Royal.Coffee.News

The Magical Mystery Tour, Spring 2008

2008-05-22T14:17:00.000-07:00

Roll up for the finest specialty coffees in the world…

Panama Micro Lots:
Royal has been in business for 30 years, and we’ve been bringing in coffee from Panama for almost the whole time. While Panama has not, until recently, garnered the notoriety enjoyed by its northern neighbors, the coffee has always been great. In the opinion of many with the experience to judge this sort of thing, this may be the best season yet. In order to celebrate this, we are able to offer a diverse slate of Panamanian coffees, including several exceptional micro-lots, single-estate offerings, and unique honey processed lots, to compliment our usual array of excellent Boquete coffees.

Victor Venado Family: Victor Venado has been a fixture on coffee farms and mills in Boquete and Volcan for many, many years. He and his family are native Baru Indians living in and around the town of Hato Chami who remain committed to growing coffee and using traditional methods. This year, Royal Coffee and Casa Ruiz collaborated to collect from 32 individual owners (all members of Victor’s family) to form this very special lot exhibiting a unique pronounced, acidity.

Panama Horqueta 100% Typica: a cupping table standout, the full Typica flavor profile is on display here. Owned by Mr. Mariano Gonzales for over 60 years, the farm is located at very high elevation (1550+ meters) in the Western Highlands of Boquete. Mr. Gonzales has separated out only the original Typica cherries from newer Caturra plantings in order to deliver us this exceptionally smooth, rich, and balanced cup.

Berlina Estate: we are proud to offer both conventional and Organic certified lots from this world famous Estate that has earned a top-three finish at the last five Paris Food Shows.

La Estancia Buguita Estate: one of the original Boquete fincas, La Estancia Buguita has been restored in recent years to be both a coffee farm and a natural wildlife preserve. The use of eco-friendly manual harvesting and processing makes this farm a beautiful example of how to integrate coffee production and environmental stewardship. Visitors welcome.

Panama Bonella: this special separation from Casa Ruiz has one of the fullest-bodies you will ever taste from Panama. Let the coffee speak for itself.

Lerida Estate: a vintage Boquete finca located near the top of the volcano, Lerida Estate has delivered us two different separations this year. The first is classic Lerida: impeccable preparation, delicious cup. The other is a honey-process exhibiting a wild, fruity cup that makes a great espresso shot.

Kenya Auction Lots:
A whole galaxy of multi-colored screamers and laughers at your fingertips. AA Tassia and PB Ruera are killer, especially if the enamel on your teeth needs changing. For the roaster seeking value: don’t be afraid of the AB’s, they are a little more affordable and can be just as good as the AA’s. Bean size has always been overrated anyway.

Centrals of all Stripes:
Unless you’ve been asleep for the past three months you’ve noticed that Central American coffee is enjoying a renaissance this year. In a season chock full of heavy-hitters, a few lots have managed to stand out anyway.
Costa Selecto Espiritu Santo 15997: classic West-Valley wineyness from Coopro Naranjo.
Guat Palo Alto Azul 16386: crisp green apple acidity, super sweet.
Nic FTO Segovia: Not a ton of this coffee left. Hit it.
Mexico Fino Rojas and Pluma Tres Oros: smooth, rich, dulce de leche. Classic Pluma.

Ethiopia:
Despite a horrendous backlog in Djibouti port (there is an opportunity there for someone), we have been receiving some great deliveries of conventional and (FT)O Ethiopians, both washed and natural.
It is rare to find a coffee as unique as the Misty Valley Organic Natural Yirgacheffe. It came and went in the blink of an eye so for those who got some, enjoy it. For those who did not, don’t despair: dry-processed Yirgies, Sidamos, Djimmahs, and of course the world-renowned Harrar Horse, are all afloat.
For something a little more floral, our new arrivals of Organic Yirgacheffe (17562-63) and Washed FTO Sidamo are beautiful.

Royal Select Decafs:
New Guinea PB RSW (17636): only a small chop of this unique decaf available.
Sumatra RSW (16326-27): as close to the real thing as it gets.
Espresso FTO RSW (17524): our own three bean blend. It makes great drip decaf too.

Coffee Hunting?

2008-05-09T16:19:00.000-07:00

For selection and quality you can’t really top the next two months. Central America, Mexico and African new crop coffees will be here in abundance, offering many excellent choices.

Kenya
The months of May and June are an especially good time to be hunting for Kenya. The incoming flow of really great AA, AB and PB auction lots from the main crop will be picking up over the next few weeks. In addition to what is here in our warehouse, arriving soon will be up to 40 individual auction lots you can try.

Panama
We have received a lot of compliments on the early Boquete Classico deliveries. For the balance of the crop, we will be moving a bit higher up the mountain. We are moving fast to get the balance of our 2008 Panamanian coffee shipped before the rainy season starts.
SHB Panamaria, Maunier, Arkapal, Berlina ( conventional and organic), and one container of Lerida Estate, which by the way, the preshipment sample of this was outstanding.
In addition, Casa Ruiz is sending a few micro lots including coffee from the Victor Venado Family, coffee we always enjoy seeing on our list… more about these in the next blog.

Blog readers guide to the best of the best on the spot:

17404 Ethioppian Organic Natural Yirgacheffe "Misty Valley"

17564 Ethiopian FTO Organic Washed Sidamo
17099 Colombian Guayata Tipica 15 full
15997 Costa Rican SHB Select Esprito Santo
16001 Costa SHB Organic Juan Fonseca
16744 Guatemalan SHB Antigua Santa Barbara
17778 Guatemalan SHB Bourbon Florencia
17627 & 28, 17662 Kenya Ruera PB
17683 Kenya AA Tassia
16805 Nicaragua SHG FTO Segovia
17813 Panama SHB Boquete Classico
15673 Sumatra Mandheling
17047 Sumatra Mandheling Organic
16684 Yemen Sanani Mocca
17163 Yemen Matari Mocca
17092 Colombian Valencia Royal Select Water Decaf
17635 Kenya AA Auction lot Royal Select Water Decaf
16327 Sumatra Royal Select Water Decaf
17036 New Guinea Kimel Estate PB Royal Select Water Decaf
175234 Sumatra Mandheling FTO Royal Select Water Decaf

Can't Miss Coffees

2008-04-18T15:10:00.000-07:00

While in Minneapolis for the SCAA May 2-5th,

please come visit Royal Coffee in booth# 1546

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Central America & Mexico
As we get further into the main harvest from Central America, we are seeing some excellent arrivals and some very promising preshipment samples. Here are some SPOT standouts at the moment:

Ref 16226 Costa Rican SHB Monte Crisol
Ref 15974 Costa Rican SHB La Rosa
Ref 16000 Costa Rican ORGANIC SHB Naranjo

Ref 15987 Guatemalan SHB Huehuetenango El Injertal
Ref 17778 Guatemalan SHB Bourbon Florencia

Ref 16410 Mexican Pluma Oaxaca Altura Tres Oros

On the horizon:
Micro-lots---We have a number of Micro lots from Costa Rica and Panama, each unique in regards to geography, experimental processing, producer profiles and cup characteristics.

Colombia---The fly crop is just around the corner in Huila. In the meantime there are a couple of great Colombians available from alternative regions. On the spot in our Oakland warehouse, we have ref 17099 Guayata tipica from the Cordillera Oriente which has managed to distinguish itself from among many good arrivals. For prompt shipment, we have a rare coffee from the Pacific side of the Cordillera Occidental, ref 18175 El Carmen del Atrato.

Nicaragua—coffees from Segovia, especially FTO…. NOW is a good time.

El Salvador—We have some fine ORGANICS to offer. Las Lajas, San Rafael Los Naranjos, and one of our perennial outstanding favorites, Santa Adelaida.

On the conventional side, we have two shipments of Estate grown Cerro de las Ranas Pulped Natural SHG lined up. The preshipment samples we have tried so far have been excellent.

Who is Mr. Margin and why does he keep calling?

2008-03-21T14:34:00.000-07:00

After a turbulent and stressful ride the C market, as of 3/21 is back to 1.30, just about the level where the hedge-fund rally began.
The futures market, which was invented to limit risk, now is the risk.

Where it goes from here is open to debate, but after a visit to levels 40 cents higher, I think buyers can all find a new appreciation for a 1.30 C market.

Among many great coffees, here are a few of the best on the spot:

16613 Colo Supremo Huila regional
15987 Guat HHT El Injertal
16381 Guat HHT Palhu
14978 New Guinea Kimel Estate PB
15673 Sumatra G-1 Mandheling
16878 Sumatra Organic Mandheling
16684 Yemen Mocca Sanani
17092 Colo Huila Valencia Royal Select Water Decaf
16326 Sumatra Mandheling Royal Select Water Decaf

Ethiopia In The Year 2000

2008-03-02T14:13:00.000-08:00

According to the Ethiopian thirteen month calendar, this year is the year 2000. It has been quite a year: banners, flags, t-shirts, a Beyonce concert in Addis, and, not at all related to the millennium, coffee prices that are offered at quite a bit higher than last year.

We were in the Harrar, Sidamo, and Yirgacheffe regions for eight days in early February. At that time, the C market was back at 1.30, which as you know, now seems cheap. Regardless of the market, after our visit and tasting the new crop samples, we can say with great confidence that the quality of Ethiopian coffee this year is going to be way, way….way better than last year.

Since all Ethiopian coffee is sun dried---as far as I know there are no mechanical driers in the country---it is essential to have sunny dry weather during the harvest, which of course last year they did not have. Last year, there were torrential rains and floods right at this critical juncture. All the production suffered, but particularly the natural Sidamo and Harrar. It is hard to erase from memory the flavors of some of last year’s defective and frighteningly weird coffees.

Happily for all concerned, this year’s weather was ideal and has contributed to excellent cupping coffees. You can expect quite a rebound for quality. We have bought some great coffees which you can book now and expect to receive in April. Here are a few to consider:

REF 17515-18 MAO Harrar Horse …classic blueberry flavor.

