Coffee

Importing starts with green coffee that is completely processed and ready for export from the origin country. Typically, shipped in 20 foot containers of 275 to 320 bags (70kb or 60kg) or less. It could also be loaded bulk, therefore enabling more beans to be shipped, lowering the shipping costs on a per pound/kilo basis.

From the USA, specialty coffees are most often purchased by importers or individual roasters via an FOB Contract. FOB (Free On Board) means that the price paid by the buyer includes all of the costs in the exporting country, including processing, inland transport, warehousing, dock fees, export fees and loading the container onto the ship. Ownership passes from the seller to the buyer once the container passes over the rail of the ship. The ships captain prepares the Bill of Lading that you will present to your bank to prove the coffee is now on the ship.

The exporter will need a bank that can handle international interbank transactions. Preferably one that is experienced in export document requirements. If not well established at this type of transaction, the exporter will not want to extend credit to any buyer, but will require payment terms: CAD (Cash Against Documents).

A CAD transaction enables the exporter to have payment deposited into his bank account after presenting to the bank the required documents proving that the coffee purchased by the importer (buyer) meets the specifications in the coffee purchase contract/agreement. The exporter’s bank will determine exactly what documents are required.

These documents may include:

- Ocean Bill of Lading (from the freight liner after the coffee is loaded on the ship)
- Weight Notes to identify the exact content and weight of that content
- Certificate of Origin (issued by the government Customs authority in India)
- Certificate of Fumigation (if required by importing country)
- ICO Certificate of Origin (Approved by the ICO: International Coffee Organization)
- Invoice sent to buyer identify the details of the purchase and $Value.
- Packing List from seller as evidence of the product shipped.
- Other agricultural certificates as dictated in your country

Typically, the exporter will use an Export Broker in the origin country who is expert in these matters and can arrange all of the issues involved in preparing the coffee and the documents for export. If a broker is the seller/exporter, then he will handle all of the required export documentation. The buyer/importer arranges for payment, ocean freight and transport insurance. It’s also the importer’s responsibility for acquiring all import documentation and arrangement in his country.

Of course, finding buyers is the key when importing for resell. For information to identify coffee importers, office coffee service providers and specialty gourmet coffee roasters in the United States, you can purchase a membership list from the Specialty Coffee Association of America or from InfoUSA.com. You can use networking sites like, TradeKey as well.

Note: there are always risks associated with importing. Although the importer may have received samples representing the coffee purchased, in most cases the actual coffee received will match the quality grade, type and source, every coffee lot is different, even from the same region and farm.

There are a few ways to lower this risk. One is to be sure you have a “green coffee contract” modeled after the Green Coffee Association Contract Terms & Conditions. Second, be sure to get an export sample taken directly from the contain prior to its being loaded onto the ship, since once the container is on the ship ownership transfers to the importer (FOB contract terms). Finally, when you purchase is large enough, personally knowing who your buying from and even visiting the country to physically select and monitor the export process is an option.

Author, Steve Josephs is CEO of Intellidon Marketing Solutions, whose family office coffee service business, the Great American Coffee Company, http://www.GourmetOfficeCoffee.com, is a premier Specialty coffee roaster and office coffee service provider in the Denver, Colorado metropolitan business community.

Copyright 2009 The Great American Coffee Company and Intellidon Marketing Solutions, Inc.

All rights reserved. Reprints are permissible when this Copyright statement and website link are included.

Author: Steve Josephs
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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The truth is that coffee hits a lot of spots! For centuries, people all around the world have loved coffee, and its popularity is far from waning nowadays. In fact, coffee connoisseurs have more varieties of delicious choices than ever before, as coffee houses, shops, kiosks and specialty carts spring up all over the place.

No matter how you like your coffee, whether it be black, frothy cappuccino, latte, espresso, hot or on ice, the selections available to tempt your taste buds is enormous. The average annual coffee consumption of the American adult is 67 gallons, over 600 cups. In fact, specialty coffee sales are increasing by 20% per year and account for almost 8% of the 18 billion dollar U.S. coffee market. Statistics show that among coffee drinkers, the average consumption in the US is around 2.3 cups of coffee per day. Also, studies find that over one-half of the population, equivalent to approximately 150 million Americans, now drink specialty coffees on a daily basis.

There are currently around 35,000 coffee shops around the United States, with an average $30 billion a year in sales. Based on market research, there will be approximately 42,000 or more independently owned coffee shops in the US by the year 2011. An enterprising business person should look at the gourmet coffee business as a golden opportunity.

