but there is the Artisti del Gusto (ADG), artists of the taste, option available in-country.

“We have seen a lot of growth for the ADG concept in Italy and the US,” De Cesare confi ded. “It employs a different approach, it’s not a franchise, it’s a way for clients who want to offer their customers the best possible quality in terms of brand and coffee, using illy coffee, brand merchandising and support, retaining independent ownership.”

Any aspiring quality oriented coffee shop entrepreneur can apply to be an Artisti del Gusto, and illy supplies support and branding, such as cups. Artisti use special machines, supplied by illy, designed with a selection of non-standard performance and feature elements. “The visual impact is illy oriented, including uniforms and décor ele-ments,” De Cesare said. Exclusive use of illy coffee is required, and illy supplies the training and the rights to use of the trademark.

“Only coffee shops that are proven to be working with quality results and with high standards in food and beverage service are accepted into the program,” according to De Cesare, adding: “ADG implementation has shown incredible results in terms of revenue and sales for our partners worldwide.”

The fi rst step for an aspiring ADG is to start working as partner of illy, then the process to upgrade depends on quality/quantity of consumption and location. Suc-

Trieste: the heart of illy – some of the world’s best coffees are roasted here

“In Thailand there are around 300 independent outlets serving illy”

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cessful applicants contract to buy a certain number of kilos of coffee for a minimum number of years. After contract ends, the outlet is free to switch back to whatever cof-fee supplier they want. But, according to De Cesare, the decision to become and ADG is a lasting one, a marriage for life.

“So far not one client has decided to change ADG for another coffee partner. In Thailand there are around 300 independent outlets serving illy,” De Cesre said. “We are in negotiations with some groups to develop ADG further. The requirement is for at least 1,000 kg consumption per year – and this is a still challenge for the average Thai coffee shop.”

One signifi cant reason for this lies in the fact that duties on beans and brewers present an obstacle to market growth. On professional coffee brewers, the taxation is relatively low at 1% for two groups or more, high capacity brewing, so this is not an issue, although sometimes the rules are open to interpretation, and 30% is applied, which is the rate for domestic machines.

“It is a challenge to establish a presence for top range quality products in Thai-land,” De Cesare confessed. “Coffee beans attract 99% duty, and this is a diffi cult and bitter pill to swallow. Lowering the import duties would allow more Thais to experi-ence high quality coffee and tea. A low standard becomes the norm unless the price is affordable.”

Despite this, the illy brand is alive and well in Thailand. Walk into any supermarket in the kingdom and you will fi nd illy roast and ground coffee. And in a few up-market outlets it is possible to buy illy coffee capsules that fi t in its iperEspresso machines.

“Coffee retail in southeast Asia, as well as Thailand, is seeing a big growth in cap-sules,” said De Cesare, explaining that pods were an illy invention, but that the com-pany is very focused to expand the roots in the portioned coffee focused on capsules. “illy’s share of this segment is growing at around 20% a month in terms of sales vol-ume, far more than r&g,” De Cesare confi ded. “Again, illy has introduced a different concept compared to its competitors: there is only one blend, one coffee. We don’t have different origins or a massive list of colorful capsules and blends. We just to one blend, the best possible blend of arabica coffee. The heart of iperEspresso is its propri-etary capsule with the unique iperChamber where illy coffee extraction takes place in two stages. In the fi rst stage, hyper-infusion, hot water under ultra-high pressure mixes with the coffee under optimal conditions to enhance extraction of precious fl avors and aromas, creating a richly complex fl avor. In the second stage, emulsifi cation, coffee is forced through the patented e-valve at the bottom of the capsule, mixing the aromatic oils with air to produce a full-bodied espresso and a thick, long-lasting, velvety crema.

Capsules contain approximately seven grams of perfectly roasted and expertly ground and tamped 100% arabica illy coffee. Available in medium roast for a sweet, balanced, pleasantly nuanced fl avor, dark roast for a more intense and robust fl avor, decaffeinated, and lungo, a medium roast long espresso (about 2 ounces) to be savored in a larger cup.”

And every cup is a genuine experience.

Students are immersed in coffee

fundamentals, learning about coffee types and

roasting techniques

iperEspresso machine


By H

elen Xu Fei

Liu Zhiming Zhejiang Shanshan Tea Co. Ltd.Before joining Shanshan Tea as director of supply chain and product development in 2004, Liu Zhiming was the head of black tea & specialty tea department of Zhejiang Tea Imp/Exp Co. Ltd, one of China’s leading tea exporters. Shanshan Tea is the only tea-related subsidiary of the listed textile cooperation Shanhan Group, and Liu was appointed by the then newly-established company for his rich experience and knowledge in the tea industry.

Shanshan Tea was formed under the group’s multiplication strategy. The Hangzhou-based tea company positions itself as an “integrated tea solution provider”. It is mainly engaged in tea exportation and tea extract production. In the initial stage, Shanshan in-vested in tea gardens in Zhejiang. With the speedy development of the RTD industry, the company shifted its strategic orientation from an upper-stream quality tea producer to a middle-stream value-added product manufacturer.

“Tea and herbal extracts are gaining popularity due to the speedy development of the RTD and health food market,” Liu told Tea & Coffee Asia. “Our main products are tea blends and tea and herbal extracts, and the later is in increase demands by industry users.” Shanshan uses CO2 supercritical extraction technology to produce tea and herbal extracts. The use of supercritical CO2 as a solvent produces purer products and has no contamina-tion problem compared with using chemical solvents, thus gaining a competitive advan-tage for the company in the tea and herbal extract supply market.

Shanshan produces a variety of tea and herbal extracts, with raw materials outsourced from qualifi ed suppliers after it abandoned its tea estate plan. The company’s geographical location within China’s most productive tea province enabled it to take advantage of many different tea supplies cost effectively.

People You Should Know in ChinaQuality and safetyTo ensure quality and safety of fi nal products, a traceability system covers all its com-modities, from the supply sources to the fi nished products. Key suppliers are organized for regular quality and safety training and CSR workshops to prepare them with up-to-date information on safe and sustainable production. Suppliers that conform to Shanshan Tea’s quality standards are rewarded with premium awards.

“We have one central and two factory labs to safeguard that our extract products are in compliance with the strictest F&B standards,” Liu said “Routine inspections, including for pesticide residues, heavy metal contents and microbes are conducted both in the factory and at our central offi ce.”

Shanshan Tea’s strict quality standard paves the way towards export markets. North America and West Europe are two leading overseas markets for its tea blends and tea extract products. In 2009, The company entered into a joint venture project with its busi-ness partner Martin Bauer Group, the German-based tea and herbal extracts leader, to strengthen marketing and service in the Asia Pacifi c region, including the promising China market.

“The joint venture Shanshan Tea Extract Co. will be focusing on production of decaf-feinated tea and tea extracts,” Liu explained. “The new plant is located at Hangzhou Eco-nomic and Technological Development Zone. The location is well calculated as within a 300km distribution radius of our new plant are the plants of China’s leading RTD produc-ers, such as Coca Cola, Wahaha and Pepsi, etc., to enable us to better serve our potential key users in future.”

Wahaha is one of the leading RTD tea producers in China, Coca Cola and Pepsi also carry RTD tea products for the Chinese market, so this optimal service radius will enable timely supply and ideal logistics arrangement between Shanshan Tea and its strategic users. Besides catering to leading RTD producers and the growing RTD tea market in China, the joint venture will also serve the Asian market.

The new plant is under construction and expected to start production by the end of next year.

With the speedy development of the

RTD industry, the company shifted its

strategic orientation from an upper-stream

quality tea producer to a middle-stream

value-added product manufacturer

To ensure quality and safety of final products, a traceability system

covers all its commodities, from the supply sources

to the finished products


India Welcomes a New Coffee Board Chairman

By V

ikram K

hurana

P rior to joining coffee board as its new chairman, Mr. Jawaid Akhtar held a number of posts, including as a resident commissioner to the government of Karnataka in Delhi and with the state government looking after the urban

development department as managing director of the Karnataka infrastructure devel-opment and fi nance corporation.

Akhtar applied for and was selected for the post of Coffee Board chairman when the post became vacant.

“For this type of assignment, the government of India notifi es and calls for the application for the empanelled offi cers, and then there is a process of selection in the department of personal in the ministry of commerce,” Mr. Akhtar told Tea & Coffee Asia during a recent interview. “So I applied for the post and I got selected.”

Asked about his impressions of the Coffee Board’s relationship with the Indian coffee industry, the new chairman said: “It’s quite a positive one in that this organiza-tion is very historic. Prior to the liberalization of the coffee trade, almost everything was done by the Coffee Board, starting from the recording of each and every acre under coffee cultivation to procuring the beans and overseeing the entire process of getting it cured and sold in the domestic and international markets. It’s a strong and big organization, but after liberalization the market part is no longer a part of its remit, although the rest of it remains. Indeed, many developments have taken place over the last decade so the importance of the Coffee Board has rather increased and modi-fi ed, but not changed. The signifi cant fact is that the modern coffee industry enjoys an intimate relationship between the Board and other stakeholders, whether producer or exporter or trader, and as the overall number of participants is relatively low, the relationship in quite intimate.”

Coffee productivity has declined over the last

five to six years

“We really need to grow more coffee”


Sustaining and growing exports remains a major thrust of the Coffee Board

ChallengesThe Indian coffee sector is facing a num-ber of challenges as the new chairman takes the helm. Coffee productivity has declined over the last fi ve to six years and there is limited scope for coffee to expand in the traditional growing areas such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala

“These three states are known as tra-ditional coffee growing areas,” said Mr. Akhtar. “The scope for expanding cof-fee production in these states remains limited, however much effort is put into it, and productivity has suffered for vari-ous reasons. One issue is prices. Coffee beans are an agricultural commodity that depend on national and international prices, and because of supply and de-mand dynamics, prices do fl uctuate. This is a perennial concern. Another important issue affecting coffee production is that as India continues to enjoy very good economic growth, what has happened is that the availability of labor has come down, leading to added emphasis on the requirement to mechanize the industry while maintaining and improving the quality of the coffee.”

Mr. Akhtar believes the Coffee Board has an important role to play is addressing these problems.

“We are looking out for the solutions, and in many cases we have enjoyed suc-cesses,” he pointed out. “Some very innovative schemes have been introduced to ad-dress these issues, specifi cally in providing equipment to rural areas.”

There are several other issues which affect productivity that are being dealt with. “Some of our plantations are very old; they have exceeded their economic life, so

there is an ongoing replanting program,” said Mr. Akhtar. “Productivity is also affect-ed by pests. This is a particular concern in arabica production. We are addressing this issue through our Coffee Research Institute and with other parties, such as the Indian Agricultural Institute and the Indian Horticultural Institute. Indeed, many important projects are going on have already delivered good results.”

The Coffee Research Institute is studying machinery that is available in the market, and if some retro-fi tting is required the Institute interacts with the manufactures to source items that are not manufactured in India. The Coffee Board has prepared a comprehensive proposal to provide subsidies for the coffee cultivation tools and ma-chinery required by growers.

“Certain things are applicable for both big and small enterprises,” said Mr. Akhtar.

InsuranceAnother important Coffee Board initia-tive is a rain fall insurance scheme.

“Rainfall, too much or too little, can affect productivity,” Mr. Akhtar said. “We are now in the fourth year of the rain fall insurance scheme. Initially, there was very limited acceptance from the farmers, but some changes have been implemented in collaboration with the Agricultural Insur-ance Company (AIC), the implementing company, and this year the response has been very good, four times higher than last year.”

Some plantations have exceeded their economic life


“Foreign companies that want to come and

open up shop and do business here do not

require assistance because it’s an

open market”

Mr. Jawaid Akhtar, the newly appointed Coffee Board chairman

After the liberalization of the coffee trade, the private sector started playing a signifi cant roll on different aspects of the industry.

“Some of the companies involved in the coffee industry have opened retail outlets as the passion for drinking cof-fee continues to sweep across the coun-try,” said Mr. Akhtar. “Companies like Café Coffee Day have opened outlets throughout the country, and we are see-ing tremendous growth in demand for quality coffee in Northern India as well as the South as a result. Previously, cof-fee consumption in the country was very limited. Now, even multinational coffee companies such as Lavazza and illy are also opening for business.” So clearly, the

private sector has played a important role in this development. This has led to more sophisticated value-added initiatives, and this in turn has benefi tted exports.

Foreign investmentInternational investment in the domestic coffee industry is seen as a boon to the sector. “It has helped in two ways,” said Mr. Akhtar. “It is helping to grow awareness and un-derstanding of coffee drinking culture to the country. Coffee consumers in India have long drank fi ltered and instant coffee, so with the entry of international coffee chains, people are being exposed to different types of coffee, such as espresso cappuccino, and they are learning to appreciate different varieties and origins. Leading on from this, is the fact that coffee consumption was growing at the 2-2.5% annually at the turn of the century, but over the last fi ve or six years it has shot up to 6%.”

Foreign investors can therefore look forward to potentially good returns as the huge market that is India starts to deliver on its promise. But what assistance can the Coffee Board give for the existing foreign investor or foreign traders?

“Foreign companies that want to come and open up shop and do the business here do not require assistance because it’s an open market,” Mr. Akhtar told us. “Because they can purchase coffee from the market and lease a shop and start to sell coffee very easily, there is no input, legal or otherwise, required from the Coffee Board.”