REF 17695 & 17696 Organic & RFA cert. Natural and Washed Sidamo “Koratie”…these were the two best coffees we cupped on our trip.

REF 17672 & 17686 Organic Natural Djimma Special Prep….muted fruit and natural soft cup. Dried on raised beds and free of defects. Not all Djimma has to be low-priced swill.

Additional Blog Reader Spot Standouts:

16537 Brazil Cerrado…if you like good Brazil coffee that tastes like good Brazil coffee, you’ll love these---soft, nutty, slightly chalky natural flavor.

16613 Colombian Supremo…just a few bags of this over-achiever still available.
16741, 42, & 43 Colombian Huila Valencia Supremo…good value and very good cup.

17394 & 17397 Kenya Gethumbiwini AA & PB …Don’t hesitate.

16682 Yemen Mocca Sanani…bittersweet fruity dark chocolate. Excellent example of a fine Yemen.

17112 Peru FTO excellent delivery at the end of the season.

ALL SUMATRA… You can’t go wrong on Sumatra quality. Right now is the best time to sample and choose from our large selection of spot inventory. The best coffees are here, available, and ready to ship. The Sumatra crop will now slow down at origin until July.

And finally….Recent exciting standouts from the pre-shipment approval table:

17096,97,98,99 Colombian Guayata…due mid March
15973& 74 Costa SHB La Rosa….March Ship/April arrival

15987 Guatemalan SHB El Injertal….March Ship/April arrival

R.Fulmer

Prime Time

2008-01-04T15:01:00.001-08:00

At the moment it is prime time for Indonesian and Asian coffees. Here are some we highly recommend:

Sumatra---We have been receiving excellent new crop Mandheling Grade 1. Two lots, here and ready to go, have stood out: refs 16319 and 16665.
The season's first Retro Mandheling, ref 17184, will be here and ready to ship by 1/15, as will the 100% Sidikalang “Tabu Jamu” ref 17199.

Balinese “Blue Moon”---the first container was a hit and sold fast, the second one has arrived and cups equal to if not better than the first. Ref 17256.

Flores Bajawa---ref 16602 ... is going fast. This coffee is established.

Java Estate Pancoer---two good lots on the spot: refs 16959 & 17061, classic Java flavor.

New Guinea Kimel Estate--- A, X, and our favorite, the PB ref 14978.

Indian Monsooned ---- ref 15384… a thing of beauty if you are inclined.

Ref 16639 Royal Select Water Process Sulawesi Decaf---This is the highest rated decaf in our position. It tastes like a lot like Sulawesi...imagine that!

Coming soon and strongly recommended:

15104 & 15105 Panama Boquete Classico. Bright, balanced, sweet. I don’t think there is a better January Shipment Central American coffee.

17407 Harrar… Blueberry Fields Forever. Jan Ship

17402 Palestina Huila Colombian
17437 San Augustine Huila Colombian
17438 Pitalito Huila Colombian
17439 Oporapa Huila Colombian………Classic Huila brightness, Caramel sweet flavor. These are great coffees to offer as a single origin, they are some of the best coffees produced in Colombia.---Jan Ship

Africondo

2007-12-17T12:08:00.000-08:00

Ethiopia---What’s up with these prices?

The initial offers on new crop Ethiopians are sky high compared to last year. There is not yet a lot of coffee flowing into the market, but there are a lot of buyers on the sidelines. Sellers in Ethiopia are looking at how prices soared at the end of last year as a guide.
Unlike last year, growing and harvesting conditions have been close to ideal. Quality is reported to be very good, and quantities available are also said to be good. Time will tell what price the market will support, but at the moment, if you want to buy from the first shipments of new crop coffee, it is going to cost more than you are used to.

Kenya
Auction prices have firmed up considerably and we are still a month or so away from the prime coffee buying season. The auctions are closed for the next few weeks. Royal has a good selection of auction lots on the spot and arriving in January. We also have Fair Trade arriving 1/3/08.

Uganda
This is the time to buy this coffee. We have conventional and organic sailing shortly. The pre-shipment samples have looked good. This is a versatile coffee well suited to adding body and giving a fresh- tasting lift early in the year.

Rwanda
Prices are attempting to ride the coat tails of Kenya and Ethiopian. Although they are a little higher than we are accustomed, Rwanda prices look like a deal in comparison.

Tanzania
We have a limited supply of very nice coffee from another origin that has a small window for top quality. The Ruvuma is usually the best. Tanzania, at this time of the year, provides a good opportunity for roasters who are adept at marketing coffees that are “in season”.

R. Fulmer

Ding Ho

2007-11-27T09:35:00.000-08:00

We try to keep readers of the Royal Blog posted on the best cupping coffees available on the spot. At the moment here is what we consider the best:

16135 Brazil Fazenda Aurea Natural 17/18….soft, nutty and subtle floral fruitiness.
16652 Sulawesi Toraja G-1…Slightly earthy, pleasantly woody and full bodied.
16434 Colombian Cauca 15 full…Caramel sweetness, bright, but not overly acidic.
15507 Guat El Injerto…The best 2007 Guat left on our offering list.
15718 & 15722 Kenya…Bright Kenya citrus acidity. Main crop auction lots from Kirinyaga
16701 Kona Extra Fancy Greenwell Farms…Kona customers won’t be disappointed.
15232 & 16492 Peru FTO….Clean, bright sweet fresh flavor from an origin in season.
14978 New Guinea Kimel PB…arguably the best coffee we own.
15261 Guat Coffein MC Decaf….Some Kenya got decaffed and we lucked out?
16114 Peru FTO Royal Select Decaf…our Xmas present to decaf drinkers.

Sneak previews:
Hyping pre-shipment samples is a bit risky, but here are some we would bet heavily on:

16188,16602,16603 Flores Bajawa… the first container has arrived(sold out), but the next three lots should be more of the same. Right up there with your best washed Java Estates.

17094 Sumatra Retro Mandheling…this coffee will sell very fast once it arrives. Tie it up SAS.
16608, 16609, 166109 Tanzania Ruvuma PB, AA and 15 full … the only Ruvuma this year during Tanznia’s short prime time.

Mesa de los Santos, Version 10

2007-11-16T09:47:00.000-08:00

It’s beginning to sound like an annually played broken record for us to sing the virtues of our organic Colombian coffee Mesa de los Santos from Finca El Roble, but it can’t be helped. I just spent a long weekend on the farm and it is more alive and breathtaking than ever before. The harvest is in full swing, the experimental coffee plot planted 4 years ago with over 60 different varieties of coffee is now in production, and the on farm cupping lab is fully operational. Meanwhile, the farm is a riot of birdlife with an endless symphony of aviary arias providing an ever present auditory backdrop.

This year’s harvest will be the biggest ever in the history of the farm. As per usual, the crop is divided into 2 different offerings – the “Mesa de los Santos” blend (a mix of caturra and variedad colombiana), and the “Don Telmo” mark which is a 100% bourbon varietal. We have both coffees coming in this year with shipments starting in the next 2 weeks and running through March. The bourbon consistently rated exceptionally well during the on farm blind cupping sessions.

The biggest treat during the visit was cupping over 40 different coffees from an experimental plot on the farm. Four years ago Don Oswaldo, the owner of the farm, planted six trees each of over 60 different coffee varietals, primarily Arabica including Mocca, Geisha, Icatu, et al., with some Robusta and even Liberica as well. We blind cupped 40 of these coffees along with the regular on farm production of Mesa and Bourbon over the course of 2 days and discovered some mind blowing coffees. The winning varietal (top secret) will be planted on a waiting 20 hectare plot at the top of the farm. It will be another 4 years before the mystery winner (NOT Geisha, how passé, please!) will be available for sale but the wait will be worth it.

This was my third visit to the farm. When I was last here in 2002, several plots of bourbon had just been planted along with a variety of accompanying shade trees. These plants are now in full production and the shade trees are up to 30 feet high! The transformation from open grass pastureland to multi shade storied coffee plot is stunning. An onslaught of both native and visiting migratory bird species have arrived along with the trees and shade cover. A recent survey counted over 120 bird species, while on a brief Sunday morning walk we counted over 30 species on our own without trying too hard.

Don Oswaldo and his employees have worked insanely hard these past 8 years to bring this farm to where it is today. It is a healthy, gorgeous, productive certified organic farm, with a gazillion shade trees (SMBC and Rainforest Alliance certified ), more birds than a Hitchcock film, and a consistent, dependable supply of dynamite coffee. With the addition of the living library of coffee varieties on the experimental plot and an on farm cupping lab heralding images of a Napa Valley winery, this is my new coffee Mecca. Let Don Oswaldo know when you want to make the hadj and let us know if you want to book any of this coffee before it does its annual disappearing act from our offering list.-----J. Cossette

Royal 11/12 Coffee Update

2007-11-10T15:42:00.000-08:00

Colombia
Rare snow in Bogota this week, and John Cossette reports from his visit to Huila a crop arriving about a month later than usual and coming in all at once. He feels there could be a lot of “funky coffee” as a result.
Huila is kind of the heaven and hell of specialty coffee; some of the most fantastic lots can also be laced with phenolic time bombs. We always try to be very careful, but this year even more care will be required. With the crop running late, it would be wise to make sure you have enough good Colombians on the spot to last at least until mid, or better yet, late January.

