Caffeine Magazine Australia – Issue 02

Group coffee review We gather seven espresso blends wellworth trying out Page 8

Going in for the chill Coffee + ice × creativity = uniquely refreshing summer drinks Page 20

Espresso upgrade Four premium machines that will have you pulling shots like a pro Page 28

A U S T R A L I A

Issue 02 The award-winning magazine for coffee lovers © 2021

caffeinemagazine.com.au @caffeinemagaus

CONTENTS

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The latest coffee-related news, including the once-in-a-lifetime discovery of a new coffee group.

We hear from environmental pioneers, look at the links between tea and coffee, marvel at a ten-grand coffee watch, and show you how to get the best from your AeroPress.

PLUS Don’t miss our first-ever blind taste challenge; seven coffees, four experts, one fuss-free guide to your next caffeinated experience.

Discover how the use of blockchain technology is helping to keep the supply chain honest and ensure the coffee farmers get a better deal.

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32

Stuart Ritson explains why it’s much more than arabica’s poor relation – and how it could potentially preserve coffee’s future.

We hear from Peruvian farmers doing it tough, due to the many challenges of 2020. We also hear from inspiring women turning the tables on tradition and supporting their communities through coffee.

The Grind

WTF… is robusta?

B E N T L E Y C R E AT I VE

20

Keep your cool Caffeine ups the ante for iced coffee drinks with three uniquely refreshing summer drinks. Try your hand at these caffeinated chillers – you’ll thank us later.

Crypto coffee

28

Espresso Upgrade ‘A barista is only as good as his tools’.

We look at four premium espresso machines and give you the low-down so you can upgrade your home kit with confidence.

Subscribe Never miss an issue of the award-winning magazine for coffee lovers! Get every issue delivered direct to your door.

Visit caffeinemagazine.com.au for details

Industry news

38

The caffeinated tipple Mr Black have done it again. Get a load of this Big Lebowski-inspired, creamy cocktail. “The Dude” abides!

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WELCOME

AUSTRALIA

Editor & Publisher Steve Moore steve@caffeinemagazine.com.au Marketing & Promotions (Aus) Annie Moore annie@caffeinemagazine.com.au Partnerships Director (Aus) Amanda Atkinson amanda@caffeinemagazine.com.au UK OFFICE

Founder and Creative Director Scott Bentley Editor Phil Wain Printed by IVE Group, Sydney Cover image Bentley Creative Contributors The Bitter Barista, David Collins, Safia Shakarchi, Stuart Ritson, Jonathan Nunn, Jem Challender, Ben Bicknell, Tina Wendel.

Thanks to Paul Hallit, Joe M, and Rosalie the Comma Queen.

Like us facebook.com/caffeinemagaus Follow us instagram/caffeinemagaus ©2021 Caffeine magazine, and all its associated trademarks, is the legal property of Bentley Creative Ltd. 13 Sherwood Way, West Wickham, BR4 9PB (bentleycreative.com). ©2021 Caffeine magazine Australia is published six times a year in Australia, under agreed licence, by EroomCreative Pty Ltd, 14 Macquarie Street, Belmont NSW 2280 (eroomcreative.com).

Caffeine magazine Australia is printed on 80gsm uncoated paper

by IVE Group Pty Ltd. Any material submitted to Caffeine magazine Australia is sent at the owner’s risk. Neither the publisher, nor its agents, accept any liability for loss or damage.

Reproduction in whole or any part of any contents of Caffeine magazine without prior permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. Caffeine is printed on FSC® certified paper. All details correct at time of going to press.

Change for good Let’s face it, Australia is one lucky country. Our cities and towns are awash with roasters and cafés willing to feed our caffeine addiction; and for the times that you don’t feel like leaving the house there’s a good chance that there’s a brewing device on hand to knock up a satisfying cuppa, using beans sourced from your favourite supplier of specialty coffee.

But what do you do when you fancy changing it up and finding a new favourite, or just feel like sampling something a bit different? Well, we’ve got you covered.

Starting in this issue, we have a new feature that gathers together a panel of industry professionals to give us their honest opinions on seven unidentified bags of beans.

Our Blind Taste Review of espresso blends is on page 8 with our hero roast on page 7.

Continuing on the espresso theme, we review some of the best domestic machines to consider if you’re looking to upgrade. Four dual boilers, at different price points, that will help you become a next level home barista (page 28).

The coffee industry is becoming ever more conscious of its responsibility to the farmers. It is their expertise and dedication that starts the coffee train rolling, and there are a host of new initiatives attempting to make the supply chain a fairer place. We take a look at how blockchain technology is being used to keep people honest and cut a better deal for the little guys (page 24).

Summer may not have been as toasty as it can be, but few can deny the delights of chilling out in the sunshine with an icy beverage. We asked three baristas to knock us up a custom caffeinated coolie for you to try yourself (page 20).

We hope you enjoy our second edition as much as we have enjoyed putting it together. Until next time; stay safe, be kind and drink coffee.

Steve Moore Editor

Our featured contributors

Safia Shakarchi

When photographer, food writer and creative food consultant Safia isn’t in the kitchen developing recipes, you’ll find her photographing delicious dishes and beautiful interiors for cafés, restaurants and food businesses. As Caffeine’s resident food columnist, she’s always on the lookout for new ways to bring coffee and food together. Follow her @dearsafia.

What coffee are you currently enjoying? “Origin’s San Fermin is a favourite, or a turmeric latte.”

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Stuart Ritson

Stuart is a coffee consultant and owner of Untitled Coffee.

Having spent 10 years working in various industry around the world, he’s now based in Groningen, Netherlands, and focuses on providing access to green coffee solutions, helping roasters with quality control and pairing great art and coffee.

What coffee are you currently enjoying?

“Untitled’s Twenty Two, Halo Beriti washed Ethiopian.

Lots of florals and citrus.”

David Collins

David bounces between Sydney and Brisbane – and overseas when allowed – photographing fashion, editorial and portraiture for countless publications.

He has developed a strong, consistent signature look. His style is dynamic and eyecatchingly colourful.

What coffee are you currently enjoying? “We were sampling coffees on the espresso machine shoot, and I can’t go past the Heroes blend from Stash – a fruity, chocolate hit.”

Scott Bentley

Caffeine’s founder is both an art director and photographer. He has been behind the camera for many years, creating visuals for magazines and clients through his own design agency. In this issue, Scott brought our iced coffee concoctions to life, as well as the Caffeinated Tipple.

What coffee are you currently enjoying? “The creamy, White Russian I photographed for page 38 was pretty delicious.

It took a lot of attempts to get the shot just right... Hic!”

BO

N D I MI CR

O Will & Co Headquarters – Shop 7, Level 1, 184 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach

Deliciously

Dairy Free Made with whole rolled oats and no added sugar, Califia Farms Oat Barista Blend has a full-bodied smooth texture. It perfectly complements the natural flavour of coffee and steams without splitting creating delicate foam for impressive latte art.

STEAMS REMARKABLY FOAMS AND STRETCHES FOR LATTE ART SMOOTH TEXTURE NO ADDED SUGAR NO GUMS

CALIFIAFARMS.COM.AU @CALIFIAFARMSAU FOR ALL ENQUIRIES CONTACT: australia@califiafarms.com

Sifting through the sediment Edited by Phil Wain & Steve Moore

ESPRESSO BLEND

HEROES STASH COFFEE

L IT T L E B R OW N M OU S E

W

hen the husband and wife owners of Stash Coffee, Brad and Nina Bradshaw, needed to find a name for their first specialty coffee creation, it seemed somehow poetic to reference Brad's obsession with David Bowie. And so it was that the Heroes espresso blend was born in 2015.

The couple met when Perth resident Nina was living in the UK. She was pursuing her veterinary career and Derbyshire-born Brad was a photographer who loved his coffee. They married and elected to live in Australia – good choice we reckon!

Soon after their arrival, Nina's parents suggested opening a roastery as part of their flourishing vineyard retirement project located in Denmark, WA. They didn't need to be asked twice. Brad went on a crash course in coffee-roasting and before long the cellar door at Singlefile wines had become Stash Coffee's first customer.

“When Brad fell in love with coffee it was a naturally processed Ethiopian espresso, and this set the tone for Stash,” Nina explains.

In their own words: ‘Heroes is a constantly evolving lighter roast that packs a flavour punch.

Ethiopian fruitiness marries with earthy flavours from Sumatra, and this base is currently balanced with a smooth Colombian coffee to create something that is greater than the sum of its parts.’

We think that the resulting blend is pretty special.

It certainly made an impact on the Caffeine Australia Blind Taste Review panel – all of who rated it very highly. Read their comments on the right – ‘We Say’– compared to what the roaster thinks – ‘They Say’. Discover more quality coffees in our Blind Taste Review over the next two pages.

Heroes, $14 for 250g; stashcoffee.com.au

THEY SAY:

Creamy, berry fruits, chocolate, caramel and lingering spices.

WE SAY:

Tasty coffee! Winey and well-structured acidity. Nicely balanced across milk

and espresso with a very pleasing mouth feel and distinctive floral, caramel, and berry notes plus Black Forest Gateaux; with a lingering almondy aftertaste and poached pear on the finish.

SUGGESTED RECIPE:

In: 20g – Out: 40g Time: 24 secs @94°C SCAN & QUOTE “Caffeine” FOR 10% OFF

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THE GRIND

NEW COFFEE

Espresso Blends Espresso-based coffees are the go-to for most Aussies. We review seven beauties well-worth trying out

MEET THE EXPERTS Jem Challender

As Dean of Studies at Barista Hustle in Melbourne Jem has authored 10 online courses about barista skills and coffee production. he was the 2016 UK Brewers Cup champion and a founder of Prufrock Coffee.

