A few links and a picture

Coffee economics: The Wall Street Journal has an article about how even the big coffee companies are having to pay above-market prices to make sure they have a stable supply of quality coffee beans. link

Coffee roasters in Spokane, Washington are doing their best to deal with high green coffee prices. link

The alleged accomplice of the robber who was shot and killed at a Eugene Dutch Bros. Coffee kiosk was acquitted this week. link

In an example of how attitudes change year to year, a poll by the National Coffee Association found that the amount of young people who drink coffee on a daily basis rebounded significantly after a one-year dip. link

The Street has a report and analysis of all of Starbucks’ recent news. link

If you want to be successful in the coffee business in Sydney, you cannot stop moving. Just ask Salvatore Malatesta. link

Drought is severely affecting the coffee crop in Tanzania. Geography enthusiasts will notice a pretty big mistake in the last paragraph of the article. link

Don't forget! The Walk for Water is happening on Sunday in downtown PDX! 

And finally, some bumper sticker philosophy:

Well said--normal people worry me too. Enjoy the weekend.

Kombucha - a new (and kind of weird) way to drink tea

Once in a while, if you drink enough coffee, you are bound to need a break. At least that’s the case for this coffee drinker. When you hit the ‘coffee wall,’ as I did the other day,  you have lots of other beverage options available, some of which seem stranger than others. For example, I recently posted a picture of cucumber soda that I thought was strange (I still haven’t tried it). Yesterday, I drank something out of the ordinary—kombucha.

Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage that is sometimes sold as a healthy alternative to other drinks. Proponents of kombucha say that the live cultures in it are good for your digestive system. The doctors at WebMD say there is no conclusive evidence that kombucha is that good for you, especially commercial varieties that have been pasteurized and no longer have the live cultures.

Some of the kombuchas have a small amount of alcohol in them (usually less than 0.5%) that give them an extra punch. It is common to add some fruit juice to the mix too, as was the case with the “superberry” kombucha I drank. It was a bit sweet and had a slight vinegar taste—an acidity that exploded on my tongue.

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