Another Mystic Monk Addict

Another Mystic Monk Addict September 24, 2009

Got a fun email today from Peter, who is obviously a very smart fella – I repost it almost in its entirety:

For the last several years I’ve been a regular reader of Spengler…after he unmasked himself as David Goldman and announced he was decamping to First Things, I followed along to see what he’d be writing about as an Observant Jew contributing to a Conservative Catholic Intellectual Journal. That’s when I found your Blog and became an occasional reader. It was on your blog that I saw mention of “Mystic Monk Coffee”. ‘Cool name,” I thought.

A few weeks ago I ordered some “Hermits’ Bold Blend” …I couldn’t find the size of the bag of coffee but, since the price was about the same as at the Starbuck’s and Dunk’n Donuts shop I figured it had to be a pound. I can’t tell you how annoyed I was when the package arrived and it was only 12oz. “What a Rip-off!” I shouted out loud.

I still had some beans from an unfinished bag of grocery store coffee sitting in the burr-grinder so I put the Monk’s coffee in the pantry. For the next few days I would grind my molars each time I opened the larder door and saw that 12oz bag sitting on the shelf.

[Finally got] around to opening the Mystic Monk’s. I took the top off the grinder to pour the beans into the glass holding vessel and, as I tore open the bag, I nosed the wonderful aroma and saw the volatile oils glistening on the surface of the beans. ‘Wow!’ I thought, ‘Right out of the roaster and into the bag. You don’t see beans like this in store-bought coffee – not even Starbuck’s.’ I ground some beans and made a brew. At the first sip I thought, ‘This is fantastic!’ But, at the equivalent of $14/lb I thought it over-priced. After all Starbuck’s and D-Squared only charge $10/lb.

[Only? Admin, who is cheap about some things, but not about coffee]

Yesterday I placed another order with the Mystic Monks. I got three bags of beans for myself and a couple of bags of ground coffee for some friends. This stuff is just too good not to share. W. Edwards Deming, the statistician who made post-war Japan an industrial powerhouse, famously pointed out, “Price, without a measure of Quality, is meaningless.” After doing a little thinking and drinking I decided that, yes, Mystic Monks Coffee is worth the price.

Oh, and after reading a few blog posts and articles, I also became a subscriber to First Things.

So, hooked on the Mystic Monks Liquid Crack and also subscribing to First Things? Did I not say he was smart? Yes, the Mystic Monk Coffee is a tad pricier than normal, but the stuff is so good, (and the Carmelite monks have such ambitious, heartening plans for growth), that it seems a worthwhile expense, to me.

Speaking of First Things
, take a look at some of the October issue. I think most will love this piece by Mary Eberstadt, “What Does Woman Want? and will find this piece on Economic Justice and the Spirit of Innovaction equally satisfying.

And of course, I’m a contributing writer, too! What’s not to like?


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