Ed Cutcliffe

Ed's coffee journey began with a “hole in the wall café” 10 years ago. Since then, his flavour-first philosophy has allowed The Little Marionette to organically grow and now includes outposts in both the UK and US.

Ben Bicknell

Constantly curious, Ben’s worn many different hats at specialty roaster, Five Senses Coffee.

The first Q Grader in Aus (now instructor) and WBC judge for a number of years, he'll take any excuse to drink more coffee.

Adam Marley

Head of Operations at Monastery Coffee in Adelaide, Adam is a former regional cup tasting champion. He has also competed and judged cup and roasting competitions at a national level.

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W

hen it comes to selecting whose beans you pop in your grinder it’s easy to become overwhelmed by choice.

There are more producers of specialty coffee now than ever before; so nobody can blame you for sticking to what you like and playing it safe.

To combat this dilemma, we intend to guide you through the plethora of alternatives and do the research for you. To achieve this we enlisted the proven expertise of four industry players – Ben Bicknell from Five Senses Coffee in Melbourne; Jem Challender from Barista Hustle, also in Melbourne; Ed Cutcliffe from The Little Marionette in Sydney and Adam Marley from Monastery Coffee in Adelaide.

6 OF THE BEST

Blind taste challenge

Seven premium espresso blends were sourced from seven different roasters around the country. To ensure impartiality – not that we didn't trust our eminent experts – these were delivered in plain, numbered bags to our four reviewers.

With only the roaster’s recipe to guide them, the brief was to assess each blend across the categories of fragrance, aroma, flavour, aftertaste, acidity, sweetness, body and mouthfeel.

As the saying goes: ‘There's no such thing as a bad coffee.

You just need to know how to get the best out of it.’ This is why we have included the roaster’s recipe for you to try. The difference an extra second or gram can make is astounding.

Even with the recipe, the process of dialing in the grinder for seven unknown coffees is still a challenge; and the smallest variants of grinder type and grind-size can massively affect the final extraction. This was of little concern to our seasoned warriors of the tasting game, who all completed the process unscathed, if not a little wide-eyed and shaky after mainlining espresso shots for a few hours.

It’s worth noting that our industry-hardened reviewers possess finely-tuned taste buds, and the variety and detail of their comments only goes to prove that no two palates are the same. All of the coffees submitted are top quality and none will disappoint – that’s why we chose them. These summaries include what the roaster says – ‘They Say’– and what our panel thinks – ‘We Say’ – and should help you decide which of our seven stars might quench your personal thirst for a new caffeinated experience.

TRY FOR YOURSELF

Caffeine Australia have secured a 10% reader discount for anyone purchasing one of our featured blends via this QR code and quote “Caffeine”. Valid until midnight on the 30 April, 2021, this discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers.

The Little Marionette Blend One | House $15 for 250g Self-nicknamed the 'crowd pleaser', this blend from The Little Marionette in Sydney's inner west will be a great fix for anyone looking for a hit of choccy with a smooth finish.

THEY SAY:

Caramel, chocolate, and light citrus tones.

WE SAY:

There are some quality elements to this straightforward blend, including bright acidity in the espresso that mellows in milk. Notable sweetness that's reminiscent of 90% chocolate, plus lots of toasted nuts, milk chocolate and dried fruits.

SUGGESTED RECIPE:

In: 24g – Out: 38g Time: 32 secs @94°C

thelittlemarionette.com

THE GRIND

5 TIPS FOR BETTER ESPRESSO We asked Paul Hallit, Head of Training and Development at The Little Marionette, to tell us the best way to achieve better and more consistent espresso extractions.

1P urchase freshly-roasted coffee beans with a “roasted on” date – aim to consume within 30 days.

2G rind beans on demand for each coffee.

3T amp correctly – not too hard – to create a flat and firm surface.

4 Brew with filtered water – it makes a big difference.

5U se a set of scales to ensure you have the correct ratio of water to ground coffee.

The low-down on six of the seven blends reviewed. Check out the story of our ‘hero’ coffee on page 7

Hi Fidelity BLEND

RICH CARAMEL AND FLORAL HIGHLIGHTS WITH VELVETY BODY

Monastery Coffee

Five Senses

St Ali

Blume

Industry Beans

Seasonal Blend $17 for 250g Adelaide's Monastery Coffee roast their seasonal blend a little darker to make an easy-brewing espresso with less acidity. A flavoursome combination of Fazenda Progresso (Brazil), Small Producers of Caicedo (Colombia) and Chire (Ethiopia).

Hi Fidelity $15 for 250g “Obsessive collaborators” at Five Senses Coffee are “exploring all things sweet and clean” with their pleasantly-balanced blend of beans from Rugali (Rwanda), Bom Jardin (Brazil) and Gere (Ethiopia).

Feels Good $20 for 250g This organic espresso is a bit of a landmark for Melbourne roaster, St. Ali. “It’s a compilation of everything we've been working on for the last few years,” they say.

Ethically sourced, 100% organic beans and 100% recyclable coffee bags.

Sunshine $16 for 250g Acid-driven light roasts are the signature of Blume Coffee Roasters in Abbotsford, Victoria. This blend of two Guatamalan beans – Calahute and La Ponderosa – is intended to be delicious, black or white, “without blowing your face off with acidity.”

THEY SAY:

THEY SAY:

Toasted almonds, black cherry and dark chocolate.

Delicate florals lead into dark honey sweetness and caramel, finishing with a velvety body.

Fitzroy Street $16 for 250g The team at Industry Beans claims: “This blend presents as the most distinguished and unique of our five espresso blends.” An equal combination of beans from Quebrada de Agua Negra (Colombia), Ruhora (Burundi) and Montana Verde (Honduras).

Stone fruit, iced tea, and chocolate.

Cherry pie, flourless orange cake and caramel.

WE SAY:

WE SAY:

WE SAY:

WE SAY:

A well-balanced lighterbodied coffee with floral notes such as frangipani and flavours including burnt orange, dried apple, sultanas, toasted nuts and just a touch of molasses.

Raw sugar, dried apricot, grapefruit, ripe stone fruits, Earl Grey tea and toasted nuts, with a peanut buttery aftertaste.

No mention of chocolate, maybe you'll pick it, but two out of three ain't bad!

Pleasing weight with a silky upfront mouthfeel and the acidity of pink grapefruit. Dark chocolate and brown sugar, with a boozy flavour akin to Cinzano – does anybody still drink that?

WE SAY:

Interesting and complex acidity. Buttery with pine nuts and fruits including peach, apricot and pineapple with a long persistent aftertaste and citrussy finish.

SUGGESTED RECIPE:

SUGGESTED RECIPE:

SUGGESTED RECIPE:

SUGGESTED RECIPE:

SUGGESTED RECIPE:

In: 20g – Out: 45g Time: 26 secs @94°C

In: 21.5g – Out: 48g Time: 29 secs @94.5°C

In: 21g – Out: 44g Time: 28 secs @94°C

In: 20g – Out: 40-45g Time: 28-32 secs @95°C

In: 18g – Out: 36g Time: 26-30 secs @94°C

THEY SAY:

monastery.coffee

THEY SAY:

fivesenses.com.au

stali.com.au

blumecoffee.com

THEY SAY:

Blackcurrant, blood orange and chocolate.

A pleasantly balanced coffee with dominant acidity in espresso.

Flavours of dark chocolate, spice and digestive biscuit as well as dried, jammy fruits.

industrybeans.com

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THE GRIND

23 Degrees is a B-Corp certified business that is making a huge effort to reduce their impact across multiple touch points. “Being a B Corp has changed our approach and outlook on how we conduct business. We are more mindful of the impact our business decisions have on our farming communities, consumers and the environment,” says Tina Wendel, founder and owner.

“We speak through our actions. Our focus is on supporting our farming community and we encourage the whole supply chain to be carbon neutral.

We advocate and support sustainable farming practices and are extending our organic coffee range to empower our customers to make a collective impact.”

Actively supporting the Café Femenino Program and Foundation, which empowers women to grow and sell their own coffee, is another small part of what they do (read more about Café Femenino on p34); and a recent 23 Degrees project funded the construction of a small water reservoir for the San In a welcome sign of forward thinking, carbon neutrality is looking Jose Huanama community, in the to be a blossoming trend in the specialty coffee industry Lambayeque region of Northern Peru, helping local coffee farming families combat the effects of climate change.

It’s not just coffee roasters who arbon neutrality means that in the future, along with aiding and see the value of carbon neutral you have reduced your climate advocating for regenerative soil and accreditation. US-based Café Imports impact to net zero by balancing or farming practices, both in Australia and has long published environmental offsetting your carbon emissions. Another abroad; but they are not the only business impact reports, while Bordeaux-based way to look at it is if you really have to working hard to reduce their impact. create carbon dioxide (CO2) then you need As far back as 2009, family-owned Jasper importer Belco is conducting intense to do something to compensate for it.

Coffee in Melbourne was certified as carbon analysis into the CO2 impact of coffee importing with the aim of accreditation.

It’s unavoidable for a coffee roaster neutral by the Carbon Reduction Institute Costa Rica – with its annual production to produce CO2 emissions, so gaining (noc02.com.au), making them both the first of around 108 million accreditation means a complex audit of Australian Fairtrade kilograms of coffee – is energy use and emissions as the first stage licensed commercial committed to becoming net in the process. roaster, and the first carbon neutral as a nation.

Climate Active (climateactive.org.au) 100% carbon neutral (Imagine the paperwork!) is a unique, government-backed program coffee company.

