A lot of people, in an attempt to feel like their doing something relevant, jump to the bandwagon without actually knowing what fair trade is all about. I’m not saying all people who support the cause are blind followers. But you can’t deny the fact that there are people like this.

What is Fair Trade?

Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach directed towards helping producers from developing countries to establish sustainability. Fair trade moves to get small-time producers to get paid a higher price for their produce. Aside from that, the movement is also geared towards establishing social and environmental standards in areas where production is held.

The products

In as much as any product can be covered by Fair Trade practices, certain produce have gotten more publicity than others. Among such products are: coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, honey, cotton, wine, bananas, and fresh fruits.

Sustainable Development

Fair Trade actually aims to somehow resolve issues of poverty by promoting sustainable development. If small-time farmers are given fair prices for their produce, they’ll be able to further enhance their production and better their chances of growing their business. In the process of getting their business off the ground, they also improve their income, as well as their lives, in the long run.

Gender Equality

Aside from simple bettering the lives of commodity producers, Fair Trade also deals with gender equality issues in the work place. Concerns were previously raised regarding women being under-appreciated and underpaid in the workplace. Fair Trade ensures that the contributions of women in terms of labor and production is properly acknowledged and compensated for.

Safety Hazards

Fair Trade aims to make the workplace safe for all people concerned in production. This is why the social movement pushes for more environment-friendly production practices.

Hopefully, this will help you gain a little more insight on what Fair Trade really is. If you’ve got ideas you’d like to share regarding Fair Trade, or any establishment who you think are observing or breaking Fair Trade practices, do feel free to share them over at the comments section.

His idea of a fast cup of coffee turned out much better than he had planned, what he ended up with is a better, fuller tasting cup of strong coffee, as well as a much faster process.  He found that the quicker more efficient brewing method allowed for the quality of the beans to be extracted as opposed to over extracting he had previously experienced.  The term “Espresso” means fast in Italian, hence the term.

It wasn’t until later when Desidero Pavoni purchased the rights from Mr. Bezzera for the espresso machine that it became popular.  Pavoni was extremely successful in marketing the product and probably changed the way people drink coffee from then on.  Just look around!  Coffee and Espresso shops are popping up everywhere; even in the U.S. it has become not only popular for the delicious beans, but has given us a new place to socialize.

The Timeline

In 1901 Luigi Bezzera filed a patent for the espresso machine that contained a boiler and four “groups”. Each group could take different size filters that contained the coffee.  Boiling water was forced through the coffee and into a cup.  Ambrogio Fumagelli says that this was the birth of (fast) espresso coffee.

In 1903 Luigi Bezzera’s patent was then purchased by Desiderio Pavoni and put to market in a big way.

In 1905 The Pavoni Company begins manufacturing the espresso machines solely based on Bezzera’s patent.

In 1927 First espresso machine was installed in the United States.  It was a La Pavoni Espresso Machine installed at Regio’s in New York.

In 1938 Cremonesi designed a piston pump that forced hot water through the coffee.  It was installed at Achille Gaggia’s coffee bar.

In 1946 Gaggia begins manufacturing the commercial piston machine.  Resulting foam or cream layered coffee or cafe’.

Hope you coffee junkies enjoyed this brief history about the espresso we all love.

With consumers enjoying a wider range of coffee drinks in offices, corner cafes and restaurants, they are also demanding better-tasting coffee at home.

Here are a few ideas for a better brew:

Pressure-brewed is best. In blind tests, more people prefer the taste of coffee that is high-pressure brewed, versus any other method. High-pressure-brewed coffee requires the use of pump-pressure coffee machines, like espresso machines.

All pressure-coffee machines are not equal. There are several types of these machines. Steam-driven espresso machines create pressure in a closed boiler, and then force the hot water through the coffee. Most can make up to 10 ounces of coffee at a time. A pump espresso machine pumps hot water through ground coffee faster than a steam machine, creating more pressure with better flavor and aroma.

