Two awesome, seasonal coffees....smokin' fresh and ready...Ethiopia Guji Sidamo Natural DECAF (Mountain Water Process), still berry-bursting nose and great body.  We thought this fabulously fruity caffeinated coffee was excellent as well...doesn't lose much in the decaf process! Actually came in at a higher 2nd crack temp in the roaster than the caffeinated version.  A real treat for you decaf drinkers...I never thought I'd find a WP coffee THIS good.

New territory for us in Northern Sumatra with the Sidikalang-Dairi" Tabu Jamu", a special project of developer/partner/importer Royal Coffee.  I was thrilled to have this call out to me from the cupping table, as it's not your average joe...the volcanic area around the massive Lake Toba holds some amazing terroir for spicy, heavy-bodied semi-washed coffees without the funk you get in most Mandheling- and Lintong-category offerings.  The Tabu Jamu is a proprietary development between exporter Syahrial and Dody and Royal.  They're both committed to offering a non-earthy Sumatra alternative, and this crop, the third one (since '07)is a fine example.  Wine and coriander and berry notes for the exotic nose, syrupy body with a long and even finish, nice mild acidity.  This'll make a few blends as well, which excited my alchemical side.

Buzz: Killer Espresso, 1644 N. Damen Ave in Wicker Park nabe in Chicago will be serving a special Badbeard's all-Brazil espresso this week as well as Kenya Kiambu-Riuki peaberry at the Clever drip station.  For social media savvy and newbies you can follow the feed at www.twitter.com/buzzklrespresso

Great coffees from the current crop cycles seem few and far between but our first will be in-house on Thursday...microlot Mexico Terruño Nayarita natural, certified organic and direct trade, farm- and lot-traceable!  This coffee keeps improving every year, thanks to the assiduous overseeing of Jim Kosalos of Kirkland, WA exclusive  importer of all the coffees from this amazing agro-centric project in Tepic, State of Nayarit.  This year even some Mexico City roasters got a shot to buy it and jumped on some lots.  Other novelty this season for the co-op will be the Mexican Barista Champion appearing at the PortaCafe (complete, self-contained lab for growers, which has also taken off in the industry) to pull shots of espresso for the farmers.  They do need to see and taste the coffee they've labored so hard to produce, rather than just immediately shipping it out after full processing and resting!

To you faithful who have waited for this at Badbeard's I'll be roasting it from Friday on, picking it up Thursday.  It's the most amazing Mexican natural java ever to appear on our shores, and in small quantities.  Quality counts big-time.

Willamette Week contributing journalist and coffee-lover Hanna Neuschwander spent a lot of time trolling the burgeoning microroaster movement here in Portland to give a nice overview of true coffee geekdom The article here.  Nice job Hanna!  We hope her caffeine jitters have calmed down by now....my only emendation as far as Badbeard's is concerned is her incorrect lumping me in with the "NW-style" espresso crowd, since I pointed out to her quite fervently my adherence to Northern Italian-school, Brazil-based blends a la Spella Caffe.

Super-duper espresso fanatics Buzz: Killer Espresso in the Wicker Park nabe of Chicago are pulling shots of a unique Deep Cello formulation consisting of our three Brazil offerings.  Awaiting "judgment day" from them but you can follow their tweets and such at www.buzzkillerespresso.com

Buzz, which opened fairly recently, is fronted at the bar by master barista James Liu of Intelligentsia fame.  They serve up a rotation of high-end 'spro and drip coffees from roasters around the country. We are very pleased to be given a shot, no pun disintended!

The first KPCI container landed last week here in Oregon and I retrieved our treasured Kattehollay Estate Peaberry yesterday and it is even more beautiful than last year's stellar crop.  The tiny Chikmagalur estate continues to produce some of the best coffee ever to come out of India and we secured as much as we could for this year!  Every bit as interesting as the vaunted peaberry from Tanzania without the extreme swings in flavor profile, and a vibrant coffee in any preparation, including Single Estate espresso.

This "flash" came in thru Coffee's Daily Dose, an online rag I receive which has industry details.  Unfortunately this emag tends to focus on the big players in the commercial market, so there's sadly much press about the boring stuff relating to Starbu&*#, McD's, BK wars, etc., with the occasional interesting tidbit about something I actually care about. As reported originally in the Christian Science Monitor...

