NEWS
Maxime Herbaut joins La Cimbali UK
Notes launches eco-friendly speciality coffee pods Speciality coffee roaster, Notes Coffee, has launched a range of its premium, single-origin coffees in pods. Not only are the pods compatible with Nespresso coffee makers, say the company, they are also fully compostable and biodegradable yet have a 12-month shelf-life, giving operators the chance to add to their eco credentials whilst maintaining a premium coffee offer for their customers. The launch marks the first time operators and consumers have been able to access fully compostable and biodegradable coffee pods in the UK, claim the company. Two speciality coffees are available in Notes’ pods, with more to follow. The first are Notes’ Ethiopia roast and a decaffeinated coffee from Colombia. The Ethiopian coffee is from the Bokasso Cooperative in Sidamo, which was the brand’s first ever roast and one which remains so popular, Notes buys the coffee every year. Next to come is a Honduran coffee from the mountains around Ocotepeque, the perfect coffee for milk and non-dairy alternatives. After that, Notes says that it expects to launch every new coffee in capsule form to complete the line-up. “Notes’ philosophy is based on using ethically sourced and fairly traded coffee beans for every roast. The materials we use to supply our customers should be no different. We are immensely proud to be the first to bring a Nespresso-compatible pod to the UK market, which is fully compostable and biodegradable – our customers don’t need to worry about recycling, their only job is to enjoy a delicious, speciality coffee,” said Notes Coffee co-founder, Fabio Ferreira.
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La Cimbali UK (www.cimbaliuk.com) has appointed Maxime Herbaut to the newly created post of sales operations manager. He will be responsible for developing and implementing La Cimbali’s Coffee Operational Excellence strategy which, say the company, sets a new gold standard in 360 client care, encompassing all touch points of a customer journey, from initial contact and site planning through to equipment install and after sales support and maintenance. He will also head La Cimbali’s after sales training team, with a focus on delivering high quality support to customers through pro-active visits, reactive assistance as well as barista training courses tailored to meet the business needs of each individual customer. “Max has an excellent track record in the industry and we are delighted that he has joined the Cimbali team,” said Daniel Clarke, managing director, La Cimbali. “At a time when we are changing focus from being an equipment manufacturer and supplier to play a more over-arching consultative role in which we can use our expertise to add value much earlier on in the buying cycle, Max’s experience and input will be invaluable. I
wish Max every success in his career with the company.” Max Herbaut joins La Cimbali from EAT. where he managed the coffee and beverages team, responsible for selling over 8 million coffees a year with duties including coffee strategy, recipe development, equipment selection, barista training programmes and store coffee operational excellence whilst supporting international franchise partnerships with their coffee offers. Prior to that, he worked at Pret A Manger where, as senior international coffee ambassador, he supported the brand coffee strategy across the UK, France and Hong Kong. Commenting on his appointment, Max Herbaut said: “One of the challenges in the industry right now is that the artisan shops want the revenue streams of the branded chains and the branded chains want to match the artisanal element in terms of a speciality coffee offer. I am really looking forward to supporting customers through this challenge by helping them discover what is best for their business and their customers and subsequently using La Cimbali expertise to help deliver coffee operational excellence.”
Black Sheep Coffee introduces Tudo Bom, Brazilian Bean This summer Black Sheep Coffee introduced Tudo Bom, a new single estate specialist coffee from Minas Gerais, Brazil, with the Tudo Bom coffee being available across all Black Sheep Coffee sites. Gabriel Shohet and Eirik Holth, founders of Black Sheep Coffee, say that they aim to challenge the current establishments with their approach to the coffee industry. Black Sheep makes it their mission to ensure that the farmers who pick their beans to make their customers’ coffees, are being treated as well as their customers. Each year, the team at Black Sheep travel to the plantations to monitor the growing, picking and drying process, ensuring local farmers share the benefits of their trade and only the best quality beans make it into their customers’ cup. Tudo Bom is an 86 graded coffee which has been naturally processed on the mountains of Cerrado Mineiro in Brazil. With notes of chocolate, cherry and walnut, the coffee has a rich and fruity profile with a full-bodied edge, making it a lovely coffee to enjoy during summer. This Arabica, Yellow Catuai bean comes from a single estate farm which has been run
by the Barbosa family for over a century. The Cerrado Mineiro mountainous region has the perfect conditions to produce quality coffee, say Black Sheep, as in this region there are distinct seasons, with fertile soil, the perfect Yellow Catuai beans are produced. The farms are at 1,100 meters above sea level. With coffee production, often the higher the altitude, the higher quality the coffee and at this altitude there is uniform maturation which is the balance between body and acidity ensuring the flavours are consistent every year. The Tudo Bom coffee is available across all Black Sheep Coffee sites and is the ideal bean for a batch brew, espresso, aeropress and V60 serves, feel the brand.