Hi,

Can you find me a U.S.-based web-seller who sells a Laos coffee?  (whole bean).

Thanks!

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Clarification of Question by jkopp-ga on 05 May 2003 16:38 PDT

whoops. misspelled in the question, Laos.

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 05 May 2003 17:10 PDT

I've found a U.S. store that sells Laos Bolaven Plateau coffee (whole
bean or a variety of grinds) for $10 per pound (a sample packet is
available for $2). Here's what they say about it:

"Laos Bolaven Plateau can best be described as a coffee which
possesses the most desirable traits of the worlds rarest & finest
coffees. The balance of hearty body & flavor found in Jamaican Blue
Mountain..... the  smooth drinking qualities of Hawaiian Kona... low
acidity of Indian Monsoon Malabar....rich, chocolaty aftertaste of
Guatemala Antigua. We just can't say enough about this wonderful
coffee! In the short time we've offered the Laotian Bolaven Plateau it
has risen up the popularity chart to a position just behind the ever
popular Colombian Supremo.

Grown in very limited quantities on small plots high on the Bolaven
Plateau. Coffee was introduced to this region by former colonial ruler
 France. Little known & essentially unavailable to western countries
other than the French, it's often served in their much ballyhooed
sidewalk cafes. Apparently, the people of Laos cling to a long time
suspicion & mistrust of westerners.  It seems to stem from a belief
that the west was responsible for bombs that 'didn't' drop, covert CIA
operations that 'didn't' occur, and foreign military operations that
'didn't' happen while the USA 'wasn't' in Laos during the Vietnam War.
Subsequently, there is a basic unspoken agreement amongst the
population to refuse sales  of green coffee to most westerners.  We
have a reliable source for limited quantities and foresee an ability
to provide this coffee on a permanent basis. We're soon to begin
blending experiments with the Laotion Bolaven Plateau & other
coffees.:)

We believe we have the only Laos Bolaven Plateau available in the
USA!"

Would this interest you?

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Clarification of Question by jkopp-ga on 05 May 2003 17:45 PDT

wow, that was quick.

i'd be pleased as pie (w/coffee of course) with any of the following:
1. a physical location of a store in which I could buy Laos coffee,
provided it is in the Bay Area.
2. a website in which i could buy some, provided its within 3000 miles
of the Bay Area (ie. I found an Australian website, but I have a
gift-deadline--three weeks--and shipping a pound of coffee 20000 miles
seems excessive).
3. the answers "we expert searchers could find a web-seller either"
(which would boost my Googl-ego for the obscurity of my quest)

a well-developed argument as to why i should take a vacation and
travel Asia myself in search of fine beverages will also be accepted.

is the store you found in the Bay Area?
jk.

The description that I quoted above, for the Laos Bolaven Plateau
coffee, came from Greencastle Coffee, a Pennsylvania store that is
quite a distance from the Bay Area (but less than 3000 miles!)
Fortunately, they do have online ordering. To get to their Laos
Bolaven Plateau coffee order page, just type the word Bolaven in the
'Find by Key Word' box, then click the 'Search' button. The Laos
Bolaven Plateau coffee description will appear in the lower half of
the screen (scroll down to get to the ordering section.)
 
Greencastle Coffee
http://www.greencastlecoffee.com/java/all-speed-shoppingframe_3.htm

I've found only one other U.S. source of Laotian coffee. And the good
news is that it's in San Francisco!

Here's a description:

"Many people consider Jhai Laotian Arabica Typica the best coffee in
the world. Our coffee comes from seed beans first imported into Laos
in 1930. Lao PDR today exports about 15,000 tons of coffee, including
400 tons of Arabica beans. It has never been imported into the United
States.

We are working directly with growers. We started three years ago. We
are solving three challenges with them. We are starting small so that
we can assure you that the quality and consistency of the coffee will
remain high. We expect to expand at the rate of 10-15% per year. We
are beginning the arduous process of organic certification. We know of
no use of non-organic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. We are
also working to raise the standard of living of the workers and the
farming families. We will get "fair trade" status. Because the coffee
is so rare and so good, we will ask a premium price for Jhai coffee.
It is worth it! ...

JHAI COFFEE
921 France Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94112
415-334-2100
jhaicoffee@yahoo.com"

Jhai Foundation
http://www.jhai.org/jhai_coffee.htm

Jhai coffee is for sale for $16 a pound through this website:

Jhai Coffee
http://www.jhaicoffee.com/

Jhai Coffee: Order Page
http://www.jhaicoffee.com/order_jhai_coffee.html

My Google search strategy:

Google Web Search: "laotian coffee"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22laotian+coffee

Regarding the well-developed argument as to why you should take a
vacation and travel Asia yourself in search of fine beverages, it
doesn't sound as if you would need much convincing. Perhaps one of our
Researchers who lives in Asia would like to comment on that!

I hope this helps. If anything I've said is unclear, or if a link does
not function, please request clarification; I'll be glad to offer
further assistance before you rate my answer.

Best wishes,
pinkfreud

quick, great, and much more info than i found on the web on my own. 
this expert-researcher thing is fantastic.

Thanks for the five-star rating and the nice tip!

We Researchers think this place is pretty fantastic, too. :-)