On the hunt... for coffee

So far I have been spending my morning looking up various coffees from different countries just to see what I could either order myself or ask friends to send to me (since I'm not too sure how broad my readers are for my Coffee Review segments). Starting off in Canada, I discovered a company called Van Houtte. It looked like so many other coffee companies that want to reflect their long years of business with the classic packaging graphics with the use of at least 3 colors. I don't have a problem with it but after looking at so many, would think that a company could go ahead and find a way to stand out without loosing the message that such a graphic is trying to show a potential consumer. Pushing my art self to the side, one of their coffees would be interesting to try which is Amazonia Fair Trade Organic - Medium Roast. It's a 340g bag (12 oz for those not used to grams) for $11.49 which is relatively normal for a high grade specialty coffee. What concerns me with the website is that I would have to go ahead and create an account before you can figure out what the Shipping and Handling cost would be, though it does state that there is free S&H for any purchase $45 or more. My guess would be that the shipping cost would probably be the standard $3 to $9 cost it would normally be for something that size/weight. Guess this means that I need to do a little bit more research on it.



Deciding to change countries, I started wandering the possibilities of Japanese coffees. I did find one type which advertises itself as Japan Premium Organic Coffee. The problem is that it's being sold by a Mr. Ng Lee Wah on 21food.com. First time I've ever come across the site but I'm not too sure how trust worthy it is. If someone out there could tell me a little more information, that would be great. From what I can tell, the site allows small growers to sell their products.




Delving a bit further into coffees from Japan, something screamed at me to read it. When your eyeballs see "Most expensive coffee" you have to figure out what's going on. Clicking the link it dropped me off on what appears to be a blog of sorts that focuses on luxury items and products. The entry itself was posted on Dec. 1, 2009 and states:

"Japanese cafe chain operator Saza Coffee Co plans to sell Panama’s Esmeralda Especial coffee beans for 1,200 yen per cup ($18) starting Dec 2.

Saza is the first company in Japan to buy the high-quality beans through an auction by paying $117.50 per pound for the coffee.

And that is almost 100 times more than the cost of average coffee beans. 
Touted to be the world’s most expensive coffee, it turns out to be “only” the second most expensive one according to our records."

Read more: World's most expensive cup of coffee in Japan | LUXUO Luxury Blog 
http://www.luxuo.com/most-expensive/coffee-saza-japan.html

I couldn't help but stare at the entry in complete disbelief. WHY?! Why that much? Is it because of the process of the beans? Is the smoothness of the flavor the perfect balance of fruity, woody and chocolate tones? Does it keep you wired for 24 hours? I don't get it! If anyone out there has had this before, please tell me your opinion on this product because I'm truly baffled.