Do you ever travel to exotic growing regions and buy green beans, bring them home, roast it, blow yourself away, and wistfully realize that you only have 2-kilos of the stuff?

Went to Peru recently. I got some green beans from a cafe in Cusco. He coordinates directly with coffee farming families in Machu Picchu, the tourist destination. He says of 150 or so families, only about 10 really produce impeccable quality -- absolutely perfect green beans when I saw it. Wet processing, sorting, and no defects.

I bought 2 kilos of it from him. I have it here, light roasted. Oh man, it's good. So clean. It's like biting into an apple with a layer of citric acidity. Though Peru itself may be a coffee exporter, it was the specific farm in Machu Picchu. Owner says he's the only one using their coffee so far.

I've done this 3 times. I went to Kona about 13 years ago and toured a few farms. Bought 5 lb's of greens from a farm for about $8/lb. Going rate at the time. Took them home, roasted them, blew me away. At that time the farm had no website or anything. Now they do, but their greens are much much more expensive.

Another time was Indonesia, and once more in Peru (not Cusco). Of course I've also bought beans that turned out to be total junk (Vietnam, Laos, Papua New Guinea, southern China, Venezuela). I really love buying greens when I travel to see what they're like when I get home. If they turn out great, then I'm excited. If they turn out not to be great, that's okay. I still got to meet a farmer, and experience the fruit of his labor. And I just freeze the beans and use them for drip when my in-laws come in town...

Headala wrote: Bought 5 lb's of greens from a farm for about $8/lb.

8 dollars....what?