Scoop of the day The best coffee and gelato pairings to keep you cool this summer Page 18
Green and pleasant Easy tips to help the environment while enjoying quality coffee Page 22
Gifts galore A seasonal gift guide for the coffee lover whose not quite got everything Page 26
A U S T R A L I A
Issue 01 $4.95 The award-winning magazine for coffee lovers Š 2020
caffeinemagazine.com.au @caffeinemagaus
CONTENTS
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The latest coffee-related news, including some seriously seasonal options in our review of the best beans we’ve tasted this month. We talk to some true warriors against waste in the coffee world; look at the advancements in coffee cryogenics; take a peek at the Peak water filter; and chart the history of the dear old plunger. PLUS We give you the chance to win cool coffee-related stuff in our Christmas Giftaway.
Tim Ridley’s expert tips for reducing the carbon footprint of your everyday cup; from minimising waste to choosing sustainable milk.
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Industry news
The Grind
WTF… is the C Price?
S H E R A D ON DU B LI N
Spoilers: it’s the coffee price. But there’s a lot more to it than the cost of a flat white. We look at how it affects the realities of coffee production
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Green coffee
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Gifts galore With Christmas just a round the corner, we round up some great gift ideas for you to give the coffee lover in your life who hasn’t quite got everything.
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
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We find out how coffee farmers are embracing “vertical integration” to boost their income, while the Bitter Barista rages at an arty aspect of the industry the he thinks has gone too far.
Frozen delights
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We visit Cow and the Moon Gelato Bar in Sydney, where Sam Crowl creates three tasty coffee and iced confection pairings for us to try.
The tipple-meisters at Mr Black steer us towards a classic cocktail with a uniquely Aussie twist.
The caffeinated tipple
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WELCOME
AUSTRALIA
Editor & Publisher Steve Moore steve@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 Sheradon Dublin Contributors The Bitter Barista, Ebe Ganon, Safia Shakarchi, Stuart Ritson, Tim Ridley, Jem Challender, Martin Kingdom. Thanks to Sam Crowl at Cow and the Moon Gelato Bar & Café, David Collins
Like us facebook.com/caffeinemagaus Follow us instagram/caffeinemagaus ©2020 Caffeine magazine, and all its associated trademarks, is the legal property of Bentley Creative Ltd. 13 Sherwood Way, West Wickham, BR4 9PB (bentleycreative.com). ©2020 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.
Here to stay Our Australian summertime is the envy of many around the world, as is our coffee lifestyle. Although we don’t mass produce the core product on home soil, it’s what we do with it and how we engage with it that’s the key. In any international city, where coffee is a ‘thing’, there is every chance that you will hear the affected tones of an Aussie-influenced barista pumping out flat whites, cold brews, pour overs and a whole myriad of inspired ways to deliver a caffeine fix. In this, our first issue, we acknowledge our summer by discovering the joy of affogato with three inspired pairings of ice cream and speciality coffee as recommended by award-winning gelato expert Sam Crowl (page 18). The sustainability of everything we do is under constant scrutiny, and the coffee industry is no exception. We will be regularly discussing and reporting on the key issues that affect our beloved coffee lifestyle and how, in turn, it impacts the rest of the world. We start with Tim Ridley’s tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint while still enjoying your passion for caffeine (page 22). With Christmas looming large in our headlights we make suggestions on pressies for the coffee lover who hasn’t quite got everything (page 26). Get involved with our Christmas Giftaway where we’re giving away two randomly selected items from our Christmas Gift Guide every week in December (page 15). Since its UK launch in 2013, Caffeine magazine has been fuelling the addiction of coffee fans with stylish, informative and entertaining features about our favourite beverage. We are excited to now be launching our own Australian edition. We hope you love the mag, and until issue two, we wish you a merry Christmas and happy new year. Stay safe, be kind and drink coffee.
Steve Moore Editor
Our featured contributors
Sheradon Dublin
Photographer Sheradon’s punchy style lends itself to modern food, and for more than a decade he has been shooting for commercial and editorial clients including Waitrose Weekend, American Express and restaurants. What are you enjoying at the moment? “With the summer upon us, I have been experimenting with iced coffee and cold brew creations. Also, the coffee ice cream I shot for this issue didn’t last very long once out of the freezer…”
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Tim Ridley
Christmas is a favourite time of year for Caffeine’s New Zealand born, editor-at-large – new coffees arrive from some of his favourite origins, and it’s a chance to indulge in his other passion: Cognac. Tim is also looking forward to the future, when he hopes the coffee industry will take further steps to reduce its carbon emissions. What are you drinking at the moment? “A twist on a classic Manhattan, tastes like Christmas has arrived early!”