Automatic coffee centers, like those from Jura-Capresso, provide maximum flavor and aroma because they grind the beans just before the high-pressure brewing process. These machines control all aspects of high-pressure brewing, resulting in a better quality beverage, regardless of whether you choose an espresso, cappuccino, latte or just a large cup of pressure-brewed coffee.

Look for crema. Crema is thick frothy foam that sits on top of pressure-brewed coffee or espresso, trapping all the flavor and aroma underneath.

A high-pressure-brewed coffee should always be the base for your cappuccino or latte. If you prefer cappuccinos or lattes, experiment with the amount of milk to suit your taste. Remember, coffee does not have calories, but milk does.

Determine your price range. Take a look at your coffee-drinking habits. If you purchase two cappuccinos a day, you may be spending about $1,900 a year on gourmet coffee. For less than this, you can purchase an automatic coffee center from Jura-Capresso that produces the same quality found in the coffeehouses.

Now, it’s your turn. Do you have other tips you can share with the rest of the readers? Let’s talk about them by leaving a comment below and let’s have a cuppa coffee.

• Apple-flavored pastries go well with Guatemalan, Sumatran, and Asian/Indonesian coffee beans.
• Apricot-flavored foods are great to pair with Tanzanian and Haitian coffees.
• Berry-based pastries work great with Kenyan coffee.
• Blueberry-flavored dessert foods fair well with African and Jamaican coffees.
• Banana-based pastries are great with Guatemalan coffee.
• Cinnamon-based bread goes down well with Costa Rican and Asian/Indonesian coffees.
• Citrus-y pastries pair well with Mexican, Costa Rican, Kenyan, and Ethiopian coffee beans.
• Currants are great to pair with Kenyan coffee.
• Maple-based cakes work great with Nicaraguan, Hawaiian, and Asian/Indonesian
• Pastries with nuts are great with Latin American, Brazilian, Columbian, Guatemalan, and Mexican coffees.
• Cakes with peaches go well with Tanzanian, Haitian, and Costa Rican coffees
• Pears in pastries blend well with Asian/Indonesian coffee.
• Pineapple-based cakes are great with Costa Rican coffee.
• Cookies with Raisin go down well with Kenyan coffee.
• Strawberry-based pastries go well with Costa Rican coffee.

There you have it. I hope this helps when you’re choosing the pastry you serve with your coffee.

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Word is that some rebels in the Cordillera province have turned in their arms to go into farming. Yes, they’ve gone back to their roots and decided to make better use of their time earning than terrorizing people.

According to news, the former rebels are trained and taught skills on planting red rice and harvesting expensive Kape Alamid from the civet cats of the mountains as part of the government’s peace process. As of now, three batches of rebels have benefited from such an opportunity.

This is truly a good day to hear such great news from home. I raise my coffee mug to the people who thought of this ingenious plan. Kudos!

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2. Made of Honor. This movie stars Patrick Dempsey who plays the role of a playboy who, in the movie, appears to have invented the first coffee cup sleeve. His character earns 5 cents for royalties on every sleeve used all over the world.

3. Zack and Miri Make A Porno. This somewhat indie comedy flick that stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks had various scenes shot inside a coffee shop. Seth Rogen’s character works in a coffee shop and his best friend, Banks’ character, usually meets him up there for closing hours. They also shot their porno inside the said coffee shop.

I’m not really all that good with old movies, though. I was hoping you could add to the list of movies that had significant scenes (or even not so significant ones) take place in a coffee shop or while they were enjoying a cup of coffee or something.

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Yes, that’s right. It’s more than just the coffee. There’s even a study done which showed that a lot of workers from different companies share the same sentiments as I do. Having a company coffee machine promotes inter-office mingling.

You all go into the lounge and wait for the percolator to finish brewing the coffee. What do you do to pass the time? I try to strike up a conversation with my officemates. I’ve meet people from other departments just by waiting in line for coffee. Isn’t that fun.

And besides, if we didn’t have our own coffee machine at the office, we’d be wasting time going out to the nearest coffee shop just to get our favorite pick-me-upper. It will be less time-consuming if we can just go to the pantry and grab ourselves a cuppa Joe.

