[31.10.2003, 16:00]
Russian and Abkhazian specialists are developing a program on revitalizing Abkhaz tea industry… ... Abkhazian Minister of Agriculture, Vitaliy Smyr and head of Agriculture and Foodstuffs Department of Krasnodarskiy Region. Evgeniy Schulick visited tea and citrus farms in Gulripschskiy and Ochamchirskiy regions, Abkhazia. E.Schulick was interested in making investments into the tea industry of the republic. “Abkhazskiy tea is sold at a price beyond its net value, although it well surpasses its Krasnodarskiy counterpart,” Minister of Agriculture, Vitaliy Smyr said to IA REGNUM. Russian and Abkhazian specialists will develop the program targeted at revitalizing tea industry in the republic. Minister of Agriculture was very hopeful that investments in the tea processing industry will make it possible to produce competitive tea for export. //Regnum.ru//

[30.10.2003, 16:00]
Russians are ready to give higher price for quality ... For Russian consumers high price of a product is a signal of quality, although it is not necessary that they will buy such a product.
At the “BrandDay” organized by “RusBrand” on Tuesday, ACNielsen presented the results of its research on the perception of a product quality by consumers and correlation between quality and value of a brand. The research suggests that for Russian consumers price is synonymous with quality. Moreover, the study found that consumers were ready to give higher price for a product answering their expectations. However, producers can not agree with the conclusion of the agency, believing that the consumer is able to determine the quality of a product and the dominating factor in the choice of a product is rather a stable quality than high price. //Rbcdaily.ru//

[29.10.2003, 11:00]
New brand “Coffee Up” on the Ukrainian market ... Odespishepromkombinat (Odesskiy Food Production Factory) launched the production of the new coffee brand ‘Coffee Up” in October. “Coffee Up” coffee is roasted in a special way correspondent to the taste of the new generation of Ukraine, the technology being developed by specialists of the factory, said the head of the marketing department, Irina Karabazova.
According to www.marketing.vc, the recipe of the product includes 5 grades of coffee from different parts of the world. “The factory is planning to expand “Coffee UP” brand by introducing different kinds of coffee products with varying taste and aromatic properties,” Irina Karabazova said
Thanks to developing the new product line, Odespishepromkombinat hopes to increase the production and sales of the factory. //Marketing.vc//

[28.10.2003, 18:00]
"Nivea" cream smells "coffee" ... German insurance group Allianz sold 40% of Beiersdorf AG shares, the company owning the famous cosmetic brand Nivea. The stake was acquired by an investor group led by German coffee holding company Tchibo. The price of the stake sold by Allianz AG totaled approximately 4.4 billion euros.
Thus Chibo and its partners currently hold a total of 70% of Beiersdorf shares, while Allianz maintains 3.6% of shares, 26.3% belong to minority shareholders. During the recent 2 years the demand for Nivea production was rather weak, making the sale an inevitable step.
German government called Allianz not to sell Hamburg based company to foreigners - for example American giant Prokter&Gamble. This could lead to the reduction of tax revenue of the local budget, as well as of workplaces. Political reasons turned out to be dominating in making a decision. The investor group includes, beside Chibo, HGV Hamburger Gesellschaft fuer Vermoegens und Beteiligungsverwaltung, which acquired 10 percent of the registered share capital of Beiersdorf AG. The stock market is the only one who is doubtful about the success of the new owners, as the price of Beiersdorf shares went down by 6% on Thursday. //Euronews.net//

[27.10.2003, 11:30]
SEDA opens soluble coffee packaging factory in Moscow ... In the nearest future Spanish company SEDA will open a soluble coffee packaging factory targeted exclusively at private label - trade marks of retail chains and other companies.
Among the company's major European clients are such trade chains as Carrefour, Metro Group, Auchan, Marktkauf, Midros Turk and others. SEDA has been positioning in Russia since 1999 and is engaged in packaging granulated and sublimated coffee for Sucafina S.A. (brand Ambassador), Petrovskaya Sloboda, Ramstore and many others. The new 4,000-tons per annum factory, situated on Leningradskoye Shosse (Highway) will be packaging granulated and sublimated coffee in glass cans and 2-grams bags. The factory will be set up at the investment of EUR2,5 million, according to SEDA executive director, D. Zonina.

