Quick quiz: What costs 24 cents to make but is in such high demand that you can sell it for $3 a cup? Answer: specialty coffee.
Bakeries are catching on to this fast, as more incorporate beverage programs into their business. Increasingly, bakeries are finding local roasters to supply them with unique blends or working with national suppliers that can offer optimum value.
Specialty coffee is defined as a coffee that has no defects and has a distinctive flavor, according to the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). And demand for specialty coffee continues to heat up.
From 2001 to 2006, specialty coffee sales in the United States rose from $8.3 billion to $12.3 billion, according to SCAA and Mintel Group data. That marks nearly a 50 percent jump. There are now more than 15,500 coffee cafes in America, averaging $550,000 in annual sales.
Bakery chains like Dunkin’ Donuts have become so enamored with coffee that they seem to be more about beverages than baked goods nowadays. Dunkin’ Donuts sells 2.7 million cups of coffee every day, making it the No. 1 retailer of coffee by the cup, according to the company.
And don’t just sell coffee. Market it. Retail bakeries like La Bonbonniere Bake Shops in New Jersey boost their morning sales with breakfast specials: one donut and a small cup of coffee for $1.50, or a muffin and small coffee for $2.50. Never forget the power of a meal deal. Make it simple for people to order, and they usually will trade up for something more.
According to the SCAA, specialty coffee offers a unique flavor because of the micro-climates that produce it, similar to the slight variances you will find in the flavors of fine wines. Roasting presents the next opportunity to define your coffee as truly special. Every roaster has the potential to express itself in a signature way.
Another tip is to hire a local coffee expert for advice on your beverage program. Porto’s Bakery in Los Angeles worked with an award-winning barista in Los Angeles for ways to improve the quality of their beverages. Beverages now account for 10 percent of total sales at Porto’s Burbank location.
The following are relevant statistics from the SCAA about the specialty coffee business, to help you understand the common terms and examine the opportunity to add or enhance your beverage offerings.
****Definitions****:
Barista – a person who is a master of the espresso machine and makes coffee as a profession
Cappuccino – a classic blend of coffee and steam milk, named about the brown robes of the Capuchin monks
Cupping – the process used by coffee tasting specialists to judge and evaluate coffee beans
Espresso – a dark, rich, full-bodied coffee made when finely ground Italian or dark-roasted coffee is processed with a special machine that forces a small amount of water at high pressure through a special filter
Green coffee – unroasted coffee
Organic coffee – certified by independent agencies as organically grown, processed, stored and roasted
****Statistics****:
Americans drink more than 300 million cups of coffee each day, with 75 percent of those being home-brewed.
16 percent of American adults consume specialty coffee on a daily basis, up from 13 percent in 2002.
63 percent of American adults "occasionally" consume specialty coffee.
The vast majority of the world’s coffee is the Arabica species.
It takes about 42 coffee beans to make an average serving of espresso.
Espresso contains less caffeine than a regular serving of drip coffee because the water is in contact with the grounds for only 20 to 25 seconds and extracts less caffeine.
70 percent of U.S. adults consider coffee quality and convenient location as the most important characteristic of their favorite coffeehouse.
In dollar terms, the exports were up 32.09 per cent higher at $586.27 million as against $443.83 million last year. In rupee terms coffee exports have gone up by 27.45 per cent at Rs 2,427.86 crore as against Rs 1,904.95 crore realised last year.
In terms of unit value realization, exports were up 24.29 per cent at Rs 105,143 a tonne as against Rs 84,594 a tonne fetched last year. According to the International Coffee Organization, global exports in the first 11 months of coffee year 2007-08 have decreased 4.5 per cent to 86.6 million bags compared to 90.7 million bags in the same period last coffee year.
Indian coffee exports for first-nine months were also up 6.26 per cent at 184,976 tonnes as against last year’s exports of 174,077 tonnes. “After selling most of the produce, about 10-15 per cent of the coffee is left at the farms. Buoyed by high prices last few weeks, coffee growers are demanding more than Rs 200 a bag,” said B L Harish, proprietor of Blan Coffee, Kushalnagar, a farm gate trader.
Other sources however have slightly different numbers:
IRIS NEWS DIGEST: Coffee export rise 5.75% in Jan-Sep`08
As per the Coffee Board`s latest data, the coffee export from India has shown robust performance during the period of Jan-Sep, 2008 due to a significant increase in overseas sales of value-added coffee, reports Business Line.
As per the statistics, India`s coffee exports rose by 5.75% at 0.184 million tons in the first nine months of 2008 as compared to 0.174 million tons a year ago period.
There has been a quantum jump in value-added coffee exports and it will add-up in the coming months as well. The export of value-added products that largely constitutes instant coffee rose by 101% to 18,739 tons during January-September period, the Board data said.
