• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Friday, November 3, 2006 11:49 AM

Coke and Nestlé are revising a joint venture agreement to allow each to take back control of their respective brands that don't contain black tea, the companies said in a statement yesterday. But the move will have no effect on Enviga, the sparkling green-tea-based drink touted as a "calorie burner" that's being introduced by the partnership in parts of the Northeast this month.

While Nestlé commands a strong presence in the ready-to-drink coffee market with its Nescafé brand, the partnership has hampered tea drinks of its own, says Bill Pecoriello, a Morgan Stanley analyst.

The rejiggered partnership could allow Coke to expand its Georgia coffee brand, which is hugely popular in Japan, to new markets. Coke also could develop ready-to-drink versions of recently introduced fresh-brewed coffee brands such as Far Coast and Chaqwa.

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