Royal.Coffee.News

Colombian:
11857 Palestina…Excellent caramel flavor, lively bright acidity. Classic Huila coffee at its best.
12081&2 Las Mujeres de Guayata…Full smooth rich body, lower acidity. 100% typica. A totally different flavor profile from the more acidic Southern Colombian types.

Refer to our December newsletter:
PLAN COLOMBIA----PHASE TWO---Las Mujeres de Guayata.
The Association of Women coffee growers of Guayata.

Thanks to the specialty coffee sector, more and more great coffees are being culled from the huge homogenized pile. We have found some real gems this year, including the coffee from Las Mujeres de Guayata. It is a rarity in Colombia: 100% typica. It has a unique flavor; soft, rich and balanced. As good as it is, when you get to know more about the people behind the scenes, the coffee just gets better.
I haven’t been to Guayata yet, (want to go?) I only think I know how hard it is to earn a living growing coffee there. The average coffee farm in Guayata is tiny, about 1.5 hectares and only yields 8-10 bags of coffee per season. For many families, even this miniscule income does not make its way back to the household.
Hardly any discussion of Colombia takes place without mention of how wonderful a country it could be it were not for political violence, at times horrific, and of course the drug cartels. As gateway-to-the-Amazon, Guayata has had more than its share of related problems.

In 1998, in the face of all this, thirty women coffee farmers got together to form their Association. With very little to work with, these women still believed they could take charge and improve conditions for themselves and their families. Optimistic confidence is infectious, and it is a big part of what pulls Royal towards this coffee. We hope that those of you who try the Guayata coffee will contact Las Mujeres and let them know something about who you are and how you like their coffee. Feedback is greatly appreciated by producers. Who knows? Maybe you can also make some new Colombian friends. Where can it go from there? Well, I’m as optimistic as they are, so I see great things happening.


Other highly recommended recent arrivals:

11998 Costa SHB San Bosco
12683 Costa Dota Tarrazu
13357 Red Sea Blend
13307 Guat Huehuetenango SHB
12943 Java Pancoer
12690 Kona Ex-Fancy
12366 Nicaraguan SHG FT Organic Segovia
12243 El Salvador Organic Santa Adelaida
12980 Sumatra Organic Mandheling
11699 Zimbabwe Dandoni Estate AAA+ …most likely our only container of Zimbabwe for the year. Our expectations were surpassed by this excellent coffee from a troubled origin.
13105 Mexican Organic RS Decaf