The Royal Blog

Despite being geographically minuscule, Burundi commands an outsized presence in specialty coffee sourcing. Its hills provide exceptional climate and elevation for growing, and its most conscientious producers are cultivating, processing, and exporting coffee that rivals the best and brightest from anywhere in the world. The crop is the country’s single most important export by both […]

Editor’s note: A version of this article first ran on the blog in December of 2018. This year, our Sales Associate, Spencer Ford, updated the list and will be updating it throughout the season. Even in the strangest of years in recent memory, there’s at least a little comfort to the impending changing of the […]

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 are reflected in the country’s […]

Imagine. Two countries ravaged for generations with the threat of violence and disorder, where even neighbors may have had long histories fraught with conflict. First under German colonists, then under the Belgian colonial regime, those who had been neighbors for generations were played against each other to the benefit of the ruling class. Unfortunately, I […]

Winter is probably best time to drink coffee. Its warmth provides an extra measure of comfort and supplies the energy required to climb out from under the covers on a cold, dark morning. Yet winter arrivals are frequently overlooked in favor of their flashier summer counterparts—it’s admittedly hard to argue with a zesty Kenya Nyeri […]

Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared in Daily Coffee News on December 20, 2017. Spuds, yams, tubers – baked, boiled, fried, mashed… There’s almost no limit to the versatility of the root vegetable we often associate with Idaho or Ireland. It might surprise you to know that there are more than 1,000 varieties […]