Martin Kingdom
Artist and illustrator Martin has contributed to the UK edition of Caffeine since 2016. Martin mostly works in documentary and film. His art is influenced by the natural world and explores a darkly jocose future that seemingly looks almost mundane. He recently had an exhibition of fungi paintings. He posts his latest work on Instagram @martinkingdom. What are you drinking at the moment? “Hunkute #2 from Ethiopia, by Round Hill Roastery.”
Jem Challender
Jem is Dean of Studies at Barista Hustle, where he has authored 10 online courses about coffee production. Jem received the award for Best Independent Cafe in Europe at the European Coffee Symposium and he was the 2016 UK Brewers Cup Champion. What are you enjoying at the moment? “A 100-hour fermented geisha from Lesley and Jamison Savage at Finca Deborah in Panama. It’s like cotton candy, with a hint of apple and hazelnut.”
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DELICIOUSLY DAIRY FREE Our Oat Barista Blend is creamy, rich and perfectly complements the natural, robust flavour of coffee. It steams without splitting, creating a delicate foam for impressive latte art.
G U T T E R C R E D IT S
DAIRY FREE VEGAN NO GUMS NO ADDED SUGAR
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CI S SALIFIAFARMS.COM. . AU UE 01
@CALIFIAFARMSA AU
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Sifting through the sediment Edited by Phil Wain & Steve Moore
SEASONAL COFFEES
BAUBLE BRIGHT & CHRISTMAS PUDDING COFFEE ALCHEMY
GRUOOM E T T E RCC RR EE AT DIV IT E. S C OM
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hey don’t get much more seasonal than these two limited edition Christmas-themed blends from Coffee Alchemy in Sydney. The aptly named Christmas Pudding is a big, bold roast aimed at espresso junkies, while Bauble Bright has been targeted at the more delicate requirements of filter fanatics, and both lean heavily towards the fruity end of the spectrum. As you might expect, the espresso packs the bigger punch at the start and subsides into a more ‘puddinglike sweetness’ akin to dried fruit and berries. The filter roast delivers a smoother, cleaner brew that is brimming with the freshness of summer fruits. Founded by Hazel de los Reyes and Clare Lim in 2003 Coffee Alchemy has developed a reputation for excellence based on a lifetime’s devotion to caffeine and supported by an impressive list of industry awards and achievements. De los Reyes said in an interview: “We can get hung up
about machines and geekiness, but in the end it’s really all about the craft of coffee.” And the business remains true to this ethos in everything she does. You only need to experience their three Sydney operations to appreciate it. The industrial honesty of their original Marrickville home, the art deco chic of Gumption café in The Strand Arcade, and the minimalist simplicity of Micro Coffee in Barangaroo, couldn’t be more different; but the underlying passion to deliver outstanding coffee shines through at each venue. Now with co-owner Clare Lim, the brand is looking forward and going from strength to strength – there’s even a version of Gumption by Coffee Alchemy in Brooklyn New York, as well as a newly opened feature store in Times Square in midtown Manhattan. Plans are also afoot for more stores to open in 2021. Bauble Bright and Christmas Pudding are both $18 each for 300g for a limited time. coffeealchemy.com.au
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Declaring war on coffee waste
Consumption of our beloved beverage is hurting the planet. We look at how resourceful Australian coffee businesses, large and small, are doing a great job of turning things around
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ith over a billion disposable cups thrown away in Australia every year, it’s good to know that there is a growing force of globally conscious coffee businesses taking big steps to reverse that trend – and it’s not just about the cups. “We were a bunch of do-gooders picking up rubbish from beaches and we began to notice more and more hospitality waste showing up,” explains Jo Horsley – General Manager of ResponsibleCafes.org. The result of this discovery was the creation of a digital concept that engages directly with cafes and rewards them for being green. Participating businesses can log their environmental impact and earn ‘bean’ ratings, with gold bean status being the Holy Grail. Preventing coffee cup waste is just the entry point into the scheme. Avoidance of plastics – in bags, straws, containers and condiments – as well as offering free water refills are all winners. Further points are earned for composting everything from coffee to cups and containers; supporting Fair Trade products; using non-toxic cleaning products; tapping into renewable energy; as well as supporting community events, resources and even providing coffee grounds to local gardeners or community garden projects.
