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Good day everyone. I am skimming the ground after cupping some pre-ship Papua New Guinea Purosa Estate conventionals, FTO A's and the most fantastic Peaberries I have ever tasted! I am so excited about the Peaberry shipment. This year's Peaberry crop from the Purosa Estate was extremely small. I think that must have had its effect on the bean, because this Peaberry bean kicks ass! It is so filled with jammy fruit and chocolate, with a carmel syrupy texture that it blew me away...Just blew me away...!
The amazing Peaberry is ready to ship, and we are only able to get 13 bags. Yes, just thirteen bags...If you have interest, please let us know and we will get you a bag, two or all 13 if you are so inclined. Be fast, be furious on this one. There is no stretching the imagination on this Peaberry. It will sell, your customers will thank you, and you will remember this bean for a long, long time! I sure as hell will. (Maybe there will only be 12 available, as I may buy one for my personal stash...)
The Purosa Estate A Conventional has a nutty body with overtones of chocolate and almost a berry-like fruit. A wonderful shipment with fantastic cupping tastes. Available in good quantities for those of you conventional coffee hunters.
The FTO Purosa A - from the HOAC coop is available in plentiful supply. It is very similar to the conventional in the cup, except it is organic certified. Slight cupping differences would be a woody nuttiness that balances beautifully with the chocolate and fruit.
You will be very pleased with any of these A's (organic FTO or conventional) on your offer boards, your cupping tables and your home coffee makers/espresso machines. You will be tasting a coffee rarity and a truly out-of-this-world shipment if you go for a Peaberry bag.
Call us with your interest, when they are gone they are gone.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
Coffee and the PCCA
Today, in celebration of the recently passed 77th anniversary of the Pacific Coast Coffee Association this weekend, I wanted to say a few words. Hopefully they will be kind and gentle and encouraging words as I just returned from a wonderful weekend retreat to Squaw Valley, previous host in 1960 to the winter olympics. To say I enjoyed the weekend, and the wonderful people of the PCCA, would be an understatement. I really, truly look forward each and every year to the PCCA's annual conference/retreat. And, every year seems to bring a surprise in some way, and always ends with a quiet, satisfied drive home. (A bit of off-the-cuff bragging: I made it from Squaw Valley to my home in Westlake Village in 7 hours and 2 minutes. Yes, that also includes two gas stops (1/2 tank each) and one stop at a very S L O W fast food establishment. There must be some CHP still trying to figure out what passed them...).
Anyway, I return from the retreat having been elected to the Board of Directors of the Pacific Coast Coffee Association for a two year term. I am so honored that it is difficult for me to put that honor into words that adequately do it justice. This is an association that, in Warren Muller's words, has the names of Folgers, Maxwell, and Hills etched firmly in it's history. These are the pioneers of coffee on the west coast. To stand as a member of the Board of Directors of an association with such historical and seminal coffee people is an honor that I won't forget. I look forward to serving, and I hope that my service will be worthy.
The PCCA has many speakers that visit to provide their unique expertise and opinions of their respective careers and businesses. This year we enjoyed a presentation from an owner of a medium sized trucking company. He entertained the small business owner crowd with his concerns regarding California's environmental regulations and how they are set to impact his company in negative terms. While his views on environmentalism created some room for argumentation, his presentation clearly outlined the negative financial impact that the new and ever-changing rules would have on his 69 year old family business. He also outlined the dire economic changes that would affect Port truckers, i.e. those independent owner/operators who travel in and out of the various ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Hueneme, Oakland and San Francisco. In essence, we were presented with information indicating that those trucking companies will be forced to raise fees for transportation of coffee containers to a price double that of today's levels! Not good news for those watching transportation costs continuing to rise due to rising diesel fuel costs.
