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I love this, for a number of reasons. This is a great example of taking a coasting or downward-trending venture and pivoting into something new, without sacrif

I love this, for a number of reasons. This is a great example of taking a coasting or downward-trending venture and pivoting into something new, without sacrificing your existing cash flow. It seems like the proof of concept is going well, confirming that the basic model is sound. What comes next is to scale it up. The farmers are also researching existing innovations in the field (i.e. harvesters), with the goal of extending those innovations to meet the field's unique challenges. They are also selling initial product, which although is much more expensive than similar products of this type, is serving to bootstrap continued and expanded production, with the goal of reducing price by increasing supply. (Huh, I think I went off on a tangent and started taking about Tesla.) I don't understand why people would throw shade onto this. Not only is this entrepreneurial spirit, it's _successful_ entrepreneurial spirit. I wish them all the best! EDIT: Spelling

colechristensen 9y ago
Did I miss the pricing bit? All I saw was a quote saying that specialty coffee that sells for $120/lb exists, not that these places are selling it. (if you're looking for it you can find absurdly expensive anything, the only coffee you'll find at that top price is probably kopi luwak where they harvest the beans from civet poop)
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- leeoniya 9y ago
  > where they harvest the beans from civet poop and typically abuse these poor animals in the process [1] [1] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/sep/13/civet-coffee-cut-the-crap https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/se...
  - 13of40 9y ago
    There's a lot of "I" in that article.
    - ptaipale 9y ago
      Hey, it's The Guardian and "lifestyle".
- rubyn00bie 9y ago
  ... It's probably not from civets if an animal did even poop it out. Demand has increased so high, even highly abusive farms can't keep up. So they just outright lie about the beans or have some other animal eat the beans and shit them out.
  - mb_72 9y ago
    "...have some other animal eat the beans and shit them out." Sounds like something I can do at home myself then.
    - lostlogin 9y ago
      DIY scarification, bring your own cat.
- chipotle_coyote 9y ago
  The only coffee you'll find at that top price is probably kopi luwak... I don't know about $120/lb coffee, but it's not that hard to find pretty expensive coffee. "Hula Daddy" Kona Coffee runs up to $90/lb, depending on the type: http://www.huladaddy.com/catalog-coffee http://www.huladaddy.com/catalog-coffee And currently, Starbucks has a coffee going for nearly $80/lb ($40 for an 8.8-ounce bag): http://store.starbucks.com/coffee/starbucks-reserve-coffee/ http://store.starbucks.com/coffee/starbucks-reserve-coffee/ (I've noticed that Kopi Luwak really doesn't seem to show up on the radar of most coffee snobs, despite the claims of the sellers, which has always made me suspicious of it. Also, it's a lot more than $120/lb; it's not uncommon to find it going for over $300/lb.)
  - Baeocystin 9y ago
    You can get 'enzymatically treated' fake Kopi Luwak for only a ~20% premium over a regular, good quality bean, and I would say it's actually better than the real stuff. I also think arabica varieties are overrated in general, and a good blend that includes a robusta, with its excellent crema-producing properties, is almost always a better cup. That being said, $100+/lb coffees are pure wankery. If people want to spend their money that way, so be it. But just because something is rare or expensive doesn't make it actually taste better. Source: am coffee snob
    - lostlogin 9y ago
      I'm sure you know this, but for a fraction of that cost you'll get a green top grade coffee bean. Roast it yourself so it's always fresh. You won't look back. I've tried robusta. It looks amazing but is deadly strong and tastes like burning tyres.
      - Baeocystin 9y ago
        I've roasted a few times, simply using an old hot air popcorn popper. It was a lot of fun, but there isn't anywhere local I can get good green beans. Do you have any recommendations for on-line shops? Regarding robusta- first crack tends to be hard to hear, which can mess up your roast if you aren't careful. My subjective recommendation is to use them for ~10% of your total bean bill. Crema for days when you pull shots, great earthy flavor. Pairs really well with Sumatran beans.
- jfroma 9y ago
  I have tried kopi luwak and IMHO it taste bad, I couldn't finish it. I think there is one more expensive than that one and it is the Black Ivory, collected from elephants waste [1]. But after been disappointed by the kopi luwak I am not interested in expensive coffee, give me a cheap colombian like Juan Valdez, or some organic colombian. [1]. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Ivory_Coffee https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Ivory_Coffee
  - hackunomatter 9y ago
    The theory behind Kopi Luwak was that the civets knew which (coffee) berries were perfectly ripe, so ate them; in the process, pooping out the seeds (coffee beans). Once humans found this out, now civets are kept in cavity and fed just coffee berries (i.e., they have no choice, just eat whatever is put in from of them). Natually, the beans that come out will be no different than average coffee beans. Yes, there's this whole "civet digestive enzymes" part, but that plays a negligible role IMHO.
nailer 9y ago
Also reducing transportation costs is good for the environment. And consumers will like that!