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Jacob and Lenka Kriz run the waste-free Cat & Cow café in Randwick, NSW
“The only way we’re going to resolve the situation is by collaborating. We aim to re-educate people about waste and incentivise behaviour change,” says Horsley. The organisation is planning a five event summit that will help participating cafés to build a plan to reduce waste and reduce operating costs at the same time. One cafe that proudly wears its Gold Bean status is the zero-waste Cat & Cow cafe in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. “We wanted to show other cafés that this is the way forward and it’s easy to do in
the hospitality space,” says Lenka Kriz, Director at Cat and Cow Coffee. “We designed our cafe to be fully waste free in the front of the house operations.” Educating customers to bring their own cups was initially a challenge when they opened in August 2019 but the plan is definitely working for them. “We actually save a lot of money on packaging. Our compost bin is always full but we only use about 10 percent of our general waste bin.” Lenka explains that even during lockdown they found a way to stay true to their mission. “We had to make the hard decision to introduce single use coffee cups into our operations. These cups were commercially compostable and recyclable.” The extra 50 cents charged for this service was donated to an ocean clean-up initiative called Take 3 for the Sea (www.take3.org). Sydney-based coffee roaster, Pablo & Rusty’s (P&R), has just become the first coffee company in Australia to be regarded as a carbon neutral organisation. Founded by Saxon Wright in 2003 the objective soon became to create zero waste throughout the whole supply chain – from farm to cup. One of Wright’s early creations was the award-winning HuskeeCup (see separate story ‘Swap ‘n’ Go your coffee cup) but becoming certified means a lot to the company. “Carbon Neutral is the next step on our ongoing journey to become more sustainable. We have changed or upgraded many aspects of our business to reduce our carbon footprint already so getting certified is a way to wrap it all up,” he explains. P&R recognise that all business leaves a dirty footprint, and coffee roasting is no different. However, by offsetting the elements that they can’t reduce, it assures customers that their purchase is covering a completely sustainable process. “We still have so many things we want to do and can improve on. We are going through an overhaul of our packaging to ensure its either compostable or recyclable, plus looking at other ways to get our organic waste back to the land to improve our soils.” There are a host of companies doing the right thing and it’s good to know that by making informed choices and supporting the businesses making the effort, we can reduce our environmental impact while still enthusing about speciality coffee.
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Could a snail save your coffee?
ONA coffee are pushing the boundaries of frozen coffee
@FOX R OYA L E
They are the least likely of superheroes, but snails could be the key to defeating leaf rust
Coffee cryogenics
Research into freezing techniques means that stale coffee could soon be a thing of the past. ONA Coffee’s Ebe Ganon explains
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magine a world where coffee never goes off and you can choose your brew based on its vintage. Pure fantasy? Perhaps not, thanks to years of hard work being done on coffee cryogenics by Canberrabased specialty roaster, ONA Coffee. Current reigning Australian Barista Champion Matt Lewin together with two-time Aussie champ Hugh Kelly both now work in research and development at ONA. They have been closest to the experimentation around this technique, which has been used in the competition context for a number of years. It involves taking the coffee when it’s at its flavour peak, usually once it has undergone some degassing for a few days after
roasting, and then freezing it to lock in the flavour. Initially, vacuum-sealed bags were the freezing substrate of choice, however they have been found to be more challenging during daily café service, and the plastic waste that remains isn’t ideal. Subsequently, ONA has achieved great success using 50ml centrifuge tubes instead. Not only are they more sustainable and reusable, but they also store neatly in the freezer and are faster to retrieve and place into the grinder for service. Lewin and Kelly have both used this technique in the competition world. Winning comps that run over several days requires controlled consistency, so freezing the beans makes a lot of sense. In some cases, it actually
improves the definition with extra flavour. Freezing isn’t just an exciting development for competitions. ONA are excited about being able to serve vintage coffees and extend the shelf life of expensive reserve coffees. It’s important to emphasise that this isn’t something that is cost prohibitive to cafés, nor is it only for the high-end or high-volume establishments – this is something that, with a freezer, some tubes and plenty of determination can be a success for everyone. Once this program becomes more established in cafés around Australia, ONA is aiming to have a retail offering enabling people to be able to freeze their own coffee at home! Stay tuned.
