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The media have been warning of rapidly rising coffee prices and are predicting that prices will go even higher. Those price increases apply to supermarket coffee and are due to poor harvests in Brazil and Colombia and a tight global supply of containers, ships and long delays at North American ports. You can still buy very good coffee at a reasonable price. Specialty coffee, such as Just Ethiopian Coffees’ may increase slightly because of high airfreight costs but don’t require you to sell an arm and a leg. What is happening in Ethiopia? Ethiopia may be on the brink of a civil war – no one can say for sure. But the fighting has affected supply as deliveries from the regions are sporadic and interrupted. There are estimates that 40% of the new crop has been picked in some areas and 5% - 20% in most others. Crop yields are expected to be higher in a few areas but lower in most. We will place new orders with trusted suppliers such as YA Coffee Roasters as soon a possible. New products from Kenya Just in time for Christmas and New Year’s, we have ordered coffee from Kencaffee Export and Rockbern Coffee. Rockbern’s Mt. Kenya 88+ Rainforest Alliance approved coffee (beans or ground) will be available in a recyclable “tin”. We should have coffee from both companies by the end of November. Ethiopia continues to be our primary source of coffee from reliable suppliers such as YA Coffee Roasters. But we will continue to expand our range of coffees from East Africa with specialty coffees also from Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. |