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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A 2008 glance at Kona coffee retail prices shows options from $7 to 45 per pound. Contrary to the headline this actually sounds like a rather wide range where every market segment should be able to get their respective luxury-gourmet-coffee experience.

Yet if one subtracts all the products coat-tailing on the Kona name (e.g. ‘Kona Blend, ‘Kona Style’, ‘Kona Roast’) the range is getting much narrower. Nothing below $ 19.99 per pound, which appears somewhat genuine is to be found. If any other specifics like ‘Organic’ or ‘Extra Fancy’ are being added the prices are going quickly towards the $30 mark and above. Yet in supermarkets one can get for five bucks a wide variety of ordinary coffees and sale signs galore in the respective aisles. So who is getting rich here? And where is the discount stuff?

Let’s take a closer look of what Kona coffee actually is. The fabled Kona coffee belt stretches for 20 miles with only 2 miles width through the districts of North and South Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, USA. Ideal coffee growing conditions produce a very unique, highly aromatic, mellow, yet limited annual crop of the fabled ‘kona typica’ beans. Mostly small family farms line the two roads winding along the fertile slopes of the active volcanoes Hualalai and Mauna Kea. The verdant green scenery with the blue hues of the Pacific below is occasionally interrupted by the signs of coffee processors trying to entice the local farmers to sell them their freshly picked coffee cherries: ‘$1.60 CASH!’ or ‘WEEKLY: $1.55′ or ‘BUYING CHERRY-Always Highest Prices!’. (1 lb roasted coffee needs a 7.4 lbs of coffee cherry). Also, once the harvest comes to an end, ‘BUYING PARCHMENT’ banners will flap in the gentle ocean breeze. What’s called ‘parchment’ is the now pulped and dried coffee, still in a thin membrane covering the green bean, which will fetch a price in the range of $7.50 – $8.50 per pound.

And that’s the key to understanding the 100% Kona coffee’s economics: Every local Kona coffee farmer has the chance to sell their crop! No additional work as pulping, drying, storing, milling, sorting, roasting, packaging, labeling, marketing goes into it. Many choose to do so, as labor costs in Hawaii are at a premium and housing for low wage workers is nearly impossible to find on the island. The actual Kona Coffee Belt land is too steep and rocky to navigate with machinery and hard human labor is needed to plant, grow and harvest.

Most farm parcels are only of 3 – 5 acres average size and are capable of producing 20 – 40,000 pound of coffee cherry. Once picking costs are subtracted (50 cent per pound) the annual monies earned can be considered only an additional income. So farmers have their unpaid families and friends pitching in during picking season and then the numbers look somewhat better. Yet so far no one got rich farming Kona coffee – it still is a labor of passion similar to an old fashioned vintners’ backbreaking daily chores. And passion it is when a few of these traditional family farmers in the age of the internet are able to bring their product direct to the customers: No middlemen, no processors, no pooling of various farms, no store chains or roasters between the consumer and them. Even that for the farmers to process, package, ship, advertise, et al raises will their profits only marginal, it guarantees them independence. It’s added value for both parties, as customers know exactly where the beans come from and the farmer is able to care and quality-control the coffee from seed to cup.

The main factors driving the price of genuine Kona coffee are therefore: Kona as a limited growing region for a superb tasting product requiring intense hand labor, coupled with a steadfast national and international consumer demand that guarantees virtually no surpluses or discounted volumes of Kona coffee to be moved.

But with many folks never having experienced what a real handcrafted Kona coffee tastes like, the profit margin between the ‘commodity’ coffees and the rare 100% Kona coffee is too tempting for many roasters. The growing market of single origin, single estate coffees – as a Kona coffee should be labeled – is flooded with impostor coffee brands. So please do your research and don’t always believe what’s written on the bag when buying Kona coffee. Especially when the deal sounds too good to be true or it tastes like generic coffee, it is most likely that those beans haven’t seen Hawaii at all.

See many pictures and read more of how a small farm produces delicious, affordable 100% Kona coffee: http://www.bluehorsekona.com/ (low end pricing)

Life seen through the eyes of a little Hawaiian girl growing up on a genuine small coffee farm in Kona: http://www.athenaofhawaii.com/ (moderate pricing; celebrity clientele; presented in handcrafted wooden gift boxes and unique tapa cloth pouches)

Author: Joaquin Delanuit
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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There has never been a better time for coffee in the USA than today. This is an incredible feat when measured against the ever-growing tea and bottled water markets, and, of course, the every-increasing soda market.