That’s my personal opinion on the matter. I’d like to hear yours, though. What do you think? Should every office have their own coffee machine or not?

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If you’re looking for a natural way to bust cellulites away, then I’ve found a rather unusual solution to that. Actually, it isn’t all that new. A few years back, when people developed an addiction to everything natural, experts took an interest on one of our favorite daily beverage – coffee.

Apparently, coffee has the ability to melt away cellulites. Of course its results won’t be as instantaneous as that of undergoing liposuction, but people have attested to the effectiveness of using coffee to reduce cellulites.

Let’s start with the things you’ll need for your coffee cellulite treatment.

Coffee grounds (warm, used ones work best for this purpose)

Olive oil

Plastic cling wrap

Old newspapers or rags

Now, lets get started in making our do-it-yourself coffee cellulite buster treatment:

Mix warm, used coffee grounds with olive oil. It should be a tablespoon of olive oil for every quarter cup of coffee grounds.

Apply the mixture on your problem areas. Do not worry about grounds that fall because there is bound to be enough of the application to stick to your skin.

Wrap the area that you applied the mixture on with plastic cling wrap.

Let the application stay for a couple of minutes before removing the plastic wrap and coffee grounds.

Rinse thoroughly with warm water.

To avoid any mess, you should set-up old newspapers around the area where you’re going to do the treatment. Also, it is important to keep in mind that experts suggest that this treatment be done twice a week for better results.

I personally haven’t tried this cellulite treatment. God knows how I could benefit from this treatment. But it wouldn’t hurt giving this treatment a try. It’s all natural anyway, so I don’t see any harm in taking a shot at it.

Have you tried using this natural cellulite buster? Do tell how it faired. As for the people who haven’t, would you be interested in giving it a shot?

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There are local coffee shops that are thriving to compete with the international brands dominating the market. But personally, I think they can pick up a few techniques from coffee shops here in the U.S. on how to increase patronage and break free from the stigma they have to the general public

Here are some of the things that I think would work with the Pinoy coffee-loving market:

1. Set a free coffee day each month. Admit it, who doesn’t want free stuff? In the U.S., McDonald’s hosts a free coffee day every Monday. I don’t think giving people a free cup of coffee during certain days of the week would hurt store costs. The free sample can also count as an advertising method by handing out free samples of their drinks to potential patrons.
2. Happy hours are not just for bars. Setting up specific hours where drinks are charged half-price can definitely rake in a lot of followers. Setting up the happy hour on dead hours will certainly drive sales up during those not-so-busy store hours significantly. Just make sure that the store is well-staffed during happy hours so as not to build up too much of a queue.
3. Host art events. This will definitely draw in the “art crowd” to your coffee shop. Setting up artworks for sale from local artist will encourage artists to share their works to the masses through the store. Not only will this attract people who are interested in art, but also potentially generate income from coffee such visitors will buy from the store.
4. Hold open mic nights. You might have noticed how most coffee addicts are artists, poets, and musicians. By hosting an open mic night in the store, you’ll entice such crowds to hang out in your shop and buy coffee while they’re staying there.

These are just a few ideas that I think might work. But I’d like to know if you have any other suggestions that can help local coffee shop owners stay competitive with the international brands and sustain their business for the long haul.

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You know how workers can get when they get a few minutes to kick back and grab a cup of coffee while they rest. They just talk about anything and everything in the office – gossip, what they’re having for snacks, financial concerns – pretty much anything under the sun.

I’m not surprised a lot of Filipinos like the show. But yeah, the show that most Pinoys believe to be a uniquely Filipino show is actually just a copy of a French TV show of the same title. The show runs for 7 minutes. Pretty short, but it’s still enough to make me smile.

Unfortunately, there’s no American counterpart of Camera Café. But if you do speak Irish, French, Filipino, Spanish, Italian, Portugese, or Polish, then you can scope out some episodes in YouTube. There’s an Australian version of the show, so if you want to watch a sample episode in English, then you can try that out.

I wish there were more shows related to coffee, don’t you? Would you happen to know of other shows that revolve around coffee? Do share.

