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Posts Tagged ‘Grean Mountain coffee’

Tully Coffee sold its wholesale business and brand to Green Mountain Roasters in March 2009. The Vermont based company is now busy expanding on the West Coast and is opening a new roasting center for Tully’s in the city of Sumner, Washington, in the Puget Sound region. Green Mountain Coffee has leased 200,000 square feet at White River, an industrial development owned by Investco Financial Corporation. Tully Coffee used to be situated in Seattle’s historic Rainier Brewery building. In the new site, the company plans to increase roasting, packaging and distribution. Their new facility is more modern and boasts a great deal more space than the 80,000 square feet that Tully’s had at the Rainier brewery.

Tully’s has opened 42 new stores and coffee shops in the last 12 months, with three in Singapore, for a total of 174.  Under the purchase agreement with Green Mountain, Tully’s will continue operations under its own name. Carl Pennington, who spent 30 years with Albertson’s was recently named CEO. When asked if the recession stalled the plans for expanding the business, he replied, “I’d be kidding you if I said the recession hasn’t affected us. It has. It has affected our sales in some ways and we are working to work those issues. People are not coming in the second time like they usually do- a lot of people come in the morning and come back in the afternoon and we’ve lost some of that. It’s been kind of an up-and-down effect.”

Green Mountain has extended job offers to all 75 Tully’s wholesale employees, inviting them to join the operation at the new Sumner facility.  The company plans to build a staff of 125 employees at Sumner. Green Mountain’s CEO, Larry Blanford, said that its Keurig single cup brewers have now captured an 80% share of that rapidly growing segment of the coffee market. There are more and more of these brewers in homes and businesses and sales of the K Cups, the vacuum packed portions of coffee to use with the Keurig system, continues to increase.

Green Mountain sells over 200 different roasts and blends of coffee, tea and cocoa in K-Cups as well as whole bean coffee. The company has shown steady growth and in June 2009, announced third quarter sales of $190.5 million. This is a 61% year over year increase from $118.1 million. Earnings per share is pegged at 36 cents, this is more than double of last year’s earnings of 16 cents. The company’s success is seen by the performance of its stocks; its shares are listed as one of the top five to own. Experts predict Green Mountain’s aggressive growth will continue throughout 2009 and into 2010.

Find all of your favorite Green Mountain coffee and Keurig coffee at greatcoffee.com

Kenya, an East African nation, produces over 2 million bags of coffee a year and it ranks number 17 in production world wide. Kenya Coffee has a a rich and bold aroma so unique with little bitterness to it. Most of Kenya’s Arabica coffee is grown on tiny farms, averaging half an acre in size, north of Nairobi and on the slopes of Mt. Kenya. Further in the west of Kenya, coffee is grown on the slopes of Mt. Elgon, near the Uganda border, including the Kenya Blue Mountain variety, which came from Jamaica. Experts say the best Kenya beans come from these areas of rich red, loamy soil at an altitude of around 4500 feet. Most coffee is grown by individual farmers on tiny plots of land, averaging half an acre, which dot the landscape. Their efforts have consistently produced excellent coffee, year after year

The Coffee Board of Kenya established guidelines on standards for the beans. Coffees are graded after it’s milled; Kenya AA means the largest beans and AB is next in size. The theory is that the larger beans will contain more of the special oils which give coffee its aroma and flavor. While size is important, it is just one factor in determining high quality coffee. A second class system was developed to rate the quality of the beans, ranging from 1 to 10 with Class 1 being the best. This system has rarely been advertised but a coffee rated as Kenya AA, could rank as low as Class 4. There has been discussion about branding different beans as to the specific area of Kenya where they were raised. At present, there are three kinds of brand, Mt. Kenya, Aberdares, and Kenyan Blue Mountain.

Until recently, all coffee was sold through an auction system which, most experts in the coffee business, say was effective and brought fair prices to the farmers. All farmers were organized into small, craft oriented, cooperative processing centers. Each day’s harvest was sorted and processed separately into small boutique lots of green coffee beans which were sold individually at auction in Nairobi. Unique, unblended lots were purchased by relatively small, high quality buyers who were willing to pay the price.

Green Mountain Coffee and Keurig Coffee now offers Fair Trade Certified Kenya AA from the Kenyan Highland Cooperatives. This is available in whole beans and also a K-Cup. Geatcoffee.com carries a Green Mountain Extra Bold Kenya in K Cups, which has won raves. Says another coffee lover, “This is my all time favorite GM coffee! Try it, you will not be sorry. Great smooth flavor and no bitter after-taste. No minuses. Have tried others but will continue to go back to this one. Agrees another, “This is my first time trying this flavor and to my surprise, it tasted really good. It has a nice body to the taste and finish with a nice coffee aroma. No bad after taste or anything negative. Very good coffee and highly recommended for people who like a medium to dark roast.”

The ongoing political unrest and instability have made it difficult for the Kenya beans to reach the world market and likewise, disrupted the auction market system. So when you do see Kenya in the grocery or coffee specialty shop, grab a bag or two or some boxes of K-Cups! You’ll enjoy its delicious, full-bodied flavor!

This coffee is bound to find a lot of fans because of its bold flavor, plus the way it can really get you going. It’s a new espresso blend from Green Mountain Roasters and, best of all, it’s now available in a Kcup. Called Organic Espresso, it’s guaranteed to pop those eyelids open, clear out the cobwebs, and even chase away a headache. Just drop it into your Keurig coffee brewer, push a button, and in less than a minute, you’ll have a steaming cup, brimming with flavor – and a real jolt of caffeine.

Green Mountain Roasters, at www.greenmountaincoffee described the Fair Trade Organic Espresso Blend as being  “…sourced from a number of origins to display both balance and intensity. We look to Indonesia for syrupy body and depth, and the Americas for chocolate notes, velvety richness, and just the right amount of brightness to punctuate lattes and cappuccinos. A blend of different roasts and origins that harmonize beautifully straight or with milk.”

All of the coffee beans used for this Fair Trade Organic Espresso are grown organically with no chemicals nor pesticides. They are Fair Trade Certified, which means the farmers were members of co-ops, and received a fair price for the beans. The blend contains coffee from Segovia, a region in northern Nicaragua where there are 40 small cooperatives organized into PRODECOOP. The group recently used their Fair Trade sales to purchase a new dry mill, machinery and equipment, all of which will help maintain quality standards. Recently, it organized a quality control center, put together a set of standards and is now regulating its export production. This all helps guarantee that you will have a much better cup of coffee, brewed from high quality beans.

Fair Trade Organic Espresso is a wonderful blend of coffees with sweetness and balance, a bold, complex flavor with an invigorating shot of caffeine. It’s certain to please and take away that headache. Says one coffee drinker, ‘This is a wonderful coffee. Great bold taste and perfect for my morning.” Ken Davids of Coffee Review, www.coffeereview.com, assessed it as an espresso and comments, “Sweetly wood in the aroma, with a hint of dark chocolate and a savory, almost salty note. The same aromatic complex carries into the cup, though the wood warms toward cedar and the dark chocolate intensifies. Medium to full body. Heavy but sweet finish with a continuing chocolate note…..” Another review by Coffee Whiz, at www.coffeewhiz.com describes it as “Resonant, pungent aroma with great range and complexity: smoke, chocolate, a hint of flowers and vanilla. A full to medium body features a slightly sweet-pungent aroma, toasty with nuances of chocolate and fruit…”