I noticed a few email address from the list were not receiving the mailer so I though I should send a copy here. BTW: Big news today was we were able to buy coffee from 2 of the winning Brazil Auction Lots. They should be available in 2 weeks. More expensive than average Brazils, but we're talking 5.30-5.50 or so. I am very excited! Welcome to the semi-occasional Sweet Maria's E-Mailer of 2/21/01 When there's something new to report, the E-Mailer is sent and in this case it is long overdue. There are MANY new coffees at Sweet Maria's that have arrived in the past month, so I'll just mention a few highlights here. Old Business: I was told that I didn't include a link to the web page in the last E-Mailer so here it is:http://www.sweetmarias.comor the Green Coffee Offering Page at:http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.greencoffee.shtmlwhere the link that is the name of each coffee takes you to the Coffee Cupping Review page. Some of our New Coffees: * Uganda Bugisu ...there have been some excellent coffees from this origin this year! Not all lots have been that impressive but we think we bought the winner, and we have a position on some Organic Ugandan which will be the FIRST certified Organic African coffee offered in the US! Hopefully it will be on par with the Bugisu we are selling now. It is a complete cup; body, a little brightness, depth, complexity, and that slightly wild East African twist in there to keep things interesting. I call it a little leathery ...I know that doesnt sound like attractive organoleptic quality but you should really try it ...it is great! * Colombian has come in very good this season in general. Of course there's always a few that are better than others but suprisingly some of these are the non-estate lots. The Colombian Popayan exported by Colsuaves has had great body, fruity and spicy flavor and good bittersweet roast tastes developing in the Full City stage. Our latest arrival has been the Colombian Excelso Medellin from the 'Bolivar' export mark. Normally we pass on the Medellins but this was amazingly good. This coffee is highly recommended, and we expect to sell out within 6 - 8 weeks. * The best Guatemalan and Costa Rican coffees arent in yet. It is hard to predict the quality of this crop year. We have had 2 excellent early arrivals from these origins: The Costa Rican Orosi from the Atlantic side and the Guatemalan Finca San Rafael. As an indicator of this years Antiguas and Tarrazus, you would think these excellent early coffees would bode well, but our brokers say pre-shipment samples are not impressive. A larger problem is the atrociously low priced coffee market: many farms and exporters are simply not offering their coffee at these prices, and some areas are not even picking the coffee cherry. If the market stays like this, serious damage could be done to coffee quality ...this year and in the future. * For the first time in 2 years, Puerto Rican Yauco Selecto samples were excellent, so we went ahead and stocked this coffee Phillipe Jobin calls a 'Grand Cru' from a particular AA lot we found out of New Orleans. I have to admit I am careful buying coffee from NOLA ...the scarey high humidity there makes me wonder how long a coffee can be left in a warehouse without climate control. Most of our coffees come through the port of Oakland, New York/New Jersey and every so often Los Angeles. These are the major coffee ports, while NOLA (I use the locals acronym, since I used to roast coffee down there) is the largest coffee port for the large commercial grade lots in addition to some Specialty level coffees. Anyway, we just make sure that any coffees from the South are just 'passing through' and not stored there for anything over a month to 6 weeks. * We found a Zimbabwe we really like, after a lot of searching. It is the AA+ from the Lynwood farm, and has all that great range/balance/body and great aroma that makes this such an all around winner ...when its good. But let me tell you there are a LOT of mediocre East African coffees out there, and I shudder to think that all these DO get sold and wind up on somebodies coffee menu, somewhere. Zambian samples have not been spectacular, but I keep my eyes open from something good. Last Thought: It's a very good time to buy Sumatra. We have 3 types, two Organic Gayos from the Aceh region in the Nrothwest, and an excellent lot of Mandheling. The cup is not as earthy/dirty as last years lots. Great body, and that neat deep range between the slighly wild/natural flavors intrinsic to this cup and a modicum of fruity bright flavors available in the lighter roast. And that's the problem some roasters have with Sumatra ...in an air roast system especially you dont have the same degree of browning in the coffee for a particular roast level comapred to, for example, a wet-processed Central American. You will hear the second crack start but notice a relatively light color, and so the tendency is to keep the roast going. But there some neat flavors that you start to lose from that point on ...so keep a roast light, rest it for 1-2 days and see what you think! Thanks for your time, I hope this is interesting. I am not a coffee authority and the above comments are simply persoanl observations based on my favorite activity: cupping coffee! -Tom As always, please DO NOT reply to this message because we dont receive it! 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