Meanwhile Aquiares Estate, that enables all levels of Australian society They are one of the country’s larger to work together and to take climate constantly striving speciality coffee producers, action. Net zero carbon emissions can to reduce the has been accredited be achieved through actively reducing impact that coffee since 2016. Only larger emissions wherever possible, such as; has on our fragile Tina Wendel, 23 Degrees farms have the resources energy expenditures, fuel usages, travel planet and have to acquire accreditation and waste production. Any remaining recently launched but Aquiares should certainly be emissions are eliminated by investing in Australia’s first 100% plastic-free single commended for its leadership. offset projects from all over the world. use coffee cup and lid that will decompose Pressure on companies to improve As Caffeine Australia previously in domestic and industrial facilities over their carbon impact is clearly working, reported, Sydney-based roaster 105 days, in contrast to the 30 years that and forward-thinking companies are keen Pablo & Rusty’s is officially the a standard cup will take to break down. to stress their sustainable credentials. first coffee company in Australia The physical logistics and expense Even Nespresso has stated an aim to work to come under this standard. entailed with the qualification process can towards carbon neutrality accreditation Becoming carbon neutral is just part put formal carbon neutral recognition out and while it’s easy to scoff, the impact of a of Pablo & Rusty’s ongoing sustainability of reach for many smaller businesses. This big company like that achieving genuine journey and now they are working doesn’t mean that there aren’t caffeine carbon neutrality could be considerable. towards becoming carbon negative crusaders out there doing amazing work.

Shift into neutral

C

“ Our focus is on supporting our community and we encourage the whole supply chain to be carbon neutral”

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THE GRIND

Mad for mylk

QIMA COFFEE

Yemeni coffee plantations are literally carved into the mountains

New genetic coffee group discovered in Yemen Yemenia is a new coffee group within the arabica species.

Ben Bicknell explains the events that led to its discovery

O

ver recent decades, there have been regular injections of new roasting technology, espresso machine refinement, and even coffee processing methods; but we’ve seen very little in the way of new additions to the raw plant material... until now.

This is one of the reasons that the recent identification of an entirely new genetic group in Yemen is so significant – genetic diversity offers a more robust agricultural future.

Another reason is that the benefits have been firmly connected to the ownership of the traditional smallholder farmers of Yemen’s dramatic landscapes – the oldest coffee cultivation in the world – who have been wracked by civil war, climate change and a wildly fluctuating global market.

Faris Sheibani founded Qima Coffee only a few years ago when he identified the opportunity for coffee to lift up the livelihoods of the people of his native Yemen. Seeing the potential for coffee to provide much needed income, Qima partnered with Dr. Christophe Montagnon of RD2 Vision to spearhead research to map the genetics of the coffee that has been cultivated on the terraced hills of Yemen for centuries.

The studies identified an entirely new genetic ‘mother’ group within the species of Coffea arabica – Yemenia – and the results in the cup were excellent!

Joining forces with the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (of COE fame), in 2020, Qima hosted a blind cupping of these distinctive coffees and the resulting top lots were offered to the world

at an international auction. In partnership with Upstream Coffee Imports, Five Senses Coffee managed to secure this special natural process coffee from the Mutawasat Community – one of only 15 lots worldwide of this new genetic discovery.

While these coffees are without doubt expensive, the real stand-outs are the increased genetic diversity adding to coffee’s resilience, and the potential positive impact on the livelihoods of the world’s oldest coffee farming community.

The fact that the coffees from the Yemenia group are being likened to Gesha and turning up some intriguingly delicious flavours is just the icing on the cake!

It's no secret that more and more Australians are drifting away from cows milk and opting for non-dairy alternatives, or ‘mylks’ as they're sometimes known.

In fact, with the global dairy alternatives market currently valued at over US$22 billion – and projected to reach US$40.6 billion by 2026 – there are likely to be a lot of redundant dairy cattle.

While this may not be great news for dairy farmers it is potentially good news for the environment; as the humble moocow is being blamed with producing a fair bit of unpleasant gas into the atmosphere.

It is also good news for producers of alternative dairy products.

From a coffee perspective, oat milk is one of the more workable substitutes.

It's not overly sweet, plus it textures well; allowing you to perfect your latte art skills, should that be part of your routine.

A regular resident brand of the supermarket chiller is Califia Farms, and their already-popular Oat Barista Blend is making an even bigger splash in Victoria and South Australia.

Melbourne-based Axil Coffee Roasters are now stocking Califia Farms Oat Barista Blend in their local cafés and wider network of wholesale distributors; while leading South Australian convenience retailer OTR is adding it to their coffee menu in over 155 locations, and at no extra charge for customers who prefer non-dairy milk.

According to Dan Kaplan, National Business Manager for Califia Farms Australia, ‘the whole world has fallen in love with oat milk.’ And if you are to believe the statistics, then he may well have a point.

Ben Bicknell is Strategic Projects Manager at Five Senses Coffee

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FULLY GAME FOCUSED A new coffee blend aimed at gamers has been launched by DC Coffee in collaboration with EA’s renowned Firemonkeys Studio.

The new limited edition Critical Hit blend is aiming to enhance a gamer’s experience and pre-game rituals; uniting players regardless of platform, console and genre, for the love of gaming and caffeine.

It is claimed that, using a light-medium roast of Arabica beans and a balanced complexity, the blend can be enjoyed a number of ways black, milk-based or as a cold brew.

Rob Stewart, General Manager of DC Coffee, said: “We wanted to create something that any gamer can incorporate into their ritual, whether they are a professional esports competitor, a student socialising on a Friday night or a parent sneaking in half an hour of Xbox after the kids go to sleep.”

The striking artwork is by mixed media artist LIMITBREAK certainly makes a bold statement, but will any of this improve your game playing? There's only one way to find out.

Christmas Giftaway is a big success To celebrate our Australian launch edition we gave away two cool coffee-related prizes each week for the whole of December.

Entrants had to answer a random question – like how many beans in the photo – and the closest two answers were the winners.

Main prizes included; a Wacaco Nanopresso; a Varia Multi Brewer; a Stagg Electric Kettle; and an Original NitroPress.

We will be running more Giftaways later in the year so follow us on Instagram and Facebook to ensure you don't miss out. @caffeinemagaus

Brew Time You’ve got your elegant wood-necked Chemex, your Rolls-Royce-of-grinders Mahlkönig EK43, your vintage Italian espresso machine that you spent two years restoring… so just what else is there for the deep-pocketed coffee nut to acquire?

Well, how about a Swiss wristwatch with a dial hand-crafted from coffee grinds? No, really. That is the admittedly bonkers, but strangely appealing, proposition from British watch customisation specialist Bamford Watch Department, in collaboration with Gothenburg-based designer James Thompson. Their adapted version of TAG Heuer’s Carrera Automatic uses grounds provided by Thompson’s local speciality café, Da Matteo in Gothenburg, which are fused to the dial and set in resin. The result is a variation on the “tropical” patina found on vintage black watch dials, while also looking… well, freshly tamped, ready to brew and frankly a little bit delicious.

The blend is 100% arabica, made from Brazilian and Ethiopian beans – not that you can even smell it, since the coffee is sealed under a layer of resin which is hand-finished to

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create the rich, varied dial texture.

“We selected a certain roast of coffee specifically for its aesthetics, with a really nice dark mahogany colour,” says Thompson, a Canadian who specialises in creating jewellery and watch elements from unusual materials under his Badgerworks label. The team at Da Matteo – where all sourcing and roasting is done in-house – renovated a 1960s espresso grinder in order to create a particularly fine grind, to

enable a layer of coffee just 0.2mm thick on the surface of the dial. “It’s like Turkish coffee, almost powder-like,” says Thompson, “but it gives you a unique feel for each watch we make.”

Bamford Watch Department, the official customisation partner of TAG Heuer, is creating just 20 versions of the Carrera Calibre 5 with the Badgerworks caffeinated dial. Cased in steel and with a mechanical automatic movement, the watch is priced at AU$9,900.

THE GRIND

Kool cafés

on the block

Industry Beans Coffee Arch

A round-up of some interesting coffee spaces across the country

Bunker Coffee

Commonfolk

21 Railway Terrace, Milton QLD 4064 This quirky, hole-in-the-wall café, covered inside and out with an amazing creeping fig, has been serving their customers for almost 10 years. As a multiroaster café, they run Five Senses ‘Dark Horse’ as their house blend, but also feature guest roasts from the likes of Parallel, Light, Sample Small Batch and Rebuen Hills to name a few. They claim to; “do what we do because we love producing high quality products and experiences for ourselves and our customers.”

Instagram: @bunkercoffee

16 Progress Street Mornington, VIC 3931 Born under the light of the Southern Cross in the backstreets of Mornington’s industrial estate, these guys have been living the dream sourcing local produce for menus and roasting great coffee.

They have also raised almost $200k to create a fairer coffee industry for everyone via their ‘The Cup That Counts’ initiative. commonfolkcoffee.com

K E L S E Y ZA F IR ID IS P HOTOG R A P HY

1341 Dandenong Road, Chadstone, VIC 3148 This architecturally designed pop-up café emulates the arched glass ceiling of the southern hemisphere’s largest shopping precinct. Walking through the Coffee Arch you can explore the world of specialty coffee, taste something delicious, grab an exceptional flat white or try a Coffee Bubble Cup. In April, the company plans to open a roastery, café and restaurant right outside the Tiffany’s entrance on the ground floor. industrybeans.com

Huskk.

Bloom

38 Winwood Street, Thebarton SA 5031 Part of this very cool, contemporary space is an old tram shed, but you'd be hard-pushed to pick it. Bloom is a stylish café, a function space, and a garden playground. They have an enticing wood-fired menu and their ‘go-to’ coffee is the big, bold Hummingbird espresso blend; locally sourced from 1645 Coffee Roasters. 38bloom.com.au

2/8 Days Road, Grange, QLD 4051 Established two and-a-half years ago, this Michelin star chefs’ café boasts meticulously crafted, locally sourced dishes, coupled with ‘Bear Bones’ specialty coffee from Fortitude Valley roasters.