The New York Times has reported that there could be an unlikely solution to the issue of coffee leaf rust, which blights production of our favourite bean. It appears that the Asian trampsnail likes nothing better than chowing down on the devastating fungal infection, a fact that was discovered when scientists at the University of Michigan investigated snail faeces (what a job!) and discovered they contained leaf rust spores. Puerto Rico is less affected by leaf rust than many coffee-producing nations, and it seems that several species feed on the rust there – from snails and slugs to larvae and mites. But the Asian trampsnail seems to be the most effective devourer, eating the spores but not the coffee plant itself. It’s certainly not definitively proven that introducing an invasive species to coffee plantations across the world is a wise move, but it’s an option that will be carefully considered.
The diminutive Asian trampsnail comes to the rescue
Swap ‘n’ Go your reusable coffee cup Recycled cup swap systems such as HuskeeSwap and Green Caffeen are two home-grown Aussie solutions for coffee lovers and businesses looking to reduce their environmental impact. “We’re looking to rid the world of takeaway cups, one swap at a time,” says Michael MacFarlane, HuskeeSwap Operations Manager. Cup swap systems are exactly that. You hand over your cup sourced from the cup swap provider and the participating cafe will serve you your coffee in a commercially cleaned replacement. Supremely simple; as long as you’re not overly possessive of your drinkware.
Best in Class of the 2018 Good Design Awards, the Huskee is a ‘visually iconic and functionally sophisticated’ vessel. “The HuskeeCup features coffee husk as a raw material. Husk is an organic waste product from the milling stage of coffee production,” explains MacFarlane. Forward thinking initiatives such as these are helping cafés transition away from single-use; but they need coffee lovers to adopt them to be effective. A simple change to your daily routine could make a big difference to the planet. Visit huskee.co/swap or greencaffeen.com.au
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Take a peek at Peak This innovative filter system could be the answer to coffee’s water quality problems
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hen you consider that a cup of filter coffee is 98% water, then it’s no surprise that the quality of what comes out of the tap will have a considerable impact on the end product. The good news is that the Peak water filter jug is here to save our inconsistent brews. Designed by multiple UK barista champion Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood, in collaboration with scientist Christopher Hendon, the Peak attempts to solve one of home brewing’s biggest problems: water quality. We know from long experience that the unfiltered water that comes out of our taps can make coffee taste flat, bitter
and unremarkable. Home reverse osmosis filtration is expensive and most jug filters are ineffective. Bottled water is a workable solution but doesn’t help our attempts to reduce our plastic addiction. On unboxing the Peak, it seems slightly flimsy and fiddly to assemble – I was genuinely afraid of breaking bits. As soon as it’s assembled, though, it’s solidlooking if not the most attractive kitchen gadget. One of the Peak’s advantages is its complete adjustability, so when it’s ready to go, you rinse and prime the filter and then test your tap water to see what needs fixing. To do this you use colourcoded test strips. We found we achieved the best results when assuming the water was slightly harder than the colour indicated. The filter tailors the mineral
content to your tap water mostly by controlling the bicarbonate. Our next step was to put it through its coffee-brewing paces. In a largely unscientific comparison, we brewed two 15-minute French press brews – one with bottled water and one with Peak filtered tap water. The winner was clear. The Peak filtered water produced better balance and a far tastier brew. The only remaining issue is the price of the filters. Assuming a price of around $25 per filter, and that you will replace the filters around once every two months (judging by the manual), that works out at about 40c per day. That’s it then. No more bottled water for us. Visit fivesenses.com.au. Starter packs can be purchased for $99 and come with one filter. Spare filters are $49.95 for a pack of two.
Global grand designs Looking to while away those long hot summer days by the pool or down on the beach? Then may we suggest Café Culture: For Lovers of Coffee and Good Design. Robert Schneider’s excellent hardback book that showcases a selection of interior spaces crafted by those with both a strong sense of design aesthetics and a healthy appreciation of a good coffee experience.
