St Helena is the very small island in the South Central Atlantic where Napoleon was banished to, and died. The island is just 8 miles long and 6 miles wide, but was a small but productive coffee producer owned entirely by the Dutch East India Co. until recently. Because the cost of production was so high and the shipping costs so outrageous (St Helena has only 1 boat, the RMS Saint Helena, servicing the island every every 2 weeks) the farms was left largly abandoned for decades. Only in the past 10 years has the coffee production been revitalized under the care of one David Henry, and the current output is about 4,500 lbs per year. We have the only 2 bags of this coffee in the U.S. from the '01 crop. Compare this to a small Central American estate that can produced 2 containers, or 75,000 lbs per year, and you understand that this is a very rare coffee indeed. And why else is it special? Because the seedstock used to cultivate it is pure heirloom varietal Yemen brought to the island in 1730. Mr. Henry revitalized the production with meticulous care by nursing new seedlings from the aged 100 year old trees. The coffee looks like a wet-processed Sana'ani: a light opal color, small, roundish, flat with a well-defined edge. The coffee is guaranteed by Mr. Henry to be non-certified, but 100% Organic, sustainabley grown. The cup? The acidity is bright, citrus-berry but not sour, the body is medium light (let is rest and the body really comes up), and there is a distinct spicy-pepperiness in the cup. In the finsh there are flavors ranging from cola nut to a pungent creosote and chocolate notes in the darker roasts. The brightness is very roughly similar to an Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. It's a clean cup, balanced too when the coffee is allowed to rest 24-36 hours after roasting (recommended), deep. .... Its expensive! ...but for obvious reasons of high production costs. And it is unique ---there is no coffee like it!You can read more about the coffee on our additional Saint Helena Pictures page, and on the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal's cover article on Saint Helena, April '01