There is an email that arrives sooner or later. 'Hi, do you still have that Ethiopia I ordered last year?' And then comes the moment when we have to write the reply we would rather not write.
There is an email that arrives sooner or later.
"Hi, do you still have that Ethiopia I ordered last year?"
And then comes the moment when we have to write the reply we would rather not write.
No. It's gone.
Not because we stopped liking it. Not because we found something cheaper. And definitely not because one morning we thought: "Right, let's upset a few customers today."
It simply... ran out.
In the world of specialty coffee, there is no magic "Order Again" button.
Every coffee comes from a specific harvest, a specific farm, sometimes a single plot of land. The importer buys a limited quantity, and once the last sack is sold...
...that's it.
And no, a politely worded message won't help. Neither will a sad emoji. Not even telling us it was the best coffee of your life.
When it's gone, it's gone.
Now comes the part most people never see.
Finding a replacement.
This is not like reaching for a different box in a supermarket.
We start again from scratch. We taste samples. We compare harvests. We roast test batches. We look for a coffee that truly earns its place in our offer.
Sometimes we find it within a week.
Sometimes after ten samples we realise none of them are quite good enough.
And so we keep looking.
And what about blends?
That is where it gets even more interesting.
When one of the component coffees disappears, you cannot simply swap it for another.
It would be a bit like replacing cinnamon with curry powder in a cinnamon roll recipe. Technically still a spice. Practically... you probably should not try it.
Every change means rebalancing from the beginning. Sweetness. Body. Acidity. Aftertaste. Everything.
So next time you notice that your favourite coffee has disappeared from our offer...
...please do not be too hard on us.
We miss it a little too.
But it also means we get to discover another coffee you might fall in love with even more.
And honestly?
That is the most beautiful thing about specialty coffee.
It never stands still.
— A note from the wild roaster: If you fall in love with a coffee, do not wait six months thinking: "I'll order that next time." Because that "next time" might not exist anymore.
