Introducing 1-GO

INTRODUCING 1-GO

As previously informed in our newsletter, we have now moved to our new production facility and have started running our “1-GO” cinnamon project. Since your business is important, we wanted to show how our “1-GO” will positively affect the cinnamon you are currently buying from us. We have enclosed a sample of the DRAG60 that you normally buy from us, along with another sample of our “1-GO” DRAG60*. The big change in our “1-GO” is a cleaner, faster grind with less re-grind, which in turn can affect the taste and VO levels.

“1-GO” impacts the appearance of our product in two ways…
#1 The Color: As you can see, in our “1-GO” sample DRAG60* we have managed to maintain the original light brown color characteristic of the bark.
#2 The mesh size: The product is only ground once, and is a bit coarser than the original DRAG60; many customers were complaining that our product was too fine, creating unwanted dust during the pouring process. This issue has now been solved.

Finally, this “1-GO” process allows the Cinnamon to keep its fresh sweet spicy features, and we believe your customers will feel the same about the amazing taste of our DRAGON Cinnamon. - Olivier Bernard

NUTMEG REPORT

A few months ago, a farmer stepped into our Bali offices with a sample of nutmeg, claiming it's origin was coming from our island. We have never heard about any nutmeg trees growing in Bali, ever. Bali is well known to have the best clove plantations, and we are also blessed with a very good quality vanilla, but Nutmeg is a first. We just finished surveying that plantation, located on the west side of Bali, the area is around 50ha and owned by 30 farmers.
This is very big news for us because not only is it a good local source of nutmeg, but we will be able to start a project that has been close to our heart for a long time... produce Aflatoxin free nutmeg. We strongly believe that aflatoxin in nutmeg occurs because of poor handling during the supply chain, and with a source so close to us it is a great opportunity to tackle this problem.
Our first action was to design and supply a few farmers with special nets that are placed under the trees, which prevents the nutmeg from ever touching the ground when they fall. We then bring the nutmeg directly to our facility once a week and quickly dry them. The first two batches were free of Aflatoxin, but it’s a little too early to celebrate.
Our area can produce around 4,000Lbs per month, it will be a good benchmark for us to start applying all our techniques. We have also assigned a European University intern in Chemical Engineering to back us up on the technical side, he’ll be starting at the end of March. If we are successful, phase two will apply those techniques on our organic plantation on the island of Siaw. I’ll keep you posted, fingers crossed. - Francois Bernard

TRIPPER NEWSLETTER/ISSUE 10/MARCH2012/PG.1-2

NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH

SPICE REPORT

-CLOVES | As mentioned in our last newsletter, clove prices were soaring each week to unseen levels. Against all odds the trend began to reverse by early December, and prices dropped from $ 27/Kg down to $ 13/Kg. A combination of three key factors can justify this sharp and sudden decline:
•First, demand from large Tobacco companies (namely Gudang Garam) abruptly stopped, therefore leaving smaller players able to buy marginal amounts.
•Second, the December crop which occurred on Sulawesi island was better than expected, hinting at a potentially very large crop in 2012.
•Third, many traders/speculators that were hoping to ride the wave, were highly leveraged and began to worry when prices started moving downwards, and a panic selling followed. Prices for the new crop are now stable at $ 13-14/Kg and the old crop (more than 1 year old) is at $ 16/Kg. The next crop will be crucial and is scheduled for May. Motivated by the high prices, farmers have taken real good care of their trees in the last year and one can expect a very solid 2012 crop, which could reach 80 to 100,000 MT. But that is if the rainy season does not extend beyond April … We will keep you posted during the next Newsletter.

-OTHER SWEET SPICES | Cinnamon prices have seen a slight 2 % drop since Q4 2011 on the back of sluggish demand. We expect prices to remain relatively stable until the second half of the year, provided that the Rupiah does not appreciate.
After two years of continuous increase prices of nutmeg and mace have dropped a little, likely due to a drop in demand, but possibly linked to quality issues (higher than expected aflatoxin levels).
Indonesian vanilla prices are rising due to successive years of bad crop. The carryover stocks are now coming to an end and in a country that produced up to 800 MT in 1988, it is likely that the 2012 crop will not exceed 100 MT.
Ginger prices have dropped since Q4 2012, but still showing a significant premium over other origins such as China, India and Nigeria. As a result, Indonesian ginger is exclusively sold on the domestic market. -Olivier Bernard

RECIPE

Cinnamon Pancakes

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground DRAGON Cinnamon
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp butter, melted

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Beat until smooth.
2. Heat a frying pan or skillet on the stovetop.
3. Spray with cooking spray or grease with a little extra butter.
4. Ladle out 1/4 cup of pancake batter at a time, and cook about 1 min on each side, flipping each pancake midway through… Repeat about eight times, until batter is gone.
5. Serve with maple syrup or honey and sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Enjoy!
Makes about 6 large pancakes.

TRIPPER NEWSLETTER/ISSUE 10/MARCH2012/PG.2-2

in Newsletter

"Fair For Life" Certification