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Beautifully illustrated throughout with full-colour photos that capture the feel and personality of each coffee shop, and with detailed analysis of each design and its features. It includes 37 cafés and coffee shops in 28 cities around the globe, including Australia and NZ. $59.99 RRP, The Images Publishing Group, available from booktopia.com.au
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O Will & Co Headquarters – Shop 7, Level 1, 184 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach IS SUE 01
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Ingredients
For the semifreddo 600ml good-quality double cream 75g coffee beans 2 large eggs 3 large egg yolks 100g golden caster sugar Flaked sea salt, to sprinkle For the sourdough crumbs 2 large slices of sourdough bread Knob of butter, melted Golden caster sugar, to sprinkle Berries, to serve (optional)
Method
PAIRINGS
Coffee, sourdough & sea salt semifreddo
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here’s no doubt it’s one of the best things to eat, but ice cream can seem an intimidating thing to make. The stuff you eat in ice cream parlours or scoop shops is churned in a fancy (and pretty expensive) ice cream maker, and for years I avoided attempting my own ice cream for exactly that reason. But the truth is you don’t need a fancy ice cream maker to make frozen sweet treats! Parfaits and semifreddos are lighter, mousse-like frozen desserts that are just as tasty and can easily be made at home. Earlier this summer, my friend Rav Gill (founder of Countertalk, a community for chefs and others in the hospitality industry) held an event entirely dedicated to ice cream, at which she provided a taster of her coffee and rye parfait. It was so delicious I decided I had to try to make something like it and experiment with similar flavours, so this month’s recipe is inspired by her. My coffee, sourdough and sea salt semifreddo is a great one to make ahead of a barbecue or dinner party. Serve it in chunky slices to your guests with your favourite summer berries.
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Combine 400ml cream with the coffee beans in a jug. Cover and leave to infuse in the fridge for eight to 12 hours, stirring a few times throughout. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Tear your slices of sourdough into very small pieces and toss them together with the melted butter and a sprinkle of sugar. Scatter on a baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and crisp, then set aside to cool and dry completely (you can do this two to three days in advance). Strain the infused cream and discard the coffee beans. Weigh the amount of cream you have left and top this up using the remaining cream to make 350ml in total. Your cream may have already thickened slightly from the acid in the beans, but if it hasn’t then gently whisk to form stiff peaks, taking care not to over-whisk. Put the whipped cream into the refrigerator until ready to use. Line a 23x13cm or one-litre loaf tin with cling wrap, leaving plenty of overhang to wrap over the top later. Place the eggs and sugar in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of gently simmering water. Whisk constantly for about eight minutes until the mixture becomes thick and pale. Remove from the heat and continue whisking for another six to eight minutes to cool the mixture, either by hand or with an electric whisk. When it has cooled to room temperature you should be left with a thick and glossy mixture. Gently fold the cooled egg mixture into the whipped cream, taking care not to knock too much air out. Sprinkle some sourdough crumbs and sea salt into the bottom of your prepared loaf tin and pour over half the mixture. Top with more crumbs and sea salt, and repeat with the remaining mixture. Finish with a layer of crumbs and salt. Cover with the cling film and freeze for at least eight hours. Remove from the freezer and serve in thick slices with extra sourdough crumbs and summer berries (or make a quick compote by bringing your berries to the boil with a splash of water – leave to cool before serving).
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Get ready to make the jump The bods at Single O are always looking at new ways for us to enjoy their coffee and these speciality coffee Parachutes are a perfect example of their ingenuity. Selected coffee is roasted, ground and weighed into pre-filled bags featuring clever fold out wings. These neatly hook over the sides of your cup and create a nifty single-use drip bag. “We were starting our research in Japan to set up our roastery when we found this drip bag format in the hotel and we tasted it. It was so easy to make but the coffee was very dark roasted,” explains Dion Cohen, Single O Co-founder. “We thought wouldn’t it be great to put awesome coffee in it. We talked to Yama (Single O Tokyo) who rummaged up some blank ones and filled them – delicious!” The system is super-simple and works
NEW COFFEE
a treat. Single O are regularly rotating their selection of Parachute flavours and we reckon it’s a great way to enjoy their latest Sugarplum seasonal offering; plus with a three-month shelf life they make an ideal festive gift for the coffee lover in your life. Single O Parachutes from $12.50 for a pack of five. singleo.com.au
The Caffeine tasting team are experiencing new coffees all the time – yeah we’re the lucky ones! We then share our heroes with you so that you can make discerning choices based on our discernment. Everybody’s palate is different, so we can’t guarantee that you’ll like them but we think they’re definitely worth a try if you fancy something new.
