AUSTRALIANS LOVE AND ARE GOOD AT ESPRESSO AND MILK BASED COFFEES, WHICH IS CONTRARY TO MANY OTHER PLACES AROUND
THE WORLD. EMBRACE
THESE DIFFERENCES, TAKE THE TIME TO UNDERSTAND THEM AND APPRECIATE THEM FOR WHAT THEY ARE, AND YOU WILL FIND GOOD PEOPLE MAKING GOOD COFFEE ANYWHERE.
my eye, as the barista greeted us in his Kiwi
taken second place in the World Coffee Roasting
we were thankful to be heading to family in the
accent. Yes, another Kiwi in love with Scandinavia.
Championships, and her trophy was proudly on
Netherlands and Lake Maggiore in Italy. Not so
Cymon Reid is happily settled in Stockholm with
display.
hard to take, really. It didn’t stop me from hunting
his wife and young son.
The Flying Elk – Beer-o-clock.
down great coffee in Amsterdam at Bakers &
The motto at Snickarbacken has always been
The never ending northern sun warmed our
to serve excellent coffee that you can order in a
backs as we parked our deadly treadlies, as chance
variety of brewing techniques. With a line out the
would have it right next to The Flying Elk – a
door for takeaway coffees and a full café inside,
gastropub in Gamla Stan (the old town) inspired
we witnessed Cymon’s passion for coffee and
by a blend of Swedish culinary tradition and British
enjoyed his easy, friendly manner while working in
pub culture. Owned by Björn Frantzén and Daniel
this busy environment.
Lindeberg, who also run the two Michelin star
The food at Snickerbacken was simple, fresh
Frantzen-Lindeberg restaurant in Stockholm. We
Roasters, Hopper in Rotterdam and Taglio in Milan, but that’s another story. We know we have excellent coffee in Australia – our recent world titles are proof of this. However, it’s all about your perception of what a coffee should taste like, but coffee styles are as diverse as the countries that drink them. Australians love and are good at espresso and milk
and full of the unique flavours of Sweden.
were ushered by the good humoured maître de
Catering to a large lunchtime crowd that pours
to the beer room, a cosy, intimate space in the
out of the surrounding offices, the front counter
basement that felt like it was just one room in
was ready and laden with freshly made food to
an underground labyrinth. After several tasting
go.
plates with beers to match, we emerged back on
them for what they are, and you will find good
to the street and back into the brilliant light of the
coffee anywhere.
And finally, while pedalling around Stockholm
based coffees, which is contrary to pretty much the rest of the world. Embrace those differences, take the time to understand them and appreciate
northern summer. Next time we’ll be sure to visit
Visiting Scandinavia was a well overdue
bohemian Södermalm and popped into Drop
the Gaston wine bar next door and enjoy a meal
experience. The people are extremely friendly,
Coffee Roasters, where three gorgeous Swedish
in the restaurant.
speak English fluently and the country’s
on the city bike system, we crossed over to
girls served us coffee and cake. Joanna Alm, head roaster and part owner at Drop, had just
After two amazing weeks in Scandinavia, our bank balance was looking a little grim, and so
infrastructure is advanced. It’s an easy place to be (if you can ignore your wallet for a while).
