What is 4C Common Code Coffee Certification?

The 4C Common Code’s mission is to achieve global leadership by emphasizing the economic, social and environmental factors in coffee growing. This emphasis leads to enhanced production, processing and trading conditions for coffee sector members.

4C Common Code was started in 2003. This certification has representation from countries such as Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Nicaragua, Papua, New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia.

Is 4C a label?

No. 4C is not a label. It is a certification.
Coffee and farms are certified. There are specific checks to verify that the coffee in the pack meets the criteria noted on the label.
The label on the packaged coffee indicates the correctness of a claim such as coffee produced using sustainable standards. The label may read “Organic Coffee,” for example, and additional wording may state that the coffee is 4C certified.

Continue reading “What is 4C Common Code Coffee Certification?”

Coffee and Tea Are Good for Us? Yes! (First in a Series)

You’ll be pleased to learn that many of the foods and drinks you love are not just “okay” as an occasional indulgence–they’re good for you! Let’s begin with coffee and tea…and I invite you to read my related articles on wine and beer, and on chocolate.

Coffee is made from the roasted and ground seeds of several tropical trees or shrubs of the genus Coffea.

An Arabian legend tells of a goatherd who made a beverage from berries growing on strange shrubs, and after drinking it experienced extraordinary lucidity and wakefulness. The shrubs were said to have been planted by the descendants of the Queen of Sheba, who came from Ethiopia, where Coffea arabica originates.

Nearly 20,000 scientific studies to date have been conducted on coffee or caffeine. Here, in a nutshell, are the results: not only is drinking coffee in moderation no threat to health, it actually can be a boon. It is harmless even during pregnancy, and children are no more sensitive to caffeine than adults. Continue reading “Coffee and Tea Are Good for Us? Yes! (First in a Series)”

Cameroon Boyo Coffee – The Taste of West Africa

The Republic of Cameroon is an African nation well known for both its geographic and ethnic diversity. Lying in the Northwest province of Cameroon, there is a mountainous region known as Boyo that is seeking to improve the standard of living for its many farmers. In the late 1990’s a farmers’ cooperative initiative was started with the goal of delivering back to the farmers a fair price for their coffee. The means to do so has been through the standardization of the cultivation and processing steps to produce a consistently high quality Arabica coffee. They market their coffee under the name – Boyo – of their region.

The farmers appear to be on the right track, producing a high quality, robust coffee. The flavorful characteristics of Boyo coffee are purported to result from the nutrient rich, dark volcanic soil in climatic conditions ideal for coffee growing. The onset of the first rains coincides with the blossoming of the coffee plants. And then just as the coffee berries begin to ripen, the dry season begins. The abundant sunshine stimulates the coffee berries to quickly attain their optimal sugar content. That is the secret to Boyo’s distinctive flavor. Continue reading “Cameroon Boyo Coffee – The Taste of West Africa”

Unusual Facts About Coffee

There are many unusual facts about coffee and some are very surprising. Everyone probably knows by now that coffee beans were discovered in Ethiopia by a goatherd around 800 AD. He noticed that his goats became more frisky, after eating the ‘berries’ on a particular bush. He investigated and discovered coffee beans. How he managed to brew his first coffee after that is a matter of speculation.

You know perhaps that antioxidants are very beneficial to us. They can halt the aging process and combat those free radicals that can cause cancer. Red wine, grape juice, and green tea are rich in antioxidants, but a mug of coffee has more antioxidants in it than a mug of grape juice. Who would have thought it?

Apart from oil, coffee is the most traded commodity in the world. Americans usually start their day with a coffee and actually consume around 400 million cups of it per day. It was first taken to New York, then called New Amsterdam, in the mid 17th century. It was not hugely popular until after 1773 and the Boston Tea Party when the colonists threw chests of tea into the sea at Boston harbour. Before this, tea was as popular in America as it was in Britain. Increases in taxes saw its popularity decline. Continue reading “Unusual Facts About Coffee”

Essential Fishing Secrets For the Mighty Zambezi River

Fishing on the Zambezi River for the novice or experienced angler is possibly as close as one can get to absolute perfection. But what can one expect to catch and how? What are the best times of year and what are the potential dangers if any?

As all fishermen know it is not only about the catch but it’s about being at one with nature and your surroundings. Well what better place can you do this than on the Mighty Zambezi River?

It is ever changing through the seasons so one visit is never the same as the next keeping you spell bound every time. Wildlife and birds are in abundance and for me nothing much can be finer than a days fishing on the Zambezi River.

