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The local low end grocery store recently started carrying coffee in 1#10oz bags for just under $4. I tried one a while ago and found it to be much better coffee than any of the major (non"gourmet") brands and a pot of coffee kept hot is still pretty good after a couple of hours. I went back and bought three bags. This week I am going after 10 more. I suspect it is a mix involving a heavy ratio of Vietnamese coffee. That is the cheap version of Ethiopian highlands coffee which is strictly "gourmet" and oh so pricey. Like the Ethiopian it has very little acid and therefore keeps hot for an extended period.

The stuff is called "Java Time" and claims to be 100% Arabica. The Vietnamese "overproduced" the supposedly lesser quality Robusta beans and crashed the price of coffee a few years ago and the world coffee cartel dumped on VN and induced them to switch to the pricier and less productive Arabica beans. Viet Nam is producing so much Arabica that the price of that is, of course, coming down. With the right soil and altitude the Robusta is every bit as good as the Arabica and cheaper to produce. But if the growing conditions are right a country can and will "overproduce" the Arabica, too.

Thanks for the coffee tip.

I see good prices online for Nam robusto and arabica, and a species I’d never heard of- liberica from Phillipines

What’s the name of the low end grocery? A chain store? Java Time sounds like a deal... thanks for sharing.