Amazon streaming 99-cent ABC and Fox shows… right now

Eager to get on the new Apple TV’s cheap 99-cent TV show rentals but not so pumped to wait four weeks for it to ship? No worries: Amazon’s also now offering 99-cent rentals of various ABC and FOX shows, which means a whole host of Amazon VOD-compatible devices just got some cheaper streaming options as well — and hey, Roku just cut prices on its entire lineup of Amazon- and Netflix- compatible players, so you can get in the game for as little as $60. Of course, the Apple TV also features day-and-date movie rentals, local streaming, AirPlay, and that slick iPhone / iPod touch Remote app, but only your heart truly knows if those are worth an extra few bucks and a month of fevered desire.

Thanks, Stephen

Amazon streaming 99-cent ABC and Fox shows… right now originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:28:00 EDT.

Boquete Panama Geisha coffee sells for a whopping $170.20 per pound

May 25, 2010
Boquete, Panama
Reuters

Panama’s coveted geisha coffee, often described as the champagne of coffee for its subtle jasmine-like flavors, broke an auction record on Tuesday, selling for $170.20 a pound.

The winning lot, sold at an online auction, was from the Hacienda La Esmeralda farm known as the prime grower of the coveted beans. It was bought by Japanese bidder Saza Coffee for more than 100 times the average coffee price, now hovering around $1.30 a pound on New York futures markets.

Enthusiastic Japanese buyers have fueled most of the new demand for Central America’s highest-end coffee as U.S. buyers, more frugal after the financial crisis, have shied away from expensive coffee-shop drinks in favor of brewing at home.

But the record price for 400 pounds of geisha coffee — a total of $68,080 — still surprised the farm owners.

“We were not expecting this at all this year,” said Daniel Peterson of the family-owned La Esmeralda finca, high in the western mountains of Panama. In 2007 the farm sold its prized coffee for $130 a pound, setting an earlier record.

Geisha coffee trees are a rare variety with Ethiopian heritage brought to Panama in 1963 from Costa Rica.

The coffee was sold on the Stoneworks coffee auction platform as part of an offering of some of Panama’s highest-rated beans from this season’s harvest.

Last week, a La Esmeralda-exclusive auction netted between $20 to $36.50 a pound but Peterson said the farm’s best was reserved for Tuesday’s auction.

“It was our best coffee of the year,” Peterson said.

(Reporting by Sean Mattson; Editing by David Gregorio

Specialty Coffee Association of America Awards 2010 Coffees of the Year

Roasters Guild Coffees of the Year Competition Identifies Some of the World’s Best Coffees

April 23, 2010
LONG BEACH, California
Specialty Coffee Association of America

The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) awarded nine specialty coffees with the “Coffees of the Year” title at its 2010 Roasters Guild Coffees of the Year Competition, which was held at SCAA’s 22nd Annual Exposition & Symposium, April 16 – 18, 2010 in Anaheim, Calif.  SCAA cupped, evaluated and ranked some of the finest specialty coffees from a geographically diverse range of coffee producers, and nine distinct coffees were selected as the leaders of this prestigious competition. SCAA is the world’s coffee authority and largest coffee trade association.

SCAA’s 2010 Roasters Guild Coffees of the Year Competition winners include (each are classified as Best of Origin for their country):

Coffee Producer: Carlos Imbachi
Farm Name: Buenavista
Country: Colombia
Region: San Agustin, Huila
Score: 90.5

Coffee Producer: Juan Carlos and Gregg Meza
Farm Name: El Recuerdo
Country: El Salvador
Region: Apaneca/Ilamatapeq Mountain Range
Score: 87.375

Coffee Producer: Ricardo Zelaya
Farm Name: Puerta Verde
Country: Guatemala
Region: Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepequez
Score: 89.625

Coffee Producer: Fabio A. Caballero
Farm Name: La Isabela
Country: Honduras
Region: Mogola / Marcala / La Paz
Score: 89.313

Coffee Producer: Gikanda Farmers Co-Operative Society
Farm Name: Gichathaini
Country: Kenya
Region: Nyeri
Score: 89.222

Coffee Producer: Luis Alberto Balladarez
Farm Name: Un Regalo de Dios
Country: Nicaragua
Region: Mozonte/Nueva Segovia
Score: 85.558

Coffee Producer: Peterson family
Farm Name: Hacienda La Esmeralda
Country: Panama
Region: Boquete
Score: 89.125

Coffee Producer: Wilson Sucaticona Larico
Farm Name: Tunki
Country: Peru
Region: Puno
Score: 89.2

Coffee Producer: Will and Grace Tabios
Farm Name: The Rising Sun
Country: USA/Hawaii
Region: Ka’u
Score: 87.563

In addition to the nine winners, Wilson Sucaticona Larico, of the coffee farm Tunki in Peru, was presented with the People’s Choice Award. The People’s Choice Award was determined after SCAA Exposition attendees tasted and voted upon the nine winners of the 2010 Roasters Guild Coffees of the Year Competition.

