McDonalds Coffee

McDonald's coffee plan goes full-steam ahead
By Tom Johnson
Source Chicago Tribune

McDonald's big new beverage blitz -- espresso-based coffee drinks, smoothies and frappes -- is on track in test markets to exceed its sales goals, the head of McDonald's U.S. operations told stock analysts Thursday.Don Thompson, president of McDonald's USA, also told the analysts that a breakfast dollar menu may go national, a move reported by the Tribune last week.

McDonald's beverage offensive, its biggest new product launch in decades, began in regional test markets in 2006 and went national in May, accompanied by a big ad campaign for its McCafe coffee drinks.Year to date through October, McDonald's overall U.S. coffee sales are up 28 percent over the same time a year ago, and more than 90 percent of that gain stems from McCafe drinks, Thompson said.

Those drinks include all hot and iced espresso-based beverages, as well as hot chocolate.The next elements of the beverage offensive, smoothies and frappes, are being rolled out regionally or in test markets, and both drinks are expected to be widely available by midsummer 2010, Thompson said at McDonald's biennial stock analysts conference at its Oak Brook headquarters.

In test markets that are serving coffee drinks, smoothies and frappes, McDonald's is on track to exceed the $125,000 increase in annual per-restaurant sales that it initially projected two years ago, he said.The company also appears to be planning to bring its popular dollar menu to breakfast early next year. McDonald's launched a dollar breakfast menu in Chicago over the summer featuring six items at that price point. A similar promotion was rolled out in a few other markets.

Thompson said Thursday that an expanded dollar breakfast menu promotion "is being considered in the field. Hopefully, we'll even be able to shout it nationally."As for new products in the U.S., Thompson told analysts the company is looking at a new chicken sandwich made with flat bread.

Starbucks Instant Coffee

STARBUCKS INSTANT COFFEE

By Tom Johnson
11-12-09

Reported just less than an hour ago on CNN MONEY “Via instant coffee has outperformed expectations in the seven weeks since it was introduced in the U.S., the coffee shop chain's chief executive, Howard Schultz, said Thursday.

Starbucks began making Via available in September in all its cafes in the U.S. and Canada, as well as in other locations, such as hotels and bookstores. The company created Via, which sells for $2.95 for a pack of three, in an attempt to reach consumers who aren't inclined to splurge on a regular coffee purchase.

Schultz said the company may have a bigger opportunity for Via outside of North America, where instant coffee is a $20 billion annual business. The company plans to sell the Via product outside of North America next year, he said.

"Everyone knows we have a huge opportunity," Schultz said during an onstage interview at an Ernst & Young investor conference in southern California. "This is not just a new product, but a new growth platform for the company."

Via is among the newest products for Starbucks, which recently reported a profit increase for its fiscal fourth quarter amid a bevy of cost-cutting efforts. The retailer also saw improvement in demand for its coffee drinks.

During the quarter, Starbucks cut prices on so-called easy-to-make coffees, while lifting prices by as much as 30 cents for larger and more complex drinks, such as a venti caramel macchiato.
Starbucks has responded to the U.S. recession by closing stores, creating a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign and retooling business practices to make its cafes more efficient.
Recently, Starbucks has begun opening up new stores, a sign the company is recovering after initiating its first-ever layoffs to deal with the effects of the recession. Last weekend, for example, the company opened a new location in London, Schultz said.

For fiscal 2010, the company said it now expects earnings per share to increase 15% to 20%, up from its previous forecast of an increase of 13% to 18%.
In midday trading, Starbucks shares were down slightly at $21.68 “

Hurricane Ida causes coffee damage

(Reuters) - El Salvador's agriculture chamber said on Tuesday up to 28,000 short tonnes of sugar and 76,666 60-kg bags of coffee were lost after heavy rains triggered by Hurricane Ida caused major flooding and landslides this weekend. The chamber said in news conference up to 20 percent of the cane harvest could be at risk because of serious infrastructure damage.

Guatemala Coffee Harvest

Guatemala 09-10 Coffee Harvest Starts,Seen +2.7% To 3.8M Bags

By T. Johnson

Source

Harvesting of Guatemala's new 2009-10 crop has now started in lower altitude regions with growers' expected output to increase in the last crop cycle, Guatemala's National Coffee Association, or Anacafe, said Tuesday.

