Why I compete?
Most competitor’s including myself say we compete every year for the experience and the constant growth of our development as a coffee professional. I feel this reason alone is a great reason for anyone that wants to take their career to next level. Every year of competition is an enormous amount of growth and learning. Not only competition/stage growth but overall coffee knowledge and practical skills growth that can be directly or indirectly applied to our day jobs. For myself, some examples are the way I describe and talk about coffee and some of the training methods I apply on my students. The competition scene forces you to go to extreme levels to achieve perfection not only with your chosen coffee but with every other variable in between. Another big reason is the people and connections we all get to experience. Every year of competition equals new connections, new friends and sometimes even new (happy usually) tears along the way. The coffee community is small in New Zealand and filled with passionate, knowledgeable and fun people making things like competitions a joy to be part of. Every year is filled with an amazing group of competitors, volunteers and judges whom make the journey more fun, more interesting and include more laughs.
This year I created a routine with less technical innovation compared to my concept in 2017 but I placed more emphasis on my coffee and my message through my presentation. I sourced a coffee through Coffee Tech and ended up choosing a natural processed coffee from Geisha Village in Ethiopia. This particular coffee was special due to its innovative fermentation method that uses a juice as the main ingredient in the fermentation made up of a complete separate lot of coffee cherry’s. I was extremely happy with the sensory components of this coffee and found distinctive flavours of fermented pineapple and guava. My routine heavily discussed fermentation and the unique process of this coffee and I also included the concept of hospitality and the ability for us as barista’s to offer a new sensory experience as a means for progressing the industry. During the preliminary round I finished my routine on a high note and apart from walking into (and knocking over) my dump box on stage I was happy with my performance. During the finals routine I slipped on a few technical points but I had more confidence in my coffee. I ended up walking away from the championship with 2nd place which is a great achievement and accomplishment.
Congratulations to our New Zealand Barista Champion Honoka Kawashima who will be representing NZ on the world stage in 2024. Honoka is an outstanding representative for New Zealand and it’s been an honour to be competing with such talent.
Thanks… My first thanks goes out to my customer’s and my team. Without you I wouldn’t have coffee to sell and a team to work with. My customer’s and my team allows me to live my dream of making and working with coffee on an daily basis. Hanna Terramoto and Alan Zuo from Coffee Tech have been my friend, inspiration and guidance not just through this competition but through a big part of my coffee journey in general. I also owe thanks to my family whom have helped and supported me along the way.
]]>I quickly learned that Monsoon Malabar drinkers are very loyal and won’t settle for an alternative.
It’s flavour, processing method and even its appearance is very different to other coffee.
The raw beans of most coffee are green in colour and the Monsoon Malabar is yellow. It is also slightly larger in physical size than most other raw beans and it is a lot less dense. This means that with the same volume of raw beans, the Malabar takes up more space.
The Monsooned Malabar coffee is often regarded as the lowest acidic coffee in the world. This poses many advantages for those looking for a coffee with lower acidity to align with a higher alkaline diet. We are unable to guarantee the PH of the Malabar due to the water being used to brew the coffee having a big factor on the final PH of the coffee.
I often say to people looking at this coffee that it is one that people either love or hate. Its aroma is very distinct and a fair representation of the cup and I often refer to the aroma as malt and slightly burnt caramel.
With an extremely low acidity, the Malabar has a big bold flavour profile. We roast this coffee reasonably light to bring out its natural malt sweetness, similar to that of a malt biscuit. It also has hints of spice, rustic nutty tones and a chocolate/malt sweetness.
The processing method of the Malabar is extremely unique and unlike any other coffee. Once the cherries have been picked, it is sun-dried in allocated areas. The dried beans then get seasoned and divided into quality selections of A or AA.
From here, the beans are now stored and protected until the beginning of the monsoon season in India. This season occurs from June to September and the raw beans are exposed to the winds and humidity of the Indian coast for a total of 3-4 months. After the season is over the beans get transferred to an open warehouse with ventilation for 12 – 16 weeks.
During the time the beans are left in the Monsooned winds, there is still a reasonable amount of labour involved to spread, rake turn the coffee at regular intervals to ensure evenness. The beans absorb moisture from the wet sea winds causing them to swell hence their large physical size. This also regulates the PH of the coffee as they turn into a golden yellow.