Based on research by the National Coffee Association and The Specialty Coffee Association of America, the average price for an espresso based drink is $2.85, while the average price for brewed coffee is $1.38. The average espresso drive-thru business sells approximately 200-300 cups of espresso and coffee based drinks per day. The studies show that men drink as much coffee as women; each consuming an average of 1.6 cups per day. Women tend to be more concerned about price than their male counterparts.

The United States imports over $5 billion worth of coffee every year. Juan Valdez and his little donkey must be keeping very busy! Americans drink 460 million cups of coffee every day, which makes the United States the leading consumer of coffee in the entire world.

A scientific report from the University of California found that the steam rising from a cup of coffee contains the same amounts of antioxidants as three oranges. The antioxidants are heterocyclic compounds which prevents cancer and heart disease. Guess what! Coffee is good for you!

More than half of all Americans, 18 or older, drink coffee every day. This equates to approximately 150 million daily java drinkers. 30 million American adults drink specialty coffee beverages daily; such as mocha, latte, espresso, cafe mocha, cappuccino, frozen/iced coffee beverages, and so on.

Coffee sales are continually rising year after year. And so are the pricing modules! Coffee is the second largest commodity traded, next to oil. If you are looking for a business to get into, coffee is probably the best business for you to consider. Can you think of any other product that has such universal appeal, is easy to get into, and is relatively simple to operate?

Michael Stadneck grew up in Palermo Italy, where he enjoyed the finest gourmet coffee for the first 35 years of his life. As luck would have it, his first job in America was with Nescafe Coffee Company. After five years of hard work he was promoted to take over the specialty coffee franchise department.

Author: Michael Stadneck
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

Bunn-O-Matic Corporation makes commercial coffee grinders year after year, producing flavorful cups of coffee. Bunn’s family of commercial coffee grinder innovations is perfect for coffee shops, stores, restaurants and even for offices. BUNN shares the secret for their fresh tasting coffee grounds. Different Bunn coffee grinder types suit the needs of every customer.

Buying a Bunn

Bunn continues to manufacture great designs of commercial coffee grinders. It is made for simple and consistent brewing over the years. Bunn commercial coffee grinders are just perfect for your coffee grinding needs. This is from small to large quantities. Nothing compares to the Bunn coffee grinding experience.

There are three kinds of commercial coffee grinders. First is the Multi-Hopper Coffee Grinder. It can grind a regular or decaf coffee bean, releasing the tempting aroma of its grounds.

This grinder has a front-loading hopper that allows grinding a wide selection of coffee. Hoppers serve as the storage container of coffee when not on grinders. It can hold up to 6 pounds of regular or specialty beans. In fact, three batches per hopper is the allowable amount of coffee proportion. These hoppers can be easily removed and cleaned.

The second type of commercial coffee grinder is the Multi-Hopper Coffee Grinder. It has an LCD alphanumeric display that shows the names and diagnostics of coffee. There are also display racks to support freshly ground coffee programs.

The machine has Brewise intelligence which manages the grinding and brewing procedure from start to finish. Its Smart Hopper tells the grinder what coffee is being processed through a microchip.

This grinder can adjust the grind time, specifically for every batch, to deliver appropriate grind volumes. It can also communicate its name onto the coffee funnel throughout the grinding process.

The third and last kind is the Portion Control Coffee Grinder. It can meet any specification on brewing different grinds, from coarse to very fine grounds without stopping and changing burrs. The machine delivers fresh aromas for a better cup of coffee.

The Bunn G9 model has 50% more power compared to the others. It generates less heat in grinding beans. It can also grind 1lb in less than 30 seconds. BUNN portion control variations can work diligently and quickly with one or two hoppers.

Some commercial portion control coffee grinder models include the BUNN G9HD with 1 Hopper, BUNN G9T HD with 1 Hopper and BUNN G92HD with 2 Hoppers, along with the BUNN G92T HD with 2 Hoppers (ABI) and BUNN BrewWISE G9-2T DBC.

BUNN bulk grinders are reliable. It is designed to help specialty stores sell volumes of coffee grounds. This machine uses precision milled burrs to break coffee beans, for maximum flavor extraction. They have one turn knobs for adjustments and a large motor that can create quicker actions in grinding pounds of beans.

Bulk grinders also have patented rotor designs for faster cleaning after each use. A one-flip lever gets rid of coffee remains easily. It has safety switches that can stop the grinding when not in place.