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The astounding colors used in this ensemble looked just great for the coffee and the card included in the package. This actually gave me ideas for what I can give to my other friends when the occasion arises. Better go with personalized gifts that buy pre-made ones.

Now, I’m not sure if the coffee comes with the package, but the logo on the card is available in JustRite Stampers’ 6-pc borders and centers set that you can find here. And I totally agree with what it says in the card: Good friends and good coffee are, indeed, two of life’s great perks.

Don’t you agree?

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Nah. Just kidding. I just found this funny comic strip about a coffee drinking having an identity crisis.

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In China alone, one third of the adult population consume coffee in coffee shops like Starbucks. As like the rest of the world, Asian coffee shops are frequented for hanging out with friends more than for the coffee itself.

Asian coffee preferences

Although Asian people are more inclined to drinking tea more than coffee, the fast spread of popular coffee shops like Starbucks are drawing more and more coffee drinkers amongst the Asian populace.

In terms of coffee preferences, Asians are known to prefer a lighter, sweeter coffee than Westerners. In Hone Kong, for example, cappuccino leads the race with 30% of coffee drinkers ordering this outside the home. Mocha comes a close second with 25% of the java junkies ordering it. In 3^rd place is regular coffee, which is the choice of 17% of coffee drinkers in Hong Kong.

Local vs. Global

When asked whether which coffee shops they prefer to patronize, most Asians are quick to answer they prefer to go with global brands like Starbucks than to get their coffee fill from local coffee shops. And apparently, most Asians think that coffee made from international coffee chains are better than the ones made by local stores. But again, this isn’t always the case in all Asian countries. Some would still prefer to buy from local sellers than buy from foreign shops.

In the Philippines, lots of people go to Starbucks or Seattle’s Best for their daily pick me upper. Like what I said in a previous blog entry, children here have the wrong notion of buying coffee from Starbucks just because it is how celebrities take coffee.

Just how did the Asian coffee culture start?

Well, you can say that the growing coffee culture in Asia was partly started by people who brought their coffee habits back from any European or American city they came from.  I guess it didn’t take long for other people to pick up on the habit.

Also, with more and more job opportunities opening up on the graveyard shift in most parts of Asia, it can’t be helped that these people would start consuming more coffee to keep themselves awake in the middle of the night.

Instant coffee or brewed coffee?

A lot of Asians enjoy the taste of brewed coffee, but most of them make do with instant coffee. Although more and more coffee shops are opening all over Asia, the fact that brewed coffee is quite expensive, and owning a coffee brewing machine isn’t all that affordable, makes people go for the more budget-friendly which is instant coffee.

Coffee has certainly found a way into the hearts of people all over the globe. We may have different reasons for wanting to drink coffee, but surely enough, it’s fast becoming a staple drink everywhere.

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Oftentimes, these ceremonies are headed by a woman, with the long process starting off by arranging the ceremonial coffee serving apparatus on a bed of long, scented grasses.

The roasting of the coffee beans is a ritual on its own. The beans are roasted in a flat pan over a small charcoal stove. Incense is burned during the ceremony. As the coffee roasts, its pungent smell mixes together with the heady scent of the incense.

After roasting, the ceremony leader takes a handful of roasted coffee beans and gently washes them, stirring and shaking the husks away. Once the beans turn black and shining, and its aromatic oils have been coaxed out, they are grind on a long-handled mortar using a pestle.

This is where the coffee preparation starts. The ground coffee is slowly stirred into the black clay coffee pot known to Ethiopian locals as the jebena. The jebena is rounded at the bottom and has a straw lid as its cover.

There are also certain rules to follow for proper coffee serving. The lady serves the prepared coffee in tiny china cups by pouring a thin golden stream of coffee into the cups from a height of one foot.

As far as it goes in my home, we just brew the coffee on the machine and serve it to the guests in a coffee pot for them to fill their cups themselves. Who would’ve thought so much effort is put into serving a good cup of coffee?

How about you? Do you know of any coffee serving rituals from other parts of the globe? Do share.

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