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I've been signed as the Web site's National Drinks Columnist, and I'm inviting you to join me here as well as on this site, for all the latest in beverage news and views -- spirits, wine, brews, non-alcoholic drinks.

(Bonus for those of you interested in the Upstate New York restaurant scene: I'm also Examiner.com's columnist for that topic. You can find it here.

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Starbucks in Africa for Fair Trade talks

Howard Schultz (in short sleeves), head of Starbucks, and Darcy Willson-Rymer (in white shirt), managing director, Starbucks UK & Ireland, speak with local coffee farmers about producing coffee in Rwanda.
The Starbucks Coffee Co., the Fair Trade Foundation and Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) today met with farmers at Dukunde Kawa, a cooperative that cultivates high-quality coffee in central Rwanda.

The purpose of the African meeting was twofold: (1.) For Starbucks and Fairtrade to listen and learn from farmers' experiences, and (2.) to share details around the new Small Farmer Support Initiative (SFSI) which was jointly introduced in April.

The nine-year-old Dukunde Kawa Cooperative has approximately 4,000 members organized into in three groups around three coffee-washing stations which the cooperative operates. The cooperative became Fairtrade Certified in 2004.

The farmers grow a bourbon varietal coffee. The SFSI is a three-year pilot program intended to leverage the expertise and resources that Starbucks and Fairtrade have in coffee-growing regions.

Farmers will have access to the $12.5 million Starbucks has invested in farmer loan programs. Starbucks has an additional goal of incvreasing access to funding for farmer loans to those related organizations to $20 million by 2015 as part of the Starbucks Shared Planet commitment to ethical sourcing.

The FAIRTRADE Mark is a certification mark and a registered trademark of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) of which the Fairtrade Foundation is the UK member. This independent consumer label appears on 4,500 retail and catering products in the UK. Today, more than 7 million people - farmers, workers and their families - across 59 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.

Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) is a non-profit, multi-stakeholder association that encompasses a global network of Fairtrade organizations that are actively involved in supporting and empowering producers, raising consumer awareness and campaigning for changes in the rules of conventional trade.

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Coffee Institute guru top latte artist

LAS VEGAS -- Chris Deferio, director of The Coffee Institute in Muncie, IN, topped the field of latte artists in the recent Millrock Latte Art Competition.

It was the major event of "Coffee Fest," the premier North American coffee and tea tradeshow. Spectators watched latte specialists pour intricate designs of steamed milk into dark espresso to produce a visually pleasing beverage.

The Coffee Institute is a barista and coffee business training school. Prior to taking that position a year ago, Deferio was the coffee bar manager at the historic Carriage House, located near Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.

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Mmmm, birch sap vodka, wine and water

• From Farm Focus of Atlantic Canada

As the cork is removed, hints of fruit are released, and once it's poured into a wine glass and lifted to one's lips, a semi-sweet taste with apple hints are followed.

That's according to the description for Lady of the Woods, a birch sap wine.

Craig Lewis, the brainchild behind the idea and the company Sap World, said he came up with the concept after reading an article about birch sap and its markets.

"When I read that article, something clicked," he said. "I did a bunch of research, invested $10,000, and on Baie Verte highway (Newfoundland) we ended up tapping 191 trees.

"(We) collected 500 gallons, took that to Rodrigues Winery and they produced 172 cases. We had that on the market and we sold that in three months."

[Go here for the full story.]

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Stirrings in the pre-made cocktail mix world

Last September I wrote a piece on pre-made cocktails, called "Not all drink mixes are created equal."

In particular, I zeroed in on a line of such mixes bearing the brand name Stirrings. As I noted at the time, "I do agree that many of the pre-made drink mixes are loaded with ingredients one neither wants nor may even understand, but as in all things culinary there are exceptions. One such, in my view, is the line of Stirrings drink mixes. I actually like them. A lot.

" ... I've tried the Fall River, MA, company's margarita, mojito, peach bellini and apple martini mixes. Excellent, all, with none of that 'What's in this?' wrinkly-nosed result. Not yet tried: blood orange martini, bloody Mary, chocolate peppermintini, cosmopolitan, lemon drop, lemonade, pear martini, pomegranate martini, spiced apple and wild blueberry martini. Some of the latter I'd never try, simply because such concoctions do not appeal to me no matter whether they're made from a mix or made using ingredients just shipped from farm or factory. I refer specifically to the likes of a chocolate peppermintini and a wild blueberry martini. Blecch."

I bring this up now because the company founded in 1997 by Bill Creelmann and Gil MacLean also attracted the eyes of drinks giant Diageo, which bought a 20% stake in the company. It now has completed the takeover, gathering up the last 80%.

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Root Beer, the All-American classic

• From GoSanAngelo.com

The stuff has a nice flavor and was the favorite drink of Calamity Jane in a 1963 Broadway musical. In more than one two-reel oater, or Western movie of the 1940s, it was the favorite drink of the clean-cut handsome cowboy hero who refused whiskey or beer in the saloon. The bad guys called the hero a sissy because he ordered “sarsaparilla,” but they soon learned he was tougher than a horseshoe nail.

I like sarsaparilla, so I guess I would not have fit well amongst the frontier folks and the gunslingers. In today’s society, we call the once-popular drink by another name — “root beer.”

The reason is simple. The primary uses of sarsaparilla is in the flavoring of various beverages such as root beer. It also is used as a folk medicine, supposedly as a “blood purifier,” and as a general pep agent used in tonics to invigorate and cleanse the body.

[Go here for the full story.]

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