colechristensen 9y ago

Did I miss the pricing bit? All I saw was a quote saying that specialty coffee that sells for $120/lb exists, not that these places are selling it. (if you're looking for it you can find absurdly expensive anything, the only coffee you'll find at that top price is probably kopi luwak where they harvest the beans from civet poop)

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
leeoniya 9y ago
> where they harvest the beans from civet poop and typically abuse these poor animals in the process [1] [1] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/sep/13/civet-coffee-cut-the-crap https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/se...
- 13of40 9y ago
  There's a lot of "I" in that article.
  - ptaipale 9y ago
    Hey, it's The Guardian and "lifestyle".
rubyn00bie 9y ago
... It's probably not from civets if an animal did even poop it out. Demand has increased so high, even highly abusive farms can't keep up. So they just outright lie about the beans or have some other animal eat the beans and shit them out.
- mb_72 9y ago
  "...have some other animal eat the beans and shit them out." Sounds like something I can do at home myself then.
  - lostlogin 9y ago
    DIY scarification, bring your own cat.
chipotle_coyote 9y ago
The only coffee you'll find at that top price is probably kopi luwak... I don't know about $120/lb coffee, but it's not that hard to find pretty expensive coffee. "Hula Daddy" Kona Coffee runs up to $90/lb, depending on the type: http://www.huladaddy.com/catalog-coffee http://www.huladaddy.com/catalog-coffee And currently, Starbucks has a coffee going for nearly $80/lb ($40 for an 8.8-ounce bag): http://store.starbucks.com/coffee/starbucks-reserve-coffee/ http://store.starbucks.com/coffee/starbucks-reserve-coffee/ (I've noticed that Kopi Luwak really doesn't seem to show up on the radar of most coffee snobs, despite the claims of the sellers, which has always made me suspicious of it. Also, it's a lot more than $120/lb; it's not uncommon to find it going for over $300/lb.)
- Baeocystin 9y ago
  You can get 'enzymatically treated' fake Kopi Luwak for only a ~20% premium over a regular, good quality bean, and I would say it's actually better than the real stuff. I also think arabica varieties are overrated in general, and a good blend that includes a robusta, with its excellent crema-producing properties, is almost always a better cup. That being said, $100+/lb coffees are pure wankery. If people want to spend their money that way, so be it. But just because something is rare or expensive doesn't make it actually taste better. Source: am coffee snob
  - lostlogin 9y ago
    I'm sure you know this, but for a fraction of that cost you'll get a green top grade coffee bean. Roast it yourself so it's always fresh. You won't look back. I've tried robusta. It looks amazing but is deadly strong and tastes like burning tyres.
    - Baeocystin 9y ago
      I've roasted a few times, simply using an old hot air popcorn popper. It was a lot of fun, but there isn't anywhere local I can get good green beans. Do you have any recommendations for on-line shops? Regarding robusta- first crack tends to be hard to hear, which can mess up your roast if you aren't careful. My subjective recommendation is to use them for ~10% of your total bean bill. Crema for days when you pull shots, great earthy flavor. Pairs really well with Sumatran beans.
jfroma 9y ago
I have tried kopi luwak and IMHO it taste bad, I couldn't finish it. I think there is one more expensive than that one and it is the Black Ivory, collected from elephants waste [1]. But after been disappointed by the kopi luwak I am not interested in expensive coffee, give me a cheap colombian like Juan Valdez, or some organic colombian. [1]. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Ivory_Coffee https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Ivory_Coffee
- hackunomatter 9y ago
  The theory behind Kopi Luwak was that the civets knew which (coffee) berries were perfectly ripe, so ate them; in the process, pooping out the seeds (coffee beans). Once humans found this out, now civets are kept in cavity and fed just coffee berries (i.e., they have no choice, just eat whatever is put in from of them). Natually, the beans that come out will be no different than average coffee beans. Yes, there's this whole "civet digestive enzymes" part, but that plays a negligible role IMHO.

nailer 9y ago

Also reducing transportation costs is good for the environment. And consumers will like that!