Caffeine Test

Strauss Group Ltd. (STRS) said its coffee
unit has signed a five-year agreement with Viva Coffee GmbH to
operate the German coffee manufacturer, according to a statement
filed today with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Strauss can extend the agreement for an additional three
years and has an option to buy the company for 53 million euros,
it added in the statement.

The shares rose 0.8 percent to 46.97 shekels at the 4:30
pm close in Tel Aviv, the highest close since Jan. 2.

Strauss also said the German company received a 28.6
million-euro loan from local banks and estimated that it will
need to invest another $3.5 million in Viva’s factory.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Sharon Wrobel in Tel Aviv at
swrobel4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Claudia Maedler at
cmaedler@bloomberg.net

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So it is finally decided. Joe Philbin will be the next head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Thus far the media seems to be positive but perhaps a little reserved on their take of the hire. There is of course the recent death of his son. Will he be able to pour himself in to a huge job after just experiencing such a terrible tragedy in his life? No one knows that and no one can say how that will affect him now or in the future. Will he be able to translate the sort of offense he engineered in Green Bay to the personnel in Miami? A lot of that depends on who the next QB is I suspect. Is he a leader, does he have that aura that makes men follow him? All word so far out of Green Bay says yes but like many things you do not know for sure until you see it in action. Lastly who are the coordinators and position coaches that he will surround himself with? Ultimately this may have the most impact on the team directly. Give me your thoughts below and do not forget to vote in our poll.

Proceeds from Rare Find coffee to help save worlds jaguars

About a year ago, The Bee dropped by Rogers Family Co. in Lincoln to check out its coffee operation and learn about its philanthropic efforts in Panama. The coffee company roasts beans under a variety of brand names, including San Francisco Bay Coffee and the Organic Coffee Co.

Now, the companys released Rare Find, a fair trade coffee with proceeds to benefit the wild cat conservation organization Panthera. The coffee costs $11.99 for a 12-ounce bag and $22.99 per pound of whole beans; 20 percent of online sales will go toward Pantheras efforts to protect jaguars. Ten percent of wholesale and distributor sales will also go toward this cause.

We are honored to work with Panthera to preserve the jaguar #x96; which is one of natures treasures and one of the great symbols of the wild #x96; for future generations, said Jon B. Rogers, the president of Rogers Family Co., in a statement. We hope that Rare Find coffee can make a meaningful contribution to the effort to save jaguars in coffee-growing regions where weve seen firsthand how our industry can play an important role in preserving nature.

For more information: www.rogersfamilyco.com.

#x96; Chris Macias

Mark your calendars for Sacramento Chef Challenge

Sure, its only January and its cold outside. Warming us up, though, are thoughts of the 10th annual Sacramento Chef Challenge on June 23.

Right now, event organizers are looking for participants #x96; restaurants, wineries and breweries #x96; who want to show off their fare to the public at one of Northern Californias top culinary events. For the vendors, it means exposure. For attendees, it means lots of noshing for $25 per person (tickets are on sale now).

The program is to include two culinary competitions, wine- and beer-tastings, food samplings, a raffle and silent auction, and entertainment.

Vendors can win prizes courtesy of www.sacdine. com, sponsor of the Peoples Choice Awards.

For tickets and more information: www.chefevent.com or call Jessica Bean at (916) 381-1300, Ext. 170.

The Chef Challenge benefits INALLIANCE, a nonprofit organization that supports people with developmental disabilities.

The event is planned to take place at the groups campus headquarters, 6950 21st Ave., Sacramento; (916) 381-1300, www.inallianceinc.com.

#x96; Allen Pierleoni

Latin music, food will share billing at Antigua restaurant

Have you ever checked out Yoshis, the live music spot and Japanese dinner house with locations in San Francisco and Oakland? A new Sacramento spot, Antigua Cantina Grill, aspires to be the local equivalent and with a Latin twist.

So far, Antigua has booked Salvador Santana #x96; son of famed guitarist Carlos Santana, and a fine musician in his own right #x96; to play at Antigua on March 9.

Meanwhile, Antigua is under- going a few months of soft launching. Located in the former Three Monkeys spot at 723 K St. #x96; which catered to those who wanted sushi, pork sliders and bratwurst in a single setting (aka. hardly anyone) #x96; Antigua wont have a formal grand opening until May 5 (aka. Cinco de Mayo). For now, Antigua is open for happy hour and as a nightclub from Thursdays through Saturdays.

