All Before Coffee

Not just coffee

Archive for September, 2010

A Day to Celebrate

Sep 29

Posted by admin in lifestyle, news | No Comments

Yes, the rumors are true: Today is National Coffee Day. I apologize for not giving you a foamy heads up, but since I celebrate everyday with multiple cups, acknowledging a single day somehow seemed silly. Anyway a number of major chains have turned their back on the event and view it as an excuse for some to get a free cup.

Customer loyalty is what it’s all about. Loyalty cards at coffee shops are nothing new but just sliding in for a single cup once a year does not breed loyalty. Look at the numbers. They tell the tale of customer appreciation. A single day may not hold a sway. The real coffee news cries no joy in Mudville as the price of beans has driven most coffee shops to raise, not lower, prices.

Those looking for good news who also happen to be Dunkin’ Donut drinkers, may be the happiest drinkers out there. You have a month to convince the company that you are their biggest fan. All the contest details are on their Facebook page. dunkin20091216234004ENPRN071727-PRN-DUNKIN-DONUTS-COLD-LOGO-n`071-1261006804MR

One free day may not offset the surprise that awaits all of us over the next few weeks as coffee prices will continue to heat up.

Tags: , , ,

Truthiness

Sep 28

Posted by admin in beverages, FDA, food universe, healthy eating | No Comments

No, I am not supporting an upcoming rally–that’s way too far in the future! Rather, my use of truthiness focuses on advertising claims and the right to package correct information rather than somewhat misleading “facts” which help sell a product. Hardly a week passes without some sort of near-riot of misleading information. Earlier this summer there was the olive oil debacle where we learned that not all proved as it seemed. Canola? That’s a big price to pay for a non extra-virgin olive!olivesplash

This week new questions about other products. First, the POM Wonderful controversy. This is a topic I have covered in the past, but now regulators have stepped in and decided there is more to this story than just a claim. The Federal Trade Commission responded to the claims about heart, prostate, and erectile dysfunction with a lawsuit that demands greater substantiation. Let me guess this action will not disappear quickly nor hide under the radar as the product holds a prominent position among beverage sales.

In another matter, that started several weeks ago, the flavor kings of ice cream decided to halt some of their claims. The Ben and Jerry ice cream folks have changed their labels and removed “All Natural” in products that have ingredients that stretch that definition. If you have processed or artificial ingredients, then “natural” takes on a different meaning. No longer will their labels tout their natural ingredients when those ingredients include sweetener derivatives or other processed foods. Natural is natural.

The less we say; the less the label brags, the better the likelihood that the product fulfills its promise. The FDA has numerous issues on its plate including efforts for proper labeling. Regardless of which Federal agency decides to bring forth a discussion about label claims, the consumer deserves the honest approach.

Sometimes, less is more. Give us the straight shot.

Tags: ,

Refrigerator Blues

Sep 26

Posted by admin in food universe, life | 4 Comments

There are just a few appliances we completely depend on in the kitchen. The basics such as a stove, a refrigerator, and a dishwasher. OK, we could  be spartan or live in New York City and not have a dishwasher, but if you can have one, it is a wonderful pair of hands! To lose either a stove or a refrigerator changes the whole kitchen landscape or in its simplest terms, redefines a kitchen.

Welcome to the world of a dead compressor. The refrigerator quit; the compressor was the cause, and the option of a fix or replacement was not in the cards. Did I mention that the whole event took place at 7 P on a Friday nite! You know the likelihood of finding a repair person over the weekend? OK, one who doesn’t charge double for the effort of arriving at less than an optimal time! How about throwing the age of the appliance, (8 years) into the equation and multiplying that by the cost of a service call plus the compressor and the possibility that the exact replacement part is on backorder! You are approaching a negative number. Repair never entered our conversation. We were fixed on getting a new piece of equipment, one that would conserve energy and have a more efficient space configuration.

Once long ago we fell in love with the beauty of a side-by-side. Those days are so far behind us as the actual space in a side-by-side approaches the phrase, “minimally efficient.” One significant grocery visit, and you have buried the products somewhere inside the unit. Not impressive. We knew our focus on fresh and local meant we needed limited freezer space, just enough to hold the ice cream, and preferred visible space for our refrigerator items. A French door, a three-door unit, would be ideal, but there was one major stumbling block. We needed to find the appliance that could be delivered sooner rather than later and fit in the designated height consideration.