Passionate about the industry and fanatical about specialty coffee, Huskk serve customers in a light, contemporary space with cozy seating. Their philosophy is simple: “Strip back what isn’t necessary, let the produce speak for itself.” huskkcafe.com.au

Old Gold

Bayleaf Café

1 Dangar Street Chippendale, NSW 2008 Sample Coffee’s latest site is in an old Cadbury factory – hence being named after the dark chocolate classic. Current coffee blends include Pacemaker and Sweet Tooth Espresso, which are served courtesy of “gold nugget” – a gold-wrapped La Marzocco espresso machine. samplecoffee.com.au

2a Marvell Street, Byron Bay, NSW, 2481 Working with and supporting the locals, this popular Byron Bay café's intentions are simple – to serve only the best food, with exceptional coffee, in an environment that leaves you excited and wanting more. Their locally roasted, ethically sourced beans come from Blackboard Coffee. bayleafbyronbay.com

IS SUE 02

13

THE GRIND

Stop the press Getting the best from your AeroPress is not as easy as it may seem, Jem Challender explains the theory

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icture this: You’re in the pub, and the cool change the forecast promised hasn’t blown in yet. You’ve spent a half hour getting to know a nice pale ale, and you’ve already made the decision to keep the relationship monogamous. The bartender comes over and asks, ‘The same again?’ You nod, and then halfway through the pour, the keg runs out. Not only that, but what did make it into your glass is cloudy, like milky Assam tea — nothing like the golden glory you were expecting.

A range of things could happen next. But the worst-case scenario is when the bartender trots off, saying, ‘I’ll just change the keg’, returns minutes later, tops up the half-filled pint glass, and hands it to you. If you’re the congenial type and accept the pint, you’ll notice the beer tastes completely grainy and considerably less bright and fruity than it did before the bartender poured you the dregs. The cause of this drop in flavour is ‘turbidity’.

To find out what the current best practice is when it comes to serving beer that contains sediment in the keg or the bottle, we contacted the head brewer and founder of Bentspoke brewery in Canberra, Richard Watkins. Richard explained, ‘I’m not into the roll or shake [of bottleconditioned beers like Coopers], the yeasties have done their job so leave them alone. Best to pour the beer slowly into a glass and leave the yeasties in the bottle. If you do decide to pour the yeasties into the glass, then allow to settle before sampling’.

‘Turbidity’ is not necessarily a bad word in the realm of coffee; you’d be hard-pressed to find a more turbid beverage than espresso. The problems begin when the turbidity levels are high but the strength (measured as total dissolved solids) is low. When coffee turbidity is unduly high, we at Barista Hustle look for ways to dial it back by trying different approaches to brewing.

Unquestionably, the brew method that most dramatically demonstrates swings in turbidity is the AeroPress. We at Barista Hustle spent a long time trying to find out how to make AeroPress brews more transparent, with better flavour clarity.

We found scientific proof that AeroPress turbidity is adjustable.

Accurately measuring turbidity isn’t simple.

You could use a $400 turbidity meter, such as one the EPA might use to measure clay siltation in a waterway — but that meter would be useless to measure turbidity in a complex, volatile substance such as brewed coffee. In coffee, turbidity changes constantly as a coffee brew cools. Some chemicals will rapidly precipitate out, forming solids.

Therefore, to measure coffee turbidity, a fancier piece of equipment is required. We asked Bulgarian scientist Nasko Panov to run some tests for us using a UV spectrophotometer that measures the light absorption of particles in suspension.

Panov used Kevin L. Goodner, PhD’s method for measuring turbidity in tea.

Panov’s experiments answered four very specific questions: 1. Does layering two filter papers reduce turbidity?

Yes, using two papers helps, albeit by a very small amount. Many baristas, including two-time World AeroPress Champion Jeff Verellen, have been doubling up their filter papers for a while now.

Sometimes, at Barista Hustle even use three.

2. Is turbidity lower if you allow a coffee bed to form on the filter before you plunge?

The turbidity of brews produced when the coffee bed was allowed to settle onto the filter paper before plunging was virtually identical to the turbidity of brews plunged immediately after the AeroPress was inverted.

3. Does squeezing every last bit of out of the AeroPress affect turbidity?

Nasko’s results absolutely busted any notions that you mustn’t squeeze out the final few drips: he observed virtually no difference in turbidity levels between AeroPresses plunged to the point where you can hear the air come out and brews in which the plunging was halted before that point.

4. What's the effect on turbidity of plunging very slowly and gently compared with plunging fast and hard?

Here’s the game changer: Should you plunge as hard as you can? The answer is... absolutely not!

Have you noticed the small gaps positioned every few millimeters around the base of the AeroPress filter cap? Applying very hard pressure as you plunge can turn these little gaps into escape routes for undissolved coffee solids. If you want to produce clean, transparent brews with a crisp clean mouthfeel, screw the filter cap on tight.

Nasko found that an extremely hard press led to dramatically higher turbidity levels — 71% higher in some cases.

Nasko explains: ‘I intentionally hard tightened the AeroPress filter cap. Afterwards, I made some measurements with a loose cap, but still reasonably tight. If I was correct with my assumption, there should be a significant difference between the two methods when the plunging pressure is high.’

The results from retesting confirmed Nasko’s expectation: tightening the filter cap reduced the turbidity of brews made with a hard plunge — by 14% on average.

If you’re the type who rolls your Coopers Red ale along the bar top before opening the bottle, you might prefer your AeroPress brew produced with an ultra-hard plunge. We’re not saying that’s wrong.

After all, a drink like hot chocolate is as turbid as it gets — and who doesn’t love hot chocolate?

But if you prefer your AeroPress brew to have a silky-smooth mouthfeel and flavour clarity like what you’d expect from the best pour-over, take our advice: double up the filter papers, tighten up that AeroPress filter cap, and dedicate at least 45 seconds to the plunge.

It sure is nice when science gives you a reason to slow down and take it easy.

Jem Challender is the Dean of Studies at Barista Hustle (BH) in Melbourne. He’s a former UK Brewers Cup Champion and the author of 10 online courses about coffee production. Caffeine readers can access Nasko’s paper on turbidity for free at baristahustle.com or by scanning this QR Code.

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ISSUE 02

THE GRIND

Coffee and tea are both close and distant relatives. Tea expert Jonathan Nunn analyses their links in the modern world

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hile there are obviously some intersections between specialty tea and coffee, their cultures sometimes exist at two poles. Coffee is precise, exacting; tea is intuitive and about feeling. Coffee is a science; tea is an art. Coffee’s caffeine stimulates and excites; tea’s relaxes and concentrates.

All the best cups of coffee of my life have been made with fine-tuned attention to detail by baristas who would be delighted to show you a graph of its extraction over time. All the best cups of tea, meanwhile, have been made with care but without rigour, brewed by people whose muscle memory can tell them when to pour and when to stop.

The two cultures move at completely

different rhythms. A coffee shop thrums on SPM (shot pulls per minute) and the perpetual sound of frothers: it takes serious efficiency and ingenuity to quickly serve a rammed shop. A tea session can while away a whole afternoon, as the leaf slowly reveals layers of flavour over multiple infusions.

Once coffee is brewed that’s it, it is dead, but a tea can last five, 10, 15, 20-plus infusions, with different aspects of its personality coming to the fore each time. If you tried to age coffee over decades (as is possible with pu’er, oolong and white teas) you would simply end up with stale beans.

This is not to say coffee cannot be slow too, but it requires a fundamental

Perfect podcastery Adventures in Coffee is the brand-spanking new podcast from Caffeine magazine that dives deep into your morning brew.

Join the UK team on this six episode series where Jools Walker, aka LadyVelo, and Caffeine founder, Scott Bentley, explore the world of coffee for people who are curious about what's in their daily cup.

“We journey around the world getting the answers to the questions we’ve always wanted to ask,” explains Scott.

Download it from wherever you get your podcasts, sit back and learn a bit more about the wide world of coffee.

COLLECTABLE COFFEE CARDS If you enjoy a hand of cards alongside a great brew, Tens Hundreds Thousands has just the thing for you. With bespoke designs from Jose Barrio and Julian Ardila, these eye-catching cards capture the spirit of coffee farmers, roasters and baristas.

THT’s products are made in multiples of tens, hundreds or thousands, and once sold out are not produced again, making every item rare and highly prized. To get your hands on a deck, go to tenshundredsthousands.com.

IS SUE 02

15

W OR D S E R I N O’ C ON NO R

Connected by caffeine?

shift in how coffee is perceived. A few years ago I saw a customer at a very well-known coffee shop complain that his Geisha filter had taken 10 minutes to make, ignorant of the careful work that goes into brewing it, and felt sympathy for the barista who replied, “Good.”

The main difference is simply time – not just in how long it takes to brew, but in the history each beverage has.

When you work in tea you feel the weight of millennia of Chinese thought, centuries of Japan perfecting its tea culture, the remarkable pace at which the British spread tea around the world.

You cannot untangle tea from Daoism, from colonialism, from long-held opinions on craft and aesthetics. When you work in third-wave coffee you merely feel the weight of the Jimseven blog and Italians angry at acidic espresso.

Of course I’m being flippant, partly because I’m envious of what coffee has achieved. Third-wave coffee’s youth makes it more exciting, a huge worldwide cultural moment; tea is trying to catch up, betraying a lot of what it has stood for in the process.

Teabags are now ubiquitous, not just in western cultures but across Asia, while Japan siphons off more and more of its leaf into bottled tea.

