[29.04.2004, 15:15]
The Second World Tea & Coffee Festival will run in May ... The Second World Tea & Coffee Festival will run from May 21 to May 23 on the Vasilievskiy Spusk of the Red Square. Like in the previous year, this year’s festival would hold trade fares and tasting of tea, coffee, confectioneries, honey, dried fruits, chocolate, candies, pan cakes, caviar, pies, cakes, spice-cakes and sooshkas (ring-shaped cracknels). As part of the festival, tea drinking ceremonies of different nations will also be held. Guests of the festival will get an opportunity to witness the authentic tea ceremonies and cultures of India, Indonesia, Africa, China, Latin America, the Middle East, Japan. The traditional Russian tea drinking ceremony will also be demonstrated at the festival, the Interfax news agency reported. The festival program will include the performance of folklore groups of countries-participants of the event Children may choose a child's feast “Fairy Childhood City”, which includes a dramatized child’s tea ceremony, historic costume theater, photo studio, a “Do it yourself” shop and a toy theater. Plays, quizzes and a competition “Sweet tooth” will make the event a real feast for children.

[27.04.2004, 10:00]
Coffee and tea: the union of the 21st century ... April 23-26, 2004, Speciality Coffee Association of America ( SCAA) conducted the 16th Annual Conference & Exhibition in Atlanta, USA. As part of the conference, educational sessions and intensive seminars on marketing, sales, production and consumption of tea and coffee (bean and soluble) were held. One of the sessions, which was opened and conducted by the ICO executive director Nestor Osorio, featured the topic “Global Trends in World Coffee & Tea Consumption”. Among his fellow speakers at the session were the chairman of the Tea Board of America, Joe Simrany and general director of the Association “Rusteacoffee”, Ramaz Chanturiya. Speaking about the trends in the American tea market, Mr. Joe Simrany marked the similarity between the current development process of the American tea market and the trends, which took place in the American coffee market some time ago.
Ramaz Chanturiya spoke about the development trends in the Russian coffee market. In his report “Russian coffee market. Key trends and prospects”, Mr. Chanturiya described the processes in the Russian coffee market and supported the report by the statistics. According to the estimates of the Association “Rusteacoffee", the total volume of the Russian coffee market was 103-105 thousand tons in 2003. In value terms, the market was worth $1.3 billion in 2003. The market increased by 6-8% in 2002 and by 5% in 2003. “Following the booming growth, the Russian coffee market now experiences progressive and predictable growth,” Ramaz Chanturiya noted. According to the estimates of the Association “Rusteacoffee”, the market is forecast to show a stable growth of 5%. It is significant that growth rate of coffee consumption has undergone significant changes. While volume of soluble coffee consumption is the same, bean coffee shows a substantial growth, the fact indicative of the growing preference of consumers to natural products.
Summing up the discussions, Mr. Chanturiya concluded that coffee and tea are becoming allies in the fight for human health, human history and ties between generations.

[23.04.2004, 14:00]
Ukrainians will drink Russian coffee ... Kraft Foods Ukraine forecasts an increase in import volume of ground coffee and bean coffee from Russia, given the import duty on the product is increased 50 times to 5 Euro per 1 kg, said general director of Kraft Foods Ukraine, Juriy Logush.
By raising the import duty on coffee, we protect the domestic coffee producers and create favorable conditions for import of coffee from Russia, which has free trade relations with Ukraine, Interfax-Ukraine quated Mr. Logush as saying.
Kraft Foods Ukraine sells coffee under trademarks Jacobs, Maxwell House and Carte Noire. Kraft Foods Ukraine also owns Trostianetskaya confectionery factory and potato chips factory located in the village Starie Petrivtsi near Kiev. //Nworker.ru//

[22.04.2004, 12:00]
“5 o’clock tea” in Severodvinsk... ... A professional skills contest for future confectioners and waiters was held in one of the specialized secondary schools in Severodvinsk.
The criteria for choosing the best waiter were very strict: every thing mattered - beginning from the uniform to the order of placing items. The girls also showed their skills in laying the English tea table. Besides they told about the history of the “5 o’clock tea” ceremony and explained the rules of brewing tea. Wrote in English and elegantly designed, the menu included dainties typical for English tea ceremony.
The culinary creations, demonstrated by the future confectioners, surprised even the most venerable members of the commission. An unbelievably realistic and appetizing looks of the contest winner cake “Straw hat” evoked mixed desire: on the one hand you wanted to try on the hat , but on the other to have a piece of the cake with a cup of English tea.
Source: //Nworker.ru//