Anacafe said that according to the latest farm reports the organization maintains its preliminary forecast for output in the 2009-10 harvest to post a minor recovery and rise 2.7% to 3.83 million 60-kilogram bags.

But once the physical picking of the harvest starts in earnest about mid-November the estimate may be revised based on the initial harvest flow, an official told Dow Jones Newswires.

This compares to production of 3.73 million bags in Guatemala's last 2008-09 crop cycle. The crop cycle runs from Oct. 1 through September the following year.

The initial forecast for the 2008-09 harvest projected a healthy crop that would be stable to higher on output in the 2007-08 cycle, but Anacafe lowered its view two times last year following multiple weather-related damage.

Guatemalan producers reported that crop conditions for the new 2009-10 harvest in many regions hasn't recovered from the extensive weather damage last year, which led to losses of up to 30% in key parts of the country.

Coffee From Costa Rica

One of the great known areas for coffee production is Costa Rica. The climate and fertile soil in Costa Rica is prime growing conditions for some of the best coffee. The environmental conditions under which coffee is grown influence the physical characteristics of the seeds, the quality of which is well known to coffee connoisseurs. The altitude at which coffee is grown and the amount of water available to the plants are crucial. In Costa Rica, rainfall, relative humidity and temperature are lower at higher altitudes. There is also a difference between conditions in the Atlantic and Pacific watersheds. These differences, as well as the care with which processing and other operations are carried out, have given the Costa Rican specialty coffees high marks among international buyers.

Coffee was first introduced to Brazil in 1727 from Cayenne, French Guiana. Today, Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer and is becoming a significant player in the specialty coffee industry, producing 25% of the world's supply of coffee. Brazil has one of the world’s most advanced and well cared for processing systems in the industry.

The Coffee production began in 1779 in the Meseta Central, an area with near perfect soil and climate conditions for this type of plantation. Coffee growing soon surpassed cacao, tobacco, and sugar in importance and by 1829 it had become the major source of foreign revenue. As a nonperishable commodity in an age of slow and costly transport, coffee proved an ideal product and shortly thereafter became the nation’s major export.

Costa Rica is the only country in the world which has issued an executive order (N°19302-MAG, 4 December 1989) banning the production of any variety of coffee other than Arabica.

Ybor Coffee, Naviera Coffee Mills

YBOR CITY

The other day I was visiting one of my favorite coffee shops in Ybor City. While sitting and enjoying a cup of Café con leche I looked across the room and spotted a bag of fresh ground coffee for sale called "Ybor City Gold Coffee".

Ybor is noted for one of the finest coffee's in Florida called "Naviera Coffee" founded by the Fernandez Family in 1921.

"If you grow up in Ybor, what you remember is all the wonderful smells," declares Fernandez, an intense, dark-eyed man with a thick white mustache. "When I was a boy, every block had a different smell. Okay? You understand? You'd smell the cod coming out the door at the fish markets. You'd smell the bread from the bakeries. And of course, the coffee was everywhere."

Here is a great link for coffee from YBOR CITY.

Green Mountain Coffee to sell 4M shares

This just in,

Green Mountain Coffee is said to be selling off four million in common stock. Green Mountain intends to use the proceeds from the offering to "repay debt, including part of the outstanding balance under its credit facility, and the remainder for general corporate purposes."

Green Mountain Coffee is based in Waterbury, Vt.

Shares of Green Mountain Coffee (GMCR), which reported impressive earnings July 29, are up 169% in 2009.

Green Mountain Coffee got investors' attention with the success of its Keurig coffee brewers. Costing about $100 each, these brewers make single cups of coffee at home in about 30 seconds.

This has helped Green Mountain Coffee considerably. Since the economy has hurt the high end coffee business, people are staying home more and brewing their own coffee. With this nice little machine that brews coffee one cup at a time it has been a hit to the consumer.

"But, while Americans are still drinking plenty of coffee, they're getting coffee from different places. Purchases of coffee for the home are up, while sales at coffee shops and other retail locations have softened, Rhinehart says. "

We wish the best for Green Mountain Coffee in the days and weeks to come.