Here is a list of our best Colombians on the spot:

REF#
16434 & 16435 Cauca 15 full
16140 Huila La Argentina
16522 Huila Central region
16264 Huila Pital
Brazil
Many pictures floating around of the fantastic flowering. Rain is falling in near ideal conditions. For the moment the threat to next year’s “on again” crop is greatly diminished. Despite the rain and renewed prospects of a “super crop”, Brazil differentials have creeped a little higher due to strong demand and a weak dollar.
Ethiopia
Reports of ideal conditions for the Harrar and Sidamo regions as well, quality looks to be back after last year’s train wreck. Early price indications seem very high. We’ll know more in a couple of weeks. Very little new crop coffee yet available, things will get into high gear in December.
Central America
Our supplies of good Centrals are dwindling as they should at this time of the year. We still have a few good Guats, Costas, Nics and Panamas, but those will be gone soon. We still have a good supply of Santa Rita and Cerro las Ranas El Salvador.
Panama is looking for a very big 2008 crop as conditions have been good, but it needs to stop raining.
Suppliers indicate a bumper crop coming in Nicaragua as well.
Kenya
Fly crop auction lots are cupping very nice with a lot of Kenya character albeit with a little less intensity. Prices are a little bit friendlier.
Looking for FT Kenya? We have FT Kenya Kaliluni AB, PB, and AA, refs 17175, 76 & 77.
Indonesia
The new crop is starting to be shipped now. Including Sumatra FTO and Organic, grade 1 Mandheling and two shipments of RETRO Mandheling and the 100% Tabu Jamu Sidikalang. We also have very good new crop Sulawesi available on the Spot.

Spring in Cerrado

2007-10-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung in Brazil and all speculative eyes are watching the flowering which has begun. Last week, after two months of hot dry weather, the C market rose to 1.40. This week there has been enough rain (and a forecast of more) to cause a 15 cent per lb. retreat, back to a 1.25 in the December position.

We have not really seen this kind of volatility for a long time, and it makes me feel kind of like we have been hibernating for five years. This extreme price movement was not all that unusual for many years before the “coffee crisis” and market collapse to 49 cents.

As supply and demand come into balance, and with the now greater-than-ever demand for specialty coffee, we think good buying is going to take a lot more effort and knowledge. We suspect we’ll see more of these big price moves, and we know the availability of some coffees is going to get tighter.

Though there is rain in Brazil now, we have a way to go before any assumptions should be made about next year’s Brazil crop. Looking at the situation, the best we can offer is to say the upside risk is far greater than the downside.

R. Fulmer

Here is a guide to what we consider our best spot coffees as of 10/19:

Reference# Type

16633 Sulawesi Toraja G-1

16140 Colombian Huila La Argentina

16527 Colombian El Carmen del Atrato (Choco)

16501 Colo Cauca Especial15422 Guat Organic San Marcos

15507 Guatemalan SHB El Injerto

16499 Panama SHB Las Victorias

15204 Peru FT Organic Cochepampa

14973 New Guinea Kimel X

14977 New Guinea Kimel PB

16193 Rwanda 100% Bourbon

12950 El Salvador Cerro de las Ranas

16177 Nicaraguan Dipilto Royal Select Water Decaf

16656 Espresso Blend Royal Select Water Decaf

16175 New Guinea Kimel Royal Select water Decaf

Are you bullish or ...?

2007-09-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

The C market has risen from its sub prime mortgage meltdown low of 1.10 to a high this week of 1.33. The further out months are flirting with the 1.40’s. From our point of view the market is getting its fuel from these factors:
1. Weather in Brazil. There needs to be adequate rainfall in Brazil to stimulate and maintain a successful flowering. This has not yet happened, and until it does some speculators will buy the market with the thought of a greatly reduced crop next year. If they are right, and it does not rain enough in the next 4-6 weeks, the market most certainly will be going higher. But if they are wrong and Brazil receives adequate rains, the prospect of very large crop will return to the market’s mentality.
2. Currency. The dollar is very soft and at record lows against the Colombian Peso, Brazil Real and Euro. Since exporters get paid in dollars they ask for higher coffee prices to offset the dollar’s declining value.
3. Oil. Oil has hit an all time high and this of course affects transportation and production costs.

Of these factors, weather by far is the most volatile. Since there has not been any significant frost in years, the onset of Brazilian spring rains has become the new flash point for market speculation. The recent run-up of th C market reminds me of a story I heard in the early eighties about the famous black frost of 1975 in which the market moved from below a dollar to 3.77/lb…..

On the eve of the frost in July of 1975, a group of very large coffee growers and exporters was meeting and having drinks together in El Salvador. El Salvador at the time was one of the largest producers in the world. The biggest of these Salvadoran exporters had offered 5000 bags to a large U.S. buyer, which the buyer had not accepted. This exporter had hired a man to go to Brazil and sit in a motel room and check a thermometer every 20 minutes all night long. If the temperature went near 32 degrees he was to call El Salvador. That evening, after a few cocktails, the phone rang: “ Senor, the temperature is 32 degrees and it has been that low for 30 minutes”. The large exporter called the U.S. buyer at his home. After telling him about his man in Brazil, he reoffered the same 5000 bags which he had offered earlier that day, but now at five cents per lb. higher than the prior offer. Keep in mind that 5 cents per lb. in 1975 was huge, about a $33,000 dollar difference in the value of this offer, but it would seem more like $100,000 today. …After hemming and hawing for a long time the U.S. buyer could not make up his mind. Finally the exporter said, “Look, there has been a frost, are you bullish? Or are you an asshole?” After along silence, the buyer finally said... "I’m an asshole”, and hung up the phone.
The next day news of the frost hit the general market, prices went up the daily limit and sellers withdrew their offers. The market continued up the limit for several days in a row and prices marched relentlessly higher, eventually getting so high consumers started a coffee boycott.

Despite the frenzy of the 1975 frost market, this frost was very instrumental in creating the Specialty business we see today. When coffee prices quadrulpled, it permanently established a higher benchmark. A few years after the frost when the C market went down, the commercial roasters, all buying the cheapest coffee they could, dropped their prices and resumed their price competition. Specialty roasters did not drop their prices nearly as much. Now, for only 10-20 cents more, small roasters could buy the best coffee in the world, and the since they continued to sell at the higher frost-price levels, an extra dollar or two per lb. profit became built in and provided the incentive, capital, and profit structure for the growth of the Specialty Industry.

Mr. Alfred Peet 1920-2007

2007-08-31T09:51:00.000-07:00

I know I am not alone in saying that one of the reasons I can make a living in the coffee business is due to Mr. Alfred Peet. The transformation of coffee in America from a super market loss leader to a prized specialty beverage can be traced to a handful of individuals, none of whom would be any more important or influential than Mr. Peet.

There are many stories about him that are legendary, about his living through the Nazi occupation in Holland, about his being sent by his father to work on a competitor’s tea plantation in Indonesia (His preference, he once told me, was, far and away tea. He liked to say “coffee is a combat boot, tea is a ballerina slipper”), and about his arriving nearly penniless in San Francisco and managing to land a job with a Front Street coffee broker.

But when he moved to Berkeley and opened Peet’s Coffee and Tea in 1966, he began a movement which would slowly accelerate into a massive world-wide change in consumer behavior. I remember a day we visited him at his first store. It was a ninety degree Tuesday afternoon in 1978 and there was a line of customers stretching from his front door down Vine Street. This was a time when coffee consumption and awareness nationally was at its nadir; there may have been three or four “expresso” machines in the whole East Bay. He looked at the line and said “there could be one of these on every corner”. It is not an exaggeration to recognize Alfred Peet as one of the founding fathers of the specialty coffee business.

Alfred had a gruff exterior, one that was up front and openly indicated little tolerance for fools, especially when it came to his expertise in coffee and tea. When Alfred had his coffee buying hat on, he treated you like he was Chuck Berry and you were a musician showing up to audition for his band; you either knew how to play, or you hit the highway. As a rookie in the coffee business, it was a little nerve-wracking walking into his office and knowing there was a good chance you could be exposed as a pretender and sent on your way. But he was fair, and he was almost always right.

He did not give you his respect, you had to earn it. I suppose this was from his upbringing. But later when he complimented the work we did at Royal, it was so gratifying because it was real and resulted from dues having been paid.

As I got to know Alfred a little better, I came to know what an interesting man he was and that he had a wide variety of interest outside of coffee; riding his bike every week through the Napa Valley, taking off on yak caravans in Mongolia, and traveling to other far flung exotic locales around the world.

I learned from Alfred what quality was. I learned what a coffee professional was. I know that some of what made Alfred Peet the consummate coffee man has rubbed off on us and contributes to the way we are at Royal. Some of the younger folks here never had the opportunity to go up against Alfred, but I wish they had; it would make them even better.

……………………………….

Alfred, it’s the week before Labor Day and the Indonesian crop, in which you are expert, is just getting underway, the pre-shipment samples are on the table…
We are going to miss your visits to our cupping room, even if you still did make me a bit nervous. I wish you were here to tell it like it is.

Goodbye and happy trails Mr. Peet.
R. Fulmer

Selamat Pagi Amerika

2007-08-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

We trust you have sufficient supplies of Central American and African coffee to last until February or March?

In some cases that is quite a lot to carry, and in some cases it need not be all that much because blends are shifted according to the season, and featured single origin varietals are switched.

Every September we like to mention the origins whose production takes place during our North American Fall.

Mainly we are talking about Asia; this is the best time to focus on New Guinea, Indonesia, Timor, and India. Of course Peru and Bolivia are in prime time too, so they are popular options as well.

Here is some conventional wisdom and a few suggestions about some of these fall coffees:

New Guinea---There are really not many coffees available which can replace super high acid Kenyan and delicately floral washed Ethiopians. But if you want to get reasonably close, the best bet is with New Guinea. Of all alternatives available, New Guinea is going to be the brightest, most acidic, and hardest high grown coffee available. Currently, we have a good supply of Kimel Estate A, X and PB.

Peru, Bolivia & Colombia---Caramel sweetness and brightness found in real good Centrals is not easy to duplicate, but some nice alternatives in the same flavor neighborhood can be had with Peru, Bolivia, and good Colombian Cauca and fly crop Huilas. These coffees are fresh and sweet. Their acidity is usually a little softer than found in New Guinea, but these are great coffees to have on hand this time of the year. We have a solid selection of Peru rolling in; conventional, FTO, and organic.
Bolivia, when it’s on, is great. CENAPROC is a Coop that has provided us with some great coffees, sometimes not in the timeliest manner, but often worth the stressful wait. This is a short window, so if you want to feature any Bolivian coffee, line it up now.

