Batak is in.

The first production batch actually made it on the shelf last Friday, and it has been selling briskly.

The Sumatra Blue Batak is such a special coffee; I wish it was something we could keep in stock year round. Sure, there are plenty of other coffees that I love drinking every day, but none of them can really serve as a replacement for something so unique as the Batak. This new crop is just fantastic, and I'm really glad to have it back.

Another note... we cupped our Ethiopia Yirgacheffe this morning, along with several other coffees, and it was a real stand out. The intensity of the floral aroma in this lot is unparalleled, and I love the subtle fruit notes.

Paul and I were talking this morning about our personal coffee preferences, and I think we both concluded that we would be perpetually satisfied with a menu consisting of a good curranty Kenya, a nice floral washed Yirgacheffe, a sweet and fruity dry-processed Ethiopia (probably a Sidamo), a subtly earthy, refined Sumatra, and a solid Central American (Guatemala, El Salvador).

Those five coffees would offer enough variety and interest to cover just about anything I typically crave. Don't get me wrong, I love coffees from many other origins, and having a greater variety to choose from is one of the great perks of this job. I guess it was sort of a desert island scenario conversation.

-Jon