Amazing! Another year where the Kenyan coffee situation looks to be worse than the previous record bad year. The Millers and Marketers association just announced that due to a sharp revision down in supply, auctions would only be held every two weeks. This is the first time that I’ve heard that auctions would not be a weekly event. The short term cause of this tightening supply is continued leaf rust and an extension of the general drought that is affecting East African across the board. The long term tightness continues to be land being converted to housing on the highland plains just north of Nairobi taking coffee land out of production and a general aging of the coffee farmers with the younger generation heading off to the bright lights of the city. With such tight supply, it is no surprise that prices are and will continue to be high.
The good news is that cup quality is looking to be good to exceptional, and we are looking forward to cupping and buying one of our favorite origins.
– Jason