Domestic supportDomestically the Coffee Board certainly sees a role for itself in the development of coffee consumption and appreciation. Aside from participating in coffee-related activi-ties, the Coffee Board is organizing workshops to promote coffee in different regions

“Recently we organized a program in Rajasthan, and we are working on another one in Agarthala, said Mr. Akhtar. “These workshops are open to coffee-industry par-ticipants and include training local people how to make good coffee. We have given grinding and roasting units to qualifi ed recipients and placed ads in magazine and on the radio as part of our ongoing media campaign.”

ExportsAlthough domestic consumption is rising rapidly, sustaining and growing exports re-mains a major thrust of the Coffee Board.

“Exports are dependent on world market realities, but we expect that Indian coffee exports will continue to keep pace with growing demand,” said Mr. Akhtar. “But as domestic consumption continues to grow, it is clear that we really need to grow more coffee. One way is to bring more area under cultivation, and another is to increase the yield. We see a lot of potential space in the Northeast, and in non-traditional areas the yield is greater. There is a space to increase the yield more in the traditional areas, and this will serve to boost coffee production together with bringing more land under cof-fee cultivation.”

The availability of labor has come down, leading to added emphasis on the requirement to mechanize the industry


T

By Jane P

ettigrew

In this, the second in a series of articles on new tea growing regions, Tea & Coffee Asia tells how a family from Taiwan has started manufacturing top quality oolongs near Hamilton on New Zealand’s North Island.

he story of Zealong teas starts in 1989 when Tsu Chen, owner of a Taiwanese construction company, visited New Zealand and was struck by the beauty of the land and the kindness of the people. In 1996, having decided that New

Zealand could offer his children the chance of a good education and his family new business opportunities, Chen emigrated to the North Island to start a new life there. One important product he took with him was a plentiful supply of Taiwanese oo-longs.

One evening a few years later, Tsu and his son Vincent were chatting with a neigh-bor near Hamilton - where they had now settled - about his enjoyment of gardening and how well his camellias were doing. And, just as the neighbor was commenting on how easy it was to grow healthy, sturdy camellias in this location, Tsu experienced

Zealongs – New Zealand’s New Oolong Teas

Years of bureaucratic controls and

horticultural hurdles would have to be overcome along

the way

Stylish Zealong packaging

Vincent Chen examining the bushes at Rototuna


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More Choice.Better Quality.

Vincent Chen at the Rototuna plantation

one of those rare ‘eureka’ moments. In a fl ash, he realized the potential for tea cultivation and conjured visions of pro-ducing his own supply of oolong tea right there in his own back garden. According to Vincent, his father “determined there and then to make that vision come true, never for a moment doubting his ability to achieve his goal and never imagining the years of bureaucratic controls and horticultural hurdles that we would have to overcome along the way.”

Jumping the hurdlesWith New Zealand’s liberal regulations on land control, Tsu had found it easy to acquire land and he had already pur-chased 15 – initially designated for build-ing projects. In the late 1990s, he started pondering the possibility of using that land to grow tea and so began to work out how he could import baby plants from Taiwan. He knew that he needed the Chin Shin varietal of the tea plant to make good oolongs and had already established contact with tea growers in Taiwan who could supply the right planting material. He also knew that the Department of Forestry’s strict controls on the import of soil and rooted plants would make it diffi cult, if not impossible, to get the plants past New Zealand customs.

But he persevered and after making various applications to the necessary govern-ment departments, he obtained permission to fl y in not rooted plants but leaf cuttings packed in wet paper. Given that the fl ight from Taiwan to New Zealand took two days and that another fi ve days were required to clear all the paperwork, there was a very real risk that the cutting would dry out and die. And then, another major prob-lem presented itself. Insects were found amongst the leaves and offi cials insisted they would have to be sprayed. Next, as Vincent explained, “The Ministry announced that particular compost would have to be used to propagate the cuttings and they said that, rather than hand the leaves over to us, they would have to keep the tea and oversee the cultivation process themselves in government-controlled quarantine conditions”.

Four months later, Tsu was summoned on an offi cial visit to his baby tea plants. Ten months later he was told he could collect them and take them home. So he hired a truck to transport his new plants to their fi nal destination and set off on this last stage of his long and frustrating journey. He might as well have gone by car – for of the 1,500 cuttings he had imported, only 130 had survived!

First tea plants in New Zealand soilThe survivors were planted in the Chen’s back garden and were watered, fed, weeded and carefully nurtured. But they did not thrive. Then, in 2000, the family moved house (taking the tea plants with them, of course) to a property that had previously been a dairy farm, and the struggling tea plants suddenly started to grow sturdily in the new garden. The secret of the spurt in growth seems to have been as a result of all the organic manure that had gone into the soil over the years and the increased amount of sunshine in this new location. The plants’ new vigor encouraged Tsu and Vincent to read and research further, to ask for advice, take new leaf cuttings and continue with their experiments. They planted 2,000 more cuttings and about a year later, 95% of them were growing well. Tsu purchased more land, transplanted the new stock to well-prepared soil, and erected black net covers to protect the young plants from the strong sunlight.

The Chens continued to take more cuttings – 5,000 during the second growing sea-son, more during the third. But strangely most of these did not survive: 10,000 cuttings died and Tsu wondered what they were doing wrong. Was it the soil, the temperature,


the humidity, the fertilizers? Were they taking the cuttings at the wrong time of year, in the wrong weather, at the wrong time of day? They could not work out why these little camellia sinensis plants did not like the conditions when japonicas grew so happily. Vincent and his father knew that they needed professional help.

“We brought in Logan Chen, an ex-perienced tea farmer from Taiwan who was prepared to apply his knowledge and to experiment with every aspect of our cultivation and propagation activities,” Chen recalled. “And gradually, things started to turn around and the health of the plants steadily improved.”

Producing New Zealand’s fi rst oolongs It is possible to make Taiwanese-style balled oolongs by hand but it is ardu-ous and slow work and machinery makes the job easier and more effective. So the Chens imported from Taiwan a panner, a roller, a dryer and one of the machines used for tightening the bag inside which the leaf is squeezed and bruised. These were all checked and approved by the Ministry of Forestry and were installed inside the new factory that the Tsu had built in 2004. But offi cials stated that one crucial step in the manufacturing process had to change. During Taiwanese oolong processing, the harvested leaf is withered in the sun whenever nature allows and this helps to develop the sweet fl oral aro-ma and taste of oolong teas. In New Zea-land, Ministry offi cials banned this and said that the tea had to be withered inside greenhouses where conditions could be carefully controlled.

Everything was now in place – tea bushes, factory, machinery and expertise. At last, after years of trial and error, bu-reaucracy, heartache and hard work, the fi rst tea was plucked, processed, dried and tasted. “But what a disappointment!” commented Vincent. “The tea was really poor. It didn’t taste bad. It didn’t taste bitter. It simply tasted of …. nothing! And anyone familiar with the fabulous fl oral oolong character we were aiming for will understand our great sense of anticipation and expectation before tast-ing and the overwhelming sense of failure and frustration that followed.”

Sunset at Rototuna plantation


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Get your free copy of the brand new Florapharm Catalogue of Ideas. Order now!

More Choice.Better Quality.

New Zealand’s climate, soil and water can produce excellent teas that are as impressive as any of the top quality teas made in Taiwan

Zealong Details2 plantations:

- 48 hectares at Rototuna Plantation near Hamilton in the North Island’s Waikato region- second plantation under development at Gordonton

Growing conditions at Rototuna Plantations, Hamilton- altitude of 20 meters above sea level- volcanic soil, rich in minerals- extra nutrients because of previous use as dairy farm- very stable, predictable weather conditions- temperatures between 100C and 300C

Varietals grown- 2 types of Chin Shin oolong; shoots used for manufacture consist of a bud and three leaves

Details of planting- propagation by leaf cuttings; soil of 4.5-5.5 pH

Challenges- low altitudes- very hot sun- slow growth of plants- labor costs

Zealong Products- three varieties: ‘pure’, ‘aromatic’, dark- certified organic by Swiss SGS, one of the world’s leading inspection, testing and certification services

Developing the productLogan Chen said it was just a case of experimenting with and adjusting every aspect of the manufacturing process until they achieved the aroma and fl avor they wanted. In 2005, another Taiwanese tea master, with 22 years’ experience, was brought in to advise and help. Different plots of land were monitored and assessed; propagation was improved; plucking seasons, harvesting methods, withering and rolling times were modifi ed and tested; plant husbandry was adjusted, a growing work force was care-fully selected (both from local areas and from Taiwan) and trained. And gradually, the quality improved. Samples were taken to Taiwan to be tasted and judged by respected tea masters. And as comments became more positive, so Tsu and Chen grew more confi dent. More land was acquired and more plants established. And eventually, in December 2009, 13 years after Tsu fi rst thought of making his own supply of oolong tea, Zealongs were launched to an unsuspecting public who immediately recognized the quality of the teas from this completely new origin

Today, there are more than one million tea plants in the ground at the plantation just outside Hamilton and 24 tonnes of tea are produced from three harvests a year. As well as the 900 square meter factory, there is a plant nursery, a café, a lodge, a lake, a visitor center, and a Chinese tea house. The factory has HACCP ISO22000 certifi ca-tion and the teas are certifi ed organic by the Swiss monitoring service SGS. The teas are not bulked or blended but are sold, in 50-gram vacuum packs, as the product of a particular block of land at the plantation plucked at a particular time of year. A special system of coding ensures that each batch is traceable to its season and location.

The Chens’ 13 years of tenacity and dedication is now being rewarded as sales grow all around the world. It seems that New Zealand’s climate, soil and water can produce excellent teas that are as impressive as any of the top quality teas made in Taiwan.


By U

jwala R

anade-Malvi

T he discussion between organic and inorganic, alternative and conventional, chemical and sustainable forms of agriculture has been ongoing between farm-ers, scientists, consumers for the last 10 years or so. Although there is plen-

ty of information available on this subject there is very little knowledge available to bring clarity on this matter. Misunderstanding, miscommunication and even absurdity abound!.

The above words are not just marketing buzz words and it is worth our while to educate ourselves as to what they mean. Organic or inorganic, alternative or conven-tional, natural or chemical are antonyms of each other signifying that they are two ends of the spectrum. There are two ways of approaching this topic; one from the growing side and one from the consumer side. This article relates to the organic and inorganic aspects of growing crops with a focus on coffee.

History of Indian coffee plantation sectorVisualize the times: no roads, no electricity, no telephones, no cars, unfamiliar language, unfamiliar terrain, and unfamiliar diseases! Those were the unpleasant conditions faced

Organic or Inorganic Coffee: That is the Question!

The times were tough and the conditions

were tougher but the strong pioneering spirit

to succeed led a small dynamic breed of young

men to start the plantation sector

in India

Skilled picker at BPN-managed Kattehollay Estate of Christopher Mathias


Logical and subdued use of fertilizers turned into indiscriminate overuse very quickly

Balanced Plant Nutrition coffee-ripening in Style

by the British who wanted to open up the forests for coffee cultivation in South India. The times were tough and the conditions were tougher but the strong pioneering spirit to succeed led a small dynamic breed of young men to start the plantation sector in India. Around 1820, pioneer British planters progressively ventured into the forests of south India and started planting tea and coffee. This system became a blueprint for the thriv-ing industry of today. Pockets of Western Ghats stretching from the Baba Budan hills through the princely state of Mysore and Nilgiri hills, down through present day Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala were developed gradually by these gutsy and courageous planters.

There are three main fi gures that command mention. Thomas Cannon, who owned and operated Mylemoney estate since 1837, is one of the better known and remembered planters as his coffee was marketed under the brand name of Cannons Mark One for nearly a century. In the Munzerabad area, coffee was introduced in 1843 by Frederic Green followed shortly thereafter by a Mr. Elliot in 1857. There were only a handful of planters and nothing approached rapid development until the late 1860s. Plantation concepts were in their infancy as was commercial agriculture.

By the 1800s commercialization of agriculture was permeating through all parts of the progressive world. Planters had modernized their activities compared to the previous century. As a rule, all farms had crops and animals on them. The farmer realized a simple linear connection between the number of animals on his farm and

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Progressive planter: Mohan Alvares of Jeelan Estate,a follower of BPN for the last several years

the number of years he could farm that land. The farmer had obviously under-stood the cycle of life. However, in this phase of agriculture, yields were low and were meant for subsistence only. In con-gruence, the input-costs were low and the overall food consumption was also low given the population of those times. Most lands that were planted with cof-fee met with the same fate. These na-tive plantations worked on a very simple principle of putting nothing in and taking all they can out. The limited manures that went on, if at all were restricted to dead cattle, bones and manures. The main cost of production was attributed to maintain-ing the year-round labor on the planta-tion. By default and out of convenience,

all the estates started out practicing some form of organic agriculture. By the early 1900’s the plantation sector had stabilized considerably. Prices of cof-

fee worldwide were increasing. Planters wanted higher yields to cash in on their hard times. This period was assisted by the ongoing industrial revolution which led to new inventions in the agricultural sector, particularly in irrigation, sowing, and harvesting techniques. Inorganic fertilizers had entered the markets. With the advent of the urban lifestyle, machines, cars and trains came into existence and cows, mules and horses went out of style. The animal holdings on most plantations reduced noticeably. Plant-ers had to be more competitive and had to keep up with the ever-increasing global coffee demand especially in India where it was becoming a highly sought out export product. The yields needed to be high, the input-costs were high due to new fertilizers in the market and the consumption was equally high! Most “organic” estates due to changes of the agricultural scenario slowly evolved into practicing some sort of “inor-ganic” agriculture.