"Certification Process, Price Lead Farmers to Abandon Organic Coffee

8 Mar 2010 12:29 GMT - Certification Process, Price Lead Farmers to Abandon Organic Coffee 
March 8, 2010 /EIN PRESSWIRE/ Almost 75% of the world's organic coffee comes from Latin America, but farmers there are beginning to abandon the organic coffee trade, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
Organic coffee farming is much more environmentally friendly (and human-friendly) because of the lack of pesticides used in production, but both the price and the certification process of organic coffee has turned buyers off of the product.
Beans of organically grown coffee are 25% more expensive than traditionally grown coffee, and it currently takes up to three years for beans to be certified as organic. This means a farmer needs to absorb the production cost while waiting to be able to sell the product as "organic" in a market where buyers are abandoning organic coffee.
    Read more at Organic Food News Today
    Latin America Organic Food news - http://organicfood.einnews.com/latin-america/ 

 Truth be told there'smuch validity to this information. We here at Badbeard's go to considerable length and great expense to source fine green coffee to roast for you, and rely heavily on partners such as Elan Organic (www.elanorganic.com) and others who emphasize sustainably-grown and equitably-traded coffee.  Our preferences are personal and subjective, of course, but the uptick in "digestive-consciousness awareness" is a good thing.  Does "certified organic" mean necessarily that you cup will taste better?  NO.  In fact there are many sources of DE FACTO organic coffee--in a nutshell, produced by farmers who literally can't afford to pay the certifications premiums OR non-organic materials which lead to better crop yields, etc.  Coffee farming is still a bare-bones business in most producing countries, and the quality and equitable-trade practices MUST be consumer-driven.  Quality keeps improving all over the world, but the vast bulk of commercially-traded java is only fair-to-middling in quality owing to the mass production necessities of the market, from source to roast.

Taste is personal first and foremost.  If you can't tell, or it doesn't matter specifically where your coffee comes from, you'll be reinforcing the NECESSITY of inferior coffee in the marketplace.  Those of you who care and are willing to pay those few extra dollars for your cuppa pleasure ormerely caffeine fix can only be encouraged to come to our side to experience the TASTE difference.  Have at it world!==BADBEARD

...finally!  Started its long journey back in late December and hit the roastery today.   Vacuum seals all intact,  green as fragrant and beautiful as usual. First roast. spot on....a few days rest will tell, but as always with Daterra coffees, the cupping samples tell the complete story; that's why we covet them!   Now onto the fun part...consuming!

Badbeard's has seen a lot of fundraising activity of late, between the Haitian relief calls and local (Portland, OR) arts organizations.  It's refreshing to see the sacrifices being made by lots of ordinary folks who could use a nice bailout of their own.  Providing java for the Portland Youth Philharmonic gave me the opportunity to hear some of our outstanding local talent, conducted by David Hattner (who happily I knew from NYC freelance music circles of yesteryear). Bravo guys and gals!

We're currently working with some other local roasters and importers on securing some fine Haitian Highland coffees, the logistics for which has of course gotten enormously complicated with the earthquake, aftershocks and general chaos.  So much of the arable land there has been ruined it will be no mean feat for farmers to recover, a nd we will support their rebuilding efforts.  Hopefully our customers will help us with this endeavor...will continue posting on this.  Meanwhile bravos to all who have sacrificed to help the Haitians...especially our Portland-based Mercy Corps.

I just watched the first 2 discs of  the sobering, Canadian-produced 3-DVD documentary called Black Coffee, which is interesting historically and a grim reminder of the uphill battles faced by all who consume coffee.  The 2nd disc is quite jarring in its historical telling of the 20th century viz the green stuff, and highlights how far the industry has come and how far we have yet to go to bring some economic equality to the world.  The commoditization (coffee still #2 after oil on world markets) has insured the frankly vile and oppressive behavior of consuming nations, notably but not exclusively the US, towards the producer entities.  Clearly what we are paying for a cup of coffee doesn't come close to rectifying the disparities in general.  One can hardly imagine that the destitution of the average coffee farmer worldwide is healthy for the industry in the future; this status quo has to stop eventually.  Generic coffee is still the king, although it must be said that today we can enjoy far better-tasting brews than we could even 25 years ago.  I enjoyed Dunkin' Donuts coffee plenty in college in the mid-70s, and was able to buy acceptable whole bean java in NYC in the late 70s as well. Oh how things have changed. The numbers of conscientious roasters has also risen dramatically...you (we) go go go!!!

As a roaster who only purchases the highest-end of the available green market; and this takes in equitable trading practices,(transparency, quality, sustainability and such, I'm fortunate that the system allows me to source green beans of discerning quality.  You the consumer as well as the producer benefits when the applicable super-premium $$$ are paid.  As cup quality and origin uniqueness become even more prominent in "the mission" we will right many of the current wrongs.  The socio-economic fragility of "the coffee system" is on the way up, fortunately.  And we hope that you choose to say no to mass-market consumption and experience the little but obvious and intense differences that you can taste between microroasting and "the other"!

By all means watch Black Coffee.  The amazing doc "Black Gold" is another must-see, especially for a brutally honest picture of production in Ethiopia, my favorite country of coffee origin and the birthplace of the bean.  We're happy and privileged to sell the fine products originating from the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (OCFCU), whose plight is highlighted in the film.