Royal.Coffee.News

For the most part, the Central American crop of 2005-2006 is now harvested, and if it has not been shipped, it is resting in pergamino waiting to go. Therefore it is an opportune moment, especially with the current low C market, to look at booking these coffees for the rest of the year. Why? They won’t get better, in our view they won’t get a whole lot cheaper, and later, come October or sooner, they will be gone. So, let us review what Royal is offering starting with Panama and work our way North over the course of the next few weeks.

Panamaria SHB--- I think we have a consensus here in the cupping room that this has been an above average year for these. Sweet, juicy & mildly acidic. A very nice representation of what Boquete coffee should be. 3 lots on the spot, and 3 more afloat.
Here’s a little tip I’d like to relate….ask for ref 11268.

Maunier SHB---Panamaria’s slightly wilder sibling. Generally a little more acidic, but we won’t know for sure ‘til they arrive in mid June. 3 lots available--- Refs 11947, 11948, 11949.

And for value shoppers, we have 2 more containers of BEP (Bouquete Export Premium) ref 13423 & 24, priced about 14 cents less than the above mentioned. And, for a couple cents more, two lots from the Arkapal Estate refs 13530& 13531 which, by the way, is owned by the ex-president of Panama.

Who is Victor Venado? He’s the guy who lives all over the world, seven miles from paved road, who works as a coffee picker, and has a small farm of his own, brings his coffee out on horseback. He’s the guy who usually gets 30 cents a pound for his coffee,--- but this year got the same price as the ex-president of Panama. Victor has worked for Casa Ruiz for many years picking coffee. This year he gave a sample of his coffee to Plinio Ruiz. We tried the coffee and really liked it, and we liked the story even more. So we cornered the market on all 10 bags--- ref 13656. This is very traditional washed coffee, done with very old equipment, but the sample we saw was well prepared and the cup was very good. It is arriving in early June.