The Royal Blog

By Chris Kornman and Charlie Habegger.  There’s something very reassuring about landed coffees in season. Last year’s shipments from Rwanda didn’t arrive until late spring of 2022, fully a year after their harvest. This year, the story is different. Of our Oakland-bound coffees from the recent harvest, we’ve already landed two containers, with a third ETA […]

Royal Coffee’s Inbound Traffic Specialist, Jodi Louws, shares her thoughts on market forces that will affect shipping costs in 2023.  TLDR; Shipping costs are not back to pre-pandemic lows, and we do not expect them to be. Freight rates are improving, but not “plunging”, and low East –West rates are not opening doors for low […]

Back in April of this year, our cofounder Bob cupped some of the offer samples with Natalia from Mastercol, the Crown’s roaster Doris, and our Colombian green coffee buyer Amanda, and he was blown away by some of the most unique coffees we have ever encountered. We’re proud to feature an array of green coffees […]

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 […]

OK, the truth is that we’ve been receiving Ethiopian coffees for months now, but unless you are booking forward with us, you’ve likely not seen many, if any, available on our SPOT Offering List. This is because they’ve all been selling out in advance of arrival, or shortly thereafter. Happily, we are about to reach […]

Editor’s note: This update was a collaborative effort between Caitlin McCarthy-García, Max Nicholas-Fulmer, and Charlie Habegger.  On a global level, weather patterns in Brazil brought doubt to the world’s coffee supply in mid-2021; while in Kenya, labor and input costs on the farm remained ever high due to the pandemic. In Kenya specifically, movement of people […]

One of the most frequently misunderstood accounting problems in coffee roasting is the loss of mass during the roasting process.  Green coffee goes in, roasted coffee comes out, and there’s magically less of it. Even at small scales, improperly calculating your roast yields can cause major inventory and financial headaches, so it’s worth knowing exactly […]

The Crown seeks to give exposure to local and international artists through The Crown Gallery, and hosts new artists each quarter. The Crown Gallery is currently accepting submissions for the Winter of 2022, and is seeking artists who approach issues related to environmental sustainability, intersectionality, the City of Oakland, and of course, coffee. Contact us […]

This time of the year is typically lean in high-quality washed milds for most roasters, which is why we’re letting you in on the worst-kept secret in seasonal coffee menus: Colombia. We have been directing buyers to our roster of distinctive washed lineup of coffees from southern Huila and Cauca so much lately we figured […]

Editor’s note: In December 2021, Royal Coffee donated the proceeds from the sale of CJO1444 , generously matched by Oatly, to Grounds for Health. In the note below, Kyle Engleman, Director of Philanthropy, issues a heartfelt thanks on behalf of Grounds for Health. Interested in getting involved? Email Kyle here.  Dear Royal Coffee Customers,  Thank […]