[20.04.2004, 13:30]
The production of ice tea concentrates was started in Belorussia... ... The production of a composition for ice tea - a modern, healthy drink - was started in Belorussia. Prepared from the natural extracts of blackberry, aromatic spirits, extracts of fruits and herbs, as well as natural or identical to natural flavours, the concentrates are used as a base for ice teas. To produce tea extract, tea leaf undergoes a many-stage extraction process, which allows to extract active substances from the tea leaf.
Developed by the Belorussian specialists, the technology allows to avoid additional densification process so as to save bioactive substances and aromatic substances characteristic of freshly brewed tea.

[15.04.2004, 13:30]
Coffee import to Ukraine increased 5.8%.. ... As compared to the year 2002, in 2003, import of roasted coffee in Ukraine increased by 5.8% or 349.6 tons to 6,428.6 tons. The value of import amounts to USD 11,814.18 tons, according to the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine, www.marketing.vc reported. //BizTime.ru//

[14.04.2004, 10:40]
Coca-Cola started the production of Ice Tea in the Russian Federation ... “Coca-Cola HBC Eurasia” started the production of ice tea Nestea in Russia. The investment in the project was estimated at over 10 million USD, PRIME-TASS reported. The capacity of the production line is 30 million liters a year. With the new product being introduced onto the Russian ice tea market, the company plans to take the leading position in the sector in the nearest two years . //Prime-tass.ru//

[13.04.2004, 16:00]
Coffee, tea and.. bowling.. ... On April, 12, a Moscow disco-bowling club “Magnit”, located at 42 Udaltsova Ulitsa, brought together tea and coffee companies in a bowling competition for the prize of the “Coffee&Tea in Russia” magazine. Among the teams-participators were such companies as Alef Coffee Tea, Amado, Ahmad, Kuppo, Paulig, Chibo and the specialized magazine “Coffee & Tea in Russia”.

[13.04.2004, 14:50]
A “white crow” on the coffee market. Why Russkiy Product posts losses... ... With coffee and tea sales accounting for one third of the total sales volume, the “Russkiy Product” company reports low revenues for the second year in a row. Net losses of the company in 2003 amounted to 251.48 million rubles (156.68 million rubles in 2002). The company also posted very low profitability - 8.6% - unprecedented figures for the coffee industry. In order to reduce tax deductions or play for time in talks with creditors, many Russian companies might like to report low revenues, expers supposed on conditions of anonymity Besides, numerous cases were registered in Russia when companies posted losses for this reason.
“The Russian accounting policy makes it possible to hide the companies’ real problems,” said Ramaz Chanturiya, director general of the Association “Rusteacoffee”. “However, the reason for low revenues could be a one year delay in opening a full cycle coffee factory,” Mr. Chanturiya added. The factory, built at an estimated investment of $35 million USD, was officially opened in March 2003 in Kaluzhskiy Region. “This is quite a natural process for such a complex production, like this,” Ramaz Chanturiya said. //Ko.ru//

[12.04.2004, 16:30]
Should we expect a shortage of green tea? ... The State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation can temporarily stop registering the Chinese goods in an attempt to stop the illegal trade between Russia and China, according to the statements of the State Customs Committee. A significant part of the Russian-Chinese trade turnover is not officially registered at customs, the fact proved by the discrepancies between the Russian and Chinese customs statistics data.
The tea market players fear the situation can have a negative effect on the Chinese green tea supplies due to the possible delays at the customs registration.
Among countries supplying tea to Russia, China ranks third , with import volumes amounting to 14,774 tons in 2003, a 7% increase against the previous 2002 year.
According to the Association “Rusteacoffee”, China mainly supplies green tea. Experts believe a temporary reduction of the Chinese green tea supplies is unlikely to have any negative effect on the Russian market and tea supplies form some other countries could easily substitute for the Chinese tea. //Customs.ru// //Kommersant.ru//