The time I am writing this blog post is when our new shipment arrives after being out of stock for almost 2-months. We were unable to find any coffee wholesalers with raw beans of the Malabar so we requested a special order.
Our latest Malabar is from the recent harvest and is the highest-grade Malabar available (AA). Unfortunately like many things, the cost of the raw beans has increased and we have also had to increase its price.
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The Loring S35 Kestrel utilizes a patented design to recirculate the hot air in a closed system instead of passing it through. This reduces the gas consumption by up to 80% compared to traditional style gas roasters. It also eliminates the need for an external afterburner and eliminates the smoke in the roasting process. Not only does the Loring provide a solution to a cleaner environment and a smaller carbon footprint, the finished product (coffee) is also cleaner in its taste offering more control over flavour profiles and consistency.
This roaster is used for all of our production roasts which means it is our primary roaster. We roast each coffee as a separate origin meaning that with our blends, each origin is roasted separately and then blended together post roast to create our desired flavour profile. This roaster significantly improves our workflow with innovative tools such as a green bean loader and vacuum, efficient cooling tray and automatic profiling software. Most roasters are adjusted on the fly while roasting, however the Loring gives us the ability to set recipes and profiles and automate the roast according to the initial settings. Its technology allows us to analayse more data of each roast which gives us a fine degree of control to manipulate the flavour in our coffee.
Our other new roaster added to the lineup is our Coffee Tech FZ94 EVO lab roaster. This roaster has replaced our IKAWA Sample Roaster and gives us the ability to roast as little as 100g all the way up to 2.4kg per batch. This roaster is 100% electric meaning there is no gas required at all. It operates using an electrical driven heat modulator. Named a lab roaster, we have complete control over every variable of the roast including heat, drum speed, airflow giving us the ability to manipulate the style of roast we require.
This roaster will be used as a sample roaster, quality control and for roasting our high-end coffee selections from our Superlative coffee menu. The roasting capacity makes this machine extremely versatile giving us the ability to roast for cupping samples in small lots.
Our trusty Giesen coffee roaster still sits pretty in our Milford shop and although it is no longer used for production roasting it still gets the occasional bout of love. This machine is often used for smaller roasts in lower quantities. Over the last 7-years since Meebz started we have frequently changed roasting machines and we have now come to a point where we are happy with our setup and we feel that we are now working with our ‘dream team’.
Ethiopian coffee is renowned for their bright flavour profile, often with a floral acidity, complexity and sweetness. Ethiopia places a large role in our coffee selection and is used in many of our blends such as our popular Meebz Blend.
This container was sourced from the Tracon Coffee FDT Program. FDT stands for Farmer Direct Traceability which is a program that focuses on the traceability from farm to cup utilising GPS coordination. The cherry’s from each individual farm are identified by codes which passes the fermentation, washing, drying and other processes. The rest of the production process is carried out individually and the final product is promoted with the farmer’s name easily tracked.
Tracon is the first company in Ethiopia that has started the FDT program with more than 300 FDT program members. Each farm has their own traceability system that allows the growers to track the produce from the field to the buyer. One of the goals of the FDT program is to create relationships between the coffee farmer and the end consumer. This helps to acknowledge the individual farmers and award them. This tremendous step of traceability is a win-win situation for both farmers and the end consumer as its increased accountability and flow of information rewards the farmers for good coffee.
A large proportion of this harvest will be used in our blends this year with the remainder to be roasted for filter. We’re thrilled to land this container as coffee from Ethiopia has been difficult to source due to many current issues in the country including a civil war. Ethiopia plays an important role in many of our blends and its unique characteristics make it one of our favourite coffee growing regions. One of our picks from this container is an awarding winning Ethiopian from the Cup Of Excellence. This spectacular coffee will be available near the end of 2022 and we can’t wait to share it with you.
]]>Coffee packaging has proven to be a more difficult option to produce compostable bags primarily due to the one-way valves fitted and bag durability. Our compostable bags are proudly 100% PLA based meaning the valve fitted to the bag is also compostable.
Compostable packaging is a step forward in our efforts to be a more sustainable business to reduce the impact of our business practices on the environment along with a conscious effort in business ethics. For a number of years now all our cups and lids are made of PLA meaning they are produced with no plastic and instead use sources such as wood chips, straw, vegetable fats/oils and plant material. Our environmental conscious efforts extend to our courier bags, label roll paper, paperless accounting system and programs to recycle our coffee sacks and coffee grinds.
