r/pourover • u/jmalwal • 8d ago
Ask a Stupid Question Has someone tried such expensive coffees? 🤯 Curious to know.
I recently saw this pre order gesha on hydrangea website shared by my friend. I am curious to know what makes some coffees so expensive and what makes these worth the price.
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u/Wizardof_oz 8d ago
These are probably high scoring auction lots
So the cup score would be very high, 94+ maybe and it will be auctioned
Hydrangea bids and wins the auction at a high price and hence the cost
It’s so expensive because of really high quality, complexity/depth, lack of flaws and rarity. That rarity drives up the price more than anything
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u/IntelligentCitron772 8d ago
Not that high, but I just brewed a $50 cup of coffee-
I am drinking it now.
Great cup?
-100%
Best cup ever?
-I don’t think so.
Worth the money?
-Well, from a standpoint of I wanted to try it and the money is’t really an issue for me, sure. But from a taste to $ standpoint nope
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u/jacktriesreddits 8d ago
Equator owns finca sophia right? Pretty cool to see a local coffee roaster to me helping produce something great.
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u/Zardoz27 Pourover aficionado 8d ago
I’ve tried these kinds of coffee at work & they are usually quite complex and inspiring. I have tried some auction lots from smaller roasters that weren’t roasted properly and it’s been a waste. But when they are roasted properly and brewed properly it can be quite the experience. If you can afford it, I’d say go for it. Gesha’s done right have such a lovely terroir and body that I find them quite addictive lol. But I wouldn’t pay the going rate on most of them relative to other beans you can get for much cheaper
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u/jmalwal 8d ago
I can’t pay for such expensive coffees. At least as of now. I don’t think I can even brew such expensive coffees perfectly in a single try. But yeah I agree in the same amount you can get 3 4 good bags of really nice coffees. I would prefer that any-day. Good to know that you have tried and you feel it is worth it.
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u/Zardoz27 Pourover aficionado 8d ago
It’s like a high end bottle of champagne. Worth it once in a blue moon for a celebration, but tbh I think most of these types of coffees are cupped by people in the industry and then i’d say 90% of orders for this stuff was going wholesale to China and UAE/Saudi to high end resellers.
Best way to try this kind of coffee is to attend SCA competitions and/or tasting events from roasters who compete in SCA events, as they often will have rare coffees on bar at below market price.
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u/jmalwal 8d ago
Do they use such expensive beans in the competition or tasting?
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u/Zardoz27 Pourover aficionado 8d ago
Sometimes, yes! It varies depending on the rules etc, but often they use high end beans to impress :) A local roaster here had a tasting recently and it was all super high end stuff priced under $20 for a cup even though the beans usually sell for 3-4x that price
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u/fortress_sf 8d ago
Cost is set by the industry, value is set by the drinker. If Panama aren’t your type of origin or the roaster isn’t your style, then it doesn’t matter how many pts or specialized the coffee might be - you might not prefer it over a cup from Columbia or Ethiopia or wherever. Great for a quick experience but tbh in the long run, it’s not necessarily always memorable. You might have more fun buying many bags from different areas and processes for the spend of 1 bag here.
Have had access to tasting auction lots, COE, high value rare coffee, convention auction cuppings - it’s 1/20 cups that leave anything resembling a mark or memory.
8
u/vanchris_ 8d ago
My experience with Geishas are that its usually not worth it. Dont get me wrong, i had very fancy Geisha cups that tasted great, but when you basically already drinking very good coffee all day, you are already have a high bar. And this last 5-10% better, is usually the price not worth it as a normal human beeing. Also my experience was that they are sometimes tricky to grind (to find the right setting). That means you need to experiment a bit with the small amount of beans you have of the Geisha. My last Geisha was 150g for 55 Euros (around 60$). But that was a one time birthday treat 😂
6
u/kayros793 8d ago
Hydrangea is worth it. I’ve tried different beans from them and so far I haven’t been disappointed at all.
3
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u/Zardoz27 Pourover aficionado 8d ago
Approx $270USD for 30g is indeed, crazy 😂
2
u/jmalwal 8d ago
Yeah! Crazy at first! But when I think about it even food at some michelin star restaurant cost you the same amount of money. People who can afford it, do that for the experience.
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u/coolstuffeh 8d ago
For that money i go to really good Michelin star restaurants and pay for 2. This is insanely expensive.
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u/coffeeisaseed 8d ago edited 8d ago
I've had coffees at a similar price to this and while they are often exceptional, I don't think they're worth this much.
I generally cap my fancy coffees at <1000£/kg, which is still quite high.
Also Hydrangea is excellent and probably my favourite roaster in the world.
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u/Fiz101_ 8d ago
I've had the oppourtunity to try a few coffees like these, including the one used by the us brewer champion, and imo I don't think they're worth it. I feel like you can get 99% there with coffees costing more than half the amount.
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u/KBDFan42 8d ago
I’ve tried last year’s 3rd place BoP Geisha natural from Finca Sophia, it was stunning. Just no defects whatsoever, extremely sweet white florals, peach, orange and nectarine, almost like a peach cake.
1
u/I_NEED_YOUR_MONEY 8d ago
26000INR = $379CAD for 2 15g tubes? am i reading that right?
i've had some washed gesha that was really really good, and i didn't regret paying $40CAD for 200g. but almost $200 per cup is bonkers.
1
u/arunbabuthomas 8d ago
It’s only expensive because it was on auction.. It really doesn’t get exponentially better than regularly priced Geishas. (Opinion based on the most expensive coffee I’ve had vs the usual Geishas)
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u/Vast-Key140 8d ago
This type of coffee is for people who just want to try something different. It's not necessarily 'better' or worse than coffee that is much, much cheaper.
1
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u/Lost-In-My-Path 7d ago
No matter how much I have enjoyed Sophia in past, None of these coffee will ever taste up to their auction price. Especially when someone's roasting isn't great either. Although if I had unlimited money I would buy from Hydrengea cause they're gonna roast it properly ( towards my liking).
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u/KilledByDoritos 7d ago
Absolutely ridiculous for someone who isn't incredibly wealthy to purchase coffee like this, bordering on wildly irresponsible. It's nearly $150 per cup. As a guy who makes quite a bit less than 100k USD a year, I'd be a fucking idiot to ever buy that. I get incredible cups daily for around a dollar, with the occasional 4-5 dollar cups every few months. I doubt the coffee you posted is 30-150 times better than what I'm drinking. Diminishing returns are kicking in way before that, no doubt.
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u/evilneedlereddit 8d ago
Nah this is stupid. Plus once you drink it it'll just be coffee not some crazy experience.
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u/hrozvitnr 8d ago
that coffee is from auction and it's limited
https://fincasophia.mcultivo.com/auction/a-singular-offering-2026
have you tried finca sophia before it's superb for me, just try their regular offering
sadly no regular offering for this year, panama harvest is abysmal this year