Coffee Quality what what you buy

Interesting article: Coffee just isn't what it used to be.

Essentially, the article summarizes what is happening in the coffee market. When brand is more important than quality is the brand worth anything?

Coffee roasters have for years considered profit above all. When they could not procure product at prices that would mean they make super profits they are used too.

A quality brand puts quality coffee as the only driver to their coffees, is a rare find.

By blending coffee with lower quality blends lowers the quality of the blend, so to call a blend 100% coffee is another way of saying we cannot guarantee the quality. Remember that there are over 100 varieties of Arabica alone, never mind the Robusta varieties. Also remember that coffee is a crop and you get different quality crops.

Take all that and you realize that pricing and quality are linked. That said on the high end, sometimes there is good value. A good example is Yirgacheffe versus Los Naranjos. The one came 3rd in 2009 in the world wide ratings (Yirgacheffe) and the other 1st, but the one is half the price of the other.