Our new print line is for our smaller 250g and 500g sized bags. Our 1kg bags remain as Kraft paper and this is because of durability issues with the larger bags. Our manufacture advised that the PLA bags were not as durable and rip easier due to the softer material of PLA. Our new compostable packaging accounts for over 95% of our smaller bags that leave our doors but we have stocked some of our older foil bags for situations that require it such as overseas orders.
Our new packaging is better for the environment and contains no plastic but does come with its inherent downsides. We’re proud that we managed to remove 100% of the plastic on the bag but this does leave us with a bag that is not resealable. The compostable bags can be opened by tearing the seam but do not have a ziptie to reseal. We advise closing the bag by using a peg or a tool for resealing packaging that we sell in-store or online here. Alternatively, another option is to transfer the coffee into a sealed container such as a snap-lock container with an airtight seal or our vacuum containers that we stock here.
We have also noticed that these bags are not as durable as the plastic option for obvious reasons. Occasionally we have had situations where the bags tear a lot easier but this is generally when they are being sent through the courier. We feel that the environmental benefits of our new packaging outweigh their downsides.
The packaging is certified compostable by OK COMPOST EN13432. This certification is labelled and guaranteed as biodegradable in an industrial composting plant. This certification applies to all components of the packaging including the components, inks and additives. More information on the OK COMPOST certification can be found here.
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The new space started as an idea while exploring options of upgrading our existing coffee roaster. Over the last year, we felt our roasting operations could be more efficient and started exploring different ideas. We decided that not only did we require a roaster with more capacity but also a smaller roaster would bring us tremendous value experimenting further with high end exotic coffees. The aim with a new premises was to create a space that would allow us to comfortably exercise our systems to roast coffee, pack and label coffee, quality control, development and cupping. Although our new premises is not large by any means, we have designed it in a way that it flows with dedicated areas and machinery to achieve our objectives. Our focus is still to remain a boutique business by roasting high quality and exciting coffee in small batches for our café partners and retail customers.
Our new space will operate as an espresso bar, bean store, takeaway coffee outlet and as our main roastery.
We’ll cover more detail in a separate blog post of our new roaster but after countless discussions and research we chose to opt for a US based Loring Smart Roast coffee roaster. Our space also welcomes a colour sorter. This is an AI self-learning machine with full-colour imaging to sort any defects found in roasted coffee. After coffee passes through the colour sorter it is sent to an automatic packer that weighs and fills our bags and then finally sent to a heat sealer with vacuum and nitrogen packing technology. We also house our other Quality Control tools including a moisture and density meter, water activity meter, sample roaster and colour analyser.
The site took us a long 9-months to build with delays in freight for our roaster and severe delays in completing part of the fitout. As a small business owner, I carried out all of the work that I could with the help of my family and team. This included most of the design.
The design retains the simplistic, minimal, white look of Meebz but brings in some industrial aspects with some touches of nature with the use of greenery. The lighting helps our white walls and furniture pop thanks for a set of LED strips lined around the corner of the ceilings. The counter features five dangling edison bulbs that gives some yellow contrast to the white counter. We chose to stick a neon sign on the wall besides our roaster that reads ‘Are We Awake Yet’. We picked this sign for its subtle humour along with its scope for a vast range of meanings.
The small space is split into three different areas that include espresso bar and seating, roasting and packing and a storage and office room. Each area is carefully designed to make effective use of the small space and to segregate the work areas. Our Milford shop did not have this segregation which proved to be difficult as our volume increased.
As an espresso bar, we were lucky enough to design this space from scratch so picked a long-elongated counter that our La Marzocco Strada sits on. Besides the Strada we have a gravimetric Mythos Two with a built in PUQ press for our house blend along with a white EK43 for filter and single origin espresso. With a long counter, we have a dedicated area for pour-over brews with V60’s sitting on stands with scales.
We built a serving window into the window glazing that will allow us to serve takeaway coffee for people on the fly.
As parking is limited, our espresso bar will serve the local businesses, residents and foot traffic within its vicinity. Our short hours are designed to allow us to close the doors after lunch to continue with our roasting operations. For our latest opening hours please click here and we look forward to having a coffee with you at our new space.
