"With the opening of this cutting-edge grading facility, NYBOT can finally say that we've put the destruction of the 9/11 terrorist attacks behind us, and have renewed our commitment to the coffee and cocoa industries by providing the best grading facilities available today," said Fred Schoenhut, NYBOT Chairman. "NYBOT is now looking to the future by offering our eCOPS system to the coffee and cocoa industries, further enhancing the way commodities are warehoused, traded and delivered worldwide, and providing unparalleled and staggering efficiencies in the process."
NYBOT acknowledged during the ceremony today two of its most senior coffee and cocoa graders: Mr. Justin Colten, who has been a NYBOT coffee grader for 43 years, was awarded a gift from Mr. Hank Dunlop of Atlantic Coffee Roasters; and Mr. George Lorenze, a NYBOT cocoa grader for 48 years, was awarded a gift from Mr. Kip Walk of Blommer Chocolate Company.
NYBOT currently grades approximately 11,000 lots of coffee per year or 412,500,000 pounds (37,500 pounds per contract), which represents an estimated 55% of total U.S. certified coffee stocks. For cocoa, NYBOT currently grades an average 7,000 lots of cocoa per year, equal to approximately 154,322,000 pounds (22,046 pounds per contract).
In addition to grading, NYBOT-licensed warehouses store the majority of U.S. physical coffee and cocoa. As of October 24, 2003, NYBOT's certificated U.S. coffee warehouse stocks were 3,199,218 bags, and reported U.S. cocoa trade warehouse stocks as of October 27, 2003, were 1,210,618 bags.
The new grading room has an open floor design with abundant natural light, which are ideal conditions for the grading process. There are four customized cupping tables, designed by CoffeeTec of Redwood City, CA and built by Geiger Manufacturing in Stockton, CA. The tables accommodate three graders and one preparer, have a 54-inch, granite-resin, rotating top, are plumbed with hot and cold water and house three basins (no spittoons). In addition, there are eight roasting machines built by Jabez Burns and Sons of New York, six of which are new, computerized roasters with automated timers and roasting control; two are antique roasters built in 1909 and donated by the Sara Lee Corporation.
NYBOT currently has 22 cocoa graders, 20 of which are active, and 39 coffee graders, 25 being active. The exchange's coffee and cocoa graders are world-renowned for their expertise in determining the quality of coffee and cocoa through a variety of sensory methods. Cupping is the art of tasting the liquid form of coffee and making a determination about its quality from the taste. Cocoa is graded by observing the beans and any deficiencies or strengths it possesses. The exchange also employs two professionals who manage the NYBOT grading room.
NYBOT plans to expand use of the grading facility to the cash marketplace and source countries, thereby enhancing its services to the industry and providing additional revenue for the exchange.
The NYBOT also serves the coffee and cocoa industries through eCOPS, a new electronic web-based platform for coffee and cocoa deliveries. The eCOPS system, due First Quarter 2004, represents an evolution of NYBOT's Commodity Operations Processing System (COPS), built originally to handle deliveries for NYBOT's coffee and cocoa futures markets. The new system will automate the manually intensive and costly back office activities currently associated with coffee and cocoa deliveries.
Each year, NYBOT donates approximately 14,000 pounds of surplus, roasted coffee to City Harvest, a New York City nonprofit organization that rescues unused food and gives it to the homeless.
The New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) is the parent company of the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange, Inc. (CSCE) and the New York Cotton Exchange (NYCE). Through its two exchanges, NYBOT offers an expanding range of agricultural and financial products. Information about the New York Board of Trade can be found at www.nybot.com and www.nybotlive.com.