About the Competition

For the competition, more than 130 specialty coffee submissions, representing 22 countries, competed in the prestigious annual event to be recognized as the best specialty coffees from around the globe from the 2009/2010 crop. More than 30 experienced judges choose the winning coffees by cupping or thoroughly evaluating the sensory attributes of each coffee sample entered in the competition. The judges specifically assessed six distinct qualities of the coffee samples, including: fragrance, aroma, taste, flavor, aftertaste and body.

Cupping is a systematic method of evaluating the aroma and taste of coffee and is used by growers, buyers and roasters to assess the quality and flavor profile of coffee. To properly gauge the taste of the samples, the judges swished and swirled a soupspoon-sized portion of brewed coffee evenly over their palate. By saturating as many sensory nerves as possible, cupping judges are able to better analyze the coffee samples.

Coffee is graded on a scale of one to 100. In order to be considered a specialty grade coffee, the coffee must score at least 80 points. Only coffees scoring 84 points or higher are eligible to compete in the Coffees of the Year Competition. Once qualified, the coffees are vetted by Q-Graders, professionally accredited coffee graders and cuppers, and other experts.

The Roasters Guild is a trade guild of the Specialty Coffee Association of America that consists of specialty roasters dedicated to the craft of roasting quality coffee. The Roasters Guild is just one of two trade guilds within the Specialty Coffee Association of America. One guild is for coffee roasters and the other is for baristas. Through collaboration, professional certification and training opportunities, the members of the Roasters Guild and the Barista Guild of America are able to hone their skills and gain a deeper understanding of their professions.

About SCAA

For more than a quarter of a century, the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) has offered its members education, training, resources and business services. It is the world’s largest coffee trade association, with members representing more than 40 countries and every segment of the specialty coffee industry, from growers to roasters and retailers. The SCAA has also been at the forefront of developing and promoting specialty coffee, and is committed to meeting the challenges of a rapidly changing industry by setting and maintaining standards, expanding professional certification programs, conducting industry-specific research, and providing even more opportunities to connect, exchange, and work together so our industry continues to thrive.

photo credit: nate steiner

Panama vs. Costa Rica: The Bean

April 8, 2010
Posted by adena

I sip tea more often than coffee, and not because I am taming a caffeine addiction – I’m simply picky.  It’s hard to find the good stuff.  I’m not seeking it for a jump-start to my morning, for that, I’m sure Folger’s could incite a heart attack.  I’m looking for a dark afternoon dream…something that I found while traveling to Central America.

Costa Rican coffee is more widely known than Panamanian.  Coffee has been Costa Rica’s number number 1 cash crop for decades, and it has been grown in the region since the 1700’s.  There was a law passed that requires that every Costa Rican employee is entitled to one free cup of coffee per day.

Coffee plantations are more prevalent in the north of the country, near the volcano and in the hills surrounding San Jose.  Though the plantations are a major source of income for the country, and employ a large percentage of the population, the industry is certainly not without it’s negative effects on the environment.  Everything is better in moderation.

The coffee itself though is strong and dark.  Even the ‘cheap stuff’ that you’ll find in the grocery store and at the complimentary hotel breakfasts is wonderful – as long as it says ‘100% pura’ on the package, you’re golden.

Though coffee growing has a long history in Costa Rica and even Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, Panama had been left out of the equation until recent years.  Now Panama brings some of the best cup of joe to high level competition.  Crisp, light and floral is how Panama likes it’s coffee.  Most of the plantations are located around Volcan Baru and Boquete in northern Panama. This type of coffee is known as the Geisha variety, sought after by high bidders in the industry.

I brought some of both back, organic and rain forest friendly…and maybe after all of this i shouldn’t tell you that my preferred sweetener is Vermont maple syrup. Up here in Vermont, it’s all I can do to get the best of both worlds.

Read original article here…

Famous Paintings Reproduced In Coffee

Sure this reproduction of Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam is a lil’ bit perverted by the inclusion of a coffee cup, but look closer. The entire masterpiece was painted using only coffee

I’m amazed that I haven’t seen these coffee art clones before. They’re the creation of Karen Eland, a former barista, who one day decided to dip a paint brush into her coffee cup instead of nibbling on biscotti. By gradually building layers of espresso she’s able to create a range of tones and what must be the tastiest smelling paintings ever.