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We use Brazil coffee as a base for some of our blends and also offer it as a single origin dark roast. Over the last few years our sources from Brazil have been from larger cooperatives or a collection of larger farms generally from the Cerrado region.
As a coffee roaster, we have evolved over the years with attempts to source the best coffee we can. With the help of our importer, we secured a harvest from a specialty coffee farm in Brazil. This farm was first introduced to us in early 2019. We trialled some of their coffee in our Meebz Blend and were getting an increase in sweetness without losing too much body that the Meebz Blend is famous for. Moving forward, we made a decision to secure our first lot for the next harvest arriving in 2021 and it’s here!
For us, the greatest advantage of securing this harvest is consistency. Not only are we getting better tasting blends but having the consistency of the same coffee allows us to know what we are working with to get the roast profile correct every roast.
This lot of Brazil is from a cooperative of farms that is renowned for producing specialty grade arabica coffee of exceptional quality with a distinct profile of excellent sweetness, featuring a balanced body and acidity. The region in Mogiana is located on a plateau with an altitude of 800 – 1,200 metres being one of the highest cities or the region and the state.
The variety of coffee grown is named ‘Mundo Novo’. This is the result of a natural cross of the Bourbon and Typica varieties. It was first discovered in 1943 in Brazil (source).
This variety is acceptable to many different climates and soil types being more resistant to frost. It has a good uniformity of ripeness.
To work with a sustainable and ethical coffee farmer is a crucial component of the selection and is as important as the quality. Working with this Brazilian estate supports environmental sustainability being one of the first companies to be Rainforest Climate Module Certified in Brazil, along with UTZ and Rainforest Aliance (RFA) certified. More on RFA and its associated campaigns here.
On an ethical and community level the company seeks a commitment to the socio-cultural development of the community in the form of numerous projects that benefit many people and organisations in the community. Some of these projects include the support to the Municipal Nursery Alaide Quercia, the Volunteer Program of Farm Workers, Reforestation Project, Family Garden, Environment Conferences and Training Courses for employees and their families.
*All photos are from the estate taken by O'Coffee.
]]>With our effort to go ‘paperless’ where we can, we are now proud to introduce our own app that collects your stamps/purchases within our iPad in our espresso bar. This method means that you will never forget your loyalty card and it also saves weight in your wallet from accumulating all those loyalty cards. It also means that you don’t have to download any app or use your own device, we provide the iPad and the system in our shop. Your details such as a username or e-mail are saved into a database which is personalised to you (and/or your family). The system also gives you the option to accumulate and bank your free coffee while you continue to accumulate more points
This is the standby screen that you see on the iPad while it is placed on the counter.
1. After tapping on the screen to get started, enter a username or e-mail address. This username or e-mail is used for your account.
2. Next, to receive a stamp select the 'register purchase' button.
3. Now add a virtual stamp to your account by clicking on the blank square boxes. If you have purchased more than one coffee, you can click on multiple blank square box. Now click 'submit' and you are all done!
BANK: Click here to view your free coffee's. You can store them in your account while you accumulate more free stamps.
If you are one of our café partners using Meebz we are proud to share this platform with you. Help us to go ‘paperless’ and provide your customers with an innovative approach to loyalty. Your customer database is exclusive to your café and your app can also be personalized with your own branding and cafe name.
All you need is an iPad and a retail stand and say goodbye to paper loyalty cards.
]]>The general industry standard rules for storing your beans are:
* Although we don’t recommend this controversial opinion here, storing your coffee can be done in a fridge or freezer utilizing different methods such as vacuum packing and at the right age.
Clear canisters can allow light to enter and compromise the freshness of the beans. The tinted black design helps to deflect light.
How should the containers be used?
Buying coffee beans in small quantities is the best practice for retaining flavour and freshness however this is not always the most practical or cost-effective solution. A vacuum container is an excellent method to redistribute a large bag of beans as it allows you to separate the beans and retain them in an environment that is not constantly exposed to oxygen (when you open the bag of beans everytime making a coffee).
Another good use of a container is if you receive your beans in a bag that is not sealed such as a tin-tie or bag that does not reseal.
It is important to note that if you have a bag of coffee that is already in a sealed bag such as a bag with a one-way valve and if the bag is not open then you can retain your beans in this bag until it is ready to be opened.