Indian coffee: the presentWith the advent of the green revolution in India in the 1960s, fertilizers became a good friend of the planter. His previously “mined” soils were in no position to sustain the increased yields that he was desired. He saw quick and dramatic results with the

use of fertilizers as they provided nutri-ents for the growing crops. Inorganic or synthetic agriculture was in its infancy and there was plenty of half-baked in-formation available. Until the universi-ties started fi eld level research with large scale fi eld trials no concrete information was in place as to why, when and what to use to get the best results out of the fertilizers. But that took time and until then these “modern” plantations worked on an even simpler principle of “more is always better!” Logical and subdued use of fertilizers turned into indiscrimi-nate overuse very quickly. Unnecessary pesticide usage increased drastically and turned into an excessive abuse. Yields were phenomenal, the profi ts fantastic and grower confi dence high! There was no looking back towards older systems of growing. Unfortunately this dispro-portionate attention to synthetics hasn’t

Crop is provided nutrients in the organic/ plant-UNavailable form

Organic forms like chicken • manure, cow-dung are used. Manure has to be intercepted, broken down and released into the soil in an inorganic/plant available form by microbes. Availabilty of nutrients to crop • depends on soil microbial health. Rejects use of soluble fertil-• izers. Crop protection is based on • bio-pesticides. Focus is the SOIL. •

Cycle of Life.


Robusta under BPN regime- stronger and healthier.

stood the test of times. Currently yields are dwindling, pests are increasing, cost of production is increasing and margins are decreasing!

The futureModern day agriculture needs inputs whether it is in the organic or inorganic form. No one is denying the unnecessary use of pesticides on our crops, or the excessive amount of fertilizers being dumped into the soil or the degrading health of our waters. But before we take the leap in disregarding or ousting one system over the other let’s consider a third option which is like “The Great Buddha’s Middle Path” - a path of moderation, a path of sanity, a path to end this confusion. This system of agriculture is an amalgamation between the laws of nature and the laws of commercial agriculture. It is called Balanced Plant Nutrition or Integrated Nutrient Management. This system has a two pronged approach which consists of feeding the crop inorganically based on the physiology of the crop and feeding the soil and soil microbes organically to increase the health quotient of the soil.

In this system, the soil and the crop is frequently sampled and tested in the labora-tories for a customized approach.

• Calculated amounts of nutrients are applied in the inorganic form to ensure maximum production based on stage of growth.

• Well decomposed, low carbon: nitrogen ratio of organic manure is applied to soils to increase soil health.

• Crop protection is followed ONLY WHEN REQUIRED following pest at-tack with cultural & biological techniques.

• Focus is on SOIL and CROP!

Advice from an old planterAn old wise planter once said: “There are three kinds of planters. The fi rst kind is one who takes up everything new; methods of cultivation, pruning, manufacture, products and application without stopping to think of the demands of the market or the health of his soils or the peculiarities of the climate that he is in.

“The second kind is one who never buys anything, never looks at new ways of doing things and continues to use the same old systems of manuring and cultivation. He is like the bullock tail that is always left behind. Both these kinds are bound for the same destination but they go off in opposite directions. One acts without thinking; and the other thinks without acting. One is extravagant in buying unnecessary things and the other extravagant in not buying necessary things.

“The third kind is the planter who suc-ceeds! He has a goal to succeed in planting and has a well defi ned plan to go with it. He combines brain and muscle, the old and the new and theory and practice to fulfi ll his ob-jective. He accepts the laws of nature and works within these laws to create a system that is commercially-sustainable and peren-nial for him”.

Instead of wasting time and energy fi gur-ing out which is the better option and pit-ting one against each other, let us understand these two systems; their promises and their failures, their strengths and weaknesses. It is quite apparent and easier to accept the concept of compatibility between these two systems. Historically it has been shown that neither system in isolation is capable of do-ing a complete and sustainable job in a timely fashion. So perhaps the question we should be asking now is: “Do you think “organic OR inorganic” should even be the ques-tion?”

Inorganic System of Agriculture

Crop is provided nutrients in • the ionic or plant Available form. Manufactured or mined ferti-• lisers are used. Nutrients are available instantly to crop for plant growth and maturation.Nutrients are applied to the soil • in accordance with fertilizer plans based on soil analysis, planters experience and fi eld trials. Mismanagement of fertilisers • often lead to degradation of soil microbial health. Crop protection is often pro-• phylactic and inconsistent. Focus is the CROP. •

By default and out of convenience, all the estates started out practicing some form of organic agriculture


By H

elen Xu Fei

L ike many food and beverage products, the judgmental tool for tea quality is not advanced scientifi c instrument but basic human senses. The character of tea is determined by its biochemical composition. Due to the complexity of

numerous components, chemical analysis on a few key quality markers such as total polyphenols, catechin and theanine are too narrow to refl ect the overall quality. Sen-sory evaluation fi lls this gap by engaging vision, olfaction, gestation and tactition to snapshot a more accurate and comprehensive image of tea quality.

Sensory evaluation is internationally recognized as the most common and effective method in describing tea product characteristics, determining grades and pinpointing manufacturing defects. There is no international standard for such evaluation. Dif-ferent regions or countries with different production/consumption pattern and pref-erence usually form their respective own standards. For example, in Japan, sensory evaluation does not analyze infused leaves, while in China, it does. However, despite variations in details such as sensorial parameters, sample preparation and data analysis; the principle rules are basically the same.

Foundation for successA panel of qualifi ed tea tasters is the foundation for successful sensory evaluation. It normally takes at least four or fi ve years professional training to make a qualifi ed tea taster. A trainee needs to learn theoretical knowledge such as cultivation and process-

The Quality of Tea is in the Sensory Evaluation

In Japan, sensory evaluation does not

analyze infused leaves, while in

China, it does

Liquid samples of sensory evaluation


ing, classifi cation and variety, biochemistry and characters as well as grading and blend-ing etc. He/she also needs to become famil-iar with numerous tea samples from different origins or made by various blends through repeated testing until the characteristic fea-tures are captured. A qualifi ed taster can identify where a tea comes from or when the harvest season is with information stored in the mind. To ensure sharpness of judgment, a tea taster should be a continuous learner throughout his/her career and restrain from smoking, hard liquor, very spicy foods and/or strong perfume that would dull the senses of taste and smell.

The environment of a sensory lab is also important. A sensory lab should have adequate space, preferably with a minimum area of 15 square meters to host a sensory workplace, sample cabinets and a sample preparation pantry with water and gas facili-ties. The color of the room should be white, off-white or light gray to eliminate visual dis-traction, and the room should be suffi ciently illuminated (1000 lx upon sensory desks) with either natural light or even and shadow-free white lighting. While conducting sensory tests, room temperature should be controlled within a comfortable range of 15ºC to 27ºC and noise level below 50 dB.

Benchmarking samples are valuable re-sources, so most sensory labs keep a large variety of standard benchmark samples. All these standard samples are stored in metal tins that are properly classifi ed and labeled. Standard samples should be replenished as and when needed, and replaced annually with fresher batches to ensure optimal bench-marking effect.

Sensory tea evaluation has established protocols. Dry tea is evaluated for appear-ance and smell in the fi rst stage. The tea taster prepares dry tea samples by sub-sampling an appropriate amount of tea into each tea tray, or onto every sheet of white paper. Ortho-dox tea normally uses a quartering method to reduce systematic bias during sub-sampling, and the intended amount of CTC tea can be poured straight out.

Appearance tests evaluate the color, shape, size, leaf size distribution and mass, etc. For example, a tippy tea indicates higher quality as it contains suffi cient tea buds, while tea with visible stalks is normally of coarse quality; tightly rolled tea is often made from tender leaves as compared with its looser counterparts. The smell of dry tea is much fl atter than freshly brewed liquid, so is of less signifi cance here, and merely conducted as


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supportive evidence to appearance evaluation results, e.g. stale smelled tea usually has a dull color.

Second stageThe second stage is the key stage in sensory evaluation, analyzing brewed samples for smell, liquid color and taste. The tea taster prepares liquid samples using standard sensory liquid sets consisting of white porcelain lidded cups with partially serrated edges and matching bowls. There are two choices of standard sets with cup volumes of 250ml and 150ml respectively. The two different sized sets should not be mixed when preparing liquid samples. Accessories include teaspoons and tea strainers.

In general, precisely measured tea samples are put into each cup, freshly boiled water is added (tea/water ratio of 1 gram per 50ml) to the brim, and the cups are then covered with lids to steep for the recommended time. The properly brewed liquid is quickly strained into matching bowls. To observe the fi xed tea/water ratio, weigh 5 grams of tea for the 250ml cup and 3 grams of tea for the 150ml one. Some types of tea, such as jasmine and oolong, also have other preparation methods, with variations in steeping time and rounds of brews. For instance, to prepare jasmine tea liquid by the specifi c method, the tea needs to be brewed twice, steeped for three minutes for the fi rst round and fi ve minutes for the second one. The specifi c method provides better insights on briskness, strength and longevity of fragrance. Quality jasmine tea remains fragrant in the second round, while inferior or unauthentic ones would lose most fra-grance after the fi rst brew.

In the second stage, the tea taster starts with liquid color, followed by smell and fi nally taste of brewed samples. Liquid in the bowls is evaluated for color and clarity. A black tea with golden rim is a quality sign, indicating rich content of theafl avins – the components contributing to liveliness and astringency. In the case of green tea, the lighter and brighter the liquid color, the better the quality.

Smell evaluationSmell evaluation studies aroma character, and there are two different methods. One practice keeps the infused leaves inside the strained cups and evaluates the smell by

Quality jasmine tea remains

fragrant in the second round,

while inferior or unauthentic ones

would lose most fragrance after

the first brew

Benchmark samples pending sub-sampling for appearance evaluation


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TEA BAG THREAD FOR ALL TYPES OF TEA-PACKING MACHINES

sniffi ng the cups. In order to get more compre-hensive aroma performance, the cups are sniffed when they are hot, warm and at room tempera-ture. If such a method is used, do remember to cover the cup with a lid immediately after each sniffi ng test. The other practice removes the in-fused leaves on the inside of the lid right after straining out the liquid, and to avoid loss of aro-ma, smell evaluation should be carried out before liquid color evaluation. In this case, instead of sniffi ng the cups, smell the freshly brewed liquid and the infused leaves. Origin tea usually presents signature fl avors. For example, Muscatel is always linked with Darjeeling tea.

The best palatable liquid temperature is around 50ºC: too hot would dull taste bud sen-sation and too cold weakens the fl avor. Scoop a teaspoon and sip in together with some air, swirl well around the mouth for a few seconds before spitting out or swallowing down (a tea taster needs to taste over one hundred samples in a peak day and it’s defi nitely unrealistic to swal-low all the tea). Both in-mouth taste and aftertaste need to be analyzed in the process. Taste has the utmost importance among all sensory properties and smell (of brewed tea) ranks second.

A milk test is often needed for black tea, Chi-nese black tea (post-fermented) and sometimes oolong tea. Pour one or two teaspoons of fresh milk to the tea liquid and stir well to evaluate both liquid color and taste.

Third stageIf infused leaf is a required parameter of sensory evaluation, the tea taster will continue on to stage three. Infused leaves are put in an infusion tray or on the inside of the cup lid to analyze tex-ture, color, brightness and evenness, etc. Lots of technical information can be obtained from such study. For example, a soft touch indicates a better plucking standard, an evenly distributed copper red color signals proper fermentation of black tea and dark green leaves are a sign of improper pan-ning of green tea.

Sensorial evaluation results are recorded si-multaneously during testing. Routine QC records are general and simple, as the main focus is on conformity between production/trade samples and standard benchmark samples. New products and/or tea contest records need to be more de-tailed and descriptive; sometimes the results need to be analyzed using quantitative scoring models to ensure reliable comparison between different samples.

Helen Xu Fei is a China tea specialist, a member of STI and special correspondent/representative of Tea & Cof-fee Asia. email: [email protected], website: www.aboltea.com

Taste has the utmost importance among all sensory properties and smell (of brewed tea) ranks second

The traditional balance scale is still used by some tea companies during preparation of sensory liquid samples


By H

eneage Mitchell

F or instant coffee production, and in tea and coffee extract manu-facturing, the extraction process

utilizes raw material (coffee or tea) which is then mixed with water, after which the liquor is extracted. The Maselli Misure UR24 process refractometer is used to measure the concentration strength of the extracted tea or coffee liquor. The UR24 is also appropriate if evaporators are used to concentrate the liquor. The product can be measured at different stages, allowing the operator to control the process more accurately and gain-ing the manufacturer consistent results in the fi nished product. Coffee is very expensive, so over-concentration can be a costly mistake. By concentrating accu-rately and consistently to the right speci-fi cation, product yield can be maximized and costs are managed effectively.

ApplicationSpray-dried instant coffee is manufac-tured using a coffee extraction process. In extraction, the coffee beans are boiled in water. The coffee extract is evaporat-ed and dried by means of spray drying. The coffee dust which passes the fi lter is dissolved with steam and the recovered liquid coffee extract is returned to the process.