[24.10.2003, 12:00]
National Barista Championship in Russia will be judged by accredited jury this time. ... On the threshold of the National Barista Championship, which is to be held spring 2004, a seminar and certification of Russian judges will take place in Moscow on October 25th and 26th , the event organized by the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) and its Russian Chapter. The world top judges, Mrs. Tune Liavaag and Mrs. Sonja Grant are expected to support and take part in the event.
The first day will be devoted to judges training and a seminar, which will cover in details the aspects of jury theory and practice, jury etiquette, as well as SCAE and International Barista Championship philosophy.
Next day participants of the seminar will get a chance to pass a special test. Based on the results of the test, international certificates will be awarded. The accreditation will give a judge the right to become a member of a jury for the National Barista Championship as well as regional competitions.

[24.10.2003, 11:00]
A cup of coffee in the morning prevents cancer ... A cup of coffee is not only an excellent pick-me-up in the morning, but also prevents cancer, researchers from the Muester Institute of Food Chemistry (Germany) reported. According to the researches, coffee contains substances that raise anticancerogen resistance, with metilpiridin being, probably, the most effective of them. This substance, when reaches intestines, neutralizes cancerogen compounds, thus preventing the appearance of tumor cells.
Besides, scientist noted that coffee espresso contains more of this substance than other kind of coffee. // AscDoctor.ru//

[22.10.2003, 12:00]
Team Barista Competitions ... Under the auspices of the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE), Team Barista Competitions for the price of the “Coffee&Tea in Russia” magazine will be held in Moscow, November 3rd 2003. The competitions are aimed not only at defining the best baristas, but also at finding out what restaurant, hotel or coffee shop has the best coffee program. Each company-participator will be presented by two baristas. Organizers think that team competitions can give better impression of the general level of barista skills in this or that company. Teams all have only 15 minutes to impress each member of the jury by preparing and serving 3 coffee drinks - two classical and one signature drink.
The competition will be judged under the international rules. Beside taste and technical skills of, jury will take into account the way a team presents its own work - the participants will explain the philosophy of their drink, tell about the ingredients and answer the host’s questions. What will also be important for the jury is how baristas serve their drinks. (how does the coffee look, is the work space and dish clean and so on). Specialists with excellent reputation and experience will form the jury. Any company involved in the Russian commercial food industry can become a party to the competition. Teams from Moscow coffee shops and coffee shop chains have already applied for the event.

[22.10.2003, 10:00]
Coffee boosts sexuality ... Brazilian coffee producers have organized a scientific experiment, in which scientists tried to find out how this adorous beverage affects people. Scientists blindfolded a group of volunteers to trace impulses produced by their brains after a cup of strong coffee. The results of the experiment showed that coffee caused excitation and sexuality. But the real discovery was that drinking strong coffee affected women most. A certain part of a woman’s brain, responsible for senses, reacteы strongly to a coffee smell alone, bringing a woman an intolerable desire to love, ‘Femina’ said.
Scientists came to a unanimous conclusion that coffee is an effective love beverage, with especially strong affect on ambitious women who are very keen on making a career.
So, in order to attract a woman’s attention, a man should first of all invite her…. for a cup of coffee. // Iamik.ru//

[21.10.2003, 14:00]
UN: heroin will replace coffee ... UN experts have warned about new ways of heroin trafficking from Afghanistan through Tadjikistan. An adviser to the UN Department of Narcotic Drugs Control, Chris Brennerud reported that Afghan drug smugglers started using vacuum coffee packs of different famous European brands to transport heroin. “Russian customers should examine vacuum packs more closely, as the real contents of a pack do not always correspond to what is indicated on it,” Mr. Brennerud said.
He also pointed out that the investigation showed that a European company had supplied vacuum packs with names of famous Western coffee producers and confectioneries to Pakistan. // Utro.ru//