Ideally the two can work in tandem, learning from each other. Bubble tea and matcha lattes may not be the answer, but their ubiquity may yet turn newcomers on to deeper Chinese and Japanese methods. Whatever happens to these two drinks next, the lesson is simple: there is always virtue in waiting for the kettle to boil.

THE GRIND

Coffee, cacao nib & puffed rice granola A beautifully flavoured, espresso-based crunchy treat that’s good at any time of day

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THE GRIND SCRUMPTIOUS!

Beach Brews

The best places to get your coastal coffee hit We all love to get out and enjoy our beautiful coastline. But how often have you found yourself somewhere new and stuck to know where to get a good quality cup of specialty coffee.

We focus our sights on the Central Coast of New South Wales and find some true hidden gems.

Ingredients

Makes 6-8 servings 150g rolled oats 50g puffed rice 75g mixed nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, cashews etc) 2tbsp canola or other neutral oil 60g honey 1 shot freshly brewed espresso 1tbsp instant espresso powder 25g cacao nibs 25g good-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped Flaky sea salt

W O R DS, ST Y LI NG A N D P HOTOG R A PH Y BY S A F IA S HA K A R C HI

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan and line a large baking tray with baking paper.

Combine the oats, nuts and espresso powder in a medium-size mixing bowl. In another smaller bowl, whisk together the honey, oil and freshly brewed espresso.

Pour the espresso mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well, then stir through the puffed rice.

Sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt and spread out into an even layer on your baking tray.

Bake in the oven for around 25 minutes, giving the granola a good stir every now and then throughout to ensure it bakes evenly and the edges don’t burn.

When the granola is nicely crisp and browned (and your kitchen smells lovely), remove from the oven. Allow to cool fully, then stir through the cacao nibs and chocolate.

You can store the granola in a jar or other airtight container for up to one month, and serve with your favourite yoghurt or milk and some blackberries or figs.

The Box on the Water

The Esplanade, Ettalong Beach NSW This beach kiosk, bar and restaurant is situated in prime position on the newly redeveloped foreshore in Ettalong Beach.

Beans are sourced from Fat Poppy – one of Australia’s first female-led coffee roasters. theboxonthewater.com

The Glass Onion Society 308 The Entrance Road, Long Jetty, NSW

Getting it's name from a John Lennon song – the original owner was a big fan – this espresso bar, restaurant, gallery space and gig spot serves up super coffees from Espressology. theglassonionsociety.com

Slowwell

233 Ocean View Road, Ettalong Beach, NSW Housed in a charming, old butcher’s shop, this part retail store, part filter coffee -slow brew- sellers, and part wellbeing practice is worth a stop. We love that the owners are big on their filter coffee and rotate suppliers every 4-6 weeks – trust us, it’s good! slowwell.co To discover more great places to grab a brew on the Central Coast pick up the latest copy of COAST magazine. coastmagazine.com.au

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UN DE R A T R E E H OUS E

Routine has been hugely important for me in the past few months and a huge part of that is breakfast.

I often have the exact same thing every day during the week – yoghurt and granola – so I’ve been playing around with ways to make it a little more exciting. Turns out, coffee granola is a winner.

Using espresso with chocolatey, honeycomb notes will complement the different layers in this recipe – the slight bitterness from the cacao nibs and the subtle sweetness from the honey. The texture of the oats, puffed rice and nuts makes it a really unusual way to explore coffee flavour profiles.

Breakfast might be the obvious choice for granola, but it’s such a great thing to have in your pantry for any time of day. I often find myself munching on it in the mid-afternoon when I want a snack or as something less sweet for dessert in the evening. It’s also a great way to add a little crunch to a few scoops of ice cream.

THE GRIND

...is robusta coffee?

It’s been seen as arabica’s poor relation and ignored by aficionados – but, as Stuart Ritson explains, robusta is about to come to the forefront of the coffee world

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ts production was banned in Costa Rica until just two years ago. It’s shunned by specialty coffee roasters and cafés alike. Yet globally it represents up to 40% of coffee production.

What’s the deal with robusta?

Coffea canephora, usually called robusta, has traditionally found its place in low-cost coffees. Grown mostly in Brazil (where it is known as conilon), Vietnam, India and Indonesia, robusta coffee is typically used for darker roasted blends and instant coffee. When sipping your after-dinner espresso at the local Italian restaurant or mixing up a cup of instant on a camping retreat, you were probably drinking a robusta coffee.

Father figure

Robusta is a genetic “parent” of arabica, the species of coffee that most specialty businesses work with exclusively. While arabica has been championed for its complex flavours, robusta is widely known for being cheap, having a syrupy body and a beautiful crema, and for not tasting very good. That was all I felt I needed to know until two years ago, when Tim Schilling (president of World Coffee Research) and Hans Fässler (CEO of Tropical Farm Management) told me in no uncertain terms that robusta is the future of coffee. At that moment I realised I may not have given enough respect to this forefather of arabica.

So why have so many of us overlooked this species of coffee? There

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are a couple of obvious reasons. Robusta has half the sugar content of arabica (which is around 8% sucrose, compared with 4% in robusta) and twice the caffeine content. While caffeine is not the main cause of a coffee’s bitterness, it is naturally bitter to the taste. Robusta also contains more potassium, which can give coffee a slightly salty note.

It seems clear, then: the chemical structure and genetic makeup of robusta don’t allow for the qualities that coffee lovers have come to expect from their daily brew.

So why did two industry-leading experts, who have been working with coffee for decades, try to convince me and others that we need to reconsider robusta? To put it most simply: climate

change. Because it’s resistant to many diseases that have plagued coffee for years, and because it’s easier to grow at higher temperatures and lower altitudes, robusta may be the answer to the threats of an increasingly unpredictable environment. What Schilling and Fässler stressed to me is that by preparing robusta better through improved farming and processing, we might see exciting cups of robusta coffee as a legitimate alternative to arabica.

Take care

Historically, coffee growers have put little effort into processing, sorting or storing the cheaper robusta coffees.

This laissez-faire attitude has meant that the true potential of a robusta is rarely seen. So, what can happen if growers prepare these coffees with more care and attention? The results are quite surprising. In 2012, Sethuraman Estate in India produced a coffee that scored 82.76 points on the CQI’s R certification system – putting an Indian robusta on an equal ranking as a lower-grade specialty Colombian arabica for taste. That is astonishing.

Then in 2016 came the robusta Gold Cup competition held in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The winning coffee from Calixto German Rivera Narvaez was judged to have notes of “grape, candy, kiwi, stewed fruits and residual banana”. If you looked only at those flavour descriptors you would assume this was a premium arabica coffee.

Meanwhile, innovative farmers such as Fazenda Bom Retiro in Brazil or the ASNIKOM co-operative in Indonesia are proving that scalable, higher-quality robusta production is possible.

So it seems as if robusta is both the genetic precursor to arabica and the future of arabica. It may have languished unloved for years because of our assumptions of low quality, but robusta represents a whole frontier of flavour profiles and qualities that we are yet to explore. For most coffee drinkers it is an enigma, and I think we will soon see that mystery opened up and explored and the truth of robusta’s nature revealed.

T R U LYAU S .CO M

THE PLACE TO FIND REAL AUSTRALIAN STORIES

Keep your cool

Summer started late for many of us and these ingenious iced coffee concoctions will be sure to keep you chilled Photography BentleyCreative

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e won’t pretend that drinking iced coffee in summer is some kind of mind-blowing new discovery in 2021. You know as well as we do that it’s a firm favourite as a lively, refreshing drink on toasty days. But we’d love to see a bit more imagination on café menus come summertime. That’s why we asked three coffee creatives to design blended ice beverages for us.

They’re sweet, they’re summery, they’re visually appealing, they’re fairly simple for coffee shops to recreate – and doing so could spark even more creativity. Let’s celebrate the end of summer in style.

Coffee Bramble Created by Claire Wallace “The cocktail this is based on is sweet, tart, citric and refreshing,” says Claire, “and my version is even more so, with its added caffeinated kick – plus it can be drunk at any time of day. The coffee adds much of the body and complexity that gin would normally provide.

“This recipe makes a single serving, but for best results make three to four batches at at a time. You can blitz all the ingredients together without the ice and store the mix in the fridge until needed.”

Ingredients 60g blackberry purée (or fresh blackberries) 35g juniper simple syrup 15g lemon juice

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50g tonic water 45g cold brew concentrate or cold brew at a 1:5 ratio (preferably a coffee with floral and berry notes – I used a honey process Ethiopian) 150g ice

Instructions Chill a glass in the freezer.

If using fresh blackberries, blitz them in the blender first with a splash of tonic, and strain the purée through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds. Put all the ingredients except the ice in the blender and briefly blend to emulsify. Then add the ice and blend until the texture resembles a frozen slushie. Serve in the chilled glass, garnished with a dehydrated lemon slice.

BLENDED ICE DRINKS

Ethiopian Sunrise Created by Paul Ross “My take on a summer coffee lemonade is crisp and refreshing, with a great coffee flavour coming through right till the end,” says Paul. “Enjoy!”

Ingredients 5g passion fruit juice 25g orange juice 50g cold brew concentrate (I used an Ethiopian Suke Quto) 12g simple syrup (1:1 ratio) Sparkling water Ice

Instructions Make the cold brew concentrate in advance (one part coffee to 5.5 parts water, cold-brewed for 16 hours). Fill a tall glass with ice. Add the passion fruit juice, cold brew and simple syrup. Top up with sparkling water to 5mm from the rim.

Garnish with a fresh slice of orange.

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BLENDED ICED DRINKS

Hedgerow Sour Created by Mohamed Jelali “This espresso sour drink reminds me of summer,” says Mohamed. “For a boozy version, try swapping out the apple juice for a dry, tangy apple cider. This works well because it’s a double-fermentation cider that provides zesty, refreshing notes.”