A similar process is involved in freeze-dried coffee, and requires the same mea-surements at the liquid stage to ensure consistency and cost effi ciency.

Liquid Analysis for Coffee and Tea Extraction – The Key to Profitability

Coffee is very expensive, so

over-concentration can be a

costly mistake

The Maselli Misure UR24 process refractometer is used to measure the concentra-tion strength of extracted tea or coffee liquor

Tea leaves go through the same process as coffee beans: extraction, con-centration and drying. The most diffi cult part in instant tea process is preserv-ing the aroma.

For RTD manufacturers, ensuring the tea or coffee, or fruit, extracts used in the beverages are produced to the right concentration, or brix level, is a critical part of the process.

This is where an effective and reliable online process refractometer pays for itself many times over.

Units are typically installed in a pipeline after the extractor. Additional units can be installed at various stages during the evaporation process and before the dryer.


Coffee or tea that arrives at the drying stage with excess water requires more energy to process. Clearly, controlling the water content is a critical part of the process and requires a reliable process refractometer to achieve the desired results.

Equally, when producing fruit or other extracts, similar requirements and applica-tions benefi t from online process refractometery.

The bottom line is that the return on investment is very rapid when process re-fractometers are introduced into the production line because being able to control the liquid concentration accurately allows manufacturers to maximize the use of the raw materials – which, in the case of instant coffee, consist basically of coffee (expensive) and water (relatively inexpensive). Increasing the water content by a small fraction without impairing the quality of the fi nished product can result in huge savings over a very small period of time.

Technical specsThe UR24 utilized a refractive index principle. Light generated by an LED is directed through a prism made of sapphire and into the product. Depending on the liquid con-centration strength, the angle at which that light refl ects will change.

The angle of refl ection/refraction is measured using a CCD detector which per-ceives the angle as a shadow moving across an array of transducers. The signal thus generated is passed through a microprocessor that converts it to a digital display of concentration strength, or brix, in real time.

This data is displayed directly on the unit and can be transmitted to a remote dis-play or interfaced with a PLC or SCADA system via analog or digital outputs for closed-loop process control.

The optical system and software in the Maselli UR24 refractometrer have been op-timized over many generations since the machine’s inception in the 1940’s to become the most accurate and dependable refractometer on the market today,” according to Sean Herington, general manager of Maselli Asia Pacifi c. “This is the main reason lead-ing manufacturers around the globe choose the Maselli refractometer to enhance their production lines. There are tens of thousands of Maselli units in use today in thousands of food and beverage production lines across the world.”

The company’s core competence has long been focused on analyzing food pro-cesses.

“Maselli has concentrated on food and beverage production since the company was founded in 1948,” Herrington told Tea & Coffee Asia. “The company is based in the food production region of Parma, in the rich agricultural heart of Italy, so its princi-pal focus has always been on food and beverages. This concentrated effort has resulted in the development of the UR24 into today’s cutting edge unit, the preferred choice for instant and concentrated coffee and tea manufacturers as well as fruit concentrate manufacturers.”

Maselli around the worldIn business since 1948, Maselli Misure has made major contributions in the knowledge and technological evolution of liquid analysis systems. Today, it is one of the few com-panies in Italy able to directly design and produce automatic on-line and laboratory liquid analyzers. Its collaboration with a wide range of corporate sectors and on-going commitment to research and development, have given Maselli Misure the unique abil-ity to perform diffi cult analyses over the most wide range of applications.

Because of its versatile, fl exible corporate structure, Maselli Misure and its products are available throughout the industrialized world. The Italian and European market are constantly served by an effi cient local network of affi liates run directly by the Italian home offi ce while, to better serve the trans-Atlantic markets, Maselli Measurements in Stockton, USA and Maselli Measurements of Mexico handle, respectively, the North American and Central American markets, while Maselli Misure Asia Pacifi c, headquar-tered in Sydney, Australia, has been opened to serve Southeast Asia.

Maselli Misure is a close-knit family of companies that guarantees professionalism, competence, quality and technical support throughout the world.

The return on investment is very rapid when process refractometers are introduced into the production line

In plants for the production of cof-fee meant for filling sweets and for lyophilization, starting from ground coffee, the chemical-physical analy-sis carried out by automatic analyzers are aimed at regulation of the contin-uous extraction process. A plant for the production of liquid coffee can be represented as shown in the figure below

PROCESSES INVOLVED:

ExtractionThe extractor is a machine that is supplied continuously with hot water and freshly ground coffee. The output of the coffee extracted (liquid) is adjusted in such a way that the concentration of the coffee is constant.

For this phase, the UR24 refracto-meter is used, scaled in BRIX degrees o% D.R. (dry residue), fitted after the filters, on the outlet pipe. The signal is used to modify the liquid coffee flow at the outlet.

EXTRACTION

FILTRATION

PACKAGING


By N

eal Robinson

AWith proper preparation, fi lter drip is emerging as a great-tasting option on the bever-age menu.

ccording to data from the global research fi rm The NPD Group, the food-service coffee markets in Japan, China and Australia are a study in contrasts. Ranging from Australia, where one out of every six restaurant visits includes

some kind of coffee drink, to China where fewer than one in 100 visits includes coffee. In Australia, nearly all coffee purchases in foodservice are espresso-based, while drip coffee dominates the Japanese market. The sources of espresso-based drinks are not so different across markets. Coffee specialty restaurants account for the largest share of espresso drinks in all markets. However, fi lter coffee is different.

“Japanese full-service restaurants account for the largest share of fi ltered coffee while quick service burger places in Australia and ‘Western quick service’ outlets in China account for the largest share of drip coffee,” explains Bob O’Brien, BUNN global senior vice president.

But in all markets it may be time to take a new look at fi lter drip coffee as a viable and great-tasting option on the beverage menu. There is a changing cycle in the evolu-tion of coffee with a heightened interest in controlling the intricacies along the entire supply chain from farmer to exporter/importer to roaster to retailer to consumer. A combination of chemistry, theatre and technology can contribute to the success

Quality in the Cup: Filter Drip and Espresso

In Australia one out of every six

restaurant visits includes some kind of coffee

drink; in China it is fewer than

one in 100 visits

It’s possible to achieve the goal of serving fi lter drip coffee that can be enjoyed for its unique, native characteristics, resulting in customer satisfaction and repeat business


Going hand-in-hand with consumer demand for a quality cup is the increased awareness of coffee-growing countries around the world and the availability of high-quality, single-origin coffee

of pulling the most premium fl avor out of the cell structure of the bean and ulti-mately delivering it to the cup for a truly ideal coffee drinking experience.

The starting point—the fi nca, or cof-fee plantation—is really the new star. Going hand-in-hand with consumer de-mand for a quality cup is the increased awareness of coffee-growing countries around the world and the availability of high-quality, single-origin coffee. For years, the primary focus was on the roast-ing and brewing with little regard about where the bean started and preserving it on the journey from the farm.

Sign of the timesAnother sign of the times perhaps was the offi cial launch of the Gold Cup Pro-gramme by the Speciality Coffee Asso-ciation of Europe (SCAE) in 2004. Although the SCAE had focused its attention on espresso and espresso-based beverages, developing the World Barista Championship, the organization felt the time had come for the introduction of the Gold Cup Pro-gram.

The Gold Cup sets minimum standards for coffee-to-water ratio, brewing tem-perature and holding time, and optimum standards for coffee extraction and strength. Described on the SCAE web site, the goal of the Gold Cup Programme is “to improve the standard of fi lter coffee consumed in the marketplace. It ensures a WIN for the coffee roaster, a WIN for the restaurateur and a WIN for the consumer.”

Time, temperature and turbulence along with water quality and grind are the im-portant factors in achieving Gold Cup quality. The time during which ground coffee is in contact with water determines how much coffee material, the main component affecting fl avor, will be extracted. Ideal water temperature ranges from 92º C – 96º C. Turbulence, then, is created as the water passes through and over the coffee. For proper extraction, a sprayhead design should cause the particles to separate, encourag-ing a uniform fl ow of water around all particles.

Ultimate controlToday’s coffee brewers and grinders allow ultimate control of a coffee’s fl avor profi le through digital technologies such as bypass, pre-infusion, pulse brew and air infusion. By measuring the total dissolved solids in the brewed coffee and the total amount of coffee used to brew 1.9 litres, an operator can chart where the coffee falls on the Gold Cup chart. If it falls outside the “optimum balance,” the digital programming features can be precisely manipulated to incrementally affect the extraction or strength. Or, grind size may need to be changed which is easily accomplished on adjustable grind-ers.

Once the “recipe” for the coffee is fi nalized, digital brewing systems can “remem-ber” the settings for it. For example, the BrewWISE system by BUNN contains a Smart Chip that holds coffee recipes and communicates among the grinder and brewer what coffee is being brewed, reducing operator error and assuring correct and consis-tent fl avor profi les for each specialty coffee.

Filter brewed coffee is attracting a second look mostly due to the attention to qual-ity at every stage in the seed-to-cup cycle, the SCAE Gold Cup standard, and advances in brewing technology. Once it is known how to preserve quality in every link of the coffee chain, it’s possible to achieve the goal of serving fi lter drip coffee that can be enjoyed for its unique, native characteristics, resulting in customer satisfaction and repeat business.

Writer Neal Robinson is senior vice president international sales, Bunn-O-Matic Corporation

Filter brewed coffee is attracting a second look mostly due to the attention to quality at every stage in the seed-to-cup cycle

The BrewWISE system by BUNN contains a Smart Chip that holds coffee recipes and communicates among the grinder and brewer what coffee is being brewed, reducing operator error and assuring correct and consistent fl avor profi les for each specialty coffee

The Gold Cup sets minimum stan-dards for coffee-to-water ratio, brewing temperature and holding time, and optimum standards for coffee extraction and strength


HE

ALT

H B

YT

ES

Coffee and stress If you look to coffee to relieve stress, you may be on to something – if you are a woman.

A study at the University of Bristol in the UK has found the caffeine works better for women than for men as a stress-buster.

The researchers said that the effect was more pronounced when women collaborated in stressful situations, noting that men are “more likely to act aggressively.”

Coffee and hangoversCoffee, in conjunction with aspirin, is “the best cure for a hangover,” according to researchers at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, in the US.

Well, it is if you are a rat…The team introduced enough ethanol to produce a head-

ache to laboratory rats, and then four to six hours later (to ensure the rats were properly hung over), they fed them caf-feine and aspirin-based anti-infl ammatory drugs.

The researchers discovered that the caffeine/aspirin mixture blocked acetate formed by alcohol in the body and eased the rodents’ discomfort.

“None of the commonly cited cures for hangovers could have caused this response,” according to researcher Dr. Mi-chael Oshinsky. However, he did not reveal if the researchers had also tried feeding rats some of these “commonly cited cures” as a comparison,. These apparently include drinking lots of water, eating a meal of fried egg, bacon, sausages, toast and tomatoes, or, a personal favorite, taking the “hair of the dog” which is “typically a Bloody Mary” (vodka and tomato juice) the morning after.

Coffee and diabetesA UCLA School of Public Health study that examined 359 diabetes patients and 359 healthy controls of similar age and race selected from the database of nearly 400,000 women enrolled in a large scale Women’s Health Study, reported in the journal Diabetes, has discovered a molecular protective mechanism in coffee that can reduce the likelihood of diabe-tes developing in women.

The researchers found that compounds in brewed cof-fee increase the level of the sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) protein. The report showed that increased amounts of SHBG in plasma are linked to a reduction in the chances of contracting diabetes.

The study found that women drinking a minimum of four cups of coffee daily were over 50% less likely to de-velop diabetes than non-coffee drinkers.

This most recent study adds to a growing body of evi-dence that suggests that drinking coffee decreases the risk of getting diabetes.

Coffee and CVDA cup or two of coffee helps arteries retain elasticity and could lead to longer, healthier life, according to research-ers from the University of Athens. Patients with high blood pressure can also benefi t from this property, they said.

“The study revealed that moderate coffee consumption, between one and two cups per day, is associated with higher values of aortic distensibility when compared with other hy-pertensive elderly individuals taking less coffee,” said Dr. Christina Chrysohoou, presenting the fi ndings at the Euro-pean Society of Cardiology Congress in Stockholm.

The researchers studied 485 men and women aged be-tween 65 and 100, all long-term residents of the Greek is-land of Ikaria where one third of the population reaches the age of 90. Islanders have 20% less cancer risk and 50% less heart disease risk compared to other westerners.

Together with a preference for herbal and honey concoc-tions, “drinking coffee is a deeply embedded social tradition in Greek culture which made it imperative to probe on this island of high life-expectancy,” according to Chrysohoou.

Of subjects that drank one to two cups every day, 56% were found to have the best arterial health. Their arteries were signifi cantly more elastic than those who drank little or no coffee.

“People who reported four or more cups a day had almost an 18% reduction in the risk of being hospitalized for rhythm disturbances,” added Arthur Klatsky, a senior cardiology consultant at Kaiser Permanente Division of Re-search in California.

Coffee and roastingPrevious research has claimed that antioxidants in coffee are produced by chemical reactions involving cholergenic acids in coffee beans.

