Communiqué #2: The Taxman Commeth and the Coffeeman Isn’t Far Behind

This week was very eventful and as always full of coffee. We’ve finally settled on the lead coffees for our roast on demand program and are working on the final packaging (hey presentation is important). It seems that the coffee business has a lot to do with bringing great coffee to our clients and while we’re at it finding the best way to do so. By that I mean, reviewing packaging materials, sitting down with our creative team to come up with label concepts, presenting those to the roaster (he also applies the labels to the bags/tins) and wrapping the whole package up by taking into account everyone’s creative two cents.

The fun part of course is having it all come together with customer comments. Now, since we are online we never actually meet the customers face to face but we do receive a load of emails on a daily basis. At the beginning of this venture we wanted to have customer feedback of any time. Always the good comments are welcomed but the bad comments are especially insightful. I worry because we receive so many complimentary letters that things are moving along a little “too well” sometimes. I am sometimes a worrier, albeit an affable one.

This week we launch the “customer review project” over at jamaicabluemountaincoffee.com. Some of the impetuous is there to feed our egos (we want to show off the good reviews of our products). There is of course the functional aspect of having third party reviews to inform other clients. I have always been a personal fan of that type of the peer based review. Routinely I use it on Amazon.com and have been known to pen a review or two of products at epinions.com. For those of you who know me personally this would take you aback. I am a staunch iconoclast for those who don’t know me personally. Peer reviews are however a positive force practically and when coupled with a lack of censorship… a marvelous source of information. So then you can expect to see both the sterling reviews as well as the tarnished. Every review of less than five stars (we use a star ranking system) is a challenge for us to improve the service or product and it is a challenge we live for.

Enough of this ranking diatribe… you’re probably interested in which coffees we’ll be featuring starting April 13th (yes right before the tax man commeth). Here’s a sneak peak at the first dozen to ease the pain of tax day.

1. Sumatra Mandheling
2. Celebes (Sulawesi) Kalossi Toraja
3. Ethiopia Harrar Longberry Horse
4. Kenya AA Nyeri (a very rare sun dried heirloom Arabica)
5. “Kona Star Farm” Kona Fancy
6. Ethiopia Natural Sidamo (harvested from semi-wild coffee plants)
7. Ethiopia Yrgacheffee
8. Tanzania Peaberry
9. Dota Estate Tarrazu
10. “Kimel Estate” Papua New Guinea
11. “Huixoc Estate” Huehuetenango Guatemala (grown at an altitude of 6,400 feet)
12. Rwanda A1 Gikongoro Bufcafe

Warm Regards,
Jerry Delince
Managing partner

Jamaica Blue Mountain Traders, LLC.
www.jamaicabluemountaincoffee.com