Ingredients 10ml fresh lemon juice 50ml rhubarb compote reduction (or 1tsp rhubarb jam) 25ml espresso 50ml apple juice 10ml apple cider vinegar Ice

Instructions Gently mix the lemon juice, rhubarb compote reduction and espresso with a spoon until they blend together. Put the mix at the bottom of a tall glass, add ice and top up with apple juice and vinegar. Stir twice, add a fruity garnish and enjoy!

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Head to page 26 to see selected Hario products in the Caffeine Christmas Gift Guide.

Discover the full range sales@bomborasupplies.com.au bomborasupplies.com.au/hario-australia

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CRYPTO COFFEE

Technology to the rescue Blockchains have more to offer the world than trade in cryptocurrencies – the technology is now being used to help the world’s poorest coffee farmers get a better deal

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here is little about the coffee supply chain that could be described as technologically advanced. From hand-picking coffee cherries in the field to roasting coffee in “large tumble dryers” (as Matt Perger, founder of Barista Hustle, once described roasters), coffee has been slow on the digital uptake. But things are beginning to happen that could change the lives of everyone, from farmers to consumers, and it’s all built on blockchains.

You may have heard of blockchains courtesy of the hype surrounding cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. But if you’re new to the world of digitised finance, a blockchain is a secure ledger that helps decentralise trade and allows for direct transactions without the need for banks. Each computer on a network holds a constantly updating ledger that is validated by all the other computers and their ledgers, guaranteeing that any and all transactions are legitimate. All of this is held together with high levels of cryptography, making it impossible to counterfeit or double spend.

Back in 2016, US startup Bext360 was one of the first companies to use blockchain technology to make a notable change to coffee production. Their

sensor-laden coffee cherry analysing machine grades the fruit based on its size and colour, and displays the information to farmers and buyers on the spot.

Through a mobile phone app, a price can be negotiated for the crop and the farmer gets their money instantly. It is hoped this will lead to farmers being paid more for higher-quality cherries rather than a bulk commodity price.

The farmer, provenance, purchaser and payout are all permanently recorded on a blockchain ledger for traceability.

This also cuts out inefficient recordkeeping methods such as carbon copies, telex and faxes; all of which are still the predominant methods used in the coffee trading process.

The original model, which has hardly changed in decades, is pretty-much unsustainable, as CEO and founder of Bext360 Daniel Jones explains: “Over 500 billion cups of coffee are drunk every year in the world, which translates to 16,000 cups per second, With market trends predicting that consumption will grow 50 percent by 2032, there is a huge supply and demand gap.”

Wholesale coffee prices are notoriously unpredictable, fluctuating from highs of US$1.55 per pound to lows of US$0.87. This volatility can be hard on the thousands of smallholder coffee farmers, many of whom live below the poverty line, earning less than $2.50 per day. Plus, there are often major discrepancies between what the farmer gets paid (the farm-gate price), and what the exporter might pocket (the Freight On Board or FOB price).

It’s painfully apparent that something needs to change.

Now, before you spit out your piccolo and dive for the panic button, you can be assured that this inequality is not going unchecked. More and more players are joining the game, with the intention of recalibrating this imbalance and carving a fairer deal for the guys at the start of the chain. There are some pretty big players too.

Starbucks has received mixed reactions to their recently released Digital Traceability Tool, developed with the help of Microsoft; and earlier last year tech giants IBM, in conjunction with Swiss company Farmer Connect, rolled-out their “Thank My Farmer” mobile app which utilises bespoke technology to allow farmers to track their product’s journey to market, as well as allowing consumers to trace their coffee back to it’s source. By scanning QR codes on packaging, consumers are able to track the entire journey from bean to brew. They can also elect to send money to support sustainability projects near the farmer who grew the beans; a great way for coffee lovers to give back.

Closer to home While this product is not widely available outside of the US and Canada, there is a similar project being run by Nestlé Australia who are using Amazon Managed Hyperledger to support its Chain of Origin coffee brand.

As lovers of specialty coffee we are always searching for new caffeinated experiences and flavours; but we should also be questioning the sustainability of the supply chain that brings it to us.

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CRYPTO COFFEE

An ongoing challenge for the industry is ensuring freshness, retaining moisture and natural oil levels in the coffee bean while in transit. A bag of specialty coffee will always say when the coffee was roasted, but not many will tell you how long the green beans have been in storage after harvest.

Armin Nehzat, digital technology manager at Nestlé Australia says: “The use of blockchain technology allows us to provide a transparent window into the provenance of single origin coffee – as well as how it is farmed, produced and packed – providing assurance to consumers of the super-premium taste they will experience.”

Each pack of Chain of Origin coffee carries a unique QR code that links to a personalised web page presenting a plethora of useful product facts that include; the coffee estate – when it was harvested and what taste profile to expect; details of their compostable packaging material; when the product was roasted and packed; as well as suggesting the ideal brewing method and time based on personal preferences of the end-user.

As this technology becomes more widespread, getting access to this level of information will undoubtedly allow us to make more informed purchase decisions. Nehzat adds: “Tracking the coffee helps us ensure freshness.

Blockchain is the tool that enables that collaboration and connection.”

Traceable and transparent However, it’s not just the corporate behemoths that are picking up the slack in the chain, there’s a whole bevvy of initiatives lending their weight to creating a fairer system of accountability. Columbian-based firm iFinca, founded and funded in 2019 by Alexander Barrett, is also focused on the digitalisation of the coffee supply chain by leveraging innovative technology.

Powered by blockchain technology from CoffeeChain, the iFinca app provides encrypted data access for

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Above: Coffee picking is a skilled and labour-intensive manual process; Chain of Origin (left) and iFinca (right) are both utilising QR codes to convey their message

anyone involved with that coffee’s specific supply chain. Most importantly it provides a verified farm-gate price – the price the farmer actually got paid.

The app also delivers a public-facing QR code system called “Meet The Farmer”, allowing the consumer to see journey details of the coffee on their cup.

Barrett feels that the fact some companies are telling you where your coffee comes from is a good start, but stresses that it’s not necessarily validating any claims of sustainability or ethical sourcing. He says: “Modern consumers want assurances that the producers are getting a fair deal.”

“Scan the code and you’ll see exactly which farmers are involved, where they’re from, they even get their own landing page [on the website]. You also get to see the farm-gate price that has been validated by three parties. That’s the value of iFinca,” explains Barrett.

The big difference with iFinca is that they neither buy nor sell coffee, they are independently championing the farmers for the right reasons.

“Other products are providing partial traceability – who and where the farmer is. Transparency, on the other hand, requires the disclosure of the farm-gate price and we’re the only ones who can actually do both,” he claims.

If you feel compelled to support this initiative for truly transparent coffee, then ask your roaster to get their coffee iFinca verified; or download the free app and add your favourite café and iFinca will take care of the rest.

This may all seem light years away from the independent artisan that whips up your flat white every morning, or delivers your favourite single origin beans to your door; but if farmers are forced to find other ways to derive a living from their land then the coffee supply chain will become superfluous.

It’s up to anyone that engages with caffeine, at any level, to assume responsibility and support those striving to ensure a fairer deal for the little guys.

If your coffee could talk, what would it say?

When it was farmed

When it was roasted

How it was packaged

Ideal time to consume

www.chainoforigin.com

Next level espresso Wanting to step up your barista game? We take a look at four dual boiler espresso machines that will have you pulling shots like a pro Photography by David Collins

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here’s just no avoiding it. Budget espresso machines offer an amazing bang-for-buck entry-level experience – no question. However, if you want to take your barista skills up a few notches then you need to be upgrading your gear.

Now, none of these dual boiler machines can be called cheap – upgrading usually comes with a bigger price tag – but these machines are well worth the expense. They all come with an industry-standard 58mm portafilter, and electronic PIDs providing the control of brew temperature that you need to make consistently great coffee. They also allow you to extract multiple espressos back-toback while simultaneously steaming milk – something a less expensive single boiler machine will struggle with.

We put them through their paces with the expert help of Paul Hallit, Head of Training and Development at The Little Marionette, using their House Blend (find out how it tastes in our coffee reviews on page 8) and grinding was performed by a Baratza Sette 270Wi. “All espresso machines perform the same function, they deliver hot water through ground coffee at pressure,” explains Paul.

“It’s the precision delivery that produces a consistent shot of coffee each time.”

Prepare to disappear down the rabbit hole of coffee geekery.

Breville Dual Boiler PROS

Heaps of handy functionality; user-friendly CONS

Lots of plastic; limited longevity

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Breville has a well-defined aesthetic, and the Dual Boiler is no exception. Set up is fast and the intuitive interface keeps you well-informed at all stages.

Full control is possible with programmable preinfusion and preset/manual-override/programmable shot volume. The shot clock and pressure gauge provide extra levels of fine-tuning and the auto start will preheat the machine to be ready at a set time.

The visual water-level guide and handy flap at the front of the cup warmer mean you don’t have to access the removable 2.5 litre reservoir at the rear; but when you do, the retractable wheels make benchtop manoeuvring a breeze. However, at 13.6kg, this was the lightest member of our group with a footprint of W41.5 x D38 x H38cm.

The storage socket for the lightweight tamp is nice touch.

Maintenance is easy thanks to the new descale alert and assisted descale procedure. These will help to keep the machine in tip-top condition for increased performance and lifespan, although with a large number of plastic components don’t expect this machine to last you a lifetime.

Espresso shots are pleasantly smooth, yet not as refined as something you’d get from the other more expensive machines in this review. The light steam pressure takes a little while to reach optimal levels for milk texturing, but the result is super silky.

This is a semi-pro machine with the bonus of programmable volumetrics meaning you can either take full control or just push buttons. You choose.