But a recent study by Professor David Kitts and student Yazheng Liu from University of British Columbia, Canada, has found that antioxidants are formed by the so-called Maillard reaction, changing sugars and carbohydrates, pro-teins and other organic matter in food (coffee beans in this case) when exposed to high temperature.

There has been confl icting evidence presented in the past, with some researchers claiming increased antioxidant activity as coffee is roasted while others tout medium-roast as having more antioxidants present. This recent study sheds some light on the confusion, indicating that while an-tioxidants are created during green bean roasting, almost 90% of cholergenic acids, including caffeine, disappear.

Tea and water Sometimes, science actually proves what most of us already take for granted.

In a report on a recent study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Dr. Carrie Ruxton, a nutrition-ist, found that: “drinking tea is actually better than drinking water.”

The researchers concluded that the antioxidants - par-ticularly fl avonoids – found in tea can reduce the chances of having a heart attack if three to four cups are taken daily.

“Water basically replaces fl uid,” Ruxton wrote. “Tea replaces fl uids and contains antioxidants so that you have two things happening.”


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Green tea and CAD Lian-Sheng Wang and fellow researchers at The First Affi liated Hospital of Nanjiang Medical University in China meta-analysed data from 13 studies on black tea and fi ve on green tea to determine if there is an as-sociation between black or green tea con-sumption and the risk of coronary heart disease.

The research, reported in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, indicated that drinking a cup of green tea everyday may lead to 10% reduction in the likelihood of contracting coronary artery disease (CAD).

A high intake of green tea was linked to a 28% reduction, compared to respondents that consumed the lowest amount, which the researchers said implied a 10% reduc-tion in risk of contracting CAD for every cup of green tea taken daily.

A cup of black tea taken daily offered only a 2% reduction in the risk, however.

“Our data does not support a protective role of black tea against CAD,” according to the researchers. “The limited data avail-able on green tea support supports a tenta-tive association of green tea consumption with a reduced risk of CAD.”

Green tea and cancerRecent research has tested the cancer tu-mor growth suppression properties and the infl ammatory activity found in pancreatic tumor cells using three catechins found in green tea: epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), catechin gallate (CG), and epicatechin gal-late (ECG).

The research, reported in the journal Cancer Science, showed that ECGC was ef-fective in slowing tumor growth and reduc-ing cellular infl ammation. CG and ECG were found to be “substantially more effec-tive” than EGCG at halting tumor growth and reducing infl ammation.

Previous research has concentrated on EGCG and indicated its anti- cancer prop-erties, but this is the fi rst time CG and ECG have been studied in combination with EGCG.

White tea and cancerA report issued by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health in the US, has identifi ed enhanced anti-cancer properties in white tea com-pared to green tea.

“Although white tea comes from the same plant as green and black teas (Camellia sinensis), white tea goes through much less processing, resulting in a higher concentration of polyphenols, accprding the the report. “While this study builds on previous laboratory research suggesting that tea — in particular, green tea — may have anti-tumor effects for certain cancers, there is no evidence yet that this laboratory research can be extended to treatments in people.”

Howeer, the report goes on to say that: “Researchers from the University of New Mexico, the University of California Los Angeles and Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla, California, treated two types of non-small cell lung cancer cells with white tea extract. This caused changes in both cell lines that led to cell death.”


ADVERTISER PG#Ahlstrom 11Anhui Guorun Tea 51Buhler AG 7Cablevey Conveyors 37Capicorn Coffee 52Cimbria Heid 47Federacion Nacional de Cafe 15Florapharm 43, 45Fuso International 41GEA Niro A/S 33Glatfelter 23Haelssen & Lyon GmbH C-4H&S Tee 12Imex Corporation 29Mai SA C-2Maselli Asia Pacifi c 18

ADVERTISER PG#Maximus Coffee 21Modern Process 59Neuhaus Neotec 34Probat-Werke 17Rooibos Limited 27Scolari Engineering 35Singapore Exhibition Service 44Simar 10SSP pvt 5Teamac SRL 13Toper 19Tsubakimoto Kogyo C-3Urnex 31WR Carpenter 16 Zwirnerei A.D. Wutach GmbH 53

Advertiser’s Index

Events 2011** E

vent endorsed by Tea & Coffee A

sia

March 1-4Foodex & Hoteres (Exhibition)Chiba & Tokyo, Japanwww3.jma.or.jp/foodex

March 16-19National Coffee Association NCA (Conference) CentennialNew Orleans, LA, United Stateswww.ncausa.org

March 21-23Tea & Coffee World Cup/ASIASingaporeExclusive representatives in the Asia, OceaniaEastern Europe and Middle East regions: October Multimedia Co., LtdTel +66 22 55 66 25Fax +66 26 55 22 11Email: [email protected]

March 29-April 1Hotelex Shanghai (Exhibition)Shanghai, ChinaEmail: [email protected]

March 30-31, 2011UK Coffee Leaders SummitLondon, EnglandEmail: [email protected]

April 28-May 1SCAA (Expo & Conference)Houston, TX USAwww.scaa.org

May 11-14HOFEX (Exhibition)Hong Kong, Chinawww.hofex.com

May 18-20SIAL China (Exhibition)Shanghai, Chinawww.sialchina.com

May 20-23China Tea ExpoShanghai, Chinawww.tea-shexpo.com

June 22-24SCAE (Expo & Conference)Maastrich, Netherlandswww.scae.org

June 24-26World Tea ExpoLas Vegas, NV, USAwww.worldteaexpo.com

August 11-15Hong Kong International Tea FairHong Kong, ChinaEmail: [email protected]

September 8-10coffeenaCologne, Germanywww.coffeena.biz

November 5-7Coffee & Tea Middle EastDubai, United Arab Emirateswww.coffeeandteaconvention.com

November 10-14Sintercafe (Conference)San Jose, Costa Ricawww.sintercafe.com

November 24-27Café Show (Exhibition)Seoul, Koreawww.sintercafe.com

November 24-27Guangzhou Coffe & Tea ExpoGuangzhou, Chinawww.coffeexpo.cnwww.teaexpo.cn

November 25-28Taiwan Tea Coffee and Wine ExpoTaipei, Taiwan


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高端咖啡的回归 La Reunion和New Caledonia是法属太平洋岛

屿，均位于北回归线以上，相隔3,500公里。法国

CIRAD研究所科学家Frederic Descroix和药剂师Jean

Paul Belhomme将高端咖啡咖啡重新带回到到这两个

岛上。

1714年，La Reunion岛首次引种来自Mocha的咖

啡树，引种的品种为埃塞俄比亚地区的阿拉比卡树

种，该栽培种在也门已有1000多年的种植历史。

引种咖啡以后的几十年，由于天气灾害，甘蔗园

取代咖啡园、病虫害等各种原因，岛上咖啡种植面积

大为减少。不过，由于岛上出产的Bourbon Pointu咖

啡风味独特，成为19世纪国际知名的原产地咖啡，并

由于物以稀为贵而成为奢侈饮品。1870年代，一些离

开La Reunion岛的法国殖民者把那里的咖啡种带到新

殖民的New Caledonia岛上，希望能在那儿种出同样

的高品质咖啡获利。New Caledonia岛上的咖啡园取

得了不俗的成就，很快有了好收成。

可惜，同样的病虫害再次爆发，咖啡锈病摧毁了

New Caledonia岛上大部分阿拉比卡咖啡树。于是，

来自马达加斯加的罗布斯塔咖啡取代了早先阿拉比卡

品种。

1999年，日本咖啡专家访问La Reunion岛，期望

品尝到正宗的Bourbon Pointu咖啡，可惜岛上没有供

应。他们和当地相关部门一起组织岛上咖啡园展开寻

找Bourbon Pointu咖啡树的活动，终发现并确认了

260株。受此影响，法国政府决定资助Bourbon Poin-

tu咖啡复兴研究。

世界知名的法国CIRAD研究所受邀主导该项

目。2002年，Frederic Descroix接受委派开展这项

研究。研究项目之初，先筛选27株母本培育种苗，

而后在2003年，于岛上各地开辟了113个试验性种植

区。详细记载栽培相关参数，并将这些数据与收获的

咖啡豆品质参数进行对比分析。咖啡豆品质由12位

专家按ISO6668标准进行定期审评，根据比较分析筛

选出岛上佳种植土质、佳微环境和佳海拔高

度等外部环境因子。该特种咖啡分4个等级：grand

cru、sublime、authentic和original。是世界贵

的原产地咖啡之一。由于咖啡豆品质优异，加入本项

研究计划并付出辛勤努力的种植者均得到良好的回

报。

New Caledonia岛上高端咖啡的回归是一个咖啡

种植家族带来的。1920年Marc Boucher的祖父母定

居New Caledonia，在南部海湾购买了一大片土地种

植咖啡，当时种的是从首批定居者那儿买来的café

Leroy咖啡品种。这位祖父的一个女儿现年94岁，一

直怀念儿时的咖啡园，在她的鼓励下，她的药剂师女

儿女婿重建可当年的咖啡园。

目前Marc Boucher的咖啡园有14个片区共30,000

株咖啡，其中26,500株是优秀的Bourbon Pointu品

种，其他是Typica和黄色Bourbon品种。2009年年产

2,000吨咖啡果，脱浆和水洗工作用水是地下储水池

中蓄积的雨水。

日本茶叶由绿转红2009年日本茶农Kaoru和Miyoko Kayano获得英

国好味奖颁发的三星金奖。这不是日本第一次获得该

奖，2007年，日本Satsuma Eikokukan博物馆曾获得

二星金奖。人们也许想当然地以为获奖茶叶是蒸青、

玉露或抹茶类日本绿茶。但是，这两个获得三星金奖

的茶叶其实是红茶。获奖红茶均来自鹿儿岛，直到

1970年代，鹿儿岛仍以出产带蜜糖香的红茶而知名。

现在当地越来越多的小茶农开始生产红茶。

从1970年代开始，日本市场上几乎所有的红茶都

是从英国、印度、斯里兰卡、中国和其他产茶国进口

的，没有本国红茶。近日本茶叶市场的变化促使日

本茶农开始生产红茶。

变化之一是瓶装冰茶的流行，因为生产瓶装茶消

耗的茶叶远少于冲泡同样容积茶水所需的茶叶量，从

而导致日本国内绿茶消费量下降。变化之二是市场上

大宗绿茶特别是晚春和夏季茶的价格下挫。第三个变

化是消费者对口感甜润爽滑的红茶和芳香的乌龙与包

种茶的兴趣日益增加。

另外，日本消费者对健康问题的关注，使他们购

买更多国产或进口有机产品。在进口红茶问题上，日

本比较偏好严格控制农残的英国红茶。

日本红茶的口感和香气比进口红茶细腻。这是由

于日本的传统茶树品种儿茶素含量较低，而生产浓强

类红茶的阿萨姆、Nilgiri、斯里兰卡和非洲的茶树

品种儿茶素含量较高。日本红茶汤色较浅，口感柔

和。Yabukita是普遍的适制红茶的茶树品种，所制

红茶味甜，带蜜糖香，很少苦涩味。用该种茶青手工

制作的红茶叫做“Kin Mei Cha（金眉茶）”。有些

茶农用Benifuki品种茶青制作红茶，这种红茶口感较

浓，日本茶农希望它能打入国际市场。其他适制红茶

的品种包括Hatsumomiji, Benihikari, Saemidori和

Yama No Ibuki。

曼谷咖啡学院业界认为总部位于Trieste的Illy咖啡在亚洲的

品牌推广很成功。

Illy生产烘焙咖啡的青豆主要来自巴西、厄瓜多

尔、哥伦比亚和埃塞俄比亚，还有些拼配豆来自印

度。公司致力向全球咖啡爱好者宣传咖啡相关的新

资讯和专业知识。

Illy在印度的推广是一个典型案例，虽然该公司

生产的咖啡全部采用阿拉比卡豆，但是它还是和当地

伙伴一起支持对罗布斯塔咖啡农的教育培训。

Illy主要的特许授权加盟业务是经典意大利咖啡

吧Espressamente，该咖啡吧开在机场、大型商场等

客流量很大的中心商业区，拉斯维加Venetian的咖啡

吧是其中成功的典范。

亚洲有30个Espressamente咖啡吧，全球34个国

家共有230家Espressamente咖啡吧，每年接待2000万

人次的消费者。注重培训是Espressamente成功背后

的重要因素。该咖啡吧的业者要接受咖啡基础知识、

咖啡种类鉴别、烘焙技术和饮食行业等领域的深度培

训。


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为了更好地开展培训工作，Illy建立了UDC（咖

啡学院）部门，建设设备齐全的咖啡学院培训咖啡爱

好者、咖啡师、咖啡店和餐饮业从业人员。咖啡师锦

标赛选手即使不是Illy咖啡用户，也能到UDC接受培

训，培训课程从基础到高级都有。2010年，Illy在全

球有8个UDC培训中心。

Illy 新的UDC培训中心设在泰国曼谷。曼谷咖

啡学院秉承Illy一贯的宗旨：在直接收益不明显的情

况下坚持培养咖啡消费文化。

Illy的品牌推广注重长期效应，泰国的经济发展

使该国成为Illy咖啡学院理想的选址。

曼谷咖啡学院2010年10月开张。不过，此前6年

里，Illy已经在泰国开展培训工作了。

咖啡爱好者可以参加4小时的培训课程。UCD学院

的学生中还有使用Illy两款新冲泡机的客户。这两款

冲泡机（Metodo,IperEspress）采用Illy咖啡胶囊冲

泡单杯咖啡，可在家庭和餐饮酒店业使用。

印度咖啡委员会新主席Jawaid Akhtar

Jawaid Akhtar在加入咖啡委员会之前担任过驻

德里Karnataka政府专员、Karnataka基础建设与金融

公司的城市发展部门总监等职务。

新官上任后，要面对印度咖啡业面临的一系列挑

战。过去5到6年里，印度咖啡产量萎缩，在传统咖啡

种植区Karnataka, Tamil Nadu和Kerala进行咖啡扩

种的计划受到限制。

除咖啡种植面积减少之外，还有其他影响产量的

问题。

“有些咖啡园已经老化了，那里的咖啡树龄超过

了作物经济周期，需要重新种植，”Akhtar说，“虫

害也影响咖啡产量，阿拉比卡咖啡产量受虫害影响

大。我们正通过咖啡研究所和印度农业研究所、印度

园艺研究所等科研部门一起解决这些问题。目前很多

重要研究项目已经获得了良好的成果。”

