1.   From Guatemala to Tanzania, Mexico to Kenya, farmers who produce quality beans are losing money on their harvests as a result.

2.   Mexican beans are described by connoisseurs as milder, but quality beans are harder to find.

3.   Smaller crops and lower quality beans in Latin America, the traditional mainstay of U.S. coffee imports, forced roasters to look elsewhere for supplies.

4.   The highest quality beans are harvested after most of the commercial grades are gathered, Cronly said.

5.   But because good quality beans commanded higher prices on the international market, the coffee left over was usually poor, and Brazilians got used to it.

6.   The composite measures the top quality mild arabica bean and the traditionally cheaper robusta variety.

7.   Coffee prices remained strong this week in the face of limited stocks of high quality arabica beans grown in Latin America.