RRP $1,999 breville.com.au

ESPRESSO UPGRADE

Rancilio Silvia Pro PROS

Delivers reliably superb coffee, small footprint CONS

Noisy vibration pump; no pressure gauge, fiddly drip tray

The reputation of the single boiler Rancilio Silvia is the stuff of legend, so this dual boiler Silvia Pro already has a great lineage.

It’s sleek, minimalist design features a stainless steel body, housing the same high-quality materials and wear-resistant components that appear in Rancilio’s commercial machines. Reassuringly solid at 20 kilos, it takes up surprisingly minimal bench space, coming in at just 25cm wide!

The user-friendly programming functionality of lower-priced models is soon forgotten once you get the hang of the Silvia Pro’s codes. These allow you to manage the temperature of both boilers, set a sleep and a delayed start-up, and activate a semiautomatic cleaning function. The display also has a built-in shot timer and signals when the 2-litre reservoir is empty, which refills via a lid at the rear of the cup warmer. The unique height-adjustable cup tray is a cute touch, however, emptying the drip tray is a little fiddly.

The noisy pump and lack of pressure gauge may be a potential turn-off for some, but where the Silvia Pro really wins big is with it’s best-in-class thermal stability. The minimal brew temperature variance makes for consistently delicious espresso. Which at the end of the day is what we’re all striving for.

The 8g and 16g baskets are smaller than most, so you’ll need to adjust your dosing accordingly (or you can buy yourself an 18g VST basket). We dosed 16g in and extracted 32g out in 23 seconds. The result being impressively good – a much smoother and less-astringent shot than the Breville.

A multi-directional steam wand, with commercial grade four-hole tip, emits nice, dry steam and textures the milk superbly.

With simple controls and world-class precision, this machine will prove a welcome addition to any coffee lover’s kitchen.

RRP $2,849 ranciliogroup.com

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Rocket Espresso R Cinquantotto PROS

Timeless presence, bullet-proof reliability CONS

Long warm-up time, bodywork gets seriously hot

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The R Cinquantotto is an impressively stylish update on the much-loved, hand-built R58.

Cosmetic adjustments have been applied to the cup railings, legs and side-panels, with an unassuming shot timer placed just above the onoff switch. But rather than integrating their PID into the iconic front fascia, the designers have opted for a removable touchscreen device. This plugs into the left hand side of the machine and may cause an issue if space is limited, however the level of functionality is impressively user-friendly.

Temperature control of both brew and steam boilers is easy to manage through the interface, as is a handy ECO mode, plus the ability to set different start up times for each day of the week.

The near-silent commercial grade rotary pump delivers perfect shot pressure every time and provides the option to connect to mains water. If you opt for manual fills then the 2.5 litre reservoir

can be loaded from the top at the rear of the cup warmer but weighing in at 29 kilos you won’t want to be man-handling this bad boy around the kitchen bench too often, so make sure you have easy access.

Not losing heat during the brewing process ensures incredible espresso, and the E-61 grouphead is around 3.5 kilos of metal that maintains temperature stability at the brew head; it also allows for manual pre-infusion via the shot lever, if that’s your thing.

Dosing in 18.5g in and pulling out 38g in 22 seconds resulted in a phenomenal extraction. Milk texturing was equally impressive and equivalent to a commercial set up.

Purchasing any machine at this price point is a life-long commitment and the Cinquantotto is easily up to the challenge.

RRP $4,599 espressocompany.com.au

ESPRESSO UPGRADE

La Marzocco Linea Mini PROS

Impeccable reliability, La Marzocco Home App CONS

Lengthy warm-up time, no integrated shot timer or PID display

Owning a Linea Mini is literally the same as having a cut-down version of the legendary Linea Classic commercial machine in your kitchen – both visually and functionally. In fact, the ability to pull continuous back-to-back shots with ease is testament to its industrial heritage, and this unit could easily support a small café if required.

From almost every perspective, this machine is a dream. The articulated cool-touch wand delivers great steam and will beautifully texture milk in seconds; while the brew paddle provides tactile control over water flow allowing you to pinpoint extraction times, with programmed pre-infusion.

We loaded 19g and got 32g out in 26 seconds - the result was exceptional and as good as any commercial machine. This is largely due to the integration of the brew group and the boiler keeping the temperature stable throughout the brewing process; plus the PID providing rock-solid temperature management.

If you don’t fancy plumbing it in, the 2.5-litre

reservoir is more than adequate and can be loaded from the front; which is fortunate as this baby weighs 30 kilos.

Premium build and near-effortless quality espresso extraction mean that the Linea Mini doesn’t need any bells and whistles to impress, but that hasn’t stopped La Marzocco. The addition of the intuitive Home App allows the user to remotely create a schedule, adjust boiler temperatures and dig deeper into machine stats, as well as power the machine on or off; something that could be handy as the 15 minute warm up time (and a bit longer for steam) is one the machine’s only downsides. The app is also loaded with tutorials and educational posts to help perfect your home espresso experience.

Although the price tag may be out of reach for us mere mortals, there is little doubt that the Linea Mini is a real power in the home espresso kingdom, and would make a sound investment.

RRP $6,750 au.lamarzoccohome.com

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Producers in the pandemic

Peru has been affected by a double whammy in 2020: high Covid-19 rates, despite one of the world’s toughest lockdowns, and a considerable increase in dengue fever. Healthcare limitations in remote regions have also played a part in this. Here, Luzmila Loayza Feliú from Cooperativa Agraria Frontera San Ignacio in Peru, gives us a valuable perspective into the impact on a producing country.

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t the end of 2019, coffee producers in the northern zone of Peru were optimistic about the forthcoming harvest. However, the global COVID-19 pandemic put paid to that. Just as harvest approached, the Peruvian government announced a national quarantine.

In most coffee-producing areas there are no hospitals, only very precarious medical centres. Producers were so fearful that many grouped together and blocked the roads so that visitors who might infect them did not enter.

These roadblocks did not last, however, because the producers who formed them had to harvest their coffee.

Most members of the northern co-operatives are small producers with coffee plantations of between two and three hectares, so they were able to harvest with the support of their family and neighbours, but larger producers lost around 20% of their harvest. As workers desperately attempted to harvest all the crops, working hours increased as they toiled from first light until nightfall.

Many children of coffee producers lacked the equipment to access

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distance learning or virtual classes.

Meanwhile, because of transport restraints, basic products (sugar, rice, cleaning products, flour, cooking oil, medicine) increased in price or became harder to source.

The ports have been open, but the import and export logistics process has slowed, and there are limitations in getting carriers for export. Courier services are scarce, and the service from shipping companies has been restricted because fewer personnel are working in offices, although shipments are being fulfilled.

During the pandemic, co-operatives have played an important role in providing basic healthcare training and supplies such as masks and alcohol to their producer members. To enter the co-operatives’ warehouses, producers have to comply with Ministry of Health protocols such as disinfection of hands and shoes, use of masks and social distancing.

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o far there have been few reports of infected producers. They have taken social distancing very seriously and are not allowing visits

to their farms for fear of contagion.

Many also use natural medicines such as syrups made from the stem of the cinchona or La Quina tree.

A lot of coffee co-operatives, especially newer ones, have seen their finances affected, with investment for crops hard to come by in the current situation. The “coyote” merchants (middlemen who buy directly from farms and who have a reputation for offering pitiful prices) have taken advantage of the fear of contagion, so they take trucks to the farms to collect the wet or dry coffee at the prices that suit them.

From talking with the producers, it is important to mention that despite their fear of the disease, they also express positive aspects that this pandemic has brought them: more family unity, more solidarity among neighbours, more faith in God, better hygiene habits and further strengthening of sustainable and trusting relationships with buyers.

Thanks to Diana Johnston and Henry Clifford of DR Wakefield for their assistance in facilitating this report.

INDUSTRY

Australian coffee is alive and well in queensland

Supporting nicaraguan farmers affected by covid-19

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eeds for Progress Foundation and Mercon Coffee Group have joined forces to mitigate the impact of coronavirus in the most vulnerable coffee-growing regions of Nicaragua, thanks to a €100k ($155k) relief fund allocated by the Dutch development bank FMO. This relief fund will have a direct impact on more than 4,000 coffee farmers and their families nationwide. The fund will pay for communication and awareness, focusing on providing vital information to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during the harvest, supplying informational materials to distribute to the farms and providing hygiene kits along with portable sinks in production areas.

“Caring for our communities is part of our purpose to build a better world of coffee,” says Jorge Eslaquit, regional manager of Mercon Coffee Group. “It is our duty to take concrete measures to prevent the spread of the virus and safeguard the wellbeing of our beloved coffee-growing communities as the new harvest approaches.”

Seeds for Progress Foundation – in association with Mercon Coffee Group, a green coffee supplier – promotes access to education in coffee communities as a powerful instrument to achieve sustainable economic growth and improve the quality of life of its beneficiaries.

t

here are a handful of being converted from its beef theories as to why coffee and dairy farming roots into production in Australia died a coffee plantation; and with out in the early part of the good scientific reason. last century. Heavy frosts and “Most of the farms in the expensive labour costs sit high region sit at an altitude of about on the list of potential culprits.

500 metres, with sandy soil It wasn’t until the 1980s that and requiring irrigation and a pulse returned with the advent fertilisers to cope with the hotter, of machine harvesting, and this drier climate,” Lucy explains. pulse is getting ever stronger “We’re growing at over 1,000 with over 50 commercial growers metres with 70-80 percent cloud farming nearly 400 cover, so our trees grow hectares across a lot slower. Plus the Queensland and basalt-rich volcanic soil New South Wales. is just perfect for coffee.”