Indonesia---You may recall from this year's Indonesian newsletter about our efforts in Flores. Flores is well on its way to being established as a specialty origin and roasters are asking about it in advance. We have some booked and are anxiously waiting to see what the coffee looks like this year. The Flores Bajawa is fully washed. It is full bodied with soft medium-level acidity. We expect to see it arrive late September early October.

After our visit to Bali, we told the Kintamani farmers we would buy their coffee if they showed us something we liked. In past years we had only been offered expensive fully washed coffee that we thought was pretty mediocre. If there is a stereotypical national trait for Indonesians, it is that they seem to never stop trying, they never give up, especially when it involves selling. The Balinese farmers have demonstrated this persistence and creativity with their new Bali Blue Moon coffee. They have switched to a wet hulled process and as a result, have produced a coffee which we feel is in the same league as good Sulawesi and Sumatra. And, their asking price is not unrealistic. The pre-shipment enticed us into owning our first container. We are very happy at long last to offer coffee from Bali, still one of or favorite places.

Sulawesi—soon we will see our arrivals of this year’s Toraja G-1. Again, this is the time to be shopping. We usually see the good ones disappear by December.

Java Estate---despite being relatively high priced, it is still a fine, unique coffee and remains a customer favorite. New crop Estate deliveries will begin leaving Java late September and really pick up in October and November.

Sumatra—the main crop gets started in late September and October, and then really expands in November and December. Our G-1 Mandheling new crop are readily available and can be booked and priced daily. For further specialization, the RETRO will be back in November, and we have Tabu Jamu 100% Sidikalang available for a September ship.

This is the monsoon season in India, green arabica Malabar coffees are being transformed in the wet humidity. Until the newly monsooned shows up, we have a Monsooned Java arabica on the spot which is getting good reviews from fans of this sort of thing.

King Harvest Will Surely Come?

2007-08-16T17:08:00.000-07:00

We are at a crossroads. On the low road there is a potential record breaking crop projected for Brazil next summer.
On the high road, there has been a possible “false spring”; a doomed flowering initiated by early unseasonable heavy rains in Brazil. By almost everyone’s account, it is way too early to try and quantify the effects of this premature flowering on the next crop. If the flowers that have now appeared do not set and develop into beans, the crop next year will certainly be reduced. By how much? Who knows?
There is always an effort to sway the market one way or the other at this time of the year based on rainfall and the coffee flowering in Brazil. But this year the question looms larger because it is possible we are headed either into a big surplus or significant shortfall situation, totally dependent on the next Brazil crop.
Then again, with coffee now lumped into a basket of fund activities, and money flying all about at the whim of the managing puppet masters, it pretty hard to get a feel for where prices should be, regardless of what we think we know.

Given the current uncertainty and undefined future, we usually recommend that it is better to be 10 cents wrong than to try and be perfect. The C market has been recently as low as 1.09, but has rallied to 1.20, and today, dropped 7 cents back to 1.12! The stock market went down 300 points in one day and then recovered the same day to close up! Did money leave commodities to buy stocks?
Trying to predict coffee prices is a crap shoot…
But with regard to real coffee beans, we do know a few fundamentals. For instance,
Centrals are winding down and most of the good ones we have cannot be replaced until next spring. Now ‘til December the supply will gradually diminish. What sells first? The best and the cheapest. “After the best is gone, the best is left”.
To be a little bit wrong right now, and fill in some needs is probably a prudent thing to do. If the market does go lower, look to buy for the first 3-6 months of 2008.

Here are some of our current recommendations to buy now:

New crop Sulawesi…Sep to Dec shipments will be the main window
New crop Flores…limited supply on this new emerging specialty coffee.
Good Colombians, on the spot, or nearby…..The main harvest will start to flow into the market in Dec and Jan…. We have a long way to go.
Any Centrals….now is the time to cover Sep-Jan.
New crop New Guinea & Peru…..bright fresh coffee to pick up the blends.And, any coffees that are hedged….buy on the dips.

Traceability

2007-07-26T14:40:00.000-07:00

These days it seems the desire to know about coffee is insatiable. The coffee business today is obsessed with localizing the supply of coffee. Sometimes it feels to us that we are asked for more information than could possibly be desired by consumers. But then again, it is hard to argue with success and innovation; coffee consumption is on the rise, and specialty roasters are leading the way. So, if you want to know the name of the son of the person who pulped your semi-washed orange USDA #762 catimore, we’ll try and get it for you. I’ve heard people joke about the café of the future where you can watch you own personally contracted coffee tree grow on a web-cam. It will probably happen; heck, it probably is already happening, in Japan, or Boulder.
All joking aside, it is interesting to know exactly from where your coffee has come. Right now you have an excellent opportunity to purchase Costa Rican Dota Tarrazu and know the grower, the farm location, altitude, processing, and even the date the coffee was picked. On our offering list there are 11 micro lots ranging in size from 7 to 36 bags. If you click on “ business intelligence” on the right side of our home page site, and then click on the recently added link: “Costa micro lots” you will see pictures and profiles of all the lots. And, to reward you for all the effort, if you purchase any these coffees and mention you looked at the profiles, we’ll take 2 cents per lb. off your micro lot purchase. These lots are spot and ready to ship.

TABU JAMU

2007-07-06T10:27:00.000-07:00

One morning on our recent visit to Sumatra, Alex, John C. and I were stuck in Medan rush hour traffic. While we sat in grid-lock, a mysterious looking woman, dressed elegantly in white, weaving her bicycle and exotic sidecar through traffic, paused in front of our car. “Jamu” said Syafrudin our Sumatra agent. Jamu means medicine, and the bicyclist, Syafrudin explained, was a Chinese herbalist.
We had been trying to come up with a name for a new coffee we are going to start bringing in on a regular basis. The coffee is 100% from the Sidikalang area located on Lake Toba. … We thought “Tabu Jamu” had a nice ring to it.

If you want to know where the arabica growing areas are in Sumatra, it is easy to find them on a map using Lake Toba and Lake Tawar as reference points. Both lakes are located in the volcanic highlands of Northern Sumatra.

Lake Toba is the massive, doughnut shaped, lake. A tremendous amount of coffee is grown around this lake, primarily along the Western side. In recent years full sun hybrid coffees have been introduced here. Many of the coffees from Lake Toba have not impressed us, but some of them, though a little different from the traditional earthy profile we like in Mandheling, are quite good, and their cleaner more acidic cup profile provides another good option from Sumatra.

Further North there is the relatively smaller Lake Tawar and the town of Takengon. This is an area of more traditional, shade-grown production which rapidly is being certified organic. At the moment, there is too much organic coffee as producers willingly give up the herbicides for better prices, but not enough of it yet with the more difficult to obtain FT certification.

Royal has an interesting line of Asian coffees for you to create your own Jamu. Here are some for the creative to consider:

New Crop Sulawesi Toraja Grade 1 ref 15945 July shipment
Indian Mysore Nuggets and Plantation A ref 14785, 15291, 15292 Spot
Indian Monsooned Malabar spot ref 15064 and new crop monsoon for October shipment Java Pancoer Estate ref 15256,15640
Flores Bajawa Arabica Grade 1 ref 16187 & 8 August and September Shipment
New Crop New Guinea Kimel A, X & PB Spot to Dec delivery.
New Guinea FT Organic Waka Jawaka Spot to November delivery.
Sumatra Grade 1 Mandheling …The crop has ended in Sumatra and will resume in October/ November. This is good time to cover your needs until at least December.
Sumatra Retro ref 15573… only a few bags left on the spot. Available again with the new crop in November.
Sumatra 100% Sidikalang "Tabu Jamu" ref 15624…..a cleaner brighter version of Mandheling.
Sumatra Aged Mandheling ref 15695 brown reddish 3 year old aged …blend with care.
Aged Brown Java ref 15700…gold color mellow soft aged flavor.
Sumatra FT and Organic…FT remains tight and expensive, organics are lower priced and plentiful.
Timor FTO…crop is late arriving but should start flowing into the whse in October. Now is the time to line them up.
Java Monsooned Arabica ref 15374…a cleaner less intense version of the Indian. In the right hands, some very interesting blends are possible.

Decaf Jamu? ...Sumatra Organic, New Guinea and Komodo.

Early Summer Produce

2007-06-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

Coffee buyers, here are a few tips to consider while navigating through Royal’s spot and nearby position:

Outstanding arrivals: There are a lot of coffees which are excellent, but these are the recent arrivals that got our highest combined ratings:
13460 Costa La Rosa

14428 Costa Dota Tarrazu
15527 Guat HHT SHB Palhu

15423 Guat Organic San Marcos
14785 Indian Mysore Nuggets
15290 Kenya pb Kianjiri
15336 Mex Pluma Oaxaca Tres Oros
15045 Nic FTO 5th de Junio
15254 SHB Panamaria
15678,79, & 80 Colombian Huila El Pital

New Items: Ref 15089 Royal Select Water Process Decaf Espresso— A blend of Sumatra, Brazil, and pulped natural El Salvador.

Ref 15574: Monsooned Java Arabica---- Indian Monsoon lover’s, you know who you are, this is one that's worth checking out.---Sweet distressed cup, and a great value as well.

Coming soon: based on pre-shipment samples, here are some exciting nearby arrivals:

Refs 15638-49 Costa Rican Dota Tarrazu Micro producer lots
Ref 15882 Guat SHB HHT San Juan
Ref 15204 Indian Plantation A
Ref 15665 African Royal Select Water Decaf
Ref 15787 Kenya Auction PB Royal Select Water Decaf

Ref 16140 Colombian Huila La Argentina

Ref 16137 Colombian El Carmen del Atrato Choco

Strategic Buying tips: This is a good time to fill in the Centrals, Colombian and Sumatra coffees you'll need until next year’s crop arrives.

There is one origin that concerns us more than the others; that is Ethiopia.

1. Take care of your Ethiopian requirements now. So far, as you know, this has been a very poor year for the naturals. The washed have been good to excellent, and they are still cheaper than Kenya. They are disappearing fast. We will sell out of Ethiopians long before the new crop comes in. As it looks now, we don’t see many offers left worth pursuing.