Over the years we have stocked and tested many different vacuum style containers. We’ve chosen this method of storage due to its simplicity, low price and functionality. Air-tight containers are great and this construction takes bean storage to the next level with its vacuum design pushing out any air that gets trapped inside the container. The amount of air that gets pushed out is dependent on how full the container is with its adjustable height.
]]>We’re proud to present another EF coffee and this particular coffee is from a farmer named Diofanor Ruiz. The farm Finca La Divisa, resonates close to me as it is from one of the farm’s I visited during my origin trip to Colombia last year. This was a highlight of the trip as Diofanor’s farm was positioned high above a mountain in an area named Buenavista. Long and windy roads let to a spectacular view of mountains covered in fruit and coffee plantation. We were lucky enough to have a sunny day and climbed the land on the farm amongst coffee tree’s. Upon our return Diofanor even brewed us a coffee while doing a presentation of the particular coffee we were tasting and discussing the success of this new EF processing method. Although his presentation was in Spanish we were lucky enough to have a Cofinet representative to translate.
This coffee is roasted for best use in filter and recommend using the brew ratio 15:1. We brew this using a V60 with 15g of ground coffee in and 225g of water at 90 degrees.
]]>The majority of you guy’s are loyal customers and we recognize your loyalty from those of you that walk into the door to those of you who purchase online. As a local NZ coffee roaster we sincerely thank you for your business! I can promise you that we are continually doing the best we can to roast the best coffee and to ensure you get an enjoyable experience shopping with us.
We have implemented a new loyalty system both on our website AND in our retail store. The loyalty system is linked to your account. If you have created an account online then you can use this account and link it to our new loyalty program (this is done automatically).
This loyalty system is completely separate from hot beverages and works on a points basis. As you purchase beans, points will be added to your account. You can use these points similar to money and the points can be redeemed to deduct your total bill next time.
If you are a frequent visitor in our shop, then you just need to ask us to create an account using your name and we can automatically link this to our loyalty program. If you shop online and, in our shop, your account is linked and all your points will be kept on the same account.
Go to our website and click on the ‘loyalty points’ button on the bottom right hand corner of the screen.
If you already have an account, click ‘sign in’ and login using your details.
If you are new, click ‘join now’ and you can create an account.
You are ready to go. Your loyalty points are synced with your account. Shop as you normally will on our website and once you have completed checkout your points will be added. To check on your points, click on the ‘loyalty points’ tab as you did in step 1.
Follow our Instagram post on how to redeem your points online by clicking here.
We welcome you the option to redeem your points in-store. To do this just walk into our Milford retail store and give us the e-mail your account is associated with and we will load up your points and make the deductions at checkout.
We hope you enjoy using our new loyalty system and if you have any questions feel free to sing out.
Unfortunately our system does not allow you to claim rewards on a recurring subscription. When you have a subscription you still receive reward points but these need to be redeemed for a one-time purchase on our website OR can be redeemed in-store in Milford.
A tip for those on recurring subscriptions is to 'skip' a delivery of your subscription using your login within your subscription portal and then making a one-off purchase for the coffee you desire.
This Yellow Bourbon is the name of the variety grown at the Finca La Montana farm. It is grown 1,700 - 1,800m above sea level and is a washed process coffee undergoing extended fermentation. The proud farmer, Rafael Amaya first planted this variety 3-years ago with a focus towards the specialty coffee market. This microlot is the first lot produced by the Yellow Bourbon trees.
During our origin trip to Colombia in July 2019, we noticed a common new trend amongst many of the specialty coffee farmers. Many farmers were experimenting with a new fermentation technique we refer to as Extended Fermentation (EF).
Fermentation in coffee is a natural chemical reaction that takes place when you put water and sugar together. Coffee cherries naturally contain both water and sugar. This mix causes the substance (usually sugar) to break down into other substances. Fermentation is an important role that can enhance or ruin the flavor of coffee depending how it is treated.
These guy’s were achieving some amazing results by extending the fermentation time of their coffee. The cups were sweeter, had more depth and complexity. They really pushed the boundaries with some exotic notes displayed in the cup and some very unique flavours were spoken of at the cupping table during the trip. Some farmers including Rafael Amaya (the proud owner of this Yellow Bourbon) went an extra mile and pushed out fermentation even longer.