One recent She goes on to addition to the explain that this slower Lucy and James have high hopes for Aussie coffee domestic scene is growth, and the fact Crater Mountain that the fruit gets to Coffee. Founded in 2017 by stay on the tree for an additional mining engineers Lucy Stocker three months due to the cooler and James Masterman, and located climate, creates a much more on the Atherton Tablelands in Far dense bean, resulting in unique North Queensland, there’s a really and complex flavour profiles. positive buzz about the place.

The first harvest and With virtually no prior coffee subsequent roasts have simply experience Lucy says that the local flown off the shelves. Meanwhile coffee growers have been very Lucy has been experimenting supportive in helping them get with fermentation, including set up; and there is more a sense controlled ferments using wine of community than competition. and coffee yeasts. “The results are “We’re close to some much, outstanding and perfect for the much larger farms growing black filter market,” Lucy says. good quality Australian However, the current business coffee... but we’re the only priority is expansion. “I’ve got ones growing specialty coffee about 20,000 trees between one at altitude,” she says. and four years old and I’d like to Sitting on an extinct volcano get to four or five times that size.” the family property is rapidly cratermountain.com.au

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The Power to Empower S

ometimes it is difficult to put into words the significant impact that seemingly insignificant choices – such as a humble cup of coffee - can have on the lives of others.

In December 2019, we travelled to Peru with the Café Femenino Foundation. The trip incorporated visits to the coffee-growing communities of the CECANOR Cooperative, and the women coffee growers of the Café Femenino Program located in remote villages of the Lambayeque and the Amazonas region.

The Café Femenino Program

We had the privilege to meet Isabel Latorre, the inspiring founder of the Café Femenino concept. Much respected and revered among the coffee growers, she founded the Café Femenino program in 2002 having seen the potential to gather the women together to grow and sell their own coffee; thereby directly empowering and enhancing the lives of women and their families.

The first four containers of coffee were shipped in 2004. As of 2019, this has increased to 40 containers of coffee being shipped annually. With more than 746 women coffee growers working together under the Café Femenino Program, it truly is ‘coffee that empowers’.

The Femenino difference

It’s incredible to witness the economic and social change that has impacted

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the communities and families. There are now women earning an income equivalent to at least the Peruvian minimum wage through coffee; and the benefits of the program are now spread across 64 coffee-growing communities in Lambayeque, Amazonas, and also Cajamarca.

Some older coffee growers told us that when the program first started, their husbands did not allow them to leave the house to participate in meetings. Fast forward to 2019 and these very same women travelled for more than 24 hours to meet together in Chiclayo and celebrate the 17th anniversary of the Café Femenino Annual Meeting.

These women are immensely proud to have control over their income which can be spent on better nutrition and education for their family. It’s a wonderful success story.

Ethical coffee prices

A key pillar of the program is the ethical coffee prices that are being paid to women farmers.

Commercial coffee is traded on the international commodity exchange market, which historically has been a particularly volatile space with prices often falling below the cost of production. For coffee farmers to receive prices above commodity prices, they require certifications and/or need to grow higher quality coffee. The Café Femenino Program has been structured to pursue both on the growers’ behalf.

All Café Femenino coffee is specialty coffee and carries Fairtrade and organic certifications. As such, coffee sold under the program attracts prices which are made up of; the Fairtrade price (the minimum price that must be paid by buyers to producers if that falls below the commodity price for coffee); the Fairtrade premium (an extra sum of money, paid on top of the selling price, that farmers or workers invest in projects of their choice); an additional premium for organic certified coffee; a Café Femenino program premium; and a premium for the quality of the coffee.

Organic certification is a long road for farmers and cooperatives. It takes three years to convert farmland from commercial to organic farming and this is accompanied by new pest and crop management procedures, and rigorous quality controls.

T I NA W E N DE L, 2 3 D E G R E E S C O F F E E

The Café Feminino Program and Foundation are changing the game for women in the coffee world and making very real differences, as Tina Wendel explains

INDUSTRY

Left: Isabel Uriarte LaTorre, one of the founders of the Café Femenino Program

The need for a foundation

While the Café Femenino Program assists with coffee growing, training, selling, and marketing of coffee, the Café Femenino Foundation supports specific projects for individual farmers and communities through external fundraising. Foundation President Marilyn Dryke and her team, MJ Newcomb and Jan Weigel are the forces behind the foundation.

Fund requests are submitted either by the growers directly or by any of the 64 communities. Funding has been granted for a variety of projects that facilitate income diversification. These include vegetable gardens, beehives, and cocoa farms, as well as the farming of ‘cui’ (guinea pigs), which provide a much-needed source of protein.

On a community level, the funds have supported more substantial projects such as the provision of water reservoirs, early learning centres, nutritional The Café Femenino Foundation supplies much-needed materials to improve quality of life and hygiene; but all labour is carried out by the local families

education, cervical cancer screening, kitchen stoves, washing stations and drying patios for coffee, community centres, safe houses for women and, more recently, the creation of medical and food emergency programs.

Through our own fund-raising, 23 Degrees Coffee, along with US coffee brand Grounds for Change, have co-funded a water reservoir in the Lambayeque region. Changed weather patterns have reduced the rainy season from six months to three. This has a catastrophic effect on both their coffee plantations and their own farms from which they source the food to survive.

The reservoir supplies water to five or six families and our contribution supplied all the materials with the labour being provided by the locals.

COVID-19 has hit hard (as reported on page 30). Work on projects has slowed, but not stopped, and Café Femenino’s support has been directed to matters of a more of a humanitarian nature.

Marilyn Dryke explains: “Everything is continuing to progress, just a bit slower. We have focused on special fundraising for emergency food relief as families are in desperate need of basic food supplies such as rice, corn and oil.”

Buying coffees through the Café Femenino Program means sourcing amazing specialty and organic coffees directly from women coffee growers while paying ethical coffee prices above Fairtrade guidelines.

Tina Wendel is the founder of 23 Degrees Coffee Roasters who buy their coffees at fair and ethical prices, actively sourcing at least 50% of them from women coffee growers and re-investing funds and their time into social projects which improve the income and wellbeing of farmers and their communities.

23degrees.com.au cafefemenino.com

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INDUSTRY

Bitter Barista

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n all my years of drinking coffee, which are rather more than I care to mention, I have left no stone unturned in my search for the perfect drop. As a priority in my never-ending search for that perfect balance, flavour was everything…

However, as both my palate and I have evolved, so too has my awareness of the accessibility of coffee.

As this caffeine-fuelled ‘journey’ (a much overused word) has evolved and meandered along, the accessibility of coffee has become an evermore prominent talking point among those of us that hold the bean in high esteem.

Who can farm it? How does it then reach the market and then, as if by magic, get into our cup? Is it roasted by machine or man? And perhaps the unavoidable crux of the whole thing... Is coffee achievable, and sustainable for all walks of life?

We have to hope that the industry is prepared to accept all opinions.

Why are there so many men responsible for those big old iron drums rolling through the day?

Is the industry’s approach as old as some of the equipment?

Although old equipment can be rebirthed, are we due for an attitude change within our ranks?

Enter Agnieszka Rojewska, 2018 World Barista Champion. The ultimate champion. Humble, funny, intelligent, generous and bloody brilliant with coffee.

The first woman to win the title was followed swiftly in 2019 by Jooyeon Jeon. Back-to-back female World Barista Champions from two different continents – ladies leading by example yet again.

Several years earlier, Aida Batlle, a fifth generation coffee producer, in the male dominated world of El Salvador coffee,

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Why are there so many men responsible for those big old iron drums rolling through the day?

amidst a gang war, and continued personal threats for her safety, set about continuing the family legacy to become the first female to win the Cup of Excellence with her Finca Kilimanjaro. Now, Aida travels the world to educate and partner with farms and farmers, sharing her knowledge and coffees.

Having worked in many cafés and roasteries across many countries, I love seeing the diversity grow within the coffee producing world.

Gone are the days when Ian with the chip-on-his-shoulder, territorially gripped the group handles wedged into the La Marzocco, as Ryan, from the other high street cafe, came in to critically analyse his ever so slow and impractical latte art. Both barely post adolescent, chest-puffing roosters, dropped an octave to discuss the most recent café addition to the area.

Now, the creative juices flow, as Tyler and Kelly debate whether Anette’s (Square Mile) Costa Rican roast, served as batch at the 2013 London coffee festival, wins all time brew. Competing with Wes’ (Li’l Marionette) Colombian roast, that is served as an old school, syrupy, teeth staining double ‘riz’ in the back streets of Sydney’s inner west somewhere around 2010.

The balance of coffee, both in and out of the cup, has much improved thanks to movements supporting women farmers, along with the presence of leading ladies in the industry, such as Erika Voni. The ever-vivacious Q-Grader kept crowds at the Coffee Masters entertained with her skilful banter alongside co-host Lem Butler, and consistently keeps her followers engaged during her coffee knowledge classes. The chase for that perfect drop of coffee is still alive and is making for an even sweeter brew, brah.

E S S I KI M PI M Ä KI

As lovers of specialty coffee, we obsess with what’s in our cup.

Our cantankerous columnist believes it’s high time that we look beyond the brew and appreciate the fairer picture

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C I NODCUKSTA T RI YL

the caffeinated tipple

The creamy cocktail made famous by Jeff Bridges’ character The Dude in the Coen brothers’ cult comedy classic The Big Lebowski

White Russian 30ml vodka 20ml Mr Black coffee liqueur 10ml milk 10ml cream Method Combine the milk and cream for an extra smooth texture. Add the vodka and coffee liqueur to a glass over ice cubes. Pour in the milk mixture to “float” over the other ingredients and serve.

BENTLEY CREATIVE

Reader offer We have spoken to Mr Black himself and he has generously offered a 10% discount off your next online purchase. Visit mrblack.co and use the code ‘CAFFEINE’.

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Wholesale speciality tea