What you can catch Continue reading “Essential Fishing Secrets For the Mighty Zambezi River”

Jack Daniels Drunken Chicken

I don’t know about you but I can name the place and time when I had my first taste of Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce. I was at the levee, on the bank the Mississippi, at a New Years Eve bonfire. An old man with shrimp boots and suspenders was turning chicken on the grill. When I walked up with my plate He grumbled “JD or regular?” Not knowing what “JD” meant at the time I of course answered with “JD Please” I don’t know…it sounded better than regular. I remember tasting that chicken and thinking that was the best chicken I have ever tasted. It took me a few years for me to put two and two together and realize that what the old man sauced his chicken with was Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce. Now I don’t know if it was store bought or what. Judging by the looks of him it was probably homemade. Times have changed and Jack Daniels has successfully infiltrated the barbecue world as to where you don’t even think twice about slathering some of this delicious sauce on your meat. In the following article we are going to show you how to make the perfect “JD Drunken Chicken” If you are skeptical all I have to say is your really missing out. This is delicious! Continue reading “Jack Daniels Drunken Chicken”

An Early History of Coffee – From Ethiopia to the Middle East

Ethiopia, considered by many archeologists to be the birthplace of the first Homo sapiens some 400,000 years ago, is also believed to have given his descendants a very popular, energizing, and stimulating drink -coffee.

The first coffee plants are said to have come from a region called Kaffa in southwestern Ethiopia. Some lexicographers actually consider “Kaffa” to be origin of the English “coffee”, although others do not agree. This is because the plant, including its fruit, is called bunn or bunna* in the Kaffa area. As an alternative to “Kaffa”, the Turkish word “kahve” is often presented as the root of “coffee”, passing though the Italian language as “caffe” before in became “coffee” in English. Rooted, in turn, in the Arabic word “qaha”, “kahve” refers to a drink that curbs the appetite, something that coffee is believed to do.

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Clay Pot Cooking Around The World

Although clay cookware has only just started to spread its wings in North America and especially the US, becoming more and more popular with every passing day, pure clay pots have been used in other cultures for centuries. What’s even more interesting is that in every cuisine around the world, the same, very basic, clay pot cooking is done so differently.

Clay Cookware In Asian Cuisine

It’s no surprise that China is one of the countries to have used pure clay pots for hundreds of years. It’s used mainly for chicken dishes that are labelled as “hotpot”, which are different from “hot pot” dishes that you see on the menus, the latter being cooked at the table and served in metal bowls. The people of Sri Lanka also make great use of the clay pot, which is locally called pahi, and they use it predominantly for rice and fish curry. In Vietnam, the pots have different names depending on size and most often they’re used for stews.

Clay Cookware In African Cuisine Continue reading “Clay Pot Cooking Around The World”

Number One Health And Longevity Secret – Key To Good Nutrition And A Tip To Eating Healthy

“A drunkard may reach old age; a glutton, never.” – Sylvester Graham

I’d like to share with you the number one health and longevity secret. Would you like to know how to live longer and healthier? Would you like to live in optimum health and live to a ripe old age before you die? Would you like to enjoy your health and actually die healthy? If so, then I’ve got some good news for you.

Now, before I share it with you, I’d like to make you a deal. I will share this secret with you, IF you will promise to try it for at least 3 weeks. Fair enough?

Why 3 weeks? I personally believe that it takes about 3 weeks to create a new habit, whether good or bad. In this case, you’re going to be doing both. You are going to be creating for yourself a new lifestyle changing habit, while at the same time you’re breaking an old unhealthy habit. If you can apply this secret to your life for three weeks, consistently, then you’ll have the best chance of it becoming a new healthy lifestyle habit. Once it becomes a habit, it will be far easier to do on a consistent basis. As a new habit, it will benefit your health in numerous ways and contribute to your longevity. Continue reading “Number One Health And Longevity Secret – Key To Good Nutrition And A Tip To Eating Healthy”

Fruit – Natures Great Cleanser and One of the Keys to Weight Loss

We all know fruit is good for us but do we understand why and just HOW good for us? Fruit is nature’s cleanser for the body, there are so many ‘detox’ diets and plans out there that claim all sorts from weight loss to more energy to generally making you feel better and yet the truth is that fruit can do all of that and tastes great at the same time.

Because of the high water content, nature sugars and various antioxidants contained with fruit it helps the body’s natural waste process by flushing unwanted material from our systems. The Lymph system is often referred to as the body’s waste disposal unit – there is about 40 times the amount of Lymph in your system as there are red blood cells!

This Lymph collects up waste and aims to get rid of it from the body, the problem being is that if your body isn’t helping things along the Lymph just has to ‘wrap up’ the waste and store it – this becomes excess weight! So we need to help our system out by eating foods that aid the Lymph system to do its job effectively – and here’s how! Continue reading “Fruit – Natures Great Cleanser and One of the Keys to Weight Loss”