2. What about the C market?--- Up to this point in time, we have seen the C trade, more or less, up to a high of 1.30 and a low of 1.05. Is the C market staying at 1.20? Will it possibly break out above 1.30? A weak dollar, nearby concern about robusta supplies, and winter in Brazil have rallied the C market... It is bumping against 1.20 close by, and 1.30 further out. What next?

Outlook: Brazil has 16 million bags of over-carry over stocks and a potential record sized crop coming in 2008. I don’t think there is going to be a shortage of Brazilian coffee for the commercial roasting world. Of more concern is an over-supply situation in the next 2 years. Robusta is still cheaper than Brazil, so there is room for them to stay firm or even go higher.
So, over-simply stated, I think a 1.05 C market is more likely than 1.30. But keep your eye on the wheather in Brazil during the winter and this fall when ample rainfall is required . Also the Hurricane season is a major concern for Central America.

'07Spring Preview

2007-05-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

Each new coffee year is an adventure. We know some expectations will be exceeded and some not met...comes with the territory.

When arrivals are disappointing, we look to nature as the only valid excuse. Having a “relationship” is easy when the coffee is great. But sticking with long-term, loyal, and dependable suppliers when the going gets tough is also part of the gig.

Cherry picking only the best is one way to go, and believe me we try, but true long term relationships require work, patience, and sometimes accepting what comes along when Mother Nature throws a punch.

Remember the coffee from Chiapas last year? Hurricane Stan contributed to a sub-par year. It was pretty remarkable that we saw any coffee. This year Mexican coffee from both Chiapas and Oaxaca is looking very good.

Usually by May, we have a pretty good idea of the origins that are having good years and those that are struggling. Across the board in 2007, most new crops have been later rather the early. Still, we now have received enough coffee to make some observations.

First of all, the concerns about the heavy rains during the Ethiopian harvest are warranted. The washed coffees we have received for the most part have been very good. Maybe less intense than we would like, but they’re always less intense than we’d like…. Too intense, that’s what we want, damn it.
The early Harrar has been, well, interesting. Harrar by it’s nature is not a coffee in which one ever finds precise consistency. We are happy to report to fans of inconsistency that they will not be disappointed this year.
Most of the lots received to date have characteristic background fruitiness. Sometimes it’s the prized blueberry fruitiness, but it is also ranges from a kind of not quite ripe raspberry to grapefruit citrus.
Admittedly, some deliveries are a little dicey. Of more concern than the flavor profile has been the presence of an occasional earthy to moldy cup….difficult, wet and rainy conditions are the culprit.
All in all, we are happy to have the new crop Harrar, but we are hoping the remaining deliveries improve. Most buyers have loved, or at least liked their deliveries.

As for Natural Sidamo, so far it is nightmare on Powell Street…. A true house of horrors. We have rejected sample after sample of toxic waste. As it looks right now, this is going to be a very difficult year for this coffee. We’ll see how it goes, but we’ve cupped very little that gives us reason to be very optimistic.

May and June always provide some of the year’s best coffees. Based on our early deliveries, here are some coffees, among the many, in which we feel very comfortable recommending:

Costa Rica
If the early MONTE CRISOL is any indication, Costa Rica is having a very solid year. You can’t go wrong with these.
COSTA DOTA TARRAZU micro lots: Royal has lined up 11 lots ranging in size from 7 bags to 36 bags. These lots are from individual farms in the Dota Valley. We have selected these 11 lots from over sixty samples. If you are interested ask for more info.
COSTA ORGANIC SHB NARANJO…the only organic coffee of the year from West Valley Coop Naranjo
Guatemala If you want a coffee with too much of everything, the PALO ALTO AZUL is the one. We have spot, May and June Ships. A little less intense but still very good would be ref 14986 LOS VOLCANES ANTIGUA. The HUIXOC, EL INJERTAL and ref 15275 SHB ATIPI are also very Guat-like. We have one shipment of El Injerto ref 11507.
And based on the first delivery, and excellent Guat FTO should be ref 14417 MAYA IXIL.
Colombia--- Guayata and plan Colo Huila.
Kenya auctions—it’s prime time.
Mexico---what a recovery from hurricane Stan! FTO, O, and conventional Chiapas and Oaxaca coming in very nice.
Nicaragua---another good year.
Sumatra—Fresh green coffee still flowing in.

Outside the box for the cognoscenti: Indian Mysore nuggets, Bolivian Organic PB, and Panama Maunier---great coffees.

Good values: El Salvador Everest and Panama BEP

And in the Great Coffee from Troubled Origins category: ref 14894 Zimbabwe Dandoni Estate AA. Very solid and a rare example of the arrival exceeding the pre-shipment offer sample.

Bad things happen when good people do nothing

2007-03-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,
The letter below has been sent to The SCAA, The Pacific coast Coffee Association and The Roaster’ Guild. Additionally, Helen Nicholas and John Cossette have written their own letters to California Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, Congresswomen Barbara Lee and President Bush.
Put simply—the USDA now wants every single organic coffee farm inspected annually. Up to now they have required 10-20% of the farms to be inspected. This action is a result of problems within the organic soy bean industry. This misguided and grossly unfair pending action amounts to throwing out the baby with the bath water. It will greatly harm at least a million of the smallest organic coffee farmers and possibly unwind fifteen years of progress made in organic coffee.
Please take a moment and write the SCAA and your elected representatives. Whether are not you buy organic coffee, this action is potentially disastrous for coffee growing farmers and friends around the world.

March 27, 2007
To: SCAA Board of Directors
Mr. Doug Welsh President of the Pacific Coast Coffee Association
Mr. Randy Layton Executive Vice President of the Pacific Coast Coffee Association
Mr. Paul Thornton President of the Roaster’s Guild

Just last week it came to our attention that the USDA NOP (National Organic Plan) in response to problems in the organic soy bean industry, is going to implement under existing law(Title 7 205.403) a requirement that 100% of all farms within a small farmer coop be inspected annually by independent certification agencies.

Currently these small farmer groups are assessed by internal control agents within the group. During annual inspections, 10-20% of the farms are inspected by the certification agencies. Given the number of small individual family farms (over a million word-wide?) and the low income levels of these farmers(under $1,000 per year), what this change in USDA procedure actually will accomplish is the exclusion of vast numbers small farmers world-wide from the U.S. organic specialty market.

Given a little careful reflection, I think this pending USDA action amounts to disastrous unintended consequences. As you know, small farmer groups are supplying the U.S. coffee industry with many great and interesting coffees from around the globe. From Timor, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico just to name a few.
The U.S. Coffee Industry and American consumer has benefited considerably from these certified small farmer groups. But the benefits of organic certification go far beyond providing us with coffee.
Organic certification is often a keystone around which communities can organize. In my personal experience I have seen health clinics built in Timor, schools in Colombia, improvements in crop yield and income, better environmental practices, access to micro-loans and pre-crop-financing throughout the coffee growing world---all as a result of organic certification.

These farmers are on a playing field that will never be level. As far as I know, this USDA action comes without any consultation or input from the coffee industry.

I think it is extremely important that the SCAA, the Pacific Coast Coffee Association and The Roaster’s Guild come out strongly in support of these small farmer groups and we oppose these pending changes to USDA law.

Best regards,

Robert Fulmer
President
Royal Coffee Inc.

To Royal Coffee Customers: A Costa Rican Invitation

2007-02-28T16:14:00.000-08:00

On April 9th and 10th in San Jose, Costa Rica, there is a unique opportunity to survey and buy some of the best coffees from 32 different sectors within the premier Dota and San Marcos growing regions.

Cafecoop has put together a selection of at least 84 different 50 bag lots. These lots have been selected and processed separately from different altitudes and specific farms ranging from 1560 to 1850 meters. Harvest dates and varietal types have been cataloged and processing information will be available on each lot. This is as specific and real as coffee buying gets.

Royal Coffee will be there and we can facilitate the timely shipment and delivery of any coffee in which you have interest.

We are sure there will be some fantastic coffees and that it will be an extraordinary cupping experience.
If you are interested in participating in this event just let us know.

THE LEADS 1/30

2007-01-31T12:05:00.000-08:00

Here are the leads to the best on our offering sheet:
Spot cupping standouts:
14020 Sumatra Mandheling---sweet, earthy, traditional Sumatra.
13728 Java Pancoer---Full body classic Java—not a hint of adidas.
12686 New Crop Panama BEP---lively bright balanced Boquete flavor. Best new crop Central arrival to date.
13634,5,&6--- Brazil Fazenda Aurea---Full natural complexity, smooth fruity, nutty, chalky. A stand-alone varietal Brazil not just for espresso.
13664 Peru Royal Especial---clear, clean and lively, one on the best values on our list.
14560 Colo Organic Cauca Tierradentro. Citrus acidity and Caramel finish.
14538 Indian Robusta Cherry 17 Screen—What the??? Wait…wait…wait...this is a very good robusta. Clean, malty, confectionary cacao…”vending machine hot chocolate”
14536 Kenya AB MC Decaf…A decaf Kenya that tastes like Kenya… remember, decaf drinkers are not losers.
14382--- Don Telmo Organic Colombian Bourbon…very smooth and sweet.
14767--- Colombia Oporapa & 14764,65,66 Palistina15 full….the best of South Huila, mild orange acidity, caramel body, smooth juicy texture.

Sneak previews: The best pre-shipment new crop samples cupped as of 1/30.
The two most impressive samples we have cupped so far are Mexican organic Chiapas and organic Yirgacheffe. If the Mex. Chiapas samples are any indication, Chiapas will more than atone for last year’s Hurricane Stan-flawed crop. The samples we have previewed have been excellent.
One organic Yirgacheffe sample we approved, had it been an arrival, would have scored 95-100 even among our critical Royal cynics…. a textbook example of one of the best coffees in the World. Wow.

Further out: We have purchased our Kimel Estate New Guinea for '07. This is a true Estate specialty coffee and always one of the best of the year, and, one of the best you can get for the 2nd half of the year. Plenty of A, X and PB available…for now.

