"In direct trade" business transactions, "the land, farmers and workers are treated the best, and compensated better." Schultz sees the great value in the prices people pay for the specialty coffees. "Coffee at $16 a pound is amazingly cheap." And, when you consider that the coffee farms employ year-round workers, and seasonally, about 25 people, [...]

Tasting of the coffee varietals takes place in the "Cupping Room," where a "super scientific" grading of the coffee is done on a scale of one to 100, although most coffees don't go below 85 points on the scale. "There is a lot of coffee in the Cupping Room," Schultz explains, and coffee vendors allow [...]

Coffee is produced from an evergreen shrub or tree (which can grow up to 20 feet in height, and live as long as 30 years), which creates oval-shaped berries (which have seeds or beans). Schultz describes a labor-intensive process of making coffee beans, and hand harvesting is a necessity for the excellent quality coffee brands. [...]