June 16, 2009 - Starbucks Corp. has announced a recall of nearly 530,000 coffee grinders sold between March 2002 and March 2009 after it was discovered they could turn on unexpectedly or fail to turn off. The coffee grinders recall was issued after determining the malfunction posed a risk of injury.

Link: 

TransWorldNews

June 3, 2009 - As any roaster would tell you, perhaps one of the most important aspects for coffee quality depends on roast development. During roasting, heat serves to significantly transform components within the coffee bean from a mere hundred or so to over 1,000 compounds!!

Factors such as bean type, density, moisture content, drum/fluid bed roasting, rate of heating,  etc. all play a significant role in flavor development. So with so many variable, how is a roaster to control roast development?

Luckily over the past few years significant developments in photometric technology. A few years ago Javalytics debuted their version of a roast color analyzer during the 2007 SCAA Conference and received rave reviews.

Two years after their introduction, I was able to get my hands on a RDA-U -  and Im pleased to share this video with you showing you some of the instruments basic features.

If anyone is interested, JAVALYTICS is offering significant discounts on demo units:

The RDA-D which retailed for $10,400 is now $5,400 (RDA-D), while the RDA-U initially $7,600 is now $4,500. Please note that some units may have minor cosmetic scratches, etc. but are all fully functional and covered by warranty. Check out our shop for more information.

May 15, 2009 - What does Bruce Springsteen, Dolly Parton and David Beckham all have in common? Asset Insurance! For professionals who make a living off their talents, protecting such assets may prove its not only be smart, but necessary.

For other such as Costa Coffee's Master Cupper - Gennaro Pelliccia - insuring his tongue is what matters most. For UK based company Costa Coffee, his taste buds are so valuable that they had it insured it for £10 million GBP or the equivalent of approximately USD $15.2 million.

A spokesman for Glencairn said: "The taste buds of a Master of Coffee are as important as the vocal chords of a singer or the legs of a top model, and this is one of the biggest single insurance policies taken out for one person. It shows how valuable Gennaro's tongue is to the Costa brand."

Links:

Insurance Journal

Telegraph UK

April 3, 2009 - With the rapid increase in freshly brewed coffee, coffee brewer manufacturers in Taiwan are being urged to label their equipment for caffeine content. The system is proposing to use varying colors - yellow or red - to inform consumers about how much caffeine to expect from their cup of coffee. Whether the system actually works, is yet to be seen.