Just a quick heads up that while I’m sad Panama left the line up for the season last month, but two old favorites are back again and you can review their flavor profiles here.
After a year off , Guatemala Nueva Vinas from the lovely folks at Caffe Vita is back again. I have pounced on it thusly for you and will be doing my best to keep a steady pipeline of it going as long as I can. As of this post, it’s now available as radio button for all the normal pre-order slots on the store.
More importantly, considering the number of people that wanted heads up as soon as I got some more in again, Jamaica Blue Mountain is finally back. Between weather, blight, the narrow bands of coffee cultivation shifting and ever increasing demand, this crop is getting harder to get a hold of. It is, unfortunately, getting more and more expensive. As I said at the end of last year:
For the foreseeable future, Jamaica Blue Mountain is off the table. As I mentioned a while back that last time it disappeared, the crops coming out of Jamaica for the past several years have been painfully small, while demand has only gone up. This means that my roasters of choice are hard pressed to get any when it comes up on auction. If, and this looks increasingly unlikely, they are able to get any beans, the prices are likely to jump up by at least 25%. Considering how painfully expensive the Jamaica Blue Mountain BBotE is, that probably takes it out of even “Extravagant Gift” price range for folks. If you really, really want some, ask and I’ll see what I can do.
And, oh yes, those prices on the beans did go up. However, for the moment, I’m holding the Jamaica Blue Mountain BBotE prices steady where they were last year because I want it to at least stay merely ridiculous but attainable. I don’t know how long supply is going to last so enjoy it while it’s here.
In other news, I’ve been on jury duty for the last several weeks. It has been enlightening as I never thought I’d be allowed to remain on the panel, though not necessarily in the sense you might think. With respect to the potential jurors that were dismissed, I ask you to please consider what a life of innumeracy is like. I have met, talked, and helped people with illiteracy. I know how they made their way through life and they made no bones about it that it was hard, but you doable. I have no idea how someone functions with no real concept of numbers. This is the most alien mind I have ever met and it’s been gnawing on my mind how this person’s life worked.