Wow, I had no idea the world of extreme quality coffees,  gifted tasters, exclusive coffee houses, barristas, cuppers, Clover machines and world rankings, as reported in Fresh Cup’s Coffee Alamanac,  for coffee existed.  A cup can cost upwards of $6. A 8oz bag of quality roasted beans will set your coffee fund back by at least $20.  This is a world similar to the tastings and rankings and pricing of fine wines or cigars.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity and pleasure to meet and hear Herb Brodsky boast about his son Joseph Brodsky who has sourced 7 of the world’s best ranked coffees in 2007.  Joseph’s brother Jake, along with PaPa Herb founded NOVO Coffee in June of 2002. I enjoyed 2 cups of Novo’s best, Aricha Selection which is rated 93.5 in coffee ratings and Beloya rated at 90.5.

Joseph travels the world in search of the finest coffee farmers.  He specializes in Ethiopian and Panamanian coffees and additionally sources coffee beans from shade grown farms in Columbia.  He teaches farmers better technique to improve on their already quality farms. A coffee tree matures in 7 years and produces about a pound of finshed coffee at the harvest. The farmers harvest coffee cherries which appear similar to a cranberry. The pulp is then removed using various processes and the remaining green beans are then shipped to NOVO for profile roasting in their lodo Denver facility under the supervision of Ethiopian-born head roaster Semeon Abay.

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