Five Senses Coffee
Suspension Espresso
Industry Beans
Easy Tiger, Blend; $12.50 for 250g Beans from Brazil and Tiger Mountain in India are blended with African Robusta to create a badass coffee that may not ‘Rip Ur Face Off’ as claimed but will give you a hefty punch in the palate. Good with, or without, milk and superb over ice.
slingtown.com
Spring, Seasonal Blend; $18 for 250g This is a straight 50-50 washed mix of Sierra Madre (Guatemala) and Aricha (Ethiopia) beans that packs more than a hint of lemon zest with an underlying glow of vanilla that is reminiscent of Crema Catalana. industrybeans.com
Monastery Coffee
Supreme
Riverdale Estate, India; $17.00 for 250g The result of a collaboration with Nathan Johnston from Cartel Roasters in Geelong, this unwashed seasonal blend has been fermented using Champagne wine yeasts creating a vibrant and fresh spritzer on your tongue. monastery.coffee
South, Espresso Blend; $14.50 for 250g They claim ‘chocolate’ and they’re not kidding; they claim ‘Maltesers’ well that’s harder to pick, but there’s definitely heaps of malty goodness. This mellow, full-bodied espresso blend had a lot of fans in the office. coffeesupreme.com
Boji, Ethiopia; $15 for 250g Produced by the smallholders of Kore Village at high altitude, 25km southwest of Yirgacheffe Town, this washed single origin is a real floral zinger. An initial burst of lemony citrus quickly calms into softer fruits as it lingers pleasantly on the taste buds. fivesenses.com.au
Share your own tasting experiences with us on Instagram or Facebook @caffeinemagaus IS SUE 01
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Taking the plunge Whatever you choose to call it, there’s an art to making good coffee in a French press as Jem Challender explains of this device. In fact, because the wire mesh in most plungers is so difficult to clean, unless you are meticulous in washing them, you’ll probably make tastier coffee without using the plunger part at all. Here’s what we recommend: Pour the water in, vigorously to begin with, ensuring that no dry clumps of coffee remain. Then, wait. Don’t be tempted to disturb the crust of coffee that forms at the top of your plunger until at least five minutes have passed. You’ll reach around 20% higher extraction yields if you don’t break the crust too early. After five minutes, you could take the plunge, although you’d be better off taking seven or eight deep stirs, not just through the crust of coffee at the top, but down to the bottom of the coffee bed as well. After the big stir, follow the gorgeous advice published in the Encyclopedia of Domestic Economy that, 165 years later, still rings true: ‘After the heaviest parts of the grounds have settled, there are still fine particles suspended for some time, and if the coffee be poured off before
these have subsided, the liquor is deficient in that transparency which is one test of its perfection; for coffee not well cleared has always an unpleasant bitter taste. In general, the coffee becomes clear by simply remaining quiet for a few minutes.’ After that final sentence, the authors do unfortunately go on to recommend using flocculants such as egg white powder, isinglass, and eel skin to clarify the brew. Please don’t. Simply leaving your coffee to ‘remain quiet’ for a little while certainly does feel like a nice approach to brewing in these turbulent times. If you do take the plunge this week, take your time… ‘How’s the serenity?’ 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. To check out the library of coffee courses from BH, scan this QR code.
