Organic Coffees are Perfect for Holiday Gifts
and Entertaining -
New Data Shows Organic Coffee Sales Grew 40% in
2005
Consumers
today are equating organic coffee with quality,
driving up sales up of the product 40 percent
last year to $89 million. The 12 participants
in the Organic Coffee Collaboration - a project
of the Organic Trade Association, hope holiday
coffee purchases for gifts and entertaining will
be organic and have provided recipes for both
hot and cold organic coffee beverages.
Greenfield,
MA (PRWEB) June 13, 2006 -- New and seasonal
organic coffee blends and treats such as organic
espresso chocolate bars are perfect for holiday
gifts and seasonal entertainment events, according
to participants in the Organic Coffee Collaboration,
a project of the Organic Trade Association (OTA).
And they are easier than ever to purchase - organic
coffee products, including decaffeinated, caffeinated,
flavored and instant coffees and new chocolate
espresso bars are widely available at retail outlets
nationwide and direct from roasters via the Internet.
To
make holiday entertaining the most delicious,
Collaboration participants are providing recipes
for festivities that highlight the quality and
flavor of the organic products which are made
from some of the rarest and tastiest coffees from
around the world. The recipes can be found at:
http://www.ota.com/organic_and_you/coffee_collaboration.html
"Consumers have the choice of what kinds
of gifts they give and the kinds of beverages
they provide their holiday guests," said
Caren Wilcox, executive director of the Organic
Trade Association. "By choosing organic coffee,
consumers are offering delicious, high-quality
products while supporting organic agriculture
at home and around the world."
Organic
coffee is grown using methods and materials that
have a low impact on the environment. Organic
production systems replenish and maintain soil
fertility, reduce the use of toxic and persistent
pesticides and fertilizers, and build biologically
diverse agriculture. Third-party certification
organizations verify that organic farmers use
only methods and materials allowed in organic
production. Organic coffee is grown in more than
30 countries, including the United States.
Data
from the May 2006 Organic Trade Association's
2006 Manufacturer Survey indicate that United
States organic coffee sales totaled $89 million
in 2005, up 40 percent from the previous year.
Wilcox
notes that in 2005, organic coffees won Cup of
Excellence competitions in Bolivia, Brazil and
Nicaragua. The prestigious award program, managed
by the U.S.-based Alliance for Coffee Excellence,
results in the selection of the best coffees produced
in a particular country in a particular year.
The
Organic Coffee Collaboration is a project of the
Organic Trade Association, the business association
for the North American organic industry. The Collaboration
includes:
Arbuckle
Coffee Roasters (Tucson, AZ) - roaster
and supplier to spas, high-end restaurants and
gourmet coffee shops.
Café
Bom Dia (Coral Gables, FL) - tree-to-shelf
organic coffee provider to club stores, among
others.
Elan
Organic Coffees (San Diego, CA) - coffee
developer and importer offering certified organic
socially responsible coffees it has developed
through partnerships with village co-ops.
Equal
Exchange (West Bridgewater, MA) - a worker-owned,
Fair Trade cooperative, and one of largest U.S.
organic coffee roasters.
F.
Gaviña & Sons (Vernon, CA)
- growers, traders and roasters of organic coffees
for the Gaviña Gourmet Coffee and Don Francisco's
Gourmet Coffee brands.
Green
Mountain Coffee Roasters (Waterbury,
VT) - one of the leading U.S. organic coffee roasters
and number one on Business Ethics magazine's 2006
list of "100 Best Corporate Citizens."
Jim's
Organic Coffee (West Wareham, MA) - the
nation's first all-organic coffee roaster and
the leading all-organic roaster nationwide.
OTA's
Coffee Council (Greenfield, MA) - over
30 growers, importers, roasters and retailers
dedicated to promoting the high standards of certified
organic coffee.
Quality
Assurance International (San Diego, CA)
- a global leader in providing organic certification
services, including certification for three other
Collaboration participants, Green Mountain Coffee
Roasters, Jim's Organic Coffee and Rocamojo.
Rocamojo,
Inc. (Los Angeles, CA) - manufacturer
of the sole organic coffee/soy blend sold by retailers
nationwide and winner of Gourmet Retailer's "Best
Products of Show" award at the 2004 Fancy
Food Show.
Swiss
Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company (Vancouver,
BC) - North America's leading certified organic
coffee decaffeinator, which decaffeinates coffee
for five other Organic Coffee Collaboration participants,
Café Bom Dia, Elan Organic Coffees, Green
Mountain Coffee Roasters, Jim's Organic Coffee
and Arbuckle Coffee Roasters.
Wild
Oats Markets (Boulder, CO) - the leading
retailer of organic Fair Trade coffee in North
America. The majority of the coffee Wild Oats
sells is organic and Fair Trade CertifiedT, with
a selection of 30 varieties.
For
the holiday recipes as well as more information
on the Organic Coffee Collaboration, please see:
http://www.ota.com/organic_and_you/coffee_collaboration.html.
Company:
Organic Trade Association
Press Contact: Sandra Marquardt
Phone: 301 592-0077
Website: http://www.ota.com/organic_and_you/coffee_collaboration.html