A look at the coffee crop cycle and other factors that affect our Green Coffee List
(jump directly to the lists of upcoming and incoming coffees)
When it comes to new coffee arrivals, November and December are usually two of the slower months of the year. I say “usually”, because the availability of coffee at any time of the year is heavily dependent on a changing coffee crop cycle.
OriginIn coffee talk, it refers to a coffee-producing region or country; such as, "I was just at origin." Of course "Origin" for most product we use is not... ...more crop cycles generally happen around the same time each year. But coffee plant growth and cherryEither a flavor in the coffee, or referring to the fruit of the coffee tree, which somewhat resembles a red cherry.: Either a flavor in the coffee, or... ...more maturation are tied to climatic shifts in weather patterns, specifically, defined wet and dry seasons. Since these fluctuate from one year to the next, so does the timing and duration of the coffee harvests.
Other factors at play that affect the timing of coffee shipments
There is also a lag in the time it takes for coffee to ship from origin to us in Oakland, the length of which varies on how far the coffee has to travel. Freight shipments from SumatraIndonesians are available as a unique wet-hulled or dry-hulled (washed) coffees. Giling Basah is the name for the wet-hulling process in Bahasa language, and will have more body... ...more, for example, can take upwards of two full months. Whereas, the maritime transit for green coffeeGreen coffee refers to the processed seed of the coffee tree fruit. Coffee is a flowering shrub that produces fruit. The seeds of the fruit are processed, roasted,... ...more coming from MexicoMexican coffee originates from South-central to Southern regions of the country. For that reason, coffees from Coatepec and Veracruz are much different from Oaxacan Plumas, which are in... ...more is about a week.
Logistical issues can also crop up – slow export turnaround, congested ports, and shipping container shortages to name a few – which adds a whole other layer of unpredictability, and often makes this leg of the journey harder to predict than the coffee crop cycleThe Coffee Crop Cycle refers to the period of growth of the cherry to maturation and harvest. Coffee has one harvest period a year, although in some there... ...more! It’s no wonder the timing of coffees on our website changes year to year.
So when we’re asked when a specific origin will come back in stock, our range is usually in months rather than days, unless the coffee is already in our possession.
When can you expect to see new coffee on the website?
The short answer to this question is weekly. We add new coffees to our website every week, and what we add, depends on the coffees we have available. Below is a short-term list of coffees that will be added in the near future (“Upcoming Coffees”) as well as a rough timeline on our coffees in transit (“Incoming Coffees”).
We intentionally withhold the weekly schedule as the order will invariably shift with our priorities. Unfortunately, “priority” is a moving target during the holidays since our order count is so much heavier than the rest of the year and it’s tough to predict how quickly coffee will go out of stock.
It’s worth noting that we have fresh from Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea (PNG) occupies the eastern half of the island it shares with the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya, part of Indonesia. The two primary areas for... ...more, BrazilBrazil is a coffee giant . As Frank Sinatra sang, "they grow an awful lot of coffee in Brazil".: Brazil is a coffee giant . As Frank Sinatra... ...more, PeruPeruvian coffees have Central American brightness but in a South American coffee flavor package overall. The good organic lots do have more of a "rustic" coffee character.: Organic... ...more and PanamaPanama coffee ranges from medium quality lower altitude farms to those at 1600 - 1800 meters centered in the area of Boquete in the Chirqui district near the... ...more here now, and will be staggering them to our website over the next 3 weeks.
A list of green coffee origins about to come back in stock
We are expecting a few shipping containers to land before the end of November, and more in December too. However, between holiday closures, and the 2-3 week turnaround it takes to physically move coffee containers from the Port of Oakland to the Annex coffee storageGreen coffee can be stored much longer than roasted coffee: Roasted coffee starts to lose its aromatics in 10 days after roasting. Green coffee can be stored months... ...more facility, our ability to list these coffees quickly will vary.
Here is a rundown on the current list of incoming shipping containers from origin: November 2020
- Brazil containers from Carmo de Minas and Minas Gerais are scheduled to arrive end of November.
- Honduran coffees should start arriving sometime at the beginning of December
- BurundiBurundi coffee bears resemblance to neighboring Rwanda, in both cup character, but also the culture surrounding coffee. Burundi is a small landlocked country at the crossroads of East... ...more and RwandaA Bourbon cultivar variant from Rwanda and Burundi. Bourbon coffees are named for the island in the India Ocean where French colonists grew it. Some history from the... ...more should start trickling in by mid December, and we expect everything in storage by end of January.
- A full IndonesiaUSDA is (obviously) the United States Department of Agriculture. USDA also had coffee plant breeding programs in the past and one variety they distributed to Indonesia and was... ...more box hits the water this week containing some pretty amazing coffees from SulawesiSulawesi coffees are low-acid with great body and that deep, brooding cup profile akin to Sumatra. The coffee is sometimes known as Celebes, which was the Dutch colonial... ...more, JavaThere are several types of Abyssinia variety coffee, but they are not from Ethiopia but rather Indonesia. Abyssinia 3 = AB3. PJS Cramer, a Dutch plant researcher, introduced this variety... ...more and FloresFlores is an Indonesian island, and as a coffee bears more resemblance to the coffees of Timor-Leste, New Guinea and Java than to the wet-hulled coffees of Sumatra... ...more. Full details below.
Hopefully this gives you a better idea of why it’s so difficult to predict when origins will come back in stock. Remember, coffee is produce, cultivated and farmed, often half way around the world, and requires many moving parts to bring it to our shores. We’ll do our best to keep you up to date with coffees coming down the pipeline and on the latest additions to our green coffee list as they roll out.
Below is the snapshot of both upcoming and incoming coffees as it stands today.
6 Responses
Do you know if this batch of Rwanda Mushonyi Rutsiro has any similarities to the last one you carried?
This coffee has been very consistent on the cupping table. So the answer is yes IMO …
Any updates to this list? I’m specifically interested in the Guatemala Proyecto Xinabajul La Libertad. Expected date?
Hey David, we have one final lot of the later arrival La Libertad scheduled to go up next Friday. There’s a slight chance of that being delayed, but so far, looks like it should go up without issue! That’s the last lot from La Libertad, but we have a few other Xinabajul coffees in store Jan/Feb. Then we start making selections from the new harvest that will arrive in the Spring.
Hope that helps!
-Dan
Thompson Owen do you have an update on the Rwanda Mushonyi Rutsiro’s arrival?
Hey Donna, Dan here! Looks like it was supposed to hit the Oakland Port this week, however, they’re logging 10-14 day delays due to congestion and worker shortages. We *hope* to have access to that coffee in another few weeks. I plan on updating our blog post by the end of next week and hopefully I’ll have a clearer picture on that specific container.
Thanks!
Dan