Fratello Coffee won its 3rd auction with the Cup of Excellence program on November 15th. This was a fast paced auction with many different roasting and retail companies bidding on the 26 award winning lots. As far as we could see, this auction will result in the highest average prices over all. I congratulate the Cup of Excellence program for their marketing efforts, and for successfully organizing another amazing event.

Fratello Coffee was awarded the 13th placing winning coffee.  I remember this product well and found the characteristics in this coffee to show tastes of a Smokey Earth, a sparkling citrus and lingering acidity, with a clean body showing hints of Raisin.  I scored this with an 87.5, however the average score at the competition gave this a 86.21.  Overall this coffee is very balanced. 

For more information on this coffee and the farm it was produced on, please read (Read the rest of this post)

In August - Chris and Russ were in Brazil visiting the Sete Cachoeiras coffee estate. While there, they took some great photos of their tours and Russ decided to describe everything that he saw and learned - and we turned it into a Coffee Knowledge slide show. Click the picture below to launch slide show or click the Link. 

We recently had a representative from Numi come to Calgary to give us some more training on their great products. I noticed a DVD with a video on flowering tea - so I ripped a copy and put it up for you all to enjoy! 

VARGINHA, Brazil — Rafael de Paiva was skeptical at first. If he wanted a “fair trade” certification for his coffee crop, the Brazilian farmer would have to adhere to a long list of rules on pesticides, farming techniques, recycling and other matters. He even had to show that his children were enrolled in school.“I thought, ‘This is difficult,’” recalled the humble farmer. But the 20 percent premium he recently received for his first fair trade harvest made the effort worthwhile, Mr. Paiva said, adding, it “helped us create a decent living.”More farmers are likely to receive such offers, as importers and retailers rush to meet a growing demand from consumers and activists to adhere to stricter environmental and social standards. Mr. Paiva’s beans will be in the store-brand coffee sold by Sam’s Club, the warehouse chain of

Wal-Mart Stores. Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s and Starbucks already sell some fair trade coffee.“We see a real momentum now with big companies and institutions switching to fair trade,” said Paul Rice, president and chief executive of TransFair USA, the only independent fair trade certifier in the United States.  (Read the rest of this post)