[20.10.2003, 16:00]
Ice-tea will warm up the market ... The refreshment beverages world market is experiencing a tremendous growth nowadays. Ice tea and coffee enjoy great popularity in both the USA and Europe, the fast-growing market being estimated by experts at EUR23bn in value terms. There were numerous attempts during the recent years to introduce this product onto the Russian market. However few Russian consumers know what ice-tea is.
This week Unilever and PepsiCo companies have reported on their intention to strengthen Lipton’s lead position in the RTD tea market. The joint venture - Pepsi Lipton Tea Partnership - was first set up by the companies for the North American market some ten years ago. The new JV Pepsi Lipton International will expand marketing and distribution of ice-tea in those countries where Pepsi has a strong position. Ice-tea will inevitably come to the Russian market but whether the product will become popular enough here is not quite clear yet.
“Actually, ice-tea is not a novice in the Russian market,” Ramaz Chanturiya, General Director of the Russian association of coffee and tea producers ‘Russteacoffee” said to the “Finansovye Izvestiya” (“Financial News”) newspaper. “Lots of companies - tea producers and distributors - took their chance in selling ice-tea in the Russian market in the recent years and only some of them managed to stand for one summer season”. // Finiz.ru//

[17.10.2003, 12:00]
“Galka” company establishes a store chain the main cities of Ukraine ... Lvov joint stock company “Galka” specializing in coffee and tea production, has reached a general agreement with the management of Lvov company “Aval” on the creation of store chain in the main cities of Ukrain, said director of Aval, Nikolay Voznjuk.
The realization of the project for the period from the year 2003 up to 2008 is ensured by the credit sum of USD2,4 million.

Galka Ltd. was established in 1994 by the English company E.D.&F. Man Coffee Limited and Lvov coffee factory Galka on the basis of the latter. Today Galka produces soluble coffee and coffee beans, soluble coffee-containing drinks as well as several kinds of natural teas, the total range of products amounting to 40. The coffee factory supplies tea to the markets of Ukraine, Moldavia, Belorussia, Russia and Estonia. // Marketing.vc//

[17.10.2003, 12:00]
Azerbaijan plans to introduce a new tea brand onto the European market ... The management of the company “San-Tea” is set to introduce a new brand of tea onto the European market. What distinguishes their product, is that it is purely organic.Tea will be picked in Astra and Lenkoran regions.
Specialists from the neighboring Turkey have assisted the company in building and installing tea packaging lines. The whole technological process excludes the use of any chemical or biological additives, one of the specialists pointed out. // Centran.ru//

[17.10.2003, 11:00]
Tea for Chinese cosmonauts ... After a successful flight of the Chinese ‘Gagarin’ - cosmonaut Yang Liwei, the Chinese mass media has disclosed some details on the preparations for the flight.
In 1998 in the cosmonaut training center, special tea-room was opened, where cosmonauts could enjoy tea, specially created by the Chinese medicine. Besides, Chinese scientists have created special tea recipes, which turned out to be highly conducive to the health of cosmonauts. The experiments showed that the stuff caused fit of energy, increased the stamina of cosmonauts, improved the function of cardiovascular system and lungs. Moreover, the cosmonauts were able to overcome the results of overwork and lack of sleep more easily. //Утро.ру//

[15.10.2003, 15:00]
Green tea in the Earth orbit ...
China is claiming a prestigious position in the elite club of space nations. Wednesday morning, on October 15, 2003 the first Chinese manned spacecraft was launched. The cosmonaut, Yang Liwei is expected to turn to the Earth in 20 hours. The Spaceship named “Divine Vessel” blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the North of China. The flight will help China to break the record once set by Yuriy Gagarin and John Glenn. The goal of the spacecraft is to circuit the Earth 14 times and land safely. During his 23 hour flight, Yang Liwei, 38, 170 cm, 65 kg, will eat pork with fish taste and drink green tea. //1tv.ru//

[13.10.2003, 15:00]
Coffee helped Tbilisi student to set a Guinness record ... A student of Tbilisi Technical University Georgiy Chkhaidze was registered with the Guinness World Records Book for multiplying two 9-digit numbers, his successful calculation contributed by two thermos bottles of coffee and several bottles of mineral water.
Chkhaidze was setting his numerical record in the presence of reporters, supporters and two commissions, which offered him numbers 948 645 332 and 823 452 701. After mentally calculating during 85 minutes, the candidate gave the commissions an answer - 781 164 560 926 441 732.
Mental calculation is a heavy work. In this energy taking process Georgiy Chkhaidze drank a couple of thermos bottles of coffee and several bottles of mineral water. //5Ballov.ru//