RETRO MANDHELING

2007-01-09T15:10:00.000-08:00

Throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s Royal sold a couple of different Sumatra types. Our most popular, simply called Mandheling Grade 1, made up most of our volume and still does. Back then most “Mandheling” was grown between Medan and the Northern shore of Lake Toba.
Occasionally we also sold a small amount of Lintong and Sibolga from the western shores of Lake Toba and areas south of the lake.
But there were two other types, since disappeared, that I am sure some of our older customers would remember.
One of these, Aceh Arabica, still exists, but not in its prior condition. In the Eighties, the growing areas further up the Aceh Peninsula around Lake Tawar were considered new growing areas. The first coffees from these northern areas had tremendously high moisture content and often arrived very soft and damp, looking like green and white salt and pepper…. This was called Aceh arabica and it was more of a life form than a coffee. Treacherous business as you can imagine, but when it was good, despite its ugly appearance, it was really good. At some point, drying techniques changed and this coffee, in the mutable tradition of coffee in Indonesia, became part of the Mandheling supply.
The other coffee we used to buy was famous, and one in which we have very fond memories. It was a brand known as “Golden Mandheling”. The genuine Golden Mandheling was sold exclusively by the Pawani Company. It was generally a little bit cleaner tasting, but not too clean; it still had a lot of body and distinct Sumatra character. The beans were bigger, longer and fatter and all but a minuscule amount of defects were picked out. The deliveries, refreshingly, were known for their clock- work consistency. Relatively expensive at the time, it was very popular and we hade a hard time getting enough.
Indonesia has always had its share of pirates and counterfeiters, so it came as no surprise that many other “Golden” types came and went. If you want a $15 dollar Rolex, a 50 cent DVD, or a bag marked anyway you want it, Indonesia is still the place to go.

But after a very long successful run, Pawani faded away and we could not seem to find a “Golden Mandheling” like in the good old days. The coffee grown in Sumatra has changed some what as smaller faster-growing, higher-yielding and easier-to-harvest trees are replacing old types.

I recently reminisced with a long-time Sumatra dealer about the Golden Mandheling and he said it was still possible to find similar coffee... Of course I told him he was more than welcome to try. After rejecting a few preliminary attempts, we settled on a promising sample. This week the first “Retro Mandheling” container arrived. We feel it is a fitting tribute and close representation of the original Golden. In any case, it is real nice Sumatra, and like the Pawani Golden Mandheling, it's a bit higher priced but we think it's worth every penny.

REF 14624 Sumatra Retro Mandheling: 93.5 % above screen 17 (heck, 62% above 19).
Clean sweet cup, no defects, big fat beans.

Dec/Jan Strategic buying:

2006-12-27T10:28:00.000-08:00

The market is up. For how long? Will it go higher? Or collapse? What crops are running out? What about new crops? How are they looking? All these questions are on the mind of buyers at this transitional time of the year.

Past Crop Deals: Everything must go…No reasonable offer declined. These can be had CHEAP!!!
Sulawesi…we have two lots of past crop Sulawesi that when roasted light taste like forgotten tupperware leftovers from Thanksgiving. However when roasted dark they are loaded with sweet character. Very useful in the right application.
As for new crop Sulawesi, there will not be an abundance of these in 07, now is the time to line them up.

El Salvador... Santa Rita. These are getting long in the tooth but they still can be blended effectively. The Cerro Las Ranas have held up real well and still have a very mellow flavor. This pulped natural might be better now for espresso than when it arrived last August.

Panama...We still have some of the premium Panamaria and Maunier from ’06. These have held up well. For the next two months I think I would rather drink these than thinner new crop centrals.

Smart Buys: Not so cheap but good property to own.

Ethiopia—in a week or two we will begin to see the first new crop pre-shipment samples. The pattern for the last few years has been that the first Harrar shipments have had the most blueberry chacrater. So we suggest buying from the early shipments.
The washed, on the other hand, usually improve as the crop enters the mid point. This year there has been a lot of rain during the early harvest, and we’ve been told there will be quality issues which may delay finding early shipments which we can approve. That being a real possibility should make some of our excellent spot washed lots very attrractive (ref 12636!!!) Since these spot lots cup about as good as they get, and with a fair amount of uncertainty surrounding the new crop, if you want to cover until March there is no compromise of quality at all with our spot Yirgacheffe or Sidamo.

Colombia—ref 14574 Narino Especial…Occasionally a coffee is so good it enters a special category reserved for the best in it’s class. This Colombian is that good. Sweet caramel balanced with a soft buttery finish. This is your “single varietal” Colombian.

From a quality standpoint, this is the best time to buy Sumatra. If we see a dip in the market, it would be a great time to fill the cupboard. Let us know if you want to be on the alert list.

Yemen---a much tighter supply situation than in past years. If this is an important coffee, book it now.
R. Fulmer

If we want things to stay the same, we better make some changes.

2006-12-11T16:55:00.000-08:00

Our ROYAL NEWS can now be found on our website. To view, first click "business intelligence", then the "newsletters" tag.

A fund-driven speculative spike in the NY C market has sent prices 20 cents higher then they were a month ago…Since we are in between Central American and African crops, many staple coffees are running out.
This is as it should be because with the arrival of California winter rains, last year’s coffees will start getting tired soon.
Not surprisingly, we are seeing more hand-to-mouth ‘just in time” buying and substitutions… It is hard to argue with this strategy after reviewing the USDA crop figures (Bottom line: there is more coffee this coming year than last year)
The USDA is about total worldwide production; coffees you are not buying all that much of. But of course if Brazil or Vietnam catches a cold, we get pneumonia. From the face of the report, both countries’ production is up substantially. But that does not help much when the C market is higher and supplies of many specialty coffees are at seasonal lows.

Given the circumstances at this time of the year, sometimes more creativity is a good thing. We are firm believers in buying the best coffees available regardless of origin. A cup profile can often be kept the same only by making changes.
Here is a suggested list of some our best (according to our entire cupping team) tasting spot coffees. Some of these may not be what you normally buy or blend, but be assured, your customers will love any or all of them.

13634 Brazil Fazenda Aurea
14221 Colombia Huila Valencia
11947 Panama Maunier
12774 Peru Organic Norte
13664 Peru Norte SHB Royal Especial
12255 El Salvador Santa Rita
14035 Flores Bajawa Arabica
14139 Timor FT Organic Maubesse
14261 Mex Royal Select Water Decaf
14176 African Royal Select Water Decaf
12636 Ethiopian Yirgacheffe
13975 Sumatra Mandheling
Thanks for visiting the Royal Coffee Blog…your guide to the best coffees on our offering list.

French Roast Specials

2006-10-25T13:19:00.000-07:00

I am not sure what wave Alfred Peet was on, but it was a big one. Arguably, there has been no one who has had a greater influence on the reemergence of coffee appreciation in America over the last 40 years. His 101 blend was the hook for me. In general the “third wave” seems less enthusiastic about the dark side, and they are leading a trend back toward lighter styles. But there was a time here on the West Coast when specialty coffee meant almost exclusively French roasts. When Royal Coffee was a young upstart company, selling coffee to Mr. Peet was one of our biggest goals. I found it quite challenging....after all, he was “the man”. I will admit to having more than a little trepidation when I walked into his office to drop off samples. He was very old school and I knew he recognized a rookie when he saw one. He always would grill me on why I thought coffee was good enough, and though he would have never used the word, he would happily let you know when your coffee sucked…But it is true: what doesn’t kill you is good for you, and trying to rise to his standards only helped.
Following Alfred’s lead, more roasters adopted the passion to create better and better French roasts. We spent a considerable amount of time cupping every origin trying to satisfy Narsai David, a locally famous gourmet ghetto restaurateur here in Berkeley. This was all valuable experience then, and it has carried over and still guides our buying preferences. We still put a lot of attention into importing coffees particularly suited for creating world class French roasts.
Here’s a couple we currently have on hand:

Ref 14112 Sumatra Mandheling…I am hesitant to use some of the more flowery adjectives flying around these days, but two which I have recently heard used by our customers I think apply to this coffee: “forest” and “mushrooms”. This Sumatra is not musty, swampy or dirty. This is classic Mandheling…clean, but far from boring. Wonderfully earthy, and, yes, I am getting the forest mushrooms…

Ref11790 Uganda Bugisu AA…and this is a great deal. Sometimes it is easier to buy coffee than sell it. This coffee came in last spring and will not create any happy pumpkin faces if you roast it light, but it still makes a very sweet and full flavored French roast. Straight, or to add complexity in a blend, this is a very interesting and useful coffee. And because I bought too much, it’s cheap… Highly recommended.
R. Fulmer

Your Kenya Fly Crop Update

2006-10-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

Conventional wisdom has the best and most expensive Kenya lots coming out of the auctions which take place during the spring. This is when the heart of the main Kenya crop is marketed, and when a lot of Kenya fanatics come out of hibernation and compete for the top lots. While it is true there are some fantastic lots at that time of the year, we have found, kind of like booking a vacation in the off-season, you can get some excellent coffees and better values from the fall fly-crop. Royal currently has available 33 lots of AA, AB, and PB, ranging from in size from 13 to 88 bags. Every one of these lots has had to clear a gauntlet of cuppers. First by our cuppers in Mombasa, who cup every single lot auctioned. After Mombasa has pre-screened and sent us the best lots, we select our favorites in a blind cupping. No other origin gives us the opportunity to evaluate coffee this thoroughly…for which Patrick Kennedy, our sample roaster and quality control expert is grateful.

We think the Kenya system of marketing coffee is great, but there are now forces at work to allow buyers to circumvent the auction. We wonder: who benefits from the demise of such a great system? Critics of the auction often point to the low prices Kenya farmers receive, but we Kenya buyers are paying very high prices at the auction because we have full knowledge of the quality and we have to compete openly. It’s what happens with the money we’ve paid down stream from the auction that is the problem… Are the Kenyans about to throw the baby out with the bath water? …We hope not.
Anyhow, for the moment there are still great coffees, and they are still moving through the auction, and we’re happy to keep buying as long as you do.

