Is Rare Coffee Really Worth It?

This is a guest post by Lisa Rotenberg of Rocketfuel Coffee. Learn more about how you can guest post for Daily Shot Of Coffee here.

A favorite discussion forum of mine, Coffee Forums, where professionals and consumers discuss coffee issues, recently touched on the debate whether rare coffees, specifically Hawaiian Kona and Jamaican Blue Mountain were “worth it.” The reason I love this forum is that the moderators and some members are so knowledgeable and have years of experience beyond mine. They actively participate in the threads and bluntly say what is on their minds. More than once they have chewed out a blockhead or two, and added insight on a topic that has taught me so much.

In this case, the member I was speaking with was very knowledgeable and only previously on another post taught me a thing or two about the various ratios of arabica espresso beans, by percentage. He then added, “Those coffees are more hype than anything and are really sought after because of supply/demand, not just because of the taste.”

Well I can tell you my heart and brain lit up like a Christmas tree and off to WordPress I ran. My first reaction was I deal in the 100% pure Kona and JBM beans and I can tell you they are really special tasting, especially when brewed fresh. True they cost significantly more than others, but once in a while, like a good steak, a fine wine, a good Cuban cigar, a good single malt, they are all worth it. My second was, are they genuine, are they old and stale and is the coffee made right? If not, you may as well be drinking Sanka. This applies to any bean and in the coffee business, we of all people would understand.

Then it hit me. I was talking like a rare coffee retailer, as usual, not a coffee lover. With the thousands of coffees cupped everyday at various resources, we certainly do not have to pay these premiums for a pound of wondrous coffee. Companies sell great coffee, review and brag about quality beans at $13/12 oz. Juan Valdez did not ride his mule for 100 years for nothing. If you love your coffee, so be it. If your honeymoon was in Jamaica and when you came home all you want is to relive your wedding night, then only specific coffees will do the trick.

Like connoisseurs of brandy or wine, the truly knowledgeable about coffee is a small number. Sharing this information is a wonderful thing. In the age of internet search by key words, Jamaican Blue Mountain will beat out Acatenenango or even Yirgacheffe every time. Aspiring to taste rare coffees, like caviar, oysters or fois gras is a real treat – as long as the coffee is the real thing, from a company who sells it fresh and respects the customer who pays the premium price for it. Perhaps the coffee market has not come up the level of service for this yet? Perhaps the market for this is so small, the majority just does not understand? In the coming years, if the public is to know that rare coffee is indeed “worth it,” this will be the challenge.

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Lisa Rotenberg is the owner of www.rocketfuelcoffee.com and will be one of twelve competitors in the upcoming Canadian Cup Tasters Championships. She writes about coffee, the coffee business and about the coffee experience. She is also a professional illustrator and her paintings appear on each bag of Rocketfuelcoffee.

Category: Coffee Thoughts