The Bunn Bulk G1, G2 and G3 models differ with its capacity to hold coffee beans for grinding. These three offers a three year warranty, along with heavy duty flat burrs.

Bunn commercial grinding equipment can provide all the aromatic and flavorful taste of coffee beans in the most convenient way. Investing on Bunn’s coffee grinders for your shops ensures quick, simple and great results.

For more information on Hand Coffee Grinders and Commercial Coffee Grinders please visit our website.

Author: David Urmann
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
iPhone/iPad accessory

Many people find that a one cup coffee maker meets all of their coffee urges in a quick and reliable manner. One cup coffee makers generally give high quality coffee in a timely enough manner for each cup to be served fresh. But some households drink six or seven cups of coffee each morning, making this machine an arduous experience at best. There are many other such things to be considered before purchasing a one cup coffee machine.

Advantages:

One of the values of having your own one cup coffee maker is that you can save time each day. If you get this coffee machine with a timer function, you can even have your coffee waiting for you each day when you get up. Nothing can quite compare to waking up to the soothing and brightening aroma of well-brewed coffee. You do not have to do any labor after you get up to get your coffee. Just put the ingredients in the day before and when you wake up, you can grab your coffee and have it before breakfast or grab your coffee and have it in the car on those days when you need an early start to work.

One of the reasons many people choose a single cup coffee maker over a big deluxe coffee maker is that they simply do not need more coffee. Besides, most people have a limited amount of counter space in the kitchen for appliances. Further, with this coffee maker, you do not have left over coffee to deal with afterwards. And it is usually much easier to clean to machine afterwards. Making your coffee each morning can consist of only 2-3 minutes of work the day before.

Disadvantages:

Of course, if you need a lot more than one cup of coffee before you can go off to work or if you have other morning coffee lovers in the household, a single cup coffee machine just won’t do what you want it to do. Imagine trying to make eight cups of coffee one cup at a time each day and you can see how time and labor consuming this could be.

One cup coffee makers can usually only make old-fashioned coffee. They won’t usually brew specialty coffee beans from the store for you nor do they have a button each for espresso, cappuccino, and latte. You will need a specialty coffee maker for these types of special drink needs. There are coffee makers that do everything from the whole brewing process for you to making eight different coffee-based drinks! So you ought to be able to find whatever other kind of coffee maker you need, if indeed you need anything other than the one cup coffee machine.

Are you looking for the Best Coffee Maker? Are you confused with what to look for? Read this article to find out more about choosing a coffee maker that is right for you: http://EzineArticles.com/?id=945210

Alice Morgan is an coffee lover and currently runs a website to provide more information on different coffee makers around the world at http://www.bestcoffeemakers.org

Author: Alice Morgan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
iPhone/iPad apps

If you have not discovered the ease and popularity of coffee pods yet, you do not know what you are missing. Coffee pods are single serving, pre-measured coffee enclosed in little pods. The pods are specialty paper that is used to keep the roasted, ground coffee contained and look much like tea bags you might find in the stores. These coffee pods are typically perfect for making instant coffee.

With coffee pods, you no longer have to measure the right about of coffee or even worry about that mess you might make with the grounds all over the counter. These pods allow you to simply skip all of that, saving both time and money on wasted grounds. They come in various sizes, which is perfect for whatever strength or amount of coffee you want and it even keeps your coffee machine that much cleaner, which lowers the amount of maintenance it needs.

Coffee pods even have their own machines. These coffee makers are specific to coffee pods and cater to the needs of any fussy coffee drinker. Many people prefer the coffee pods to traditional means of making coffee because it just saves time and effort. All you have to do is fill the coffee maker with water, put the coffee pod right in, and turn it on. In just a few short minutes, you will have made a great cup of coffee, ready for drinking.

Coffee pods come in a variety of your favorite coffee flavors. You can choose from Irish cream, hazelnut, or vanilla. Of course, traditional coffee flavors such as regular or decaffeinated coffee can be found in coffee pods as well. Depending on the flavor of the pod, as well as the specific roast types, the prices will vary accordingly. Coffee pods can be found in the aisle of your favorite coffee shop or local supermarket.

If you want to read more about coffee pods, [http://www.fullcitycoffee.com/Folgers_coffee_pods.html] visit Danny Brown’s site at http://www.Full City Coffee.com.

Author: Danny Brown
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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