The most expensive coffee is not necessarily the best!
Coffee prices, as with most commodities, fluctuate with market and production conditions. If you're a coffee lover, does the most expensive coffee win the taste contest? Not necessarily.
The coffee tree is native to many regions around the world. There are two types of coffee, Arabica and Robusta. Arabica is a finer grade than Robusta and therefore commands a higher price. Arabica beans mature more slowly than Robusta, so production costs are higher, making Arabica the most expensive coffee of the two types.
However, varieties of Arabica are found in countries from the African continent to the Hawaiian islands. If Kenyan coffee trees have been subject to poor growing conditions this year, the price naturally goes up. Now let's suppose the Kona variety from Hawaii enjoyed superb weather and a great harvest of superior beans. The price of the Kenyan coffee may surpass the Kona coffee price, although the Kona is better. Although the Kenyan product is the most expensive coffee, it's certainly not the best of this year's crop.
If you're an aspiring coffee connoisseur, you can learn much by visiting websites that not only sell coffee, but offer extensive information on each variety, differences in taste, body and growing conditions of the current crop. Much like wine, soil and weather conditions play heavily into the quality of the finished drink. Even the finest coffee variety can suffer a bad year. While the price may be high, you may wonder why your neighbor recommended it so highly. Like vintages of wine, you have to watch coffee conditions year by year. Some so-called experts will say Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee is the best in the world, while others claim Kenyan holds this designation. Just remember, such sweeping statements only hold true in a given particular year, not always.
Of any Arabica crop, in any year, organically grown trees will be the most expensive coffee of all. No pesticides are used, so the coffee farmer won't realize the yield per acre that his pesticide-using neighbor gets from the same acreage. However, the organically grown coffee does have a quite discernible taste superiority over the same variety which is not organically grown. If you want to know your coffees, you should try a small bag of one of the organic coffees at least once to judge for yourself.
The diehard coffee lover knows that coffee is a major expense in the food budget. If you're going to pay top dollar for your cup of Joe, you should know what you're getting is the best. Invest some time in seeking out websites with the real skinny on the year's crops. Befriend a knowledgable clerk in your local coffee merchant's shop. Be aware that a skillful roast can make a lesser coffee taste like the most expensive coffee. Learn, save and savor that delicious cup.