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Type | Milk beverage |
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Manufacturer | National Foods |
Country of origin | Australia |
Introduced | 1977 |
Colour | Coffee |
Flavour | Coffee |
Variants | Light, Regular and Strong flavours |
Farmers Union Iced Coffee is a flavoured milk drink popular in Australia, primarily the state of South Australia, made by National Foods which is now a division of Japanese brewing company Kirin.
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First launched in 1977 when "Farmers Union" was a co-operative of South Australian dairy farmers, the brand has achieved iconic status in South Australia and is now also available in Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland and The Australian Capital Territory. The drink is made with coffee, glucose, and homogenised reduced fat milk and milk solids. In the past Farmers Union Iced Coffee's labelling also made mention of "iced confection" as an ingredient. The flavour of the product changed considerably when this ingredient was removed. The product is available predominantly in 600 mL and smaller 375 mL cardboard cartons. It is also sold in 1 litre cardboard cartons, 2 and 3 litre plastic bottles and 750 mL plastic bottles.
In 2003, Australians consumed in excess of 22,000,000 litres of Farmers Union Iced coffee, making it Australia's best selling flavoured milk drink/milk shake at that time.[1] The drink's popularity has more recently been reflected by some McDonald's, KFC and Hungry Jack's restaurants selling it as a part of their menus across the country. Farmers Union Iced Coffee outsells Coca-Cola in South Australia,[2] making it the only place in the world where a milk drink outsells a cola product,[citation needed] and one of the few places where Coca-Cola is not the most popular locally consumed bottled beverage, a success shared only by Inca Kola in Peru and Irn-Bru in Scotland.[citation needed]
Farmers Union Iced Coffee in Australia also enjoys a high profile for popular commercials featuring rough male workers acting out ballet with heavy machinery in order to take up their boss on his word that he would provide them with a truck load of Iced Coffee if all his workers took up ballet. The current advertisement features a dramatic voice-over detailing world headlines and issues, but shows relatively low-key average Australian equivalents on screen. These include:
This TV advertisement struck a chord with the relaxed Australian attitude when compared to the glamour of advertisements such as Coca Cola.[citation needed]
On Monday, 23 October 2006, two new flavours of Farmers Union Iced Coffee were released in South Australia. Farmers Union Strong Iced Coffee which features a stronger coffee blend, now also sold in Tasmania, and Farmers Union Light Iced Coffee which has no added sugar (aspartame is substituted for sugar) and a taste similar to the original.
According to the company, both the original variety and the Light flavours contain approximately 18 mg of caffeine per 100 mL, while the Farmers Union Strong Iced Coffee contains 24 mg.
The Light Iced Coffee proved to be rather unpopular, as many consumers didn't like the slightly weaker taste and chose the original alternative. In August 2011[3], the company released a new product Farmers Union Iced Coffee One, claiming that One had "100% taste, 1% fat and no added sugar", and was a completely new formulation.[4] FUIC One was not overly popular at launch, given the reputation of the Light Iced Coffee, leading to a huge promotion in December 2011, where customers who 'liked' the On The Run Facebook page could print a coupon from the internet, and redeem one of 10,000 free Iced Coffee One's from any of their petrol or convenience outlet in South Australia.[5]
Also sold under Farmers Union imprint are the Feel Good range of low-fat/sugar milk drinks, currently including coffee and chocolate flavors.
Richard Marsland - would often comment on Get This about his love for Farmers Union Iced Coffee. It was also once used in a comedy sketch.
Adam Hills - The comedian spoke about his love of Farmers Union Iced Coffee during his live performance 'Inflatable' at Thebarton Theatre. Some young fans during the performance raced to the service station across the road and bought him one. He was delighted and drank the Iced Coffee on stage.
Farmers' Union or Farmers Union may refer to
Farmers Union is a brand name established by the South Australian Farmers' Co-operative Union Ltd (S.A.F.U.), and owned by the Japanese company Kirin now.
At a meeting in Jamestown, South Australia on 28 February 1888, a committee formed to establish a grain "producers' union to combat the effects of depressed agricultural prices and the power of dealers". In October, John Pearce, Thomas Mitchell, Alex McCallum and others floated the "South Australian Farmers' (later Co-operative) Union Ltd" with a paid-up capital of under £300, ninety-four shareholders, John Pearce as managing director, Thomas Mitchell and Alex McCallum directors, and George Lake as secretary.
Pearce was elected chairman, and remained a director until 1902. His eldest son Edward James Pearce later became a director. Mitchell succeeded Pearce as chairman. Lake later became manager, and continued as secretary-manager until 1895.
In 1893 the union declared its first profit.
In 1895 the head office was transferred to Adelaide. A merchandise store was established at Port Adelaide, and business was diversified to include dealing in wheat-sacks, machinery and superphosphate. Mitchell died in 1908 after 20 years of leadership; his son Robert later became a director.
Iced coffee is cold coffee. The iced latte and iced mocha are examples.
There are various brewing methods, with the fundamental division being cold brew – brewing the coffee cold, yielding different flavor, but not requiring cooling – or brewing hot and then cooling, generally by simply pouring over ice or into ice cold milk. In case of hot brewing this can be normally brewed coffee (drip, press pot, etc.), or espresso. In case of hot brewing, sweeteners and flavorings are often mixed into the hot coffee before cooling, due to higher solubility in hot water. Alternatively, syrup (sugar pre-dissolved in water) may be used, particularly gum syrup. Pre-packaged iced coffee is available as a grocery item in several countries. Regardless of brewing method, iced coffee is generally brewed at a higher strength than normal coffee, due to the dilution caused by the ice.
Mazagran, a cold, sweetened coffee beverage that originated in Algeria circa 1840, has been described as "the original iced coffee". It was prepared with coffee syrup and cold water.