Fine Coffee, like a Fine Wine By Dave Earnest, Founder, Cobblestone Coffee / CobblestoneCoffee.com. A common objection I hear from time  to time when I'm showing coffee to the general public, is "Jeez, that coffee is expensive. I remember when coffee used to be only 5 cents for a cup." Yeah, me too.  Mmmm. Nothing says quality to me like a cup of coffee with a nice "5 cents" sign on it. When considering the price of a pound of coffee, consider the old saying that says you get what you pay for. When looking at the price tag of a pound, you should focus on the quality of the coffee that is being offered, both the quality of the bean itself, and how recently it was roasted.  Coffee roasted just yesterday is very valuable, even rare if you consider the amount of coffee that is sitting out on the shelves of all of the grocery stores right now... staling. But setting the freshness issue aside for a moment, let's talk about the coffee beans themselves. All coffee beans are not created equal, and in addition, all of the same types coffees are not farmed and cared for equally either. Give the same coffee trees to two different farmers in the same region, and you will end up with two different qualities of that coffee. Just as acquiring fine grapes is crucial to making a fine wine, acquiring fine coffee beans is equally crucial to the integrity of the quality of the pound of coffee that a roaster provides to consumers. There are many different quality levels of coffees available to the roasters, for them to choose for their blends and singles. So knowing this, it is NOT safe to assume that one Guatemala Antigua from roaster "x" priced at $5 a pound is the very SAME Guatemala Antigua from roaster "y" but marked up to $10 a pound. The name may be the same on the label, but the coffee itself may be very, very different.  Sure, it may be a Guatemala Antigua for five bucks, but the roaster may have provided you the second or third quality grade, and past crop as well. How do you know? To be blatantly obvious, wouldn't you agree that the highest quality beans from a farmer, current crop, fresh import is worth more than last years third or fourth quality grade, that has been sitting around staling in a warehouse or distribution facility somewhere? Would you then also agree, that the highest quality coffees from Farmer A may not be as high of a quality as the coffees from Farmer B, because for whatever reason Farmer B can produce a higher quality coffee than Farmer A? Do you see where I'm going here? Now, throw in to the mix, if you have that high quality coffee, having that coffee just roasted today is a higher quality coffee to us than that very same coffee roasted three months ago? Most of you all know that the magic in coffee is in the freshness. When you can hit the three 'Freshes' in a row with a high quality bean: fresh crop, fresh roasted, fresh brewed, you are in for coffee euphoria. But euphoria begins with quality, and a quality bean is essential to a fine cup of coffee. For your consideration as well, the quality of the coffees you are purchasing is ALSO directly related to the skill set of the roaster who brings them to you, given their intention is to provide quality coffee. Please know this about Cobblestone: All of our coffees are the top of the line, the highest quality coffees from each region of the world that we could find, and here's the important part: the highest quality we could find to the best of our ability. And that marks the difference between roasters these days, their ability and even their intention to acquire the best. Not to mention the ability to roast it properly (and THAT is a whole 'nother article to be written later). Put all of these qualities and complexities together, and the likeness to a fine wine becomes apparent. Remember, acquiring quality is expensive, both for you as the consumer, and for me as the roaster. Please do not assume that big corporate coffee is the highest quality, freshest coffee available. They are not. Would you say that McDonald's hamburgers are the best hamburgers on the planet?  Nope, but they certainly are the most available. This same thought applies to the quality spectrum of coffee. The highest quality coffees come from those roasters whom are passionate about coffee to begin with, and will sacrifice nothing to be able to provide their customers with the best, freshest coffees they can.  It comes from the farmers who will stop at nothing to nurture and grow the highest quality coffee trees that produce the highest quality beans, to the best of their ability. There's big corporate, profit driven, just get the coffee out there coffee, and then there's passion and quality driven coffee. Which would you rather purchase? The fine wine, or the box wine? Happy Sipping. (c) Copyright 2007 Cobblestone Coffee Roastery, LLC. Reprint by permission only.