like 45% Wholesale and 55% Contract, with that they can maintain the quality almost none being online. Jeff explains that this of product and service given these was because the online component took years challenges. I had assumed that to develop both the ideal platform for creating orders may have to be in on a online presence and the logistical challenges that certain day for shipping at a certain come with servicing it. In the beginning there was time, but Jeff assures me that a necessity to maintain revenue streams through orders are taken 24/7/365, and the the better established channels of Wholesale and team maintain a successful record Contract Coffee Roasting. As sales grew over of 98% orders shipped same day. the years, profits were reinvested back into the The packing side to the business business. Jeff worked his way through various is still a fairly manual process, as coffee roaster upgrades to cater for the growth, they need flexibility given the many with a 10 kg Has Garanti in 2007, a 15 kg Giesen different pack sizes and varieties on in 2009 and then the entry into industrial size offer. They use a couple of Linear with a 30 kg Joper line in 2012. During this time Weigh and Fill machines to speed the business transformed its customer base from up the process, and Jeff largely largely Wholesale and Contract to the majority manages the inventory and roasting being online. himself. Jeff, a self-confessed Jeff explained that there were a couple of workaholic, regularly undertakes key challenges to overcome in order to grow the roasting seven days a week, which can mean the online part of the business. The first was a finish at sometimes 2am in the morning. The the ability to stand out from the crowd online, hard work is paying off, and now the businesses or namely, “online presence”. Coffee is one consumer base is structured at 65% Online, 10% of the most competitive online search words, Wholesales and 25% Contract. Jeff’s ultimate which makes it difficult for any coffee business goal is for the business to be 100% online, to rank highly in search engines. While the and since 2012 he has be planning for the next secrets of Jeff’s online marketing strategy are evolution in the business. kept close to his chest, he does reveal that his The next platform is to move into the one strategy for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is factory to house all operations. At the time the key. I understand of writing this story, the importance of the business still had SEO within my own operations in three COFFEE IS ONE OF THE MOST business, and it is a smaller warehouses COMPETITIVE ONLINE SEARCH very difficult part of that had been acquired WORDS, WHICH MAKES IT DIFFICULT doing business online. as the business grew FOR ANY COFFEE BUSINESS TO RANK You can spend a lot of and needed more HIGHLY IN SEARCH ENGINES. money on SEO, and it space. Logistically, this may not necessarily pay was a barrier to where off. At the end of the Jeff wants to take the day you can’t just rely on a SEO company to do it business, with it being imperative for efficiency for you; you need to understand it yourself and and growth that a new factory was sourced - the keep up with the SEO trends. Many companies search began in late 2013. just put it in the too hard basket or do not want The new factory also needed some additional to invest in SEO, because they don’t understand it capacity for roasting. This is where Jeff contacted or the customer fulfilment side of online business us in relation to supplying new equipment is so labour intensive. and consulting on an emission solution for the The second challenge was managing the roasting operations. Sometimes weekly volumes logistical side of growing the online business. can exceed two tons of coffee, which meant Currently the business has over 8,500 online that the current setup of a 30 kg and 15 kg were consumers and a product range of over 40 struggling to cope. Also, the fact that Jeff was different single origins or blends. That is truly a doing the entire roasting, so only one roaster was logistical headache to overcome, considering the being used at a time, was limiting the output number of orders to be packed and shipped each capacity. day. Jeff explains that his average stock rotation is Jeff explained that he chose Coffee Roasters every 24 - 48 hours and that they target to have Australia to supply the equipment for his new 98% of orders shipped same day and definitely factory, as we were able to customise a solution no later than the next business day after the to suit his needs and also that we could provide order is taken. It is a credit to Jeff and his team the complete service and support locally. The new
roastery is in Croydon South, VIC, with almost 800 sqm of floor space. The factory features a new 30 kg Proaster Coffee Roasting line with a customised control system featuring our Coffee Sweet technology, to give Jeff greater control over the roaster and profiles. We designed and built a custom twin chamber afterburner and ducting system to accommodate both the Proaster 30 kg and his current 30 kg Joper line, which will eventually sit next to it. The afterburner features our new designed full modulating heating system, that can be controlled to a very low burner position when not required to maximise gas efficiency. This was all installed and commissioned over four days on the week of the 13th July and to my delight, Jeff has already roasted over a ton of coffee on the new equipment in the first week after it was installed. We will be back down in a few weeks' time to complete the installation for integrating the Joper 30 kg with the afterburner. The future looks bright for Carlini Coffee, with plans to expand their range into other beverage types and affiliated products. In the new factory Jeff plans to grow the online business with focus on speed, price and quality. This will come with improving the logistics model and an investment in the business POP (Points of Presence) to include some physical outlets for consumers to collect orders and interact with the products. It was great to listen and learn from Jeff’s experiences. He is always able to provide valuable insights to product improvements and new product lines. CONTACT
Carlini Coffee E. info@mycuppa.com.au and info@carlinicoffee.com W. www.mycuppa.com.au and www.carlinicoffee.com Coffee Roasters Australia (CRA) CRA is a specialist coffee roasting equipment manufacturer and supplier, whose services include installation, training and consulting.