“咖啡研究所还分析研究市场上的各种咖啡设

备，需要产品改造，而国内缺乏相关配件的时候，研

究所通过生产商联系寻找非印度产配件。”

在如何资助咖啡种植者对咖啡栽培工具和咖啡设

备的需求问题上，咖啡委员会也有详细提案。

国际投资被视为能给印度为咖啡业带来帮助。

“ 国际投资对印度咖啡业的帮助有两方

面，”Akhtar说，“它能提高国内消费者对咖

啡的兴趣和对咖啡文化的了解。印度消费者过

去长期饮用的咖啡品种是过滤咖啡和速溶咖啡，

而外国咖啡连锁店带来了更多的消费选择，比如

espresso、cappuccino、还有来自不同产地和品种的

特种咖啡。本世纪初，印度咖啡消费市场以每年2%到

2.5%的速度增长，而在过去5到6年中，增长率提高到

6%。”

印度巨大的市场前景使得外商预期良好的投资回

报。当问道咖啡委员会会不会为外商和国外贸易商提

供帮助的时候，Akhtar如是说：

“印度是个开放的市场，外商到印度开店或经商

不需要我们的特别帮助，”Akhtar告诉本刊记者，“

他们从市场上采购咖啡、开或售卖咖啡都非常方便，

不需要委员会提供投资、法律等方面的帮助。”

浙江杉杉茶叶有限公司总经理刘志明

刘志明于2004年加入新成立的杉杉茶叶，之前他

任职于出口排名领先的浙江茶叶进出口公司，负责红

茶与特种茶出口，有15年从业经验。

杉杉茶叶有限公司是上市公司杉杉集团多元化发

展策略下的产物，主要从事茶叶贸易与茶提取物生

产。随着国内茶饮料市场高速发展，杉杉将发展重点

转移到茶提取物生产。

杉杉采用先进的二氧化碳萃取技术，避免溶剂污

染、提高产品纯度。所有原料来自合格供应商，有完

善的产品追踪系统确保品质。对供应商进行品质环保

等方面的定期培训。

“我们有一个中央实验室和两个工厂实验室的严

格品控制度。” 杉杉茶叶与提取物的主要出口市场在

北美与西欧。2009年，与德国Martin Baurer集团合

资组建杉杉茶叶提取物公司，增强对亚太区域（包括

中国市场）的服务。

“合资公司主要生产脱咖啡因茶与茶提取物，厂

址在杭州经济技术开发区，”刘说，“新厂址300公

里半径内聚集了可口可乐、百事、娃哈哈等大型饮料

企业，能更迅捷地服务这些潜在的核心客户。”

新工厂将在明年年底落成。

新西兰乌龙茶在新西兰生产茶叶的念头始于1989年，当时是台

湾一家建筑公司老板的Tsu Chen到新西兰游览，对当

地的美景和当地人的友善印象深刻。1996年，为了孩

子的教育和新的商机，他决定全家移民新西兰北岛。

移民时携带的一个重要的物品是台湾乌龙茶。

2000年，Tsu全家搬迁到原为奶牛场的新址，同

时搬过去的还有他们的茶树。由于牧场土壤长期受有

机牛粪滋润，以及当地充足的光照，原先长得不好的

茶树在搬家后长势很好。看到茶树良好的长势，Tsu

先生和Vincent阅读了更多的文献并做了很多研究。

他们参考专家意见，切取新枝继续进行实验，种植了

2,000多株扦插条。约一年后，95%的扦插植株生长良

好。Tsu先生于是购买了更多土地，把茶苗移植到新

地块，同时在幼株上遮盖黑色网布避免过强光照。

数年后，他在当地拥有了茶园、工厂、设备

和很多经验，并生产出第一批茶叶。“我们很失

望！”Vincent说，“第一批茶叶质量很差。喝起来

还可以，不苦，只是没啥味道。任何熟悉乌龙茶香气

滋味的人能理解我们对这批茶叶的期许和品尝后巨大

的失落。”

Logan Chen说，试制乌龙是一个不断调整的过

程，以期取得理想的结果。2005年，他们请了一位有

22年经验的台湾茶叶大师过来指导。终在2009年


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12月，Tsu先生13年前关于新西兰乌龙茶的梦想实现

了。新西兰乌龙茶面市后得到了消费者的首肯。

目前，Hamilton种植园有一百多万株茶树，每年

三个采摘季节共产24吨茶叶。除900平方米的茶厂之

外，还有一个育种园、咖啡吧、住宿、湖泊、观光中

心和中国茶楼。茶厂经HACCP和ISO22000认证，茶叶

由瑞士SGS有机认证。以50克一袋的真空包装发售，

凭特定追踪体系可以追索到每批茶叶来自茶园中哪个

地块和哪个收获季节。

咖啡与茶提取物分析——盈利的关键

速溶咖啡、茶与咖啡提取物的原料是茶与咖啡，

将原料与水混合，再提取浓缩液。Maselli Misure

UR24折射计是测定提取液浓度的仪器，使用蒸发器浓

缩液体时也用得到该折射计。要提高操作准确都和稳

定产品品质，在生产中必须检测各个工序中的提取物

浓度。咖啡价格不便宜，浓缩液浓度过高会造成经济

损失，精准地按标准生产浓缩液有益于提高提取率和

控制成本。

以喷雾干燥方式生产速溶咖啡，要先提取咖啡浓

缩液，提取时，咖啡豆在水里煮沸，后经气化干燥

制成。通过滤网时粘附在网上的咖啡粉末会被蒸汽溶

解，然后回流到提取液中。

冻干咖啡制作过程中也需要不断检测提取液浓

度，才能保证稳定的产品品质和成本控制。

茶叶提取和咖啡提取的过程大同小异：浸提、浓

缩、后干燥。制造速溶茶困难的地方是如何保持

香气。

生产即饮（RTD）产品时，茶、咖啡或果汁提取

物的浓度必须达标，符合准确的糖度水平，在线折射

计能很好地完成这个检测任务。

折射计通常安装在浸提后输出液体的输送管上，

在蒸发浓缩和干燥前这两个工序的设备上也可安装折

射计。

如果咖啡与茶提取物水分含量过高，干燥时候的

能耗就大，因此干燥前，一定要通过折射计检测控制

水分。

在生产线上安装折射计能准确地控制提取物浓

度，提高原料利用率。以速溶咖啡为例，该产品主要

成份是咖啡（价格高）和水（价格便宜），不影响口

感的前提下，稍稍提高水分含量就能节省不少成本。

投资购买折射所花的成本很快就能在生产过程中收回

来。

有机咖啡还是非有机咖啡？过去10年里，种植者、科学家和消费者一直在争

论有机（生态）咖啡与非有机咖啡的问题，讨论涉及

到传统与非传统、化肥农药与可持续发展农业等领

域。在这个问题上相关资讯很多，但是其中有不少误

解甚至荒诞的说法，真正对此讨论有益的知识并不

多。

有机咖啡和非有机咖啡不只是市场营销术语，有

机与非有机、替代与传统、自然与化工这些意思对立

的词组揭示的是这两种咖啡决然不同的生产过程。

1960年代，印度迎来绿色革命，化肥成为种植者

的好选择。自然耕种的土地远不如施了化肥的土地那

样高产，种植者开始意识到化肥能快速地大幅度地提

高产量。当时由于非有机（化工）农业处于幼年期，

相关信息不完善。直到大学纷纷投入实地研究后才逐

步了解到正确施用化肥农药的重要性，解答了为什么

使用化肥？何时使用？以及选择何种化肥等问题，人

们才了解到怎样才能佳使用化肥。可是，这些长期

研究成果出来之前，“现代”农场在实际使用中一直

迷信“越多越好”，种植者不合理地不加控制地使用

化肥农药，造成用量过度和大量滥用。在开始阶段，

过量使用农化产品能极大地提高产量和利润，因此种

植者完全抛弃了旧式的自然农耕方式。可惜，过度依

赖化肥农药的做法经不起时间的考验，长期滥用农化

产品之后，引起作物产量下降和病虫害的增加，同时

也无谓地提高了生产成本，导致利润下降。

现代农业需要整合有机和非有机两种耕种方式。

要意识到过度使用农药化肥的问题以及由此引发的水

污染问题，也要认识到完全回归旧式自然农耕方式是

不理性的。有机和非有机不是单选题，现代农业其实

有第三条路中庸路线可走，就是取双方之长而避其

短。这种“平衡营养管理”的农耕方式旨在平衡自然

法则和商业需求之间的冲突，采取双管齐下的方法，

在作物生长时合理地使用化肥，同时做好日常有机耕

作以养护土壤肥力和土壤微生物活力。

要做到“平衡营养管理”，土壤和作物需要定期

采样检测，然后根据实际情况对症下药地采用不同耕

种方式。比如，当测定结果显示作物缺乏某些营养元

素时，通过施肥进行快速补充；而平时，则需要施用

经充分降解的农家肥以养护土壤肥力。在植保问题

上，不能滥用农药，在必要时采取生态手段等综合方

式治理病虫害。将注意重点放在土壤和作物健康上。

滴滤和Espresso咖啡现代的咖啡冲泡机和研磨机通过电子控制技术将

咖啡泡出佳风味。迂回、预泡、脉冲冲泡和空气浸

润等设计都旨在泡出咖啡佳香气和口感。通过分析

1.9升咖啡中溶解的咖啡粉含量，并将其与冲泡前所

用的干咖啡量一起记录下来，再与佳冲泡标准的平

衡值相比对，如果实际数据超过“ 佳平衡范围”，

则通过调节冲泡系数，或者通过调节研磨颗粒尺寸来

提高冲泡效果。

冲泡系数设定后存入电子冲泡系统。BUNN的

BrewWISE冲泡机有智能卡记录各项冲泡设定，并能自

动将冲泡信息传达到研磨机和冲泡机中。电子控制能

减少人工操作失误，保证每杯咖啡的品质。

由于便于观察整个冲泡过程，SCAE金咖啡标准的

颁布，以及滴滤技术更新等原因，滴滤咖啡机重新受

到市场欢迎。整个咖啡供应链上都受到严格的品质监

控，使滴滤咖啡独特的风味发挥到极点，让消费者重

新爱上滴滤咖啡。


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意大利咖啡师世界锦标赛得奖者到Nuova Simonelli参观学习

2010年世界咖啡师锦标赛得

主中的5位佳选手成为Nuova

Simonelli的嘉宾，参加为期3天

的意大利参观学习之行。

锦标赛总裁Cindy Chang是

Nuova Simonelli的高级管理人

员，Aurellia的三天之行中，

她全程陪伴美国冠军Michael

Phillips、危地马拉冠军Raul

Rodas、澳大利亚冠军Scottie

Callaghan、丹麦冠军Stiller

Markussen和希腊冠军Domatiotis

Stefanos。

三天的行程从Nuova Simo-

nelli培训中心开始，培训中心设

有多款Nuova Simonelli咖啡机和

各种规格的配件。

技术服务部负责人Lauro Fi-

ioretti向嘉宾介绍了咖啡机的各

项出厂试验和检测，以及公司目

前的研发项目和崭新设计。通过

介绍，嘉宾们知道了Nuova Simo-

nellis的生产哲学，对咖啡粉颗

粒检测、节能设计、消声室测试

和风洞测试等有了直观的了解。

“ 研发上的投入令人钦

佩，”澳大利亚冠军说，“学习

到的信息对我们很有用，能帮助

咖啡师更好地传播咖啡文化。”

丹麦冠军感谢Nuova Simo-

nelli的技术和服务人员在伦敦锦

标赛上提供的帮助。

“在试机和整个锦标赛期

间，公司配备了足够的技术人

员，并给我提供了很大的帮

助，”希腊冠军补充道，“伦敦

大赛前一天，我经过Nuova Simo-

nelli展台，当时他们正忙着做准

备。认出我是参赛者之后，虽然

展台没完全搭好，他们还是很热

情地招呼我去试机。我很感谢他

们的热情和体贴。Nuova Simo-

nelli是我在锦标赛期间遇到的

好的伙伴。”