Boost your performance with nootropic coffee pods If you’re someone who suffers from stress, mood swings, poor memory or lack of energy, then Savvy Mental Performance coffee pods could be your saviour. A double shot of Arabica coffee is enhanced with superfood-derived nutrients, vitamins, botanical extracts and
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nootropics – supplements that may improve cognitive function. The end result is a scientifically backed brew that claims to boost your mental performance. We asked data scientist and food blogger Radhika Chhikara (@foodholic–adventure) to try it out. “A cup in the morning made
me feel good the whole day, it changed my mood which helped me to think better. Also, the taste of this coffee is just as usual coffee which made it easy for me to switch to this healthy option.” Find out more at savvybeverage.com.au
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y the 1850s, the desire for a more transparent brew really started to move coffee tech forward. Early versions of the stovetop brewer, such as Parker’s Patent Steam Fountain or Platow’s Patent Filterer, were in common usage. But according to the Encyclopedia of Domestic Economy from 1855, the most common way of making coffee in England was more or less like making what Aussies refer to as a ‘plunger’ — but without the plunging part. Americans call this way of brewing ‘cowboy coffee’, and our English cousins call it the ‘jug’ method. In short, you put your grinds in a jug, add water, stir the mixture, and then let it stand long enough for the grinds to sink to the bottom. A patent was lodged in 1852 by Frenchmen, Mayer and Delforge which certainly looks like a plunger — though it appears this design never entered production. The first patent for a plunger that did take off was lodged in 1929 by Italian, Attilio Calimani and Giulio Moneta, and ascribes the invention to Ugo Paolini. Six years later, Italian, Bruno Cassol patented the spring that helps the filter seal more effectively against the edges of the carafe. In 1957, another Italian, Faliero Bondanini, patented a version that was a huge seller in France. Reportedly, nearly every French home owned one by the end of the 1960s. Finally, the Brits got in on the act when Household Articles Ltd. introduced their version in the 1960s, they called it La Cafetiére. So clearly, the design wasn’t exclusively French — yet Americans still refer to it as the French press. Australians generally prefer things to do what they say on the tin. We say ‘runners’ when referring to shoes that we run in. The whipper snipper whips and snips the grass, and is named accordingly. So, for us, the French press is naturally called a plunger. Plungers fall into the category of ‘immersion’ brewing devices, which includes syphons, AeroPresses, and ibriks. Basically, anytime you have grinds steeping in water rather than having water percolating through them, it’s an immersion brew. The team at Barista Hustle have been writing an online course called Immersion. During our research, a realisation dawned on us — one that calls our Aussie naming system into question. We found that the plunger really is the least crucial part
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A U S T R A L I A
Christmas Giftaway! Join us on Facebook and Instagram for weekly gift giveaways. We will pick two items from our Christmas Gift Guide (see page 26) and award them to two lucky winners every Wednesday throughout December. Head over to our social media pages to get involved.
@caffeinemagaus
Terms and Conditions: Entry is open to Australian residents 18 years and over. Promotion commences at 9.00am AEST 01/12/20 and final entries close at 11.59pm AEST 31/12/20. Maximum one (1) eligible entry per person throughout the promotional period. Entrants may enter the promotion by liking both the Caffeine magazine Australia Facebook and Instagram pages (@caffeinemagaus) and re-posting this photo during the promotional period; Entrants must complete all three actions to be eligible. Prizes are valued at no more than their manufacture price at the time of publishing and entrants should be aware that these prizes are ex-demo stock and accordingly may be missing instructions or original packaging. Prizes are not transferable or exchangeable and cannot be taken as cash. Caffeine magazine Australia accepts no responsibility for the functionality of the condition of any prizes issued. Caffeine magazine Australia’s decision is final in any disputes. One prize will be selected randomly and awarded each week for the duration of the promotion. Prize winners will be announced every Wednesday at 7pm AEST on the Facebook and Instagram pages associated with Caffeine magazine Australia (@caffeinemagaus) and winners will be notified via our Instagram and/or Facebook page at this same time. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Facebook or Instagram. For full terms and conditions see facebook.com/caffeinemagaus.
THE GRIND
...is the C Price? It’s crucial to the production of coffee – and it’s currently having a devastating impact, as Stuart Ritson explains
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ISSUE 01
Buy right
(ICA). However, with the advance of free markets and globalisation, these quotas were removed and ever since the price of your daily cup has been pegged to the stock market and the supply from the world’s two largest coffee producers: Brazil and Vietnam.
