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The Catracha Quality Project Process Map
When we started the Catracha Quality Project (CQP), our first goal was to create a map to visualize how the Catracha producers were processing coffee from cherry to dried parchment. Over the last two harvests in Santa Elena, we interviewed producers and observed their practices to create a...
C Market Tumbles into the Weekend
This week in global finance, US stocks posted the largest loss since June and all major indices declined to their lowest level in months on news of North Korea’s nuclear weapons test and further commentary from Federal Reserve officials indicating the possibility of a second US interest rate hike....
From Popayán to Oakland: One coffee’s sojourn measured in human hands and daily temperatures
Once a coffee cherry is picked from the branch, every step it takes until it’s brewed is a desperate act of preservation, a struggle against the entropy that will inevitably degrade the dying seed. In a perfect world, short distances traveled in stable environments would contribute to that...
Single Farmer Lots from YCFCU & Royal Coffee
Since the inception of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange in 2008, full traceability back to the specific farmer has been limited to large estates capable of exporting their own produce. Beginning in 2012, however, Royal Coffee and YCFCU began a program of separating single farm lots from the larger...
The Catracha Quality Project Results Are Coming
At the end of July, Catracha Coffee single farm micro-lots arrived in the Royal warehouse in Oakland, California. The coffees were produced by individual farmers in Santa Elena, Honduras, and the lots ranged from 5 to 20 bags. All bags were printed with the farmer’s name to ensure traceability....
Your Back to School Update from Royal Coffee
Labor Day Weekend often marks the return of familiar patterns: school, football, consistent schedules and ways of doing things. Here at Royal, we are taking a different approach this fall, ushering in a slate of major additions and upgrades at various levels of the company which should...
C Market: Futures Maneuver Higher At Week’s End
This week in global finance, US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen indicated a willingness to raise interest rates for the second time since December but also noted a need to see further strengthening in U.S. economic indicators. Despite nearing Federal Reserve targets for employment and...
C Market: Coffee Brushes Off Currency Pressure
This week in global finance, U.S. stock markets dropped at the end of a tepid week on expectations of a slow increase to interest rates from the Fed, marking a lull in the S&P 500’s march to record highs this year. Oil posted a steady recovery over the last week, supported by a weak US dollar...
Sneak Peak of The Crown: Royal Coffee Lab & Tasting Room
Loyal subscribers of our newsletter will be well-versed to the newest addition to the Royal family, The Crown: Royal Coffee Lab & Tasting Room. We are proud to share some early renderings of our new space here on our blog. Be sure to check back often for updates. Things are just getting...
Corrections – Mold, Mycotoxins, and Coffee
Let's cut to the chase: I need to issue a few corrections. Lucia Solis, of Scott Labs (not to be confused with the similarly named entity that helped develop the SL-28 variety in Kenya, for example. That Scott Labs no longer exists as such, but is now the National Agricultural Laboratories, a part...
Green Coffee Analytics part III – Visual Defects
This week we’re back on the grading table, this time focusing our attention on visual defects in green coffee. In many ways, green coffee defects share some similarities with screen size. They both impact the way coffee roasts and tastes and equally can have financial ramifications in terms of...
Origin Trip and Auction Invitation: Nariño, Colombia – August 2016
AUGUST 24TH-28TH 2016 Email Mayra Orellana-Powell by August 17th, 2016 to reserve your spot mpowell@royalcoffee.com Royal Coffee is partnering with Inconexus to sponsor a cupping contest and auction in Nariño, Colombia. We expect this event to be a repeat of last year’s success at Mejor de Tolima....
Introducing 78 Espresso Blend
Royal Coffee has been sourcing, buying, and selling green coffee since 1978. During that time, our focus has always been on showcasing the best single origins we can. While single origins are an integral part of the supply chain, it overlooks something roasters have been asking for: year-round...
C Market: ¯_(ツ)_/¯
This week in macroeconomics saw a drop in the US dollar index on the basis of poor economic performance in the second quarter, a middling US stock market as tech companies compensating for flops in the oil industry, and the beginning of the Bank of Japan’s purchase of exchange traded funds to...
The Blend Supply Chain
When building a blend, having a set of goals is key. What is the ideal blend for your particular situation, and what is your situation, exactly? For green buyers, constant maintenance of one’s position is a necessity, and some blends are built out of this necessity. Coffee is an agricultural...