The coffee we drink daily in the office is made from arrival samples which we have cupped. This is valuable for us in a couple of ways. First of all, we are almost always drinking great coffee, but cupping is one thing and brewing is another, so brewing the samples gives us another layer of evaluation. Everyone in the office is a legendary master blender- -just ask ‘em, so we are constantly trying a wide variety of combinations. One recent experiment, admittedly my own, I feel is noteworthy. It’s a 50/50% Kenya- Peru blend. Every time I have tried this it seems to come out real sweet and balanced, and I am surprised by the number of “what is this coffee?” comments. Could be worth a try, especially now, during the heart of the Peru season and with an ample supply of fine fly crop Kenya available.
R. Fulmer

Your Autumnal Equinox Coffee Update

2006-09-21T15:26:00.000-07:00

Ready or not fall has arrived… Before we present a few new coffees for your consideration, please make note of a presentation which will be taking place at Royal Coffee on Tuesday Sept. 26th at 10:30. The presentation will bring us up-to-date on a new organization dedicated to helping land mine victims, and the opportunities open to us to be part of a solution to this problem which plagues much of the coffee growing world.---and yes, there will be cookies.

Now for some fall coffees you may want to focus on:

Bolivian Organic samples are on the way for our approval. Folks who have bought this coffee in the past take note. It is never a smooth ride to get these here, and they’re usually late, but most would agree they are worth the extra anxiety. We hope the first shipments will be here before Thanksgiving, now is the time to reserve them. Refs 13012 &13013.

New Crop Premium Colombians: Valencia Supremo & Excelso, Mujeres de Guayata, and Mesa de los Santos are on the books, with more to come. The market is at 1.03….why are you waiting?

New Guinea Kimel A & X. These have been outstanding this year, but the cupboard is getting bare...only a few more of these left until next summer. Want some fresh lively coffee to pick up your Centrals? Yeah, these can do that.

New crop Timor Organic---First wave is afloat. These won’t last, they're going to sell-out in advance of arrival. Operators are standing by.

Yemen---my favorite coffee. There are 26 bags left of Sanani ref 13607 which have just left Yemen for Oakland. If there is such a thing as freshly milled new crop Yemen, the pre-shipment sample we approved for this container was a very good example; green, moist, and full of fresh blueberry Mocca flavor.

50/50% Kenya PB/Yirgacheffe RS Decaf is back! Ref 14176 arriving mid-October.

And finally, it is prime time for Peru...straight or a great component to pick up your blends.

R. Fulmer

Labor Day Specials

2006-08-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

August, normally a dull month, was anything but uneventful. On the New York "C" market, we saw a rally from close to yearly low prices up to highs of 1.12 on the spot month and above 1.20 on the back months.
And kind of unexpected, and potentially very very scary, we had our first genuine Brazilian frost scare in years. (temperature of 32 degrees taken in Pocos de Caldas)....an inconvenient truth... I quess a frost can still happen.
During August we also saw a tightness in robusta lead a rally in New York. Adding fuel to the fire was the uncertain status of tons robusta warehoused in Trieste.

I think if I had taken a poll in July: prices up or down in August? Most would have voted down.
Currently it is raining in Brazil and the market is selling lower. On the other hand, it is also the Hurricane season.
So as usual, there are factors which can influence prices both ways. John Cossette mentioned the other day a historical C market average of 1.06. It seems to me, to greatly simplify, buying coffee based on a C market close to 1.06, given the physical situation as we think we know it, is a pretty good bet.

Going into September, here's a list spot coffees we consider to be the cream of the Crop:
13905 Colombian 15+ Oporapa
13349 Costa Rican Hermosa Dota Tarrazu
12925 Ethiopian Yirgacheffe
12775 Ethiopian Special Prep Natural Sidamo
13777 Guatemalan SHB Huixoc
13852 Kenya PB
12804 Mexican Organic Pluma Real
11271 Panama SHB Panamaria
13220 New Guinea Kimel A
13478 Sumatra FT Organic
13421 Ethiopian MC Process Natural Sidamo Decaf
13959 Komodo SWP Decaf
13312 Sumatra Ft Organic RS Decaf

Cuping notes and futures: The preshipment samples for this year's Organic Timors are very good and the shipments are selling fast.
Also, we have one, and only one, container of new crop Ruvuma PB for this winter.... This is the best Tanzanian PB we get... Only 300 bags... You know what to do and when to do it.

Happy Labor Day!
R. Fulmer

Coffee Blog 7/21

2006-07-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

JAMAICA----All of our Jamaican for the balance of the year is being shipped now, ahead of the hurricane season. If you want some for the holidays, let us know and we'll set some aside. Availability of new crop is February 2007.

Emerging origin # 9--- FLORES: Last year we imported one container of washed Flores arabica. Not many too many folks bought the coffee, but those who did liked it a lot. As per their many requests, we have bought some more. The new crop is getting under way, and we have tentatively approved a pre-pre-ship sample. Flores, in case you've forgotten, is part of the Indonesian archipelago, located between Java and Timor. The coffee is sweet, full bodied and Java-like, but easier on the budget. Flores fans tell us it is very good in espresso.

Emerging Origin # 24--- CONGO: we received a truly outstanding sample and, aginst our better instincts, bought a container. This is a coffee that should have by now become a household staple in the specialty business, if only things were not as they are.
Look for this one this fall if you want a one-time unique coffee. If we approve the final pre-ship sample we'll have both flat beans and peaberries arriving in late September/early October.

Emerging Origin #29--Australia: yes there is coffee grown in Australia. Very little coffee if any is grown outside of the tropics, but this is one. Even if you don't buy the coffee you should look at the Mt. Top website. A link is available at Royal's website... Click business intelligence, then click the "exotic" tag, then click on the Mountain Top link.

New crop coffees for the early fall: Java, Timor organic, Flores, New Guinea, Peru, fly-crop Colombian and Brazil.

Coffee we love: ref 13961 SHG Nic Segovia "17 de Octubre amd 13911 "selecion Segovia"
R. Fulmer

Royal Coffee Update 7/12/06

2006-07-13T15:02:00.000-07:00

As you know most of this year’s Central, Mexican and African crop has been sold at origin. Royal now has most of the coffees we are going to rely on for delivery August-January, either in our warehouse or afloat.
The C market today is at .9995 basis Sept. It dropped to 97.60 briefly today before bouncing back and closing virtually un-changed. It seems to me this kind of trading is typical of the summer boredom in the trading ring.
I think the market will trade .93-1.05 for the next few weeks. The only factor on the immediate horizon that would make the market go above the higher end of that range is of course a freak cold spell in Brazil. Barring that, with Brazil and Vietnam having big crops, and the certified stocks holding above 3 million bags, it seems the market supply shortages which many predicted have not materialized.

So what, going forward, is the market going to do? Of course I do not know, but here is the way I see it going:

All the bearish news is out on the table….there really is nothing I can think of that would be a bigger negative story than what we already know.. We have known about this year’s large aggregate crop size for quite some time and that info has been generally digested.
August is traditionally a slow month. Europe shuts down and the market seems to be in a suspended mode.
But around Labor Day origin starts seriously marketing next year’s crop and roasters have to cover through the winter. Next year the crop in Brazil will be smaller. Speculation will begin as to how much smaller, and that will be the feature story for the market. Spring Brazilian rains will be closely watched and cries of drought will be made if possible.

So it seems to me the next big story would tend to be of a bullish nature.
I think we have a good opportunity to fix hedged coffee now against Sept, and maybe Dec at around, and slightly below 1.00. ( also march at a 1.00 if it were to drop 7 cents more) Last year the market low was around 93 cents, I do not see a good reason, heading to a smaller crop next year, why we would go lower than that level for any great length of time.

Bottom line: I think there is a good probability that we are near a low. Buying coffee from Central America, Mexico and Africa for the balance of this year both from a quality, price and selection standpoint will not get a whole lot better.

Here are some coffees which we have now. In order to sell this coffee, we would be happy to provide future invoice dates up until Dec 1.

Costa Rican—many options, some very good to excellent.
Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Sidamo and Harrar—a lot from which to choose, nothing left at origin.
Guats—good selection of HHT and Antigua…
Mexican—good selection of Pluma and a lot of Finca San Carlos.
Nic—a fair amount of organic coffee, but we project running out well in advance of the new crop
Panama—we think we have some very good coffees here. Panamaria and Maunier, we would love to give you a good deal on some of these.
El Salvador—I have fired the buyer responsible for over-buying these. But I also had to re-hire him this morning…I need to give some of these away.
Uganda Bugisu— sweet dark roasters still available.
Kenya— we have some real good small lots

Organics in general---Timor is a potential problem, if that origin dries up, it will put pressure on our other types, but at the moment we have a lot of Sumatra.

Best regards from Emeryville---R. Fulmer

Earthquake in Yogyakarta and Problems in Timor

2006-05-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

I talked to Sam Filiaci this morning. There were 1800 people killed in his town of Klaten. Fortunately he did not lose any employees or family members, but some of the employees did lose family. His spice factory in Klaten had the roof collapse. It happened Saturday before the work day began, so they were lucky no one was there or there would have been fatalities. Friday night Sam had evacuated 22 employees from Timor and put them up in a hotel in Yogya. Then the hotel was destroyed. No one was hurt, but they had to sleep in the parking lot; they are all now at Sam’s house.
As for Timor, the situation has deteriorated further at the worst moment for the coffee farmers. There is no one to buy the cherry; the banks are all closed. As far as the coffee for this year goes, we are looking at another compromised situation at best. We’ll know a lot more in a couple of weeks. Sam’s immediate concern, however, is the Mt. Merapi volcano which is threatening to erupt 15 miles from his house.--- Bob

Your 2006 Panama Update

2006-05-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

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.