Maybe it’s my caffeine addiction talking, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen the Mona Lisa and wanted to give her a lick. [Coffee Art via Artsy Spot via Neatorama]

Written by: Rosa Golijan

Geisha Coffee Roaster Wins Coffee Industry’s Top Honor

October 22, 2009
San Rafael, California

California based Equator Estate Coffees and Teas – www.EquatorCoffees.com – was named America’s 2010 Roaster of the Year in Roast Magazine’s highly competitive challenge, triumphing over 40 of the country’s best coffee roasters for Equator’s special blend of quality, sustainability, and business innovation.

Equator proudly joins the ranks of the very top US-based roasters, including previous winners Intelligentsia, Stumptown and Counter Culture. Competing against industry heavy-weights, Equator was picked as the best roaster in America as much for its long-term commitment to quality, as for its cutting-edge sustainability practices and business innovations including the purchase of a small coffee farm in Panama.

The final round of the Roaster of the Year competition pitted Equator against two other finalists in a blind cupping of their coffees by industry professionals.Equator submitted three coffees: Panama Esmeralda Geisha, Ethiopia Amaro Gayo Organic and Moka Java, winning this round and clinching the Roaster of the Year award.

Like America’s Top Chef and the James Beard Award, Roaster of the Year is considered a top award in the $13.65 billion U.S. specialty coffee market.

Among the achievements for which Equator was honored in this year’s Roaster of the Year competition were:

• Equator has a proven track-record of coffee quality, regularly winning awards and attracting some of the industry’s most celebrated chefs.
• Equator was a pioneer in adopting the ultra-efficient Loring Smart Roaster, which reduces carbon emissions by 80%.
• Equator’s biofuel and hybrid vehicles make all deliveries; and the company composts 100 percent of its coffee chaff and burlap bags.
• Equator has provided micro-loans to coffee partners around the world for quality related investments.
• Equator has spearheaded social and environmental sustainability projects that benefit food challenged communities in coffee growing regions around the world.
• Equator recently purchased its own farm in Panama, where they are in the process of growing ultra-boutique, sustainable coffee alongside a team of Panamanians with generations of experience in coffee cultivation.

“Equator Estate Coffees & Teas encompasses the core of a true artisan coffee-roaster,” says Connie Blumhardt, Publisher of Roast Magazine. “Roast chose Equator Estate Coffees as our 2010 Macro Roaster of the Year because of their commitment to sustainability, desire to educate their employees and customers as well their continual drive to push the boundaries of what it means to be a coffee roaster. Equator Coffees has a true passion for creating and selling amazing coffee.”

Equator was an early champion of fair trade practices that address economic, environmental, and social issues in coffee growing communities. Equator has instituted micro-loan programs in coffee growing countries, and recently partnered with ZERI Foundation and a young Zimbabwean woman named Chido Govero in an innovative “pulp to protein” program that increases food security for people in coffee growing regions.

“The Roaster of the Year award is a tremendous honor. This peer-level recognition validates our efforts to promote sustainability both at home and in the global coffee growing communities with whom we collaborate so closely,” said Helen Russell, CEO and co-founder of Equator Coffees. “Equator relentlessly seeks to improve our quality, sustainability and innovation; we are grateful to our employees, customers and farmer-partners whose sincere commitment to our work has made this possible.”

Panama – Coming to a Flat Black near you

Jun. 05, 2009
By Kendra Stanton Lee
Dorchester Reporter

Americans consume some 400 million cups of coffee every day, and though we are no Seattle, Bostonians are serious about their joe. If you’re not brewing it at home, you might grab your “coffee regular” from “Dunkies” or maybe your coffee comes from any number of independent coffee houses here in Dorchester. Or maybe it comes from Panama.

Last month, Jennifer and David House, co-owners of Flat Black Coffee Company, traveled to Panama to bring the best brew back to their coffee shops in Lower Mills, Peabody Square, and in the Financial District downtown. Such an excursion in the coffee world is known as a “trip to origin.” That is, a trip to meet the people responsible for growing, picking, cleaning, and shipping the coffee beans that are packaged, ground, and brewed in our coffee houses here.

Trips to origin were a part of the business plan for Flat Black from the very beginning, according to Jennifer. Jennifer said she, David, and co-founder Jeff Chatlos asked themselves, “What is our business goal five years down the road? We knew we wanted to expand with more retail stores.” Such a goal necessitated purchasing their own roaster (which the Houses equate to the price of a luxury car) in order to have more control over quality, she said.

“We offer coffee from twenty different countries. It was our intention to provide the consumer with the highest quality coffee bean produced in that country,” she said.

Original Article