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Royal Coffee Will Be Closed on Presidents’ Day 2020
The Royal Coffee office and Oakland warehouse will be closed on Monday, February 17th in observation of Presidents' Day. Please note that Caffeinated Cargo, Costa Oro and Dupuy Warehouses will also be closed and adjust your ordering schedule accordingly. Please email or call your trader for more...
Decaf, Methylene Chloride, and Royal Coffee
This week, Daily Coffee News published a summary of a surprisingly readable white paper by the Clean Label Project about decaffeinated coffee and the dangers of Methylene Chloride (or dichloromethane, CH2Cl2 for the scientists in the room). It circled the office this morning -- senior trader Jeri...
Nahún Rodríguez: Photos from Honduras
Occasionally, Royal Coffee will receive photos from origin that really stand out. We'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to Nahún Rodríguez, who works in Honduras and captures life there through his lens. You can find more of his work on Instagram @nahunrodriguez.hn Nahún Rodríguez:...
Looking Towards the Future of Guatemalan Coffee
Editor's note: This article first ran in Daily Coffee News on January 14, 2020. It is reprinted here with permission. Guatemalan coffee has long held a place of honor among specialty coffee roasters. Regional names like Antigua, Cobán, and Huehuetenango are familiar to many, and are frequently...
February 2020 at the Crown: Classes & Events Digest
Tasting the Coffee Flavor Wheel Feb 6, 2020 03:00 PM (PST) An interactive tasting of the Sensory Lexicon of coffee using reference samples from fruits, spices, candies and many others. Go to event site Coffee Tasting: Southern Hemisphere Coffee Feb 7, 2020 01:00 PM (PST) Free, open to the public...
Roasting on the Ikawa – Updates & Comments (Part I)
Flashback to April 2017, SCA Expo in Seattle. (For context, The Crown -- the building -- is still nearly 2 years from completion.) At Expo, one of the buzzworthy booths was a funny-looking small-batch electric roaster called Ikawa. You’ve surely heard of them by now, the Bluetooth-enabled device...
Some Real Talk on Geshas
Chris Kornman, Education and Lab Manager of The Crown: Royal Coffee Lab & Tasting Room briefly discusses the fabled Gesha coffee variety, the evolution of the plant's genetics and flavor profiles in anticipation of some new Crown Jewel releases. For more information on coffee plant types,...
Burundi: Passionate People and Exquisite Flavors
Editor's note: This article first ran in Coffee, Tea & I Magazine Vol 72 (Download a PDF here) and is reprinted with permission. Burundi: Passionate people and exquisite flavors The clay is red as bricks, stark against the lush greens of banana trees, tea leaves, and coffee plants. The colors...
When Café met Mezcal in Oaxaca
by Doris Garrido They say that in Oaxaca the mezcal is taken with coffee! -Lila Downs - Mexican singer Mezcal is an agave-based distilled drink from Oaxaca, as well as other states in México. I've found many stories about how mezcal was born but for this article, I am going to talk about the one...
January 2020 at the Crown: Classes & Events Digest
Coffee Tasting: What is Honey Process? Jan 3, 2020 01:00 PM (PST) The first free, open-to-the-public coffee tasting of the new year, we'll try some Honey process coffees. Go to event site Intro to Coffee Jan 11, 2020 02:00 PM (PST) A beginner-level class for enthusiasts, we'll demystify the...
Announcement: Royal Coffee is a Data Donor for the Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide
12/23/19 update: The 2019 Specialty Transaction Guide is published and can be downloaded here. We are encouraging everyone to read it and consider donating data if they are in a position to do so. 2/20/20 update:Chris Kornman provides some key takeaways from the 2019 Specialty Transaction Guide...
Tana Toraja: Notes from Sulawesi, Indonesia
I recently returned from a trip to Sulawesi with the Consulate General of Indonesia, where we visited coffee production areas and gained further understanding of the supply chain and current issues facing coffee producers. Read on to learn more about this unique production area in Indonesia, and...
Royal Coffee Holiday Schedule for Warehouses and Popular Carriers 2019 – 2020
Dear Royal Customer, The 2019-2020 Holiday season is nearly upon us! To help plan ahead, please see the list of important closure dates for our U.S. warehouses and most popular carriers for below. Please keep in mind that shipments during the entire 9 business day period of 12/23/19 – 1/2/20 are...
Opinion: Are Bees Responsible for Better Quality Coffee?
Foreword by Chris Kornman The story of Alfred Klein and Royal Coffee is a long one, best heard in the words of Don Alfred himself, and that of Royal’s cofounder Bob Fulmer. Bob and I struck up a brief conversation about the coffees and the farm a couple of years ago, which led to, among other...
Are Low Prices Fueling Displacement? A Closer Look at Coffee and Emigration
Editor's note: This article first ran on October 8, 2019 in Daily Coffee News. It is republished here with permission. Are Low Prices Fueling Displacement? A Closer Look at Coffee and Emigration If farmers can’t — at minimum — break even with their costs of production, they will very likely...