This month we teamed up with The Snobby Collective to showcase this coffee and reach it out to wider audience. The Snobby Collective is a specialty coffee collaborative that selects a different roaster each month and sends it out to their subscribers with an info-pack and story board for each coffee. Paul, the owner of The Snobby Collective aims to tell the story of the people who grow and process the beans. He breaks down the barriers through insight and understanding. His passion is driven by the people behind the coffee and does a great job of connecting the end-users of us that sip this delicious liquid to the growers.
Check out the collaboration page from The Snobby Collective: https://www.thesnobbycollective.co.nz/blog/853542
We’ve roasted this coffee in small batches of just 2kg per roast in our Giesen coffee roaster. The style of roast is for a filter device. This means the coffee brews well in a plunger, filter machine, pour-over or drip style brew methods. We’ve chosen this style of roast as this style of brewing really highlights the coffee’s natural characteristics. We chose to brew this coffee in a Hario V60 and have create a short video on our method here:
New Zealand is often perceived as a country that takes their coffee seriously with a good café culture. We are an espresso-based culture meaning that the majority of the coffees served in our cafes are prepared using a pressurised espresso machine. We are also a heavily milk-based culture and controversially the creators of the flat white (or was it Australia?). Although espresso has been the dominating method for many decades in kiwi land, we are experiencing forthcoming cafes introducing new brew methods in addition to espresso. These new brew methods are often a variety of filter coffee and/or cold brew coffee. This is great for the industry as it opens up diversity and a choice of selection to try new styles of coffee that provide different experiences within the cup.
Each part of the world tends to have a particular style of ‘roast’ when it comes to the method of roasting coffee. This style is often ingrained into the culture and becomes a preferable norm for this geographic area. In our retail store we have up to twenty different coffee selections and as soon as we mention this to someone they often look at us sideways and say “why so many”? This comes down to the ability to cater to a very wide range of coffee preferences and simply the reason because they all sell-out within our timeframe of being ‘too old to sell’.
It’s no surprise that people enjoy different flavours and tastes and identifying the right taste or flavours can be a very important factor of a successful restaurant, bar or café. Our wholesale offering, meaning our supply of coffee beans to cafes tailors a customised approach to each individual customer. We sit down with you to discuss your demographic and geographic audience to determine your best coffee option. This extends to other factors including the style of business, target audience and business structure. Being a specialised boutique coffee roaster gives us the ability to offer this tailored service and our roasting equipment allows us to ‘precision roast’ small batches for each café we supply to on demand.
What are the advantages of having your own customised blend?
We put this down to a few things that include having a point of difference, exclusivity and being able to offer a blend that customers can only find in your café. With the saturation of cafes popping up in New Zealand it is becoming increasingly important to have strong points of difference in your establishment to distinguish yourself against the café across the road. Unfortunately good appetising food and excellent service are no longer enough factors to sustain a successful café operation. Exclusivity gives your customers a reason to return back to your café. If they enjoy your coffee and understand that there is no other café with your exact coffee roast (point of difference and unique selling point) they will return to your café to receive that same delicious coffee again. Your exclusive blend is uniquely your, which means you can also package and re-sell the beans.
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The Swiss Water Process (SWP) Company specialises in removing caffeine from coffee without the direct or indirect use of chemicals. To decaffeinate the coffee beans, they use an innovative method based on two concepts: solubility and osmosis. The water being used to extract the caffeine is a green coffee extract solution with water-soluble solids of green coffee used to extract the caffeine.
The Swiss Water Company dedicates itself to crafting amazing coffee without caffeine with constant innovation, learning and improvements to the decaffeination process. We agree and only stock SWP decaf that has been growing with popularity. The old associated stigma with bad-tasting decaf is starting to fade with new technology and innovation.
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Fair Trade Organic (FTO) is coffee that is certified as having been produced to fair trade standards. The Fair Trade Certification is governed by the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand. According to the organisation: “Fair Trade is about stable prices, decent working conditions and the empowerment of farmers and workers around the world”. The organisation is set out to ensure the farmers are provided with fair pay, decent working conditions and ensures consistency of income with stability.
