Lest you had any thoughts we don't live in a fragile world...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-23/coffee-fungus-spurs-central-america-migration-plans-jobs.html

All you biologists-in-the-closet have doubtless heard something in the press about the devastating fungal outbreak of "Coffee Rust" being experienced by particularly hard-hit Central America and Mexico. States of Emergency in the coffee sector have been announced in Guatemala and other affected countries. The is a very interesting and thoughtful article here which merits reading for the curious and concerned.  The pic is what it looks like.  Our coffees were all produced and harvested prior to this outbreak and we have our collective roasting fingers crossed that the blight is successfully dealt with in the next year.

Coffee rust pic.jpg (49.19 kb)

Bang-bang! is the only way to describe the trade of Kenya auction coffees some years, both in Nairobi and here in the 'states Most of what arrived and cleared customs yesterday, April 11, was cupped today and sold immediately, so we were able to procure a couple interesting & super-yum Riuru-district Peaberry offerings, Oaklands and Reura. Will be arriving next week at the roastery for immediate disbursement! Also a fantastic Ruvuma AA from Tanzania which rivals the Kenyas in cup profile. Also more inventory of the exceptionally good Honduran lot we recently took in from the Beneficio (mill) Santa Rosa. Honduras will be appearing on the upcoming Market of Choice 'Savories' special in all 8 Oregon locations.

This trade paper reprint about Vietnam's coffee consuming and production has raised a few eyebrows about the world's #2 producer by volume (pretty much all of it Robusta, an inferior species to Arabica, which by nature contains twice the caffeine as Arabica) isn't as surprising as it is kinda tragic. One of the reasons we don't ever touch the stuff, although in fairness some relatively-if-barely drinkable Robusta is still produced in India, Africa and Brazil).  But when you buy some rank, jacked-up brown liquid you can be some the roaster has used some Robusta in the blend. Worth avoiding!

This sweet, caramelly coffee from Honduras's Beneficio Santa Rosa is a great find...Honduras has been off my radar for too long, apparently! The two distinct lots I took in are ever-so-slightly different..#115 has a little more Nutella and cacao in the palate. Might even put through the espresso machine this coming week, as it is lower in acidity than most of my Centrals.

Arguably Brazil's Daterra Farms runs the world's most thorough, soup-to-nuts turnkey coffee operation, from seed to cup. Their Penta system assures quality control in every stage of development and the results are stunning, organically produced and Rainforest Alliance®-certified coffees. Sweet Blue is produced from exclusively Mundo Novo cultivar, which for single origin espresso offers a near-perfect balance of mouthfeel, acidity, chocolatey sweetness. We are bringing back a small quantity of this year's harvest which will arrive at the roastery mid-week (Feb. 13th). With permission of Sweet Maria's you can read a lot about this estate and see archival photos taken by Thompson Owen in his exhaustive trek of their operation from several years ago.

Laura Widener's a fantastic human being of course as well as an extraordinary dessert-artiste, and it's no surprise that she rose uppah in the absurdist local (Gresham, OR) drama of a queer couple being turned down for their wedding cake by a hypocritical "Christian values" bakery. That such discussions and controversies ever exist is appalling. Is it worth boycotting an establishment for exercising its Constitutional right to be obtuse and stupid? Heck yeah.

Silly name, deep and unctuous espresso shots. These two certified organic coffees together...Flores Bajawa Ngura and Java Taman Dadar...have enough body and flavor to warrant the treatment of a long, slow Italian-level roast.  I pulled a fabulous rich shot at 199.5 degrees off a heavy tamp of 18.5 grams for 24 seconds.  Anisette and brown sugar were top notes and a sweet chocolatey finish on the ring of crema left in the cup.  

Tthe rich certified organic Flores Ngura Bajawa from the vast Indonesia archipelago is back as of this week, showing beautifully in medium and darker roast profiles. This is a washed process coffee, so don't expect any Sumatran wet-hulled funkorama here...it's sweet and full-bodied. To highlight its versatility we have created a dark-roast version and paired it with another mahogany-roast, the Organic Java Taman Dadar. They are honorary members of "Tony's Club", where full-bodied coffees have lifetime membership.

....at all 8 Markets of Choice throughout Oregon.  A beautiful rich and sweet coffee, and some of the fattest the varietal is a cross between the Maragogype, or "elephant bean", and the native Pacas) and phattest beans we've had this year! Check the MOC "savories" flyer...sale goes on til Dec 29.