The Value of Coffee?

Over the course of the last 21 years, I have seen quite a bit of exciting and intriguing things in the coffee world. I’ve tried some stellar coffees and even roasted some of the best.
What many people don’t realize is the cost of some of the world’s most expensive coffees and why they garner that price.
Elite Coffees
Consistently the most expensive coffee comes from Black Ivory Coffee Company in Thailand. They feature coffee that is naturally processed through the digestive tract of elephants. Reports are the coffee is smooth, mellow, and has low acid.
As their website states, “Production of Black Ivory Coffee also provides valuable income generation for elephant caregiving families as well as students of the local high school who are taught how to wash and dry our coffee. The money earned generally tends to support aging parents, health expenses, school fees, food, and clothing. Some of the students are also saving for university. We pay 350 THB (Thai Baht) per kilogram for picked coffee. One can pick this quantity in roughly 15 minutes.”
This coffee is consistently the most expensive in the world, currently selling for $1,200.00 per pound.
There are less consistent sources for ridiculously expensive coffee as well. A few years ago, a tiny lot of unroasted La Esmerelda Geisha from the Boquete region sold for $1,300.00 per pound. In history, we brought in a very small lot of some Jansen Estate Panama Geisha from the Volcan region, located on the other side of Volcan Baru from the Boquete region. We sold out of this limited allotment (7.5 pounds sold) at $34.95 for ¼ pound. It was a fun thing to do, but not something we can do regularly.
Other well-known coffees available for a high price are Jamaica Blue Mountain and Kona. Availability of Jamaica Blue Mountain is very limited and costly. Finding true high-grown Jamaican coffees is difficult and problematic. Then in Hawai’i, getting specialty-grade coffee has become nearly impossible due to the coffee borer beetle infestation they’ve been experiencing for the past several years.
Again, scarcity drives the price. For me to even consider Kona coffee it must have either a Fancy or Extra Fancy grade. This is possible, but the price would run from $65-75 per pound.
Affordably Decadent
More realistically, there are some stellar coffees that are more approachable from a price standpoint.
I’ve done much research to find them, keeping my eyes open for some new and unique coffees that are available for an affordable price, and offered through the Micro-Lot Series or the Coffee of the Month Club, or sometimes both.
Back in June 2020, we found a Guatemala Geisha. This coffee should have sold for around $50.00 per pound. We made it available to our Coffee of the Month Club members exclusively for their membership fee.
More recently, we had a Costa Rica Tarrazu Termico, an experimentally processed coffee that was again offered through our Coffee of the Month Club. This one was so well received that we had to bring in another bag and offer it to a broader customer base through our Micro-Lot Series.
Rest assured; I am keeping my eyes open for the next stellar coffee to share with our beloved customers. Maybe it’s the Kenya Nyeri Kagumo AB ($30.00 per pound) that will be making its way onto the Micro-Lot list shortly after we receive it. Stay tuned, and thanks for drinking Wood-Fire Roasted Coffee!