[12.04.2004, 10:20]
McCoffee producers demand the Mcdonald’s company to give up its brand McCafe ... Rospatent (Russian Patent) refused to register the McDonald’s brand McCafe, which has been used by McDonald’s since 2002 as a name of its new coffee shops, the reason for such refusal being the Singaporean company Future Enterprises’ claims that McDonald’s brand is unacceptably similar to their own brand registered in Russia in the end of the end 1990s. //Vedomosti.ru//

[08.04.2004, 13:00]
The company Ahmad Tea starts the construction of a factory in the Moscow region... ... English tea company Ahmad Tea has started the construction of a tea packaging factory in the Moscow region.
The construction is expected to be completed at the earliest in 2006, said brand-manager of Ahmad Tea, Andrey Alexeev, to the “Kommersant” magazine.
“The factory will produce middle price range teas, while our premium tea series Ahmad Tea Limited Edition will still be imported,” said Alexeev.
According to the estimates of the Association “Russteacoffee”, the total sales of the Ahmad Tea company amounted to 9.6 thousand tons in 2003, with the total share in the Russian tea market accounting for 6%. The company refused to name the sum of the investment in the project. However, the experts estimated the total investment at approximately USD 15million. //Mosreg.ru//

[08.04.2004, 10:40]
“Russkiy Product” surprised analysts... ... The company posted losses for the second consecutive year

The country’s largest producer of food and food concentrates, “Russkiy Product” completed the second consecutive year with losses, the fact that surprised the analysts, as the profitability of the products produced by the company is believed to be very high.
The company was founded in 1996 on the base of the Russian leading food enterprises, among them “Koloss” food concentrate experimental plant, “Supermak” macaroni factory, Moscow food factory, as well as the Detchino vegetable concentrate plant. The range of products produced by the corporation includes coffee ( accounts for one third of the company’s total sales), tea, potato chips, pasta products, spices, soups and fast cooking cereals. The company “Russian Investors” is the current major shareholder of “Russkiy Product” with an 83.65% stake.
The Association “Russteacoffee” estimates the Russian retail coffee market at 1.9 billion USD.
According to “Business Analitiki”, the share of “Russkiy Product” in the bean coffee segment amounted to 10.4% in May-June, 2003, down from 27.4% in the same period 2002. While the share of the company in the coffee beverages market has reduced to 42.2% (53.75), the share in the soluble coffee segment rose by 0.1% to 3.5%. //Vedomosti.ru//

[06.04.2004, 10:00]
Brazilian speciality coffee for the Russians ... On April 2nd, 2004, the presentation of the Brazilian Speciality Coffee Association (BSCA) took place in Moscow, where its new president Jose Francisco Pereira was introduced to the guests. Mr. Marcelo Viera, the former president of the Association told the representatives of the Russian coffee business and Mass Media present at the event that the Association was established by the group of entrepreneurs engaged in high quality coffee growing, as well as the promotion of the Brazilian premium coffee brands to the coffee market

[05.04.2004, 12:10]
Viva, Karakoze! ... On Saturday, the Second Russian Barista Championship came to an end. At 3 p.m. the final stage of a 3 day race began. The heroes of the occasion and the judges appeared before the numerous participants, supporters and guests.
The ceremony of awarding diplomas, presents and prizes was organized in such a way that the name of the champion was announced at the very end. First the leader announced the names of the judges, sponsors and Mass Media. The Championship Organizing Committee awarded diploma to Mass Media for contribution to the popularization of coffee. Sponsors provided their prizes to the finalists. And finally came the turn of a long-awaited announcement of the results of the final competition. The chief judge of the championship, Tone E. Liavaag, starts announcing the names of the participants from the end:
6th place - Nina Ribko (“Cofemania”, Moscow)
5th place - Sergey Shekalev (“Cofemania”, Moscow)
4th place - Polina Vladimirova (“Cofemania”, Moscow)
3rd place - Vlad Kozhokar (“Cofemania”, Moscw)
2nd place - Tatiana Elizarova (Barista school BE&C,Moscow)
The audience started chanting impatiently the name of the champion: “Karakoz! Karakoz! Karakoz!” Olga Melik-Karakozova from the Barista School BE&C, Moscow, became the winner of the Championship. To the sounds of Ave Maria the awarding ceremony comes to an end. Sponsors awarded their special prizes - a professional espresso machine and a huge basket bouquet with several packs of high quality coffee. Now Olga is to go to Triest, Italy, where in June, 2004 the World Barista Championship 2004 will gather top coffee makers from 40 countries of the world.