The Royal Blog

Wild gyrations in the coffee market, and how to cope. If you’ve been watching the coffee market recently, you are doubtless aware of the massive decline in coffee futures prices on the Intercontinental Commodity Exchange (“ICE”, colloquially still known as the “New York ‘C’ Market,” or just “the C”). Since peaking at $2.30/lb on September […]

About a month ago, I discussed some factors that led to the C market’s rise. Now that the C market has gone above the highs of the drought-driven market of 2014-15, I want to address our pricing specifically. While prices have increased due to freight and higher internal prices for cherry and parchment over the […]

The C market, as of October 14th, is trading at $2.09/lb, back to the levels reached immediately following the frost in Minas Gerais and other coffee regions of Brazil this past July. This is in spite of nearly ideal rainfall patterns in Brazil. Drought no longer seems to be a primary concern, although it remains […]

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 of you who have […]

What do you imagine the work of World Coffee Research looks like? Equator Coffees and The Crown played co-host to a pair of recent events where Greg Meenahan, WCR’s Partnership Director, presented data on sustainability and the progress made with the organization’s help. WCR is just a few years old, established in 2012, has about […]

Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series originally published in Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. It is reprinted here with permission. Part 1 is available on the Royal blog here, and you can visit Part 2 at the feature on their website, or download the pdf here, courtesy T&CTJ. How Coffee Auctions Evolved […]

Editor’s Note: This article is part of a series originally published in Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. It is reprinted here with permission. You can download the original pdf of the article here or visit the feature on their website, courtesy T&CTJ. How Coffee Auctions Evolved into the Modern Era This month, T&CTJ is launching […]

C Market Update – November 19, 2018 After a summer of undeterred collapse reaching just below the $1 mark, the C market spent October rebuilding its configuration with a sharp recovery to $1.2920. Despite our best wishes for the futures benchmark’s health, there is little change in the underlying fundamental news to inspire more upside […]

Industry Update: Bird’s Eye View From where I sit in the Royal offices, I can see maps of several key producing countries, labelled with flowery titles: Colombia, País del Café (Country of Coffee), Guatemala, Tierra de Contrastes (Land of Contrasts), El Salvador, Rincon Mágico (Magic Corner). Much of the work we do alongside roasters involves […]