Coffee Supply: Global Logistics Problems.

Coffee bean shortage.

Update: 28 February 2022. The Tanzanian has arrived. Following further delays caused by storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin coming in quick succession, the coffee eventially got shipped and it arrived this morning. We’ll be roasting today and Torero will be sent out tomorrow.

Update: 10 February 2022. We’ve just had a call to say that our coffee has docked in Rotterdam and will be on its way to us today. So it shouldn’t be long now. We’ll keep you posted here.

Our Torero coffee blend has fallen victim to the global logistics squeeze which has been making life difficult for the shipping and logistics industry since mid- 2020. We have been unable to land the particular Tanzanian Arabica bean we need for Torero since late November 2021 and we have now run out of raw green beans for this blend so we have been reluctantly forced to mark it out of stock and suspend orders for the moment.

Back by mid to late February

We believe we will have received at least some of our order by mid-February or thereabouts so Torero will be available again as quickly as possible after we receive the beans. I know some of our customers will be disappointed by this and we can only apologise but the causes are far beyond our control and there is nothing we can do about it.

Our strong relationships, built up over more than 30 years with coffee growers, co-ops and exporters have always enabled us to source small batches of the most coveted coffees on the planet over the years. We have always been able to get the beans we need even in the tightest of squeezes, but not this time. This is different.  It’s a shortage of shipping, rather than a shortage of coffee that has caused the problem.

Tanzanian Coffee Regions

Maybe this is the one disadvantage of dealing with small speciality growers. It seems that the small co-op that supplies the Tanzanian Arabica hadn’t enough volume to secure their slot on the shipment to The Hague and they were passed over for a larger cargo. I suppose these are the things that happen in a global logistics crisis. Whereas it has been more complicated and time-consuming than usual to ensure a steady supply of the premium coffee beans we need, this is the first time that a coffee bean shortage has been caused by logistics problems, rather than a crop failure or a political problem in a particular growing region. In the coffee world, you grow accustomed to drought, late frosts, wars, political upheaval, and a myriad other things that can interrupt the supply of coffee from so many distant parts of the world. This time, however, it’s not a local problem that’s causing it but a global shipping crisis.

Torero is one of our most popular coffees, not surprising, considering that it’s Ireland’s most exalted coffee blend, the only one EVER to be nominated for a Golden Fork Award. Torero is one of only two coffee blends from Ireland ever to have won THREE STARS in the Great Taste Awards (2021).

THREE GOLD STARS, GREAT TASTE AWARDS 2021 

“perfect balance…” “fruity with cherries and red fruits …” “glorious…” “long, long finish…” “transported to coffee heaven”

Amazing. The most coveted accolade; three gold stars at the Great Taste Awards. The judges described it as follows:

Great Taste Judges:

“Balanced. Fruity with cherries and a basketful of red fruits that fill the mouth in a glorious fashion. Clever roasting – all separately, all the same level of roast. This delivers perfect balance and a long, long finish and when milk was added, we found ourselves transported to coffee heaven. Such skilled blending into a coffee that will always please.”

“There’s an excellent light touch here with the different profiles working well together to produce a delicious, light fruity note. Milk rounds off all the flavours beautifully.”

We are sorry to be marking Torero out of stock but we have no choice at present, we just can’t get the beans and there is no point is substituting, it just wouldn’t be the same. Please bear with us.

French Roast is definitely a good alternative choice if you are a Torero fan.