Many people believe the high consumption of coffee in the USA, more than one million people drinking at least 3.3 cups of joe per day, is greatly due to Starbucks’ meteoric rise in popularity. In the 1990s, Starbucks became a household name, and almost overnight it seemed that there was a Starbucks coffee shop on every corner. This, in turn, led other coffee lovers to give into their entrepreneurial streak and open their own coffeehouses, giving coffee consumers even more places to go to get their fix.

Suddenly, coffee in the USA wasn’t just a drink anymore–it was an experience. People who’d been drinking a couple of cups of black coffee a day at the office were drawn to coffeehouses of all types where they could experiment with new kinds of coffees and enjoy the homey, or in some cases, bohemian, coffee shop atmosphere at the same time.

And this, of course, led to those same folks wanting to recreate that oh, so special coffee experience at home. Demand for coffee makers, coffee roasters, coffee grinders, and other coffee preparation and brewing equipment skyrocketed. Manufacturers responded to this demand with hi-tech gadgetry and equipment certain to please coffee enthusiasts of all types.

Even major restaurant chains such as McDonalds, Burger King, and Dunkin Donuts are trying to cash in the coffee in the USA craze. For example, McDonalds started the McCafe where you can purchase different types of coffee and pastries much as you can at Starbucks, though the variety is not nearly as wide.

All of this is good news for coffee lovers in the USA. There’s a wider variety of coffee and specialty coffee available than ever before. Plus, there are far more places where you can get a great cup of coffee than there were, say, even ten years ago. And if you love grinding, roasting, and brewing your own coffee, you have so many choices in equipment that it just could make you dizzy trying to decide which to buy.

As with most things these days, the Internet plays an important role in the coffee in the USA craze. With a quick click of the mouse, you can find everything from fine Jamaican coffee to Hawaiian-grown Kona coffee to top-notch Colombian coffee. You can also easily find any type of coffee beans your heart desires, along with any coffee preparation equipment you want online, often at discount prices–and that can usually make most any cup of coffee in the USA, or anywhere else for that matter, taste even better.

Helping you find the perfect cup of coffee [http://www.online-coffee-stores.com]

Author: Shane Vicars
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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A 2001 survey by the National Coffee Association indicated that over 100 million people drink coffee on a daily basis and that nearly 60 million more occasionally consume coffee. Based on average drinking habits, the daily coffee drinker will consume multiple cups per day – totalling hundreds of millions cups of coffee being consumed every 24 hours.

Such enormous consumer demand coupled with the growing trend toward gourmet coffee presents an opportunity for the enterprising coffee lovers to take their double shots at generating income while working in an industry which makes their coffee passions percolate.

Coffee-loving entrepreneurs can choose from a wide range of opportunities available to find ones that best matches their tastes. Interested in starting small? Start with a couple machines and a cart. More grande ambitions? Consider a coffee shop franchise.

The Specialty Coffee Association of America’s “Market Report” forecasts that the number of coffeehouses in the U.S. will grow to 15,000 by the year 2006. Will one of those coffeehouses be yours?

You can take a couple different paths can to starting your own coffee themed business. One option is to buy the equipment and supplies yourself, building your own identity and business systems. The other option is to purchase a franchise and benefit from their proven image, proven systems, and established supply chains. Let’s look at some examples of coffee related businesses that you could start for yourself.

If you choose the independent route you can use a wholesaler such as Mr. Churro’s to help get you started. Mr. Churro’s is Miami-based wholesaler of professional grade machines for making espresso, coffee, and hot chocolate. Beyond acquiring equipment from Mr. Churro’s you would need to work out other details of your business details on your own. For example, you would need to find a coffee bean supplier, find a suitable business location, and also learn how to run a coffee business.

For a more turn-key type of operation, The Coffee Beanery, a global franchise based in Michigan, provides franchisees with a wide menu of coffee based drinks as well as an attractive breakfast and lunch menus. The franchisee benefits from a proven image, a proven menu, a fully developed method of operation, and an established supply chain. It might cost more to purchase a franchise, but if you are new to business, the long term benefits might outweigh the short term higher startup costs.

Coffee News USA is a third type of coffee related business opportunity. Unlike the previous two examples, Coffee News USA does not involve making and selling coffee beverages. Instead, Coffee News is publishing opportunity in which the franchisee provides a free local edition of the weekly Coffee News newspaper to restaurants and coffee shops. The franchisor provides most of the content, and the franchisee sells advertisements to generate income.

