2023 Wrapped & Strapped is here

How many pounds of coffee total did you order in 2023? What was your top origin? How many unique coffees did you sample? Find out in your 2023 Wrapped & Strapped!

Common Sensory Errors – An Introduction

In sensory analysis, common physiological and psychological sensory errors should be accounted for when designing cupping protocols. Welcome to a new blog series by Ian Fretheim, Director of Sensory Analysis, diving into how we control for these common sensory errors.

Find Us in Barista Magazine: WCP Trip Recap

Eleven travelers met in the Bogota airport early on Monday, September 11th. Five were Cafe Imports staff. The other six represented Ruby Coffee Roasters, Jibbi.Littles Coffee Roasters, City Market Coffee Roasters, Patriot Coffee, and Salto Coffee. They met for a five-day sourcing tour designed to help roasters cultivate and sustain genuine buyer-farmer partnerships with producers and cooperatives participating in our Women Coffee Producer Program.

Cafe Imports is now B Corp Certified

Another step toward increasing the quality of life for all those involved in coffee. We proudly announce that Cafe Imports is now a certified B Corporation.

Podcast: Water in Food with Ian Fretheim

This past week our Director of Sensory Analysis, Ian Fretheim, joined Zachary Cartwright as a guest on his podcast “Water in Food.” The two dove into a discussion on the role water plays in specialty green coffee, exploring findings from our sensory team’s long-term study on water activity (Aw), talking about sensory science as it relates to coffee, and getting excited about the future of cupping with our new Coffee Rose.

Pink…Bourbon?: Cryptozoology and Genetics in Specialty Coffee

One area that has been rightly ripping, in particular relative to historical norms, has been the introduction, interest in, and acceptance of new coffee varieties. When Castillo was introduced many people wanted to turn their noses up at it. In our lab, we were more accepting, as the results on the cupping table were impossible to deny. We regularly found it to perform well against Caturra, Typica, and the many other varieties that we blinded it against. When it won the Cup of Excellence, people were somehow shocked, going so far as to disbelieve the results.

And then, seemingly overnight, Castillos were broadly accepted. What happened?

The Race for Fresh Crop by Jason Long

Is Fresh and Fast Good?
Fresh is good – freshly baked bread or freshly roasted coffee.
Fast can be good, too. Coffee hanging out in port towns like Dar, Tanzania, when it’s 99ᵒF (37ᵒC) and 99% humidity for extended periods is not ideal. In coffee, though, fresh and fast together aren’t always good. There is a strange race nowadays for new crop coffees where offerings may arrive before they should even be shipped.

Ratnagiri Estate: A New Era of Coffee from India

Meet Ashok Patre, a third-generation producer revolutionizing coffee production and processing in the Karnataka State. Watch our interview with him, and learn more about his farm, Ratnagiri Estates.

All Things World of Coffee Athens!

And we are off to Athens! Join us at Booth 2-R38 for a weekend full of coffees, cuppings, challenges, and parties. See our full schedule here, and follow us at @cafeimportseurope for more details! See you soon!

Presenting Purchase Planning: Costa Rica 2023

As a nimble and independently owned importer, we recognize that a roaster’s selections can only be made in advance with real-time information. Our green buying team is passionate about working actively with producers at origin throughout the year and sharing their knowledge and experiences with roasters like you.