We also enjoyed a presentation from a director of commnications for the California Department of Homeland Security. There was no argument that there needs to be enforced security with arriving containers. There was, however, some expression of concern regarding the manner in which the searched containers are left, the charges that these searches incur, and the location and frequency of where the searches occur. Importers are liable for the costs of the search, including de-vanning, load-in charges to DHS favored warehouses (generally not ours or any other coffee-specific warehouses), re-loading of containers, and ultimate transport to our warehouse where we then, again, get charged for load-in charges for the same container. Prices for coffee, or shall I say for the costs of getting the coffee to the roaster, will be forced to rise. Very informative discussion and clearly more work is needed, with the PCCA leading the charge, for DHS to learn about our business and how their policices can become less burdensome while still satisfactorily meeting required levels of security.
It was a great retreat in beautiful Squaw Valley. The resort there is a very attractive one, with an eye-stopping grand entrance in which you view the granite mountain that is the prominent feature of the valley and the subject of copious amounts of snow in the winter. Informal conversations with leaders of the coffee industry, mostly all of whom are wonderfully open and primed for discussions with their fellow coffee business professionals. Much talk occured with the credit market freeze as a prime concern for our market. Also discussed was the floundering economy and how it might affect everyone involved in coffee from retail to exporter, and beyond. No one has the answers, but everyone has opinions. It was nice to hear so many people with great expectations for the future of the coffee business.
That is it for now. With this first post I hope you have found it valuable for the time invested. This blog will offer a bit more off-the-cuff information regarding green coffee. I hope it is useful and prompts questions and opinions from our users. Thanks, Michael Vournas
Anyway, I return from the retreat having been elected to the Board of Directors of the Pacific Coast Coffee Association for a two year term. I am so honored that it is difficult for me to put that honor into words that adequately do it justice. This is an association that, in Warren Muller's words, has the names of Folgers, Maxwell, and Hills etched firmly in it's history. These are the pioneers of coffee on the west coast. To stand as a member of the Board of Directors of an association with such historical and seminal coffee people is an honor that I won't forget. I look forward to serving, and I hope that my service will be worthy.
The PCCA has many speakers that visit to provide their unique expertise and opinions of their respective careers and businesses. This year we enjoyed a presentation from an owner of a medium sized trucking company. He entertained the small business owner crowd with his concerns regarding California's environmental regulations and how they are set to impact his company in negative terms. While his views on environmentalism created some room for argumentation, his presentation clearly outlined the negative financial impact that the new and ever-changing rules would have on his 69 year old family business. He also outlined the dire economic changes that would affect Port truckers, i.e. those independent owner/operators who travel in and out of the various ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Hueneme, Oakland and San Francisco. In essence, we were presented with information indicating that those trucking companies will be forced to raise fees for transportation of coffee containers to a price double that of today's levels! Not good news for those watching transportation costs continuing to rise due to rising diesel fuel costs.
We also enjoyed a presentation from a director of commnications for the California Department of Homeland Security. There was no argument that there needs to be enforced security with arriving containers. There was, however, some expression of concern regarding the manner in which the searched containers are left, the charges that these searches incur, and the location and frequency of where the searches occur. Importers are liable for the costs of the search, including de-vanning, load-in charges to DHS favored warehouses (generally not ours or any other coffee-specific warehouses), re-loading of containers, and ultimate transport to our warehouse where we then, again, get charged for load-in charges for the same container. Prices for coffee, or shall I say for the costs of getting the coffee to the roaster, will be forced to rise. Very informative discussion and clearly more work is needed, with the PCCA leading the charge, for DHS to learn about our business and how their policices can become less burdensome while still satisfactorily meeting required levels of security.
It was a great retreat in beautiful Squaw Valley. The resort there is a very attractive one, with an eye-stopping grand entrance in which you view the granite mountain that is the prominent feature of the valley and the subject of copious amounts of snow in the winter. Informal conversations with leaders of the coffee industry, mostly all of whom are wonderfully open and primed for discussions with their fellow coffee business professionals. Much talk occured with the credit market freeze as a prime concern for our market. Also discussed was the floundering economy and how it might affect everyone involved in coffee from retail to exporter, and beyond. No one has the answers, but everyone has opinions. It was nice to hear so many people with great expectations for the future of the coffee business.
That is it for now. With this first post I hope you have found it valuable for the time invested. This blog will offer a bit more off-the-cuff information regarding green coffee. I hope it is useful and prompts questions and opinions from our users. Thanks, Michael Vournas
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