德国新西兰选择Neuhaus设备

德国咖啡烘焙技术在国际上

广受欢迎，新西兰也是它的拥

趸。

日前，德国北部的烘焙设备

生产商Neuhaus接到新西兰公司

Cerebos Gregg’s的订单，要求

帮它新西兰南部Dunedin安建一个

GR150烘焙工厂。

Cerebos Gregg’s和它的澳

洲关联公司Cerebos Australia是

大洋洲咖啡本地饮料供应商，有

多种咖啡产品。Cerebos集团旗下

有不少新西兰知名咖啡品牌，如

Robert Harris咖啡馆、Barista@

home、Atomic、Caffe L’affare

和Bruno rossi。

Cregg’s公司建厂设备选择主

机是RG150烘焙机，该机烘焙过程

精准、产品质量稳定、调节控制

灵活。烘焙厂将在今年年中开始生

产。每批次烘焙量150公斤，每小时

可烘1，500公斤咖啡豆。

德国研磨机的新设计

2011年5月，烘焙机和咖啡生产

设备领域的老大Probat将在Dues-

seldorf举行的2011年Interpack展

上推出新设计的滚筒咖啡研磨机。

在单杯冲泡咖啡胶囊发明后，

市场对咖啡研磨品质的要求提高了

不少。为取得佳浸出效果和佳

风味，研磨设备必须能精准研磨、

研磨颗粒大小分布态势要可以复

制、还要能控制研磨颗粒大小。多

年来，Probat三段式滚筒研磨机是

研磨胶囊所用咖啡粉的行业标准。

现在，Probat工程师在此基础上推

出全新设计的系列，新系列的创新

之处包括多种研磨进程、可单独控

制的滚筒驱动等。该系列设备可生

产适用于咖啡胶囊的超细咖啡粉和

土耳其咖啡粉。新系列还带计算机

控制系统，操作方便。

2008年Interpack展上，Probat

推出的是Saturn离心烘焙机。今

年它要推出的是Jupiter切线烘焙

机。Jupiter烘焙机的特点是调节灵

活和多功能。

“Jupiter系列烘焙机可调节

烘焙空气温度和烘焙量，功能齐

茶叶品质与感官审评判断茶叶品质的技术途径是感官审评而非定量分

析仪器。茶叶口感源于种类繁多的内含物质以及各主

要成分相互间的作用，单靠测定某些与品质相关的内

含物（如茶多酚）含量不足以表达整体风味。

感官审评是国际通用的技术手段，各国的品饮习

惯有差异，审评项目也有所不同。如，日本一般不评

叶底，中国却把叶底作为一项重要参考指标。不过，

除了具体项目与操作流程上有所差异，基本审评框架

与原理都差不多。

审评的首要因素是人，培训一位合格审评师通常

要4-5年的时间，既要掌握理论知识又要熟悉实际操

作，以及了解主要产茶国或地区的风味特色。为保证

感官灵敏度，审评者好戒除抽烟酗酒等嗜好。还要

通过不断学习与行业发展保持同步。

审评的第二个要素是环境。审评室的设计要达

标，充分减少外界干扰。审评室中保存的标准茶样要

明确标注、妥善保存并及时更新，一般一年更换一

次，以保证样品的新鲜度。

感官审评通常包括几个主要项目因子，首先干看

外形，比对干茶色泽、形状、匀整度等品质指标。

接下来开汤分步分析汤色、香气与滋味。开汤有

相对统一的用具与操作标准。有些地区对不同茶叶采

取特殊开汤方法。比如，茉莉花茶采用双杯冲泡法以

判断香气鲜灵度与浓度。

滋味是审评中重要的一环，茶汤佳滋味审评

温度在50度左右。比较茶汤在口腔里的感觉与咽后

回味。红茶一般需加奶审评，在茶汤中加入1-2勺牛

奶，看汤色尝滋味。

如果要审评叶底，要注意匀整度、明亮度及手感

等指标。通过叶底分析可更好地了解茶树品种、采摘

季、加工等多方面的信息。


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茶叶新闻

肯尼亚埃及让贸易商担心

2月7日一份报道指出，虽然高

兴于近茶叶额出口创历史新高，

肯尼亚担心埃及国内危机持续会影

响蒙巴萨拍卖市场茶叶价格。

埃及是肯尼亚茶叶大买家，主

要购买经特殊拼配的茶末，该国进

口占肯尼亚茶叶出口总量的21%之

多。近，为埃及买家服务的经济

缺席了好几次拍卖会，引起业界担

心。如果埃及内乱继续，肯尼亚可

能要面临仓储空间不足的问题，贸

易商和卖家会因此受损。

“大部分茶叶是12月价格高的

时候拍下的。现在茶叶价格下降

了，会引起大量跑单。埃及买家

会选择低价位时买进以拉低平均

价，”肯尼亚全球茶与商品公司

茶叶经理Peter Kimanga告诉路透

社，“茶末等级的茶叶主要用于制

作袋泡茶，贸易商会放弃价高的高

等级茶末，”Kimanga说，“如果埃

及内乱不停止，下个月肯尼亚可能

在拍卖市场上损失高达30%。”

斯里兰卡出口超过肯尼亚

2010年斯里兰卡茶叶出口额达

13.7亿美元，创历史新高，高于肯

尼亚出口额，虽然出口量不如后

者。

2010年出口额比深受干旱影响

的2009年高出16%，2010年出口量为

3.14亿公斤，比上一年的产量高出

8%。

“2010年肯尼亚出口量创新

高，达4.41亿公斤，”兰卡商业在

线引用一位茶叶经济的话说，“

该国同年出口额约为8.59亿美

元。2010年肯尼亚茶叶产量创新

高，达3.99亿公斤，高于遭遇干旱

的2009年的3.14亿公斤。”

报道表示，斯里兰卡出口茶叶

中高附加值产品较多，因此出口

金额高于肯尼亚。65%（1.439亿

公斤）的斯里兰卡茶叶是小包装

茶，9%是茶包。绿茶出口570万公

斤，大部分属于小包装和袋泡茶

类。

赢回俄罗斯市场种植部长Mahinda Samaras-

inghe对当地媒体表示，斯里兰卡

正酝酿在俄罗斯推行“更积极”的

市场举措，提高茶叶出口。俄罗斯

曾是斯里兰卡茶叶进口大国，2006

年，斯里兰卡出口茶叶中有43%被

俄国购买，现在下降到28%。

“我们对失去传统进口国的

部分市场份额很不满意。”，Sa-

marasinghe 近在哥伦布接待俄罗

斯茶叶买家团的时候告诉对方，“

在近一次出访中，我们和俄罗斯

农业部长讨论了在俄罗斯提高斯里

兰卡茶叶市场份额的问题。斯里兰

卡茶叶以品质取胜。不久，我们将

采取“积极”的营销活动将失去的

市场夺回来。”

Impra茶叶公司总裁Jayantha

Karunaratne说，受恶劣气候影

响，今年1月茶叶减产30%，不过，

从2月份起，产量将补回。去年，

该公司向俄罗斯出口了300万公斤

茶。

Karunaratne表示，由于斯

里兰卡茶叶成本较高，该国在俄

罗斯的部分市场份额被印度尼西

亚、肯尼亚、印度、越南和中国

茶叶夺去。

“ 我们的的包装成本很

高。”他说，“这些成本应该降

下来，比如立顿现在是在不同的

国家包装茶叶。由于生产商的抗

议，我们不能进口茶叶，我们必

须寻找其他途径降低成本。”

印度统一CTC等级规格

90%的印度茶叶是CTC碎茶，

按目前的分级制度，一共有60多

个CTC等级，这么多的级别让生产

商、拍卖师和买家都感到困扰。

为了结束这个长期困扰，印

度茶叶委员会宣布从3月1日起标

准化印度的CTC分级制度。

新标准CTC分级是茶叶委员会

组织生产商、买家协会和拍卖市

场各方面研究相当一段时间后产

生的。

“新分级制度将解决困扰国

内和国际市场的印度茶叶等级过

多问题，”阿萨姆茶叶种植者协

会主席AR Kasera告诉当地媒体。

新制度将CTC茶分成8个碎茶

等级，3个片茶等级和8个末茶等

级。

价格上涨7%？McLeod Russel总裁Aditya

Khaitan在接受CNBC-TV18采访时

说，个人认为2011年印度茶叶价

格将上涨5%-7%。

全”Probat销售与市场总监Rainer

van der Beek说，“烘焙出来的产

品有特殊的香气，也能取得特定烘

焙效果。”

其他新品包括全自动控制的

Probatone60滚筒烘焙机，新一代的

Probatone商用烘焙机，该商用机有

每批可烘5公斤和12公斤的两款。

Probat的创新设计还包括Pilot

Plant工厂控制系统和Pilot Roast-

er烘焙控制系统。两个工作系统都

提高了生产控制能力，也更便于操

作。Probat Controls系统可以与

ERP系统连接，方便生产数据输入

和产生分析报告。

Probat在Interpack的展位是2

号展厅，D12号展位，有兴趣了解

更多信息，请去展位参观。

中国北京推出Tpresso

Nespresso咖啡机发明者Eric

Favre于1990年离开雀巢加入瑞士

公司Monodor。Monodor每年约生产

5亿多份咖啡胶囊。

Favre自称“有30年茶叶从业

经验”，近在北京推出新设计

的Tpresso茶叶冲泡机。

Tpress用茶包胶囊冲泡高档

茶叶。

Pavre希望亚洲，尤其是中国

消费者会对Tpresso感兴趣。

“500年前茶叶通过海运到达

西欧，”他说，“现在，Tpress

专利技术从瑞士来到中国，为中

国消费者带来冲泡好茶的设备，

使饮茶方式在茶的故乡变得更有

活力。”


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咖啡新闻

ICA 2007生效2007版国际咖啡协议（ICA）

于2011年2月2日正式生效，协

议旨在协调国际咖啡生产贸

易。ICA2007是自1962年首版发

现以来的第七版，有效期为10

年，10年后可再延长8年。

“感谢所有的协议成员国为

批准ICA2007出了力。也欢迎五

个新会员国：利比里亚、东帝

汶、突尼斯、土耳其和也门，加

入我们。新成员国的加入有助于

提高ICA的代表性。ICA2007旨在

促进咖啡生产消费国之间的相互

合作，推广可持续种植经济，对

所有咖啡生产者，尤其是小种植

者意义重大。” ICA总裁 José

Sette说。

2月2日，巴西政府提交了批

准要求书，促使ICA2007通过生

效，目前有34个成员国已经批准

或接受该协议，还有13个成员国

签署了该协议。

新版协议旨在加强全球合

作，在市场经济中推广可持续生

产，使多方受益。新版增加了关

于发展和资助项目的重要章节。

针对咖啡业界对金融与危机管理

等方面专业知识的需求，提出建

立咖啡金融咨询论坛。扩大统计

数据来源以提高市场透明度。新

成立的促进与市场发展委员会将

监管咖啡生产和消费有关的信息

交流、研发、产能提升等工作。

2010年，全球咖啡生产国从

咖啡出口中得到总额约165亿美元

的回报。全球每年消耗咖啡总量

约6千亿杯。

ICA2007协议内容和更多信

息参见www.ico.org

荷兰UTZ认证咖啡销售增长近50%

UTZ消息，2010年共售出

121,234吨UTZ认证咖啡，比前年

增加近50%。UTC认证是国际大

的咖啡、茶、可可持续发展项目

之一。UTZ咖啡销售大增显示国

际市场开始关注可持续发展产

品，Sara Lee，Ahold Coffee公

司和Migros等主流市场上的大牌

公司都很支持可持续发展产品。

巴西是全球大的UTC认证

咖啡生产国。2010年该国销售

51,574吨UTZ青咖啡豆。越南是

第二大认证国，销售24,065吨。

UTZ已在23个国家的157,168

个种植园和小生产商进行可持续

发展生产认证，2010年的认证数

量比前一年上升65%。认证的种

植农在接受专业培训后，提高了

产品品质，并在降低投入的同时

提高产量。UTZ提高了认证种植

农在国际市场上的议价能力，从

而帮助他们提高了生活水平。种

植农与UTZ认证合作能获得附加

产值，且不需为提供的服务付

费。

UTZ认证的买家来自42个国

家，Sara Lee、Friele和Ahold

Coffee公司是UTZ认证的主流买

家，他们的采购量名列前茅，

为2010年UTZ咖啡销量上升做出

了很大贡献。过去5年中，Sara Lee

总共采购了1.1亿公斤UTZ认证Good

Inside咖啡，是全球大的UTZ咖啡

买家。未来5年里，该公司至少将采

购3.5亿公斤，是历史购买量的三倍

多。UTZ认证Good Inside咖啡将成

为Sara Lee在可持续发展产品项目

上主要合作者。

巴西2011年减产

2011年巴西咖啡产量预计比去

年下降21%，达4300万-4700万袋咖

啡。分析家预测2011年上半年咖啡

期货价格将上涨。

巴西国内咖啡消费呈增长趋

势，2012年巴西可能取代美国成为

大的咖啡消费国。

巴西咖啡业协会ABIC称，自

2004年开始，巴西咖啡消费年增长

率4%左右，今年增长率将达5%。

“ 人们每日喝更多杯咖啡

杯，消费者不仅在早餐时饮用

咖啡，还在咖啡吧和餐馆饮用

espresso、lattes和cappuccinos等

花式咖啡。人均消费更多提高了消

费量”ABIC总裁Nathan Herskowicz

如是说。

坦桑尼亚历史最高价

交易员在星期五说，由于高品

质咖啡供应短缺，坦桑尼亚佳品

质的AA级咖啡在1月拍卖中拍得历史

高价格。50公斤一袋的AA级咖啡

本周拍卖价339.80美元每袋。

“由于市场供应短缺，咖啡种

植者可望获得历史好的价格。”

