Tuesday • September 6, 2011 • by Scott
Take a moment and watch this video about Sebastian Magnien,
our producer from Beaune/ Burgundy, France.
It is always nice to know the face behind the wine, and he is one of the new stars in
Burgundy…. only in his early 30s, and he has started
to make quite a name for himself!
Take notice of the soil that has been worked in between the vines.
This is done in order to drive the roots deeper into the soil. When
this is done, the wine produced has more mineral notes that balance
nicely with the ripe fruit present.
You can find his wine on our list. Check it out:
09 Sébastien Magnien, Aligoté, Burgundy, France
Thursday • June 30, 2011 • by Scott
Join us for a special L’Apero Bastille Day Celebration (actually 7/14) at the Open Eye Cafe on Friday, July 15th from 6-10pm.
We will celebrating in style with fantastic small farm wines from France as well as special appetizers to pair.
Wednesday • May 25, 2011 • by Scott
Consumers around the world are getting used to all kinds of price increases…gas, sugar, milk & cocoa. Now they can add coffee to that list as the past year has shown a 100% increase in the cost of green coffee, the coffee that roasters buy before they make it delightful and drinkable for you.
This is a 34 year high in the industry that eventually has to trickle down to everyone in order for folks to stay in business. Look for price increases to happen, but realize that the overall difference is still pennies per cup and be sure that if you are invested in spending more, make sure your cup is a quality one! Try to spend a few minutes enjoying it too! Savor those delicious moments instead of rushing thru consumption. Great coffee deserves your attention!
In an effort to help those on a budget; buy your coffee as whole bean at the Open Eye Cafe, and ask us about our many great home-brewing methods. We have many fun and easy ways to brew coffee at home for a bit of cost savings and the chance to hone your coffee-making skills!!
Below you will find some info on how the prices came to be and a link to a recent MSNBC overview article.
As you may know, coffee prices are at a 34 year high and show no signs of slowing anytime soon; having consistently reached new highs, day after day with no end in sight.
This is a 100% increase in less than a year’s time!
This is an inescapable, industry-wide issue as this market price refers to commodity grade coffees, while we pay a significant differential (the difference between where the market is and what higher end specialty coffee sells for) over market prices for our one-of-a-kind coffees. We will continue sourcing, buying, and roasting the best coffees available for you to share with you!
What’s causing the dramatic increase in coffee prices?
There are multiple issues. Weather and climate change, an influx of investment capital from the commodities boom and coffee consumption in key countries outpacing production; which leads to the main issue of supply and demand. Demand for specialty coffee remains strong. Colombia has had three growing seasons in a row with low production. Since Colombia is the largest producer of washed Arabica coffee in the world, it’s affected every roaster in the world. Many roasters are using quality coffees from all over the world to replace Colombians, and this has, in effect, raised demand and prices of all coffee.
During this time we have continued to build relationships with growers throughout the coffee producing regions,
which translates to you, our customer, exclusively receiving some of the best coffees in the world!
As we enter June, many of our new crop Central American coffees are arriving. These coffees are going to be significantly higher in cost than years past. The market remains high and we are dedicated to paying more to reward the farmers for their commitment to quality. We are extremely excited to be working with farmers like Saul Melara & Tomas Sosa for our fourth year in a row; they are continuing to produce some of the best coffee in Honduras as shown by the many awards their coffees have garnered, as we carefully roast this coffee. We are also once again working with the same cooperatives in Peru & the Dominican Republic, and others; The quality is excellent once again and we look forward to strengthening our relationship with these producers going forward.
Prices have been on the rise all over. In the world of commercial coffee, Folgers Coffee has taken 3 price increases in the last year. Starbucks has raised the price it charges retailers for packaged coffee by up to 12 percent, and are poised for another increase. Due to the tight supply and increased demand for coffee worldwide, retail coffeehouses and coffee roasters across the nation are raising prices. This is a necessity in order to remain sustainable & in business. All commodity prices: coffee, sugar, cocoa and others, have increased dramatically.
We have made the decision these past 10+ months to not raise our prices accordingly, but at this point to stay viable, and be able to buy these fantastic coffees, we will need to raise prices based on new contracts being written.
As always, our goal is to provide the best coffee available. We believe if you are a specialty company you must feature specialty products to differentiate yourself from others who try to claim they serve specialty, but do not pass the taste test.
Thanks for your continued patronage!