Small Producer Program

2006-05-22T16:07:00.000-07:00

One day a customer asked me what I knew about the Pluma coffee that he loved. This started my research. In the quest to quench our roaster clients never ending thirst for information about the fine coffee we import, I am happy to introduce RC# 12585 Mexican Small Producer Pluma.
Our friends at Calvo (Pluma Tres Oros) agree with us that establishing and maintaining the relationship between roaster and small producers is the key to ensuring that these coffees of distinction do not disappear forever. Small producer’s coffee throughout the world is usually mixed together to form commercial export brands. The idea behind this program is to recognize and reward the small individual growers.
These five featured producers have been purveying their coffee to the Calvo family for many years. These coffee(s) embody the true distinct flavor that the Sierra Sur Mt. Range has to offer. The bright, sweet cup has a distinct layer and length to it that some roasters feel only exist in Guatemalan coffee.

Try it as a single origin espresso…hopefully they’ll be some left when you come back for more.
---Alex Mason

For more info on these producers, click on “business intelligence” on our home page and then click on “recently added links” for Fincas San Jose, San Mateo, Cafetal El Popo, Don Andres and Rancho Golgota.

Mexico

2006-05-22T15:23:00.000-07:00

We are now right in the heart of the season for Mexican Coffees. We have quite a few from which to choose. If you want to cherry pick the best Mexican coffee we are going to see this year, you buy these: Refs: 12804 and 12805 Mex Organic Pluma Real, Olivo and Cabana. These two lots, along with the Pluma 3 Oros (small producers) ref 12585 are classic Pluma coffees--- soft, sweet, but still lively and bright. Plumas do not often get the credit they deserve, but when they are as good as these, they would do just fine in any cupping contest.

From Chiapas, the lot to bring home is ref 13409 Organic Chiapas from the Proish COOP.

For conventional coffee, we have two single farms, the Fino Rojas from Señora Rojas Jamaica farm, and from Tapachula, the Finca San Carlos which has been in the Hotzen family since 1888. So, it is a very good time to buy Mexicans.
Robert Fulmer

Que Sorpresa!... Update 5/1/2006

2006-05-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

Generally we hate surprises. But the last couple of weeks we’ve had a few of the pleasant variety. First of all, we received two very good Brazil deliveries, which is only surprising because it is very late in the year to be bragging about Brazilian coffee. But these two are very good:
Ref 12682 Brazil 17/18 Mogiana
Ref 13048 Brazil Natural Fazenda Aurea…this one is also available as Royal Select Water Decaf …ref 13516

The next surprise, also pleasant and somewhat unexpected, was the arrival of Sulawesi Toraja ref 13148. This has not been a banner year for Sulawesi. Just when we were ready to throw in the towel and drink tea, we get this stellar delivery….Again at a time when real good deliveries like this are not common.

It’s also somewhat surprising when a washed Sidamo out-cups our Yirgacheffe deliveries, but ref 12645 washed Sidamo will out-Yirgacheffe most Yirghcheffe.

It’s never a total surprise, in fact we are always hoping for great Natural Sidamo, but getting a great Natural Ethiopian is not something you can ever take for granted. So, it is a great time to buy Natural Sidamo both Organic and non-certified…. Mocca flavor at tight-wad prices…Refs 124444 &12475 Organic and Refs 12653 & 12654 conventional. If you want to add instant character and personality to your coffee, these components certainly provide that opportunity.

Finally, we contracted for our first container of the year of Rwandan... Ref 13593 Kibuye Mt. A Grade. We generally are looking for the brightest acidity we can find from East Africa, so it is a bit surprising we locked into this coffee. It did not really show floral or citrus-like acidity. Oh, this coffee is plenty bright, but it is a brightness combined with a sugary sweet body. This should be, surprises aside, a great coffee based on our pre-shipment sample. Look for it to be here in early July.

ARRIVAL UPDATE 4/12

2006-04-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

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

El Salvador...Again, what the heck is a pulped natural?

2006-03-21T09:40:00.000-08:00

Last week Jeri Idso and I went for a quick visit to El Salvador. The harvest is winding down, most of the cherries are off the trees, beans are resting in parchment and shipments are going out daily. The coffee has rested for a while and much more high altitude coffee is now in the mix, so it cups a lot better than samples I cupped in mid- January.

In order to understand what a pulped natural is, and why you might want to buy one, you need to think about the ways coffee is processed. So first let us review: under the skin of a coffee cherry is a layer of mucilage, a sticky sweet fruit. Under this stuff is the parchment or pergamino, and under the parchment is the coffee bean.

After the ripe cherries are picked there are four different ways to proceed with the processing, and each creates a different taste profile (not counting what goes on in Sumatra which I trust you’ll appreciate we not discuss at this time). There are many slight variations, but the four main processes are:

1. De-mucilage Process—strip off the mucilage immediately and dry the parchment. Very common in Costa Rica and Colombia

2. Fermented and fully washed Process--- put the de-pulped cherries into a tank and let the mucilage dissolve, then wash and dry the parchment. A very traditional and common process utilized by most fine mild coffee producers such as Guatemala, Kenya and Panama, to name but a few.

3. Naturals---dry the cherries with the skin still on. Ripe cherry is simple dried. The cherry dehydrates and becomes woody and hard. Before the coffee is exported, the dried cherry and parchment are milled off the bean. This is, for example, the way Yemen and Ethiopian Harrar are processed.

4. Pulped Natural---to create a pulped natural, you do something in between the washed and natural processes. First, the cherry skin is removed as in the washed process, but then what remains, sticky fruit and all, goes directly to the drying patio and is dried with a great deal of attention. Constant raking and turning of the sticky wet parchment is critical. If the coffee is not turned and dried just right, very bad things can happen.

I am told by JASAL in El Salvador that they have the secret for making great pulped naturals… and that secret is… location, location, location.
At the Las Cruces mill in El Salvador, JASAL has what they believe are unique and ideal conditions: constant breezes, full sunshine during the day, and relatively cool, dry nights. About three years ago JASAL started experimenting with the pulped natural process. They’ve sent samples to us, and we cupped coffee there, usually not aware of how the coffee was processed. In blind cupping, we kept picking out the pulped natural among our favorites.
The truth is we don’t really care how coffee is processed---we’re looking for the best cupping coffees. That being said, I think we have tried enough of these pulped natural coffees to be able to highly recommend them. They become bigger, fuller, more flavorful, a bit more fruit, and yet they don’t lose acidity. Many coffee people try them and think about making great espresso..so do we.

We have a great line up of coffees from El Salvador. Check out the offering list. A personal tip….the Cerro las Ranas SHB for the second half of the year...Come this October it should be as good a Central American coffee as can be found.
---Robert Fulmer

2006-03-10T13:47:00.000-08:00

IN MEMORY OF THE KING

“A good name is far better than a good deal of money” –m.a.ogsadey

The coffee business has lost a king. In early February, Mohamed Abdullahi Ogsadey was killed in a car accident in Ethiopia. A Somali king by birth, he immigrated to Ethiopia and has been our supplier of Ethiopian coffees since the early1980’s. We shall not soon see his like again.

A devout Muslim, Ogsadey never drank alcohol, never ate pork, and never (!) drank coffee…except for once at my house, when I brought out my mother’s antique Turkish espresso cups, and he graciously deigned to take a few sips. He walked the earth like the true king he was, eagerly followed by gleeful children, hoping for the generous handouts he was known for. One of our customers once found himself on a bus with Ogsadey, who bought Qat for the entire bus to chew on for the duration of the trip. In a business of sharks, he was the epitome of honor. In all our years of dealing with him, his knowledge and understanding of the coffee business never failed to impress us, never once fell below the very highest standards of the industry. His reputation at the time of his unexpected death was impeccable.

Words cannot convey his demeanor and stature. His son Saad once said to me, “all of his sons have been to University, but none of us can hold a candle to him.” No one who ever met him would ever forget him. Tall, handsome, smiling, he dominated a room.

In the end, we will always hold him in our hearts, but he will remain with us also as a symbol of what is best in the industry. He was an honorable man, who never cheated in business, and gave back to those at the bottom of the coffee chain who need it the most. We would all do well to enjoy his reputation when our time comes…..
-Helen Nicholas

Harrar Horse

2006-03-10T13:31:00.000-08:00

If you think the Harrar Horse logo is popular here, you should see what it means in Ethiopia. Ogsadey’s reputation is legendary: first beginning as a truck driver, then becoming the first native African coffee exporter in Ethiopia, and ultimately, building a coffee empire which is famous throughout the county and the world. I’m not exaggerating. As soon as the horse logo and the driver of the company jeep were identified, entire villages would swarm chanting: OG-SA-DEY!-OG-SA-DEY! One might think that kind of adulation could affect one’s ego. I never saw that. Everyone was treated seriously and with respect, as if they were the biggest buyers in the world.

He once drove me to a place in the Harrar growing region three hours from his home in Dire Dawa. While listening to recorded prayers from the Koran on the tape player, Ogsadey told me a story of how, in the good old days, getting to this same place would take two to three weeks, and require winches, machetes and guns to ward off pirates, and in my imagination, big hungry animals.

He worked tirelessly to the end. In his eighties, retirement never occurred to him. Just a few years ago he invested in two big new warehouses. Hundreds of big rigs with the Harrar Horse logo are on the road. He took pride pointing out any new factories or new neon lights in Addis Ababa. He possessed a patriotic pride in his county; despite its poverty, he was ever optimistic. Perhaps a contradiction, he greatly admired both Presidents Reagan and Clinton. Reagan for bringing down that wall, and Clinton, for his tireless statesmanship and efforts to bring peace to the world, particularly in the Middle East. When the Communists took power in Ethiopia, they seized all of Ogsadey’s assets. With a big smile he would tell the story of how they could not figure out how to run the coffee business, so wisely, they gave it all back.

Never, despite frost, droughts, up markets or down markets, did we ever have concern about our contracts with MAO. Doing business was a pleasure. Straightforward, old-fashioned and old school in the most positive sense--- the words honorable and integrity come to mind. He was a tremendous mentor and influence. Together, we had the opportunity, with the help of our customers, to make some significant donations to the Dil Chora Hospital in Dire Dawa. Royal will continue charitable work in Ethiopia as long as we are in business. In this way we will continue to honor our great friend. May he rest in peace.
-Robert Fulmer