Welcome to the sign that won me over: Next Day Delivery, 7 days a week! Sure, I thought to myself, there must be some caveat such as no delivery the first week of Fall or the last Saturday of the month, or…NO, none of that. Lowe’s meant what they said. Our 8 P debacle turned into a sparkling delivery by 11 A the next morning, a Saturday! Not only did we have a replacement refrigerator within hours, but we were able to purchase something we wanted. There were plenty of 3-doors in stock so we turned to our trusty friends at Consumer Reports and verified our price-need coefficient. whirlpoolrefrig

Yes, today I could be doing commercials for Lowe’s as they delivered their promise, and we have a sparkling appliance happily solving our needs. Did I mention they carted the smelly unit away and did not charge for delivery! One last comment on this potentially otherwise devastating experience, we initiated the conversation about an extended warranty, and we chose the multi-year one that covered food spoilage. After all, we threw out more food than the whole extended parts and labor policy cost. Yes, I know we may never need to use it, and I hope we don’t, but throwing out a lot of food does not agree with me.

So now we’re singing a different song.

Tags: , ,

Raise the Prices

Sep 23

Posted by admin in beverages, news | No Comments

As often as I’ve sought out the deals, the coupons, and the specials, reality needs to play a role. The ridiculous headline that the recession is over demonstrated little understanding of the real world but more a response to numbers. In the real world, the after-effects of several years of economic blues are still very much alive. Restaurants that wanted a loyal customer base have shown a variety of life-saving strategies. Those that snubbed their noses at dining or beverage specials are more likely puzzled by their static growth, or lack of table-filling patrons.

In the coffee universe, prices have stayed relatively even, but that is about to change. Starbucks just announced that it can no longer sustain its price structure and needs to raise certain prices as the price of coffee beans has increased significantly. You know the annoying people who want multi-levels of specialized coffee making, the ones who complicate the ordering process and wonder why their drink may take a little longer, well, they are about to absorb the cost of specialization. caffevanilla

Starbucks plans to maintain the current pricing on the basic beverages even though the add-ons such as dairy, sugar, and cocoa have also increased significantly. The green arabica prices which are almost at a 13-year high are the impetus for the revised pricing structure as the company believes it can no longer absorb the increases. This works well for me: Remember I’m the espresso, OK, make that the double espresso, patron. Prices may actually decrease for my category!

It’ll be interesting to watch how the complicated drink buyers respond. Will they settle for an Americano and add lots of milk or will the half-caf, skinny, extra foam Caramel Macchiato folks just go for the daily drip? Time will tell.

Starbucks has literally been built around specialization, instead of the Belushi Pepsi-Pepsi SNL routine, and has prided itself on making it “your way,” but now it will come with a side of additional coins.

Tags: , ,

Junk Food Gets Slammed

Sep 22

Posted by admin in Advertisers, food universe, news | No Comments

Nothing surprising about all-out attacks on junk food, but sometimes the source may give you pause. How about the carrot people. Yes, “a bunch of carrot farmers” launched an advertising and marketing campaign to pull up their product and elevate it to higher ground. Sorry.

The carrot growers banded together and decided that the snack food people are the enemy, and that carrots need more attention. They stress that carrots may be the saving grace for everyone’s diet! You’ve maybe even seen one of the many ads to hit the airwaves as they decry the other snacks and emphasize a healthy lifestyle. In a humorous vein, they poke fun at the other choices as they want carrots to get the recognition usually reserved for the snack aisle!

The Baby Carrot campaign which has been spearheaded by Bakersfield, CA’s Bolthouse Farms started out in just a few markets with the intention of a national emphasis sometime later this year. In the meantime, enjoy a carrot snack, but remember that little people need to have their carrots sliced lengthwise to avoid a choking hazard.carrots

No matter how you pack ‘em, carrots want to be part of the buy; they want loyalty and recognition!