The main menu for Antiguas restaurant is still under development #x96; as is the space itself, with some flooring still under way #x96; but aims for a Latin bistro-style of cooking. Look for announcements about a special Valentines Day dinner and more music bookings in the near future.

Were taking European and modern techniques, and fusing the flavors to come up with something different, said Sid Aguirre, Antiguas general manager. What Im also excited about is when we do live concerts, people can literally get off light rail and walk right into the gate for the event.

For more information: (916) 444-1323 or www.antiguasacramento.com

#x96; Chris Macias

copy; Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Independent staff report

As unrestricted corporate money flows into independent political action committees for the 2012 election season, a Port Orchard man is trying to raise awareness of what was unleashed by the US Supreme Court’s controversial decision in the Citizens United case, and what might be done to counter its effects.

Don Manning has organized a West Sound Coffee Party forum for Monday evening to discuss how the Citizens United ruling that gave corporations “personhood” status has affected the electoral process.

The forum will begin at 5:30 pm Monday at the Kitsap Regional Library branch in Bremerton at 1301 Sylvan Way.

The featured speaker will be filmmaker Eric Byler, the co-founder and president of Coffee Party USA, a grassroots “transpartisan movement” that began in 2010. Byler will speak on “The Mission of the CPUSA; Fighting the Cycle of Corruption.”

Chris Henry of the Kitsap Council of MoveOn.org also will speak at Monday’s forum on “The History of Corporate Personhood,” and Brian Gunn of InvolvedDemocracy.org will speak on what the Citizens United ruling means.

In its landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are persons, and that the First Amendment’s free speech protections prohibit government from placing limits on independent spending for political purposes by corporations and unions. Corporations and unions are not allowed to make direct contributions to candidates, but the court ruling cleared the way for so-called “super PACs” that already are spending millions of dollars to run third-party ads in the 2012 election cycle.

Manning, who got involved with the Coffee Party a couple years ago, said he’s spoken with many people who “don’t understand the impact this is going to have on the election and … on democracy.”

Saturday is the second anniversary of the Citizens United ruling, and a newly formed nonprofit group called Move to Amend is planning an Occupy the Courts national day of protest Friday at federal courthouses across the country, including a demonstration that Manning plans to join in Tacoma.

At the Coffee Party forum, discussions will cover possible strategies for getting the ruling overturned, he said.

Manning emphasized that opposition to corporate campaign spending is not an anti-capitalism approach.

“We want to say that we’re not down on corporations, or making money, we’re not down on big business,” he said. “We’re just down on money buying our constitutional rights right out from under us.”

For more information about the forum, check the West Sound Coffee Party’s Facebook page or call Manning at (360) 710-2893.

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News

Buchanan touts St Andrew coffee revival

BY CONRAD HAMILTON Sunday Observer senior reporter hamiltonc@jamaicaobserver.com

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Brazil Coffee Growers’ Inventories Are Lowest in a Decade
January 20, 2012, 11:29 AM EST

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By Lucia Kassai

Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) — Coffee inventories are set to fall to the lowest level in a decade for growers in Brazil, the world’s largest producer, which should keep prices above $2 a pound, the head of Brazil’s national coffee council said.

Coffee stocks at Brazilian cooperatives should drop at least 26 percent to below 2.58 million bags, the lowest since 2002, said Silas Brasileiro, president of CNC, as the council is known. Last year’s inventory was 3.5 million bags.

Production in Brazil, the world’s largest exporter, will climb to between 49 million and 52.3 million bags this year, from last year’s 43.5 million, the country’s crop-forecasting agency Conab said Jan. 10. That would exceed a 2002 record of 48.5 million bags.

“Even Brazil’s record crop will not weigh that much on prices due to low inventories,” Brasileiro said Jan. 17 in a telephone interview from Brasilia. “Inventories are very low because demand has been strong and weather hasn’t helped producing countries like Colombia.”

CNC will release its latest coffee stocks report in February, he said. Coffee production in Colombia, the world’s second-largest supplier of arabica beans after Brazil, shrank to a 35-year low in 2011, the country’s national federation of coffee growers said Jan. 17.

Arabica coffee for March rose 0.02 percent to $2.2670 a pound at 8:14 a.m. on ICE Futures U.S. New York. Prices have fallen 2.3 percent in the past year.

Global consumption should rise 1.5 percent this year, Roberio Silva, executive director of the International Coffee Organization said Jan. 18. Consumption growth should be driven by Eastern European countries, China, Russia and Brazil, Brasileiro said.

–Editors: Robin Saponar, Dale Crofts

To contact the reporter on this story: Lucia Kassai in Sao Paulo at lkassai@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net

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