I wouldn’t. But a coffee shop in Baltimore is betting that some folks will. My guess: obnoxious hipster coffee snobs. (I have recently decided that I abhor hipsters. But that’s a blog post for another day.)
Yesterday, the Spro coffeeshop in Baltimore’s Hampden neighborhood started offering 12-ounce servings of Aida’s Grand Reserve for $13. That comes out to a bit more than a dollar an ounce, and that’s for plain old black coffee, sans foam or other milk-accoutrements.
“It’s really a fantastic kind of coffee,” said Spro owner Jay Caragay. “It’s very juicy, fruity, good mouth feel, medium bodied.”
I’m sure it’s delicious, but really – thirteen dollars a cup?
Aida Grand Reserve is grown in El Salvador by a woman named Aida Batlle; Aida apparently operates three legendary estates which regularly produce award-winning coffees. Ms. Batlle’s family has been coffee-farming for 5 generations, but the business didn’t flourish until Aida took the farms over. (Here’s a link to a blog post that describes how she came to take over her farm, and how her coffee came to be so expensive. I glossed over the parts about the “cupping” because the whole idea seems way too pretentious for me).
I love coffee. Love love love it. I will spend a little more to get good beans, but this seems like price gouging to me. Perhaps I’m not as much of a coffee snob as I think I am. Thank God, because if I were, I’d probably be broke. I am somewhat snobby, though, as evidenced by my most recent purchase:
All that being said, if anyone in NY’s Capital District knows where I can get my hands on a cup of this stuff, I might be willing to try it, just to see if it’s worth it. Anyone?
Profussor, this coffee would probably taste delightful with a donut.
Life at Goal 
500 pounds in the world. I think it is unlikely to be found up in our neck of the woods.
And for the record, I do not mind hipsters. Coffee geeks, much like wine snobs, are great to have for friends. They always bring over super tasty treats.
Here are my major objections to hipsters:
I’ve just had enough.
@Daniel: I hope you’re not a closet hipster – I would seriously hate to have offended you. And it’s too bad about the coffee being so scarce – are there any attainable substitutes that I could get my hands on?
I’m not a closet anything. I don’t think.
– Although I hate shaving.
– Wish I had glasses, but damn it my eyes are still fine, and I’m not vain enough to wear glasses without a perscription.
– I think PBR fills a culinary niche – great with spicy food.
– I have a few old tee shirts, but I have come to them honestly. And they are so soft and full of holes and precious to me, that I only wear them when I’m in need of comfort and never out of the house.
– I listen almost exclusively to old Dylan and old Talking Heads, with a little bit of old David Bowie to round it out.
Also, it takes a lot to offend me.
You ever get out to Dean’s Beans? It would be a reasonable day trip, and Dean is one crazy coffee guy. He buys green beans from all over the world, and is quite literally all about fair trade.
I’ve never been to his place, but would love to check it out.
You may hate shaving, but I get the impression that even when growing a beard you keep it neat and trimmed. Hipsters thrive on patchy growth and scraggle.
I think you just described my brother…