We are pleased to see that our Costa Rica Estate beans have joined our Brazil Adrano beans as winners in the prestigious Golden Bean competition in the USA. Golden Bean is one the world's largest and most-respected competitions, running for two years in Australia and now two years in the USA.

We don't have the full details yet, but the Estate beans were the base in two espresso categories.winning a 2016 Silver and Bronze. We were inspired by the care taken in developing winning roasts for the competition, and we went into the R&D room and worked for days on a new roast to see if we can expand on our previous single Medium Roast level. 

The original Medium Roast was determined to be our optimal roast for the beans before, but we wanted to add something with a bolder and wider taste profile. The result is the new Harlequin Master Roast, in which we slow-roast the base to Dark level and then use a normal roast time for 33% of the beans at City Roast (Light/Medium).

We are loving the new roast, hot or iced! To celebrate we are putting the Costa Rica Estate beans on sale for the rest of October, so that everybody has an extra reason to try this amazing coffee now.

Most of the Papua New Guinea coffee we see for sale has been sourced through illegitimate channels, "whitewashed" by using a registered broker for the final trade outside the country. But that is coffee with blood on the hands of those who sell it, because it is often stolen from farmers who are physically harmed in the process. Papua New Guinea coffee should not be purchased unless the origin can be certified.

That's why we like Butch from Highlands Summit, he is a bush pilot who flies a Cessna into an airstrip that his company created so they can actually fly the sacks of beans out in the belly of the plane, and on the return trip he brings medical supplies and food and necessities purchased in trade for coffee from the coastal cities. This three-way trade provides a wonderful humanitarian program for otherwise isolated and deprived villagers.

We are bringing in two grades of coffee. The first we call Grade A, and it is not screened for size. It has small beans and also gigantic beans, which is typical of this varietal growing wild from plantings established from Jamaica Blue Mountain stock over 100 years ago. We've had many customers tell us they prefer this naturally diversified varietal more than the expensive Jamaica Blue Mountain beans they have been purchasing elsewhere.

The other grade is the rare PSC-AA, which is screened for size and drops out the smaller beans and most of the peaberries, for an extremely uniform roasting experience. PSC-AA grade is recognized as one of the top 10 superior gradings around the world and is very hard to find.

Both grades have exquisite taste. The coffee is complex with fruity notes and a spicy aroma, and is super-smooth with wonderful body. Everybody loves this coffee! It's one of the rare treats we ourselves serve to guests and brew up on special occasions. We know you will love it!