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04-15-19

Good Morning, Happy Monday

We’ve just returned from Boston and was really great to see so many of our coffee friends and business partners.

As is usually the case, the SCA is a beacon of optimism, innovation, and quality. The coffees available in “the Roaster Village” were phenomenal, representing the best of what the coffee world has to offer, delivered in a dizzying array of forms. Pour overs, espressos and espresso-based drinks, cold brew, nitro, all manner of pods including frozen coffee, coffee blended with flavors, recyclable K-cups. The barista competitions were as usual well attended. Many of us were displaying our finest selections of green coffee and Armenia was delighted to share more than 100 lbs of samples of our finest coffees. We attended the International Woman’s Coffee Association (IWCA) breakfast and were floored by the great work the local chapters are doing to support the communities, ranging from health, education, childcare and elder care. But if there was a pall hanging overhead, it was the concern about the impact of low prices on producer lives and the future availability of great coffees. There seemed to be more than the usual number of producers hoping to capture more of the value chain by selling directly, but one small coop from Colombia who had succeeded in doing just that – even finding the end customer — was amazed that coffee paid for in early February and processed and shipped and delivered promptly was still not paid for. Clearly, financing will be a challenge to maintain such a process.

Armenia happens to have some spots that recently arrived:

• Some delicate Panama’s

• Really Nice RFA Brazils

• Honduras from the Marcala region (FTO and conventional)

• FTO Sumatra Grade 1 DP

• Top Papua New Guinea from Sigri Estate

 

Coffees Arrived soon to be stripped (NJ):

• Sumatra Gr1 DP

• Tarrazu “La Pastora”

 

If we can help in anyway, please let us know.

The Armenia Team