Tags: ,

Going Mainstream: Gluten-Free

Sep 21

Posted by admin in food universe, gluten-free | No Comments

So much has been written and talked about recently how the G-F lifestyle is the new approach to eating or dieting. The dieting claim was quickly dismissed, but there are still those talking about the energy boost from eliminating gluten from one’s diet. Of course, there are those who need to eliminate gluten, those with Celiac Disease and some with other auto-immune issues. Their needs are not trendy nor lifestyle driven, but medically sound responses to health issues.

G-F as a mainstream discussion! Whew, who woulda figured that! For some, substituting G-F bread/starch products does the trick, and the new energy high and stomach relief are accurate signals that a simple food-driven switch proves valuable. If you study the grocery aisles, you’ll quickly realize that markets, even small ones, have figured out they need to stock at least some of the newly-found bounty of product choices. Product growth has clearly been documented, and seems to be prevalent throughout the shopping experience and no longer limited to a small section of an aisle. Some stores make it easy either by tag identification (Whole Foods) or by providing a master list (Trader Joe’s) of these products. Just wait as the product numbers continue to grow and more people find relief from G-F foods.

Every once in a while a book finds its way to my desk and is so chock full of information that it needs a major mention. From the author of the 1,000 Gluten-Free Recipes comes a more manageable tome entitled 100 Best Gluten-Free Recipes. Carol Fenster’s latest book makes the switch over to G-F an easy, understandable transition. For those already following this approach, the recipes and alternate suggestions make cooking fun again. No longer does an adherent have to skip pies, cakes, or pizza. All the details are well-written and easy-to-follow. For those new to a gluten-free existence or those looking to substitute parts of their meals, they have an almost immediate understanding of how to make changes. Challenges can quickly be eliminated and become solutions.9780470475836.pdf

BTW, have you noticed the increase in restaurants serving G-F dishes? How about the pizza parlor getting in on the bandwagon! That makes dining out an ever more approachable existence.

For those who have struggled with recipes or finding the right foods, so much has changed. The growth in the industry has proven itself a mainstream contender.

Tags: ,

Back on the Beat

Sep 20

Posted by admin in FDA, First Lady Michelle Obama | 1 Comment

I’ve been off key and away for a few weeks as I lost my staunchest advocate, my bright light, and overall, my all-out supporter. Now, it’s time to come out from under my shell and fulfill the promise he so desperately wanted me to achieve: To stay on top of the story and tell it like it is. So here we go.

A lot has happened in the food world, or nothing has happened, depending on your outlook.  Little changes prove noticeable as in the more things change, the more they stay the same. So sameness envelops what’s happening, or not, when we speak of food safety and when the phrase, the FDA gets mentioned.

Yes, folks, it’s an election year and that means paper gets shuffled, but in the fall weeks preceding a November election, time stands still. Any hope of seeing the FDA assume the leadership mantel that was so eloquently promised—review blog entries on FDA and food safety and food recalls--and you’ll notice little change. Sorry, truth is truth. Peanut butter, lettuce, burgers, and eggs are still topics of grave concern and continued surveillance. Without some degree of enforcement, E.coli and Salmonella will continue to be words echoed repeatedly and plague our decision-making.

We have talked frequently about the importance of organics and how some products should only be organic purchases. It seems that the popularity of going organic continues to increase and there are some early indications that the price of organic produce seems to be less out of touch than in earlier years. Irony aside but many stores that have large organic departments also manage to deliver better prices on the organic line-up than their larger chain competitors. Whole Foods continues to accomplish this price-value coefficient. If you need first-hand proof, go to the dairy aisle and check-out organic milk. You’ll be a believer.lunch208345913

Not that there have been miraculous overall changes to the school lunch program, but concern is widespread. Many well-known chefs joined with their nearby school systems and volunteered their time and talent to help implement change. What Jamie Oliver accomplished with his well-publicized Revolution earned him numerous accolades and got couch potatoes to be thinking about more than starches. Then, of course, First Lady Michelle Obama found a judicious cause and continues to champion its direction. Harder to go higher up the ladder than 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!

Always end with good news, at least that’s what I was taught.

The week has begun. So much to report.

Tags: , ,