The Royal Blog

Coffee News

Education + Resources

Crown Jewels

The Crown

Buy Great Coffee and Help Build a Digital Learning Center in Ethiopia

We expected a quick visit. Instead, it became one of the most memorable moments of the entire trip.

Kenya Green Coffee Export Review

One of the most sought after origins in specialty coffee, its profile has iconic savory notes like tomato and punchy acidity.

Brazil: Why It’s Worth Booking Before September

New crop Brazils won’t land until October or November, that’s just the harvest calendar. But spot availability on Brazil macrolots has tightened this summer, and roasters waiting until fall are finding a thinner market. Here’s why it’s worth booking your coverage now

Costa Rica Green Coffee Export Review

Well known for organic coffee production, eco-tourism, and modern processing culture dominated by top quality honeys and naturals, Costa Rica contributes a little over a million 60kg bags annually to the world’s volume of coffee, making up less than 1% of total annual global production.  Despite this, coffee remains a very important crop to the economy of the country with coffee exports valuing at over $422 million dollars in 2024.  

Making Iced Coffee At Home

Making Iced Coffee At Home

Making Iced Coffee At Home By Nate Lumpkin, Crown Barista The good news is that cold coffee is extremely easy to make, even if you have limited tools and equipment. Here are a couple methods you can use to make cheap, delicious, and easy cold coffee at home. FRENCH PRESS Of all the kinds of...

Cupping and the Coronavirus: an Update

Cupping and the Coronavirus: an Update

Well, who’d have thought that just over a month after wondering publicly whether the novel coronavirus would put an end to public cuppings, nearly the entire world would be thrust into an unprecedented lockdown. Here in the Bay Area, we’ve been sheltering in place since Tuesday March 17, and it...

COVID-19 Updates from Royal’s Coffee Supply Network: Peru

COVID-19 Updates from Royal’s Coffee Supply Network: Peru

Editor's note: Updates from our suppliers keep flying in, and we're doing our best to stay informed and level-headed. We'll be sharing information from our extensive network as the coronavirus situation continues to develop both domestically and abroad. Updates from Peru Perhaps one of the areas...

COVID-19 Updates for Coffee Buyers

COVID-19 Updates for Coffee Buyers

We are updating this blog entry weekly. Last update was April 13th, 2020.  These weeks have been a whirlwind, but we’ve managed to keep coffee flowing in and out of our warehouse and handle QC responsibilities, albeit with a skeleton crew to minimize contact points among our staff. We thank those...

Comparing Common Coffee Brewers – Part I

Comparing Common Coffee Brewers – Part I

By Nate Lumpkin, The Crown Barista As you all know, everything’s closed down for a little while to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, and the Crown is doing its part by staying closed. In the meantime, I have a lot of time on my hands. I’ve been curious about all the different drippers and...

Extolling the Virtues of Dark Roasts

Extolling the Virtues of Dark Roasts

Extolling the Virtues of Dark Roasts By Nate Lumpkin with illustrations by Elise Becker, Crown Baristas Man, I really love dark roast coffee. I love walking into a place and asking for a “coffee” and getting a cup that burns the heck out of my mouth and tastes like tar smoke. I love diner coffee,...

Could COVID-19 Put an End to Public Cuppings?

Could COVID-19 Put an End to Public Cuppings?

Editor's Note: This article first ran on March 9, 2020, in Daily Coffee News. It is reprinted here with permission. As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been capturing headlines worldwide, the Specialty Coffee Association last week announced a series of new hygiene practices to be implemented...

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day

We're fortunate to have team made up of incredible humans at Royal Coffee. In honor of National Women's Day, we are featuring some of them here, and sharing their career advice. Amanda Amato Junior Trader, 3 years with Royal Coffee Favorite Coffee: Colombia (Huila specifically) and Rwanda  ...

What’s Brewing?

What’s Brewing?

New panel discussion at The Crown: What's Brewing? March 27th, 2020 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm What’s Brewing is part of our "Understanding Extraction" series at The Crown, which brings experts together from adjacent industries to relate their experience with issues of sustainability, supply chain...