Coffee is a widely traded commodity and is highly volatile with drastic price fluctuations from year to year. This is primarily due to coffee being an agriculture product, it is highly dependent on weather conditions and is also susceptible to diseases and a range of other factors. With over 125 million people in the world that rely on coffee farming as their livelihood this fluctuation causes lots of unpredictability. The Fair Trade Organisation is formed purely with good intentions. As this is a controversial issue we will cover a few commonly asked questions in regards to FTO coffee and its certification.
How come all our coffee is not FTO certified and is your other coffee ethically sourced?
We have one symbol that contains 100% FTO Certified coffee that includes one blend and a number of single origins.
The Fair Trade program requires the farmers to be part of the system. Being part of the system does require a substantial financial investment and also requires criteria and guidelines within the farming. Some farmers choose to exclude their farm from this system and this gives them the flexibility and direct financial control. This can be both a positive and negative for the farmer and workers.
As a roaster, having all our coffee from only the Fair Trade system severely restricts the quality and choice of coffee offering thus misaligning our goals to provide customers with the best taste. Our coffee that is not Fair Trade certified is generally dealt with and paid by the wholesalers direct. A lot of time this means higher prices. This simply means that the Fair Trade is an excellent system with good intentions but not designed for every coffee farmer.
Is Fair Trade coffee more expensive?
Our Fair Trade coffee (raw/green beans before being roasted) costs more than some of our coffee and less than others depending on quality, variety and the coffee. Same scenario follows on with our retail/wholesale offering.
What is direct trade coffee?
The Fair Trade Organisation acts as a middleman that controls the certification. Direct trade coffee is purchased directly from the growers/farmers cutting out any other wholesalers and/or certification middlemen.
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The simple round shaped circle represents a single origin coffee. This is one that is grown from a single geographic area or farm. There are no specific rules that dictate what the term ‘single origin’ is. Generally, a single origin can refer to coffee from different farms in the same general area. Some single origin coffees can also come entirely from one farm and this can be called single estate or microlot coffees. When discussing specialty coffee, roasters tend to prefer coffee derived from a single farm for consistency amongst the lot of beans. This generally comes with higher price tag.
Single origin options give us the opportunity to taste a coffee from that specific region or farm. Each coffee growing region has its own generic flavour profile. As we dig a little deeper, each area and/or farm within that region will also have different flavour nuances. Many factors come into play including the altitude, variety of coffee grown and the processing method involved. Single origins give us the experience to taste different coffees from different countries and/or farms. This allows us to understand the general flavour profile of each origin and we generally form a perception or preference with certain regions. This deeper understanding allows us to have a better picture of what goes on at origin.
Another reason for the increased popularity of single origin coffees is the traceability. Unlike a blend, a single origin coffee is generally traceable down to the region it is grown and with higher quality coffees we can identify the farm that grew the coffee. The increasing trend of specialty coffee unravels detailed information of the farm such as the altitude, harvesting techniques, processing methods, soil conditions. etc. This traceability is a progressive trend for specialty coffee and it helps reward farmers that are proactive with their farming methods as it gives roasters an incentive to pay higher for better quality coffee.
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The geometrical, multi faceted shape depicts the mixture and merge of different ingredients to form one final product. Coffee is blended (and also not blended; see single origin) for a variety of reasons including:
Flavour: each origins bean has it’s own unique flavour profile. This flavour profile generally attributes characteristics such as sweetness, acidity and body. It is common to find high quality coffee that is great in flavour but low in acidity or a coffee with a great body and texture but low in flavour. Blending coffee allows coffee roasters to make the most of the positive characteristics of each coffee without sacrificing other sensory components. Generally, the end goal is to create a blend that is evenly balanced.
Consistency: As coffee is an agriculture product it differs from harvest to harvest and then again from season to season. External factors such as weather and diseases also place a large impact on the quality and consistency of coffee. These factors result in no guarantee of securing the most important ingredient to your signature blend. Luckily, blending allows a coffee roaster to replicate a coffee that is no longer available. This gives the roaster an increased degree of control to maintain a consistent blend of coffee rather than using one coffee from a single geographic region.
Control: A coffee roaster has many tools to manipulate the way a coffee tastes and blending coffee allows the roaster to have more control over the end result in your cup of coffee. If a roaster wishes to make a minor adjustment to the flavour profile of the cup of coffee, this can be achieved by making the adjustments to the ratio of the blend.
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