[10.10.2003, 15:00]
Costa Rica coffee producers take an interest in the Russian market ... Costa Rica coffee producers are interested in the dynamically developing Russian market. “We are set to supply super high quality coffee beans to the market,” said the head of Costa Rica Coffee Institute, Grace Mena. Speaking in San Jose on Wednesday about the recent trip of a group of Costa Rica entrepreneurs to Moscow, where they were introducing the products from the national plantations, she noted that the annual coffee market volume had already reached 100,000 tons with the annual market growth averaging 18 percent.
Costa Rica coffee producers intend to focus on high quality coffee grades and increase their share in the total export volume from 40 percent to 70 percent. Central American revenues from coffee sales were 177 million USD in 2002/2003 season //ИТАР-ТАСС//

[7.10.2003, 15:00]
Indian police killed tea plantation workers in Assam ... State police killed seven tea plantation workers during a pay protest in Assam. Police opened fire when workers started throwing stones after their demand to pay a bonus for a Hindu festival was rejected.
Assam produces half of India’s total tea output.
Many companies, citing a financial crisis caused by falling prices, rising costs and world global competition, stop paying wages to their workers. //gazeta.ru//

[6.10.2003, 11:00]
Tea and coffee professional play soccer ... On weekends, October 4-5, 2003 the 8th mini-soccer Championship for the prize of the magazine “Coffee&Tea in Russia” was held in Moscow Children and Youth Art City Hall (former Dvorets Pionerov/Pioneer Hall. Nonprofessional teams of tea-coffee and food companies traditionally took part in the competition.
Thanks to the rotation system, all teams had an opportunity to measure strength with each other.
As a result of the exciting competition, the strongest teams were defined:
The 1st place and the honor champion title - Raritet
The 2nd place - Coffee&Tea in Russia
The 3rd place - Ahmad
The official prize distribution ceremony is scheduled by the “Coffee&Tea in Russia” magazine for the end of the next week.

[3.10.2003, 11:00]
Espresso tax? ... The voters in Seattle have rejected a proposed tax on their favorite drink - espresso coffee. The opponents of the tax were backed by one of the largest coffee trading companies in the world, which spent $50,000 to defeat the proposal.
The author of the proposal, executive director of the Economic Opportunity Institute John Burbank said no budget would suffer from such a tiny tax. On the contrary, the tax would be able to subdue the citizens’ excessive addiction to caffeine. The money raised from the measure would be spent for the city’s preschool and day-care programs. The tax does not apply to regular drip coffee as yet as well as to tea and hot chocolate in Seattle cafes. // radio Svoboda// // News.ru// // Ntv.ru//

[2.10.2003, 18:00]
The 8th mini-soccer Championship for the prize of the magazine “Coffee&Tea in Russia” ... On October 2, 2003 the competitors of the 8th mini-soccer Championship for the prize of the magazine “Coffee&Tea in Russia” were seeded in the draw in the editorial department of the “Coffee&Tea in Russian” magazine.
The following teams will take part in the Championship: Ahmad, Coffee House, Coffee&Tea in Russia, Raritet and Extra-Product
The play is to be held in Moscow Children and Youth Art City Hall (former Dvorets Pionerov/Pioneer Hall) on October 4-5.

[2.10.2003, 17:00]
Russian SCAE Chapter presentation in London ... The meeting of National Coordinators of SCAE (Specialty Coffee Association of Europe) Chapters was ended in London on September 30. SCAE Russian Chapter was presented by Konstantin Voevodkin and Head of the SCAE Russian Chapter Secretariat Vadim Gusev (RVR Consult). On its return to Moscow, the delegation informed coffeetea.ru on the main events and the results of the gathering.
At the meeting, participants and representatives expressed their opinion on the activities of SCAE departments, made speeches on the results of their work in certain directions, offered proposals on how to solve general problems SCAE departments currently face and discussed their role in popularizing coffee culture in the given countries.
Special attention was placed on SCAE’s preparation for the World Barista Championship, which is planned to be held in Trieste, Italy in 2004.
In its presentation, Russian delegation told about the first Russian Barista Championship, different measures by SCAE Russian Chapter and its plans for the nearest future, the department’s activity being unanimously acknowledged as “successful and purposeful” and the Chapter itself recognized as “the most actively developing among all SCAE subsidiaries”.
Thanks to a successful experience in conducting the Russian Barista Championship, many of the participants of the meeting expressed a desire to participate in the Russian Barista Championship next year with a view of exchanging experience as well as presenting their SCAE Chapters.
One of the areas of concern highlighted by the Russian delegation was the absence of officially certified professional judges. After considering the problem, SCAE heads arrived at a decision to send a delegation to conduct seminars in Russia end 2003. Based on the results of the seminar, Russian baristi will be certified to judge the regional qualifying competitions in Russia.
As part of the gathering in London, a number of meetings between SCAE representatives and the ICO heads and representatives was held.