Meanwhile, export of robusta variety rose marginally by 2.12% to Rs 92,543 tons in the review period from 90,618 tons last year. While overseas sale of arabica variety improved significantly by 19.26% at 42,461 tons, the data showed.
However, instant coffee sales plummeted drastically by 19.96% to 31,233 tons, it added.
There are do many different types of beans and the plants will fall in three different categories. The Arabica, first known on the Arabian Peninsula and the Robusta that contains about two times the amount of caffeine in every cup. This is going to be something to wake you up in the morning for sure.
These beans are going to be different that of wine because of the thing called coffee berry that is decided not because of the fruit but due to the bean that is found inside it. A bean is aged perfectly, roasted and then ground and brewed. Coffee is going to be as it has never been before with this type of bean, you could use it with your cappuccino maker.
The beans are actually going to be found in two different ways. There will be green and the red with the red having the most in smelling power of oil and the much lower acid amounts. This is used to make the higher quality coffees. One of the biggest deals in the life of bean is when it leaves the shelf from the time it was plucked.
Beans are usually picked from the hands of people and this means that there are only a few baskets done a day. They have to separate the red and the green and it is something that is a big job requirement. This is due to the huge impact on the outcome of the coffee.
Having good cappuccino is going to depend on the way that the bean is picked. The fruits can be soaked, scoured, and rubbed by machines. After this, the beans are going to be washed and removed from the part that is still there. This is going to be known as the fermentation period and will bring about beans that are dried in the sun over a large concrete or rock. This will go on until at least twelve percent is determined to be water.
The beans are then going to be displayed by their size and color and done more so by a machine. Some of the beans are going to be thrown away and others will be polished to take the skin off. For some of them, the beans are going to be aged for three to eight or nine years and the others are going to be ready for roasting in one year. This will make your cappuccino makers happy!
With the 400-degrees Fahrenheit that these beans are roasted at, they will grow to at least twice their dried out size. They may crack and even change color as the green goes to brown because the oils from the inside are being released. The oil will give the different types of coffees their true and delicious taste that we love so much.
There are so many different types of techniques that have been found for the roasting part. The beans from the Java and Kenya are usually going to be barely roasted and produce a delicious flavor for coffees. Once the roasting is done the beans, will then produce a carbon dioxide for a few days and this will make the beans because rid of their gasses? Airing or packing them in the semi-permeable bags that is made for shipping only does this.
The result is going to happen a few weeks from now. They are going to be ground where there will be differences in styles and results. In some of the cases, the burr grinders are going to crush up the beans to a size that is normal like a granule. With the others, the choppers are going to be used to chop up the beans so small with a tinier result. There is also Turkish coffee that will be made with the pounding of the beans to almost powder. This will be done with mortar and pestle.
The deciding taste is the brewing. This will be where there will be a variety of styles and ways for each brewing company. All of the good differences will be in one of four degrees and they are boiling, pressure, gravity and steeping. With boiling, the water is hot and ran through the actual grounds as they are going to be filtered out. With the pressure type, this will be espresso for most, they are going to be lightly boiled and the water will force the grounds through with the intense hot pressure. The gravity or what is also known, as drip brew will have hot water dripping onto the coffee grounds that are inside filters. This is typical for most people because they are going to want to use the coffee makers that are easily bought today. Also steeping is going to be much like the method of having tea with tea bags. This is even though the bags are a lot larger than others are.
This is going to be a long journey from the places that coffee comes from but the coffee beans are going to make it to your kitchen from the jungle. Many love a great drink. With the new ways of research and the actual health benefits from the coffee consumption, increasingly love it all the time. It is a great way to have a little picked me up anytime of the day or night. There are many flavors to love and so many will want to try increasingly.
Addressing the seminar, jointly held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy and the authorities of the Lazio region, President of the Vietnam Coffee Corporation (VINACAFE) Doan Dinh Thiem said that Vietnam is the second-largest coffee exporter in the world, holding a 20 per cent share of the world market with an average annual export volume of 840,000 tonnes. Vietnam also stands second, following Brazil, in exports of coffee to Italy, though he added that there is still substantial potential for further trade between the two countries.
During the past eight years Italy has imported on average 66,000 tonnes of coffee per year from Vietnam, becoming the fourth-largest importer from Vietnam, after Germany, the US and Spain.
Some of the largest coffee businesses in Italy have opened representative offices and commenced joint ventures in Vietnam. According to Vincenzo Sandalj, President of the Coffee Association of Trieste city, Vietnam has increased its market share in Italy as the taste of its coffee has met with Italian consumers requirements and palates.
He said Italy, the fifth-largest coffee importer in the world, with an annual growth rate of 6 per cent, holds still more opportunities for Vietnamese businesses.
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