肯尼亚减产使他看好今年印

度茶叶出口。

“印度茶叶现在要积累库

存，”他说，“今年新年伊始，

印度茶叶库存短缺约1亿公斤，

是首次遇到如此大的短缺。印度

茶叶库存现在很低。如果非洲干

旱，4、5、6月份的阿萨姆茶叶

品质好，适销出口市场，阿萨姆

和McLeod Russel公司茶叶出口价

格将会高于往年。。。今年4-6

月的出口形式很好。”

Khaitan说，“高品质印度

茶叶的市场需求很大，供应空缺

也大。高档茶叶利润很高，而普

通茶叶利润不高。今年的天气和

茶叶生长情况将决定今年出口形

势，个人认为今年会有5%-7%的

上浮。”

中国销售继续增长

联合利华首席执行官Paul

Polman 近在中期报告中指出，

立顿茶包在中国的销售量以“个

位数”增长率增长。立顿销售增长

源于市场对奶茶、方便的传统茶包

和高档的三角茶包的偏好。

去年后三个月，联合利华已

突破销售目标，该公司预期今年在

中国的销售将继续增长。

福建建设茶叶中心福建省安溪县投资2280万美元

建设茶文化园。占地27公顷的文化

园包括10公里铁观音种植区，展示

传统铁观音生产技艺。

该工程预计3年内完成。


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乞力马扎罗特种咖啡种植者协会总

裁 Geoffrey Mwangulumbi告诉当地

媒体。“本周拍卖的高品质咖啡价

达到历史高点。”

肯尼亚预告减产

肯尼亚咖啡委员会James Wa-

home告诉彭博社，由于降雨不足，

肯尼亚咖啡预计减产四分之一，咖

啡价格将创历史新高，出口额可能

上升7%。价格上涨会部分抵消减产

损失。

“10月到12月的收成不好，”

他说，“咖啡需要降雨但当时基本

都是干旱天气。”

肯尼亚咖啡有两个收获季，10

月到12月是主要收获季，4月到6月

是补充收获季。

Wahome说，截至9月30日，肯尼

亚咖啡本季产量将达40,000吨，比

去年同期55,000吨少很多。

印度种植者受益

其他咖啡生产国遭遇不利气候

和对近期咖啡供应不足的担忧共同

推高了印度咖啡价格。

印度咖啡业面临的挑战包括化

肥成本高涨和种植工人短缺。

2010年咖啡价格高于以往，弥

补了咖啡农2009年的损失。印度咖

啡委员会成员Nanda Belliappa对印

度时报说，“咖啡产量萎缩，人工

短缺迫使种植者以更高的工资雇佣

临时工。天然农家肥的价格也上涨

了不少。”

2012年Lavazza工厂开工Lavazza耗资2750万美金在印度

Andhra Pradesh的Sri City建咖啡烘

焙包装厂，该厂预期于2012年中开

工，将提供150多个就业岗位。

新厂年产能1,400吨，生产烘焙

豆、胶囊咖啡和研磨咖啡，目标市

场首先是印度，将来会扩大到亚太

区域。Lavazza集团在全球90多个国

家有业务。

2007年，Lavazza通过收购

Barista Coffee公司和Fresh & Hon-

est咖啡馆进入印度市场。Lavazza

副主席Giuseppe Lavazza表示，印度

市场可能成长为Lavazza第二大消费

市场，仅次于在意大利本国市场。

印度星巴克和Tata签署谅解备忘录

为进一步发展双方商业关

系，星巴克和Tata咖啡签署了不

具约束力的谅解备忘录。

星巴克通过Tata咖啡购买印

度咖啡，并将在Tata的帮助下，

在印度开设咖啡馆、发展采购和

烘焙业务。

谅解备忘录容许星巴克在

Tata名下的商业和酒店物业内开

设星巴克咖啡馆，也涉及了咖啡

出口业务。

“印度将成为星巴克在印度

和全球门店的重要采购国，”星

巴克执行总裁Howard Schultz表

示。

亚细安咖啡联盟扩容

菲律宾咖啡委员会（PCB）发

表声明称，菲律宾正式加入亚细

安咖啡联盟。亚细安咖啡联盟旨

在保护亚细安咖啡生产商利益。

来自印度尼西亚、老挝、马

来西亚、菲律宾、新加坡和泰国

的代表近在泰国芭提雅召开联

盟大会。

菲律宾咖啡委员会主席Nich-

olas Matti对每日讯息说“我很

高兴我国的Mindanao和Cavite咖

啡得到同行好评。我们要增加产

量以满足亚洲客户对菲律宾咖啡

的需求。”

PCG联席主席Pacita Juan

说，“我们的Barako和Civet特

种咖啡市场需求很高。作为亚洲

人，我们要优先推广亚细安咖

啡。亚细安地区有很多高质量的

咖啡，大家应该互相合作推广亚

洲咖啡。”

2011年，缅甸、柬埔寨和越

南派代表将出席亚细安咖啡联盟

年会。

菲律宾Sagada邀请咖啡审评师出席嘉年华

Sagada是Cordillera省咖啡

产量大的产区，该镇邀请来自

澳大利亚和加拿大等地的咖啡审

评师出席今年的嘉年华。

Cordillera地区阿拉比卡咖

啡理事会为促进当地咖啡豆的销

售组织了嘉年华，依托嘉年华培

训当地生产商和推广当地咖啡。

“当地咖啡业不是很发达，

我们得提高从业水平，”嘉年华

组委成员Richard Abellon告诉

探索报，“我们有挺多生产方面

的培训。而美国、日本和韩国等

其他国家，则有专门教授咖啡审

评的咖啡学校。”

组委会成员农技师Eliza-

beth Wallang补充说，Sagada镇

的阿拉比卡咖啡品质堪比世界顶

级咖啡豆。

“ 提高审评技术有助

于更好地调配当地咖啡风

味，”Abellon说，“有人喜欢

清淡口味，有人喜欢浓强的，还

有人喜欢带一些泥土香的。提高

当地审评水平，能帮助我们研发

适销风味，满足不用消费的口感

需要。”

越南咖啡作物保险

越南中部高地Dak Lak省咖

啡农首次获得咖啡作物保险。本

次保险由Bao Minh保险公司试行

推出。

保险公司对投保期间由于降

雨不足引起的收成损失和相关的

商业损失进行赔偿。

“我们根据越南中部高地水

文气象中心发布的累计降雨指数

计算降雨不足引起的损失或额外

成本，”媒体报道说。

如果本次试行成功，该保险

公司计划将农业保险的投保对象

扩大到全国咖啡农和粮农。

印度尼西亚咖啡减产8.3%？

印度尼西亚咖啡出口商

协会（AEKI）秘书长Rachim

Kartabrata透露，恶劣天气可能

使印尼咖啡产量下降8.3%，今年

产量将达550，000吨，去年产量

为600，000吨。

“极端坏天气和长期降雨造

成咖啡果脱落和腐烂。”他告诉

彭博社。

他还表示咖啡果偷窃也是减

产的原因之一。


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来自农业部的数据比AEKI的

还要低，根据农业部统计，2010

年咖啡产量为479,000吨，远低于

先前预估的698,000吨。

农业部、AEKI还有美国USDA

外国农业服务处都预测印尼咖啡

出口将下降。USDA估计印尼咖啡

产量为480，000吨，出口将减少

17%。

虽然减产，但是出口单价提高

会弥补出口下降造成的部分损失，

咖啡涨价是由于巴西减产导致全球

咖啡供应不足。

咖啡与减压如果您是一位女性，喝咖啡

有减压作用。

英国Bristol大学一项研究

发现，咖啡因对女性的减压作用

远高于对男性。

研究人员说，焦虑状态下，

咖啡因对女性有明显的镇定作

用，而男性则表现得“更具侵略

性”。

咖啡与宿醉美国费城Thomas Jefferson

大学的研究发现，咖啡和阿司匹

林一起使用是迄今有效的解决

宿醉办法。

目前上述研究只在动物实验

阶段。

研究人员给实验鼠喂食足量

乙醇引起老鼠头痛，4到6小时后

（产生宿醉反应），再给予咖啡

因以及以阿司匹林为主要成分的

消炎药。

咖啡因与阿司匹林混合物能

阻止乙醇分解产生醋酸盐，从而

减轻老鼠的不适。

“目前，其他消除宿醉的

方法都没有同样有效的阻止能

力。”Michael Oshinsky博士

说。不过他没有透露是否对其他

消除宿醉方法进行对比实验。其

他消除宿醉方法包括：大量饮

水、吃一顿炒鸡蛋、培根、香

肠、烤面包和番茄、或者在宿醉

后的早晨喝一杯伏特加和番茄汁

混合的含酒精饮料。

咖啡与糖尿病洛杉矶加利福尼亚大学公众

健康学院从近400,000名参加女性

健康调查的群体中抽出年龄和种

族相同的359名糖尿病患者和359

名健康人士，进行对比研究。研

究发现咖啡通过分子保护机制能

降低女性罹患糖尿病的概率。研

究结果发表于《糖尿病》杂志。

咖啡中的复合物能刺激性激

素结合球蛋白（SHBG）的增长，

血浆中SHBG水平增高能降低罹患

糖尿病的可能性。

研究发现，每天喝4杯咖啡的

女性生糖尿病的可能性比不喝的

同类要少50%。

该研究进一步证明喝咖啡能

减少患糖尿病几率的说法有一定

科学道理。

咖啡与心血管疾病雅典大学研究发现，每天喝1

杯或2杯咖啡能保持动脉弹性，有

助于长寿和健康。喝咖啡对高血

压患者也有好处。

“研究发现，那些每天喝1

到2杯咖啡的高血压老人的主动

脉扩张性好于不大喝咖啡的对照

者，”Christina Chrysohoou博

士在斯德哥尔摩欧洲心脏病学会

议上说。

研究人员研究了长期居住于

希腊Ikaria岛上的485名年龄介于

65到100岁的男女岛民。该岛约三

分之一的居民是90岁及以上的老

人，岛民中癌症和心脏病发生率

分别比普通西方人少20%和50%。

除了喜欢饮用草本植物和蜂

蜜混合剂之外，“喝咖啡也是希

腊的传统文化”，研究者迫切需

要了解岛民长寿的原因。

每天喝1到2杯咖啡的岛民中

有56%的人血管状况良好，血管

弹性好于少喝或不喝咖啡的对照

者。“每天喝4杯或更多的咖啡，

发现心律紊乱需要住院的情况相

应降低18%。”加利福尼亚Kaiser

Permanente Division的Arthur

Klatsky说。

咖啡与烘焙以前的研究称咖啡所含抗氧

化剂源于咖啡豆里的胆碱酸。

近，加拿大British Co-

lumbia大学教授David Kitts和学

生刘雅正（音译）研究发现，咖

啡中的抗氧化剂是Maillard反应（

氨基酸和降解糖在高温下的反应）

产生的。在高温下，食品中的糖、

碳水化合物、蛋白质和其他有机物

质会发生Mailard反应。

过去，一些研究人员认为咖

啡在烘焙过程中，它的抗氧化能力

会逐步提高，而另一些则表示，中

度烘焙的咖啡，其抗氧化剂含量

高。本次新研究发现，青咖啡豆烘

焙后产生抗氧化剂的同时，近90%的

胆碱酸（包括咖啡因在内）消失。

茶与水有时候，我们习以为常的事情

其实是有科学依据的。

营养学家Carrie Ruxton博士

近在《欧洲临床营养》发表研究报

告，称“喝茶比喝水好。”

研究人员发现，每天喝3到4杯

茶，摄入的抗氧化剂尤其是黄酮类

能降低心脏病爆发几率。

“ 喝水只是补充液

体，”Ruxton写到，“喝茶在补充

液体的同时，还提供抗氧化剂。”

绿茶与冠状动脉疾病南京医药大学第一附属医院的

王连升（音译）和研究人员综合分

析了13个红茶研究和5个绿茶研究的

实验数据，试图从中找出饮用红茶

或绿茶与冠心病的关系。

分析报告在《美国临床营养》

杂志上发表，报告指出每天喝1杯绿

茶能使罹患冠状动脉疾病的可能性

降低10%。

大量饮用绿茶的人，罹患冠状

动脉疾病的可能性比很少喝的人降

低28%。研究推导，如果每天喝一杯

绿茶，患冠状动脉疾病的可能性会

减少10%。每天喝一杯红茶，患病概

率只能减少2%。

“从我们收集的数据中，不

能得出红茶能有效预防冠状动脉疾

病，”研究人员说，“而绿茶实验

数据则显示，喝绿茶可能降低冠状

动脉疾病发生。”

There is only one area of business in which we are old-fashioned and which we

will not change: respect, loyalty and integrity are central values for us. Strong

ethics not only make us feel good about ourselves, but pay off for the business

as well. That’s why we treat our tea growers so well – and that’s why you’ll feel

comfortable with us.

The world of tea under one roof

There are many symbols for fair trade.The first originated in 1879.

www.haelssen-lyon.com

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