[1.10.2003, 10:00]
The International Coffee Council Commemorated its 40th Anniversary ... From 17 to 19 September the Session of the International Coffee Organization (ICO), which gathered all counties-members of the International Coffee Agreement, was held in Cartagena, Colombia. In a press release, published by the ICO on the results of the meeting, the Executive Director of the ICO Nestor Osorio highlighted the most essential points of the summit. It was reported in the press release that the International Coffee Council and the Executive Board met for the 89th Session of the Council in Cartagena at the invitation of the Colombian Government to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Organization and to discuss the on-going crisis in the worldwide coffee industry al well a number of other issues. The document also included the main solutions and the major issues of concern the coffee nations currently face.
- Political support:
The official opening of the Council was conducted on September 16 by the President of Colombia Mr. Alvaro Uribe in presence of the Brazilian President Mr. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and the President of Honduras Mr. Ricardo Maduro. The inauguration ceremony was attended by over 500 delegates from the 55 Member-Governments of the ICO, representatives of the coffee private sector and international organizations.
During informal talks, the three Presidents approached Mr. Osorio with a proposal to convene a meeting with the leaders of the largest multinational coffee companies in order to jointly find the ways to address the price crisis, a proposal which Mr. Osorio promised to start realizing immediately.
- Solutions:
The Council supported continuation of the implementation of the ICO Coffee Quality Improvement Program (CQP) adopted by Council Resolution No. 407 and brought into effect on October 1st 2002. The necessity of supporting and continuing the program was confirmed by the results of its implementation. Many countries had taken political responsibility towards the improvement of the coffee quality on an international scale. Besides the program had developed wide awareness of the importance of coffee quality for the future of the whole coffee industry. According to the report, a large number of the exporting countries took steps to take about 3,5-4 mln. bags of subquality coffee from the market, the measure being of utter importance due to the high coffee production in 2002/2003.
The Council approved the plan aimed at increasing the world coffee consumption which is now in stagnation and in several traditional import markets even shows a slight decrease, the fact that aggravates an acute crisis even more. It was also marked in the summit that the lack of active coffee promotion in the new markets makes it difficult to reach potential consumers. In respect of low quality and the consumer’s shift to other kind of beverages, these are the facts that directly afflict coffee consumption and worsen the balance between supply and demand. The ICO made a decision to focus on the market development by stimulating activity in coffee producing regions, potentially attractive markets such as Russia and China, as well as in traditional markets. In this process, the ICO will act as a catalyst in mobilizing and harmonizing resources and will collaborator with the industry and other participants. Four main ways of increasing coffee consumption were determined at the summit:
- to increase the awareness of the positive influence of coffee on health;
- to improve quality;
- to stimulate the consumption in the producing countries;
- to stimulate the consumption in the new and developing markets.
The Promotion Working Group has taken a commitment to monitor the program. It will also be responsible for the organization of working meetings aimed at attracting resources from the ICO members, as well as other non-member counties, organizations and private sector representatives.
Poverty in producing countries.
The Council discussed the reports on the impact of the coffee crisis on poverty in producing countries. Fourteen countries provided information on repercussion of the crisis on economic and social order. In the case of coffee producing countries, it was noted that at the end of the 1980s their earnings were around US$10 billion, while the current earnings amount to only some US $5 billion.
Membership:
The Council welcomed the support of the U.S. Congress Committee of International Relations for the United States rejoining the ICO. Earlier the Committee addressed the Secretary of State Colin Powelll, stressing the importance of United States membership in the ICO in revitalizing the Colombian coffee industry and in supporting market-based solutions to the coffee crisis.
The Council adopted Resolution No. 417 inviting non-member countries including Canada, China, Peru, the Russian Federation and other non-member countries to join the 2001 Agreement