These three business opportunities a just a few of the coffee related businesses that are available for coffee lovers. Most of the other opportunities are franchises, but not all franchises are created equal. Examining each business opportunity carefully can bring to light some important differences that might lead you to an opportunity that is better suited to you than another.

With over 300 million cups of coffee being consumed daily in the US, a coffee-related business opportunity should be a strong consideration for the enterprising coffee lover. Contact information for Mr. Churro’s, The Coffee Beanery, Coffee News USA, and more than 400 other specific business opportunities is available in the eBook, “Mind Your Business 101: How to Select & Start Your Own Business,” for only $16.98 USD at http://www.LinkertonPublishing.com.

About The Author

C.S. Deam is a small business owner. His eBook Leverage Yourself Out of the Rat Race is available for immediate download at www.LinkertonPublishing.com where you can sign up for FREE E-Courses & Newsletters to help you on your path to self-employment.

CSDeam@LinkertonPublishing.com

Author: C.S. Deam
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Is there such a thing as “Healthy Coffee”? What are the benefits of healthier coffee for your health?
In this article, I will cover some known facts about the standard unhealthy coffee. Then show you there is actually a healthier coffee available and what the benefits are when you start drinking this healthier coffee.

Some facts about Coffee
- Coffee is the second largest traded commodity in the world
- Second largest consumed product next to water being the number one.
- World wide, according to statistics from the International Coffee Organization, people drink about 1.4 billion cups of coffee a day. About 45 percent of it is consumed in the USA.

This is a huge industry and billions of dollars are being made every single day. Everyone knows ‘Star Bucks’ and ‘McDonalds (McCoffee)’. These two giant corporations sell coffee in many different flavors and they are not in the coffee business to make people more healthy. They knew the facts and created a billion dollar plus business, with billions of people world wide being addicted to coffee.

Why are people still drinking unhealthy coffee?
Simply because the caffeine has a stimulation effect on the body. The downside of this is you will need your fix on a regular basis.
Furthermore regular coffee:

* Dehydrates

* Is very acidic and toxic

* It raises blood pressure

* Your stress level increases

All the more reason to limit your daily coffee addiction or find a replacement.

Healthier Coffee
Being a heavy coffee drinker myself I hated instant coffee. This always had an after taste and did not even taste like the coffee I consumed on a daily basis. I know many of you can relate to having to have your morning cup of coffee in order to get your day started. I experienced stomach acid problems, did not get enough sleep and headaches which I all related back to the coffee I was drinking. A very good friend of mine let me taste a sample of what she called ‘Healthier Coffee’. It was instant coffee so yes I was a little bit skeptical, but I did drink it. The aroma and the coffee flavor was great! It tasted even better than my regular coffee brand.

After I discovered this healthier coffee, I did some research on it and found out that it hardly has any caffeine (superior brand of Arabica beans used). More importantly, it is infused with a herb called Ganoderma Lucidium, or red mushroom. This red mushroom has been used in China for over 4,000 years for medicinal purposes, also known as the ‘King of Herbs’. When you do some research on the internet, you will find many businesses who offer this healthier coffee, but only a few really use the power of the Ganoderma or Reishi (Japan) herb.

Healthy Coffee benefits
There has been extensive research to what effects this red mushroom has for your health, here is a list of what it can do for you and your body:

* It will give you more energy and reduce fatigue

* It will increase your brain activity

* Will make you feel young and refresh again

* Improves/boosts your immune system (good alternative for the swine flu too!)

* You will sleep better (For people who suffer from insomnia)

* Healthy weight loss (Instead of pills or other costly weight loss programs)

Conclusion
Regular coffee is not good for your health. In fact, it is damaging your body. So the choice is yours. If you would like to continue to enjoy the rich taste and aroma of gourmet coffee, then I suggest you switch to the healthier coffee with the herb extract in it.

Ganoderma Lucidium was exclusively used by the Chinese emperors for a reason! Compare all the health benefits from drinking healthier coffee versus regular coffee. You’ll be amazed with what it will do for you!

Being a heavy coffee drinker, I discovered the many benefits of drinking healthier coffee instead of regular coffee. I have created a website called The Healthy Coffee Club check it out and come on over to have a healthy cup of coffee and a nice chat! Live healthier!

Author: Cor Fransman
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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