Rock bottom
These two countries are huge players in the coffee market, accounting for almost half of all global production. Over the past year, Brazil, in particular, has seen great harvests; and with large supply comes a reduction in price. The market works, right? But unfortunately, in that time – longer, in fact – the C Price has consistently been lower than the cost of production for many farmers. When you take inflation into account, in May
Speciality coffee isn’t bought and sold this way. High-quality coffee commands a higher price. Your local roaster or speciality café is undoubtedly buying considerably more expensive coffees. And if you buy a special microlot – with the farmer’s name on the bag – the chances are this coffee was bought for a price three to ten times higher than that of the commodity market. The point to take away from this is that if you are buying non-speciality coffee, you are almost certainly helping to perpetuate a dangerously unfair market. If you want to do something to help the situation, buy speciality coffee from a roaster you trust. You can also support one of the great charities working in the coffee sector to provide business assistance, advice in agronomy and other kinds of support. The C Price is causing problems that seem monumental, but don’t assume you are powerless. Just as a small drop in the C Price can cause adversity in producing countries, a small change in how you buy coffee could make a huge difference to coffee growers everywhere. Stuart Ritson is director of European sales at Café Imports
B E NT L E Y C R E AT IV E
n the most basic terms, the C Price is – as you might have guessed – the Coffee Price. However, it’s far more complex than the cost of your morning cup. The true meaning of the C Price has implications for millions of coffee producers around the world. Let’s get all the facts in order first. The C Price is the value of coffee as a commodity. Specifically the tastier, less hardy arabica variety coffee and not the more caffeinated robusta. The coffee market trades at New York’s Intercontinental Exchange and the price is set in US dollars. The price traded represents the value of one pound (1lb) of arabica coffee. So if the C Price is $1, that means $1 USD buys 453.6g of green unroasted coffee prepared for export. Every step of preparing the coffee – milling, bagging, export documents – is included in the C Price. And actually, you can’t buy 453.6g of green coffee for $1 because the smallest quantity you can trade as a commodity is one full container, which is 37,500lb (17,010kg). Even more confusingly, an actual container load of coffee weighs around 42,000lb (19,051kg). As with any stock or commodity, the price is driven by supply and demand. When there is a good harvest and supply goes up, prices go down; when demand outstrips supply, prices go up. The C Price has nothing to do with quality or cost of production. Before 1989, coffee prices were largely kept stable through quotas enforced by the International Coffee Agreement
2019 the C Price was the lowest it has been in almost 16 years at just $0.89. Few coffee producers can make a profit when the market is this weak. The cost of production is between $1.20 and $2.50 per lb in many places – substantially above the C Price. James Harper, who hosts the Filter Stories podcast, shared this quoted from Santos, an El Salvadorian farm worker: “I’m there all year long, in the wet, doing hard work. Imagine that you spend a hundred dollars [to produce a batch of coffee] and you sell it for $80.” The effect of low prices is serious. For many farmers, especially in Latin America, coffee is their only source of income. Arnulfo Perez Diaz, a Mexican producer, sums up their situation: “We depend on coffee. It buys all we have to eat – corn, beans, sugar, all of it. When coffee prices go down, we don’t have enough to buy these things, the basics to eat.” Farmers may be forced to abandon their farms and look elsewhere for work. The Central American migrant caravan of people fleeing north to the US and beyond, which hit the headlines in late 2018 but is an ongoing issue, is in part caused by the current coffee price crisis.
THE GRIND
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Distributed in Australia by Coffee Tools Distributing | www.coffeetools.supply IS SUE 01
17
G E L AT O PA I R I N G
Coffee & chill Pair artisan gelato with coffee for a refreshing, summery taste sensation with a kick. Photography Sheradon Dublin
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rowned. That’s the literal meaning of affogato, the Italian dessert that pairs vanilla’s illustrious sweetness with the bitter jolt of espresso, removing the nuances of each (or indeed drowning them) in favour of the appealing contrast of hot and cold, brown and white, sweet and bitter. That contrast is a cornerstone of coffee culture; creating harmonious drinks out of near-opposites – mainly, if not exclusively, espresso and milk. And on the spectrum of flavour that speciality coffee provides, the concept of pairing coffee and ice cream brings nearly infinite possibilities, allowing you to riff on flavours, temperatures and brew methods to create experiences more akin to that of a cocktail. Buoyant, not drowned. Sam Crowl of the family-run Cow and the Moon gelateria in Sydney’s inner west, is a master of teasing out those subtleties. He learnt his trade from his parents John and Wendy who opened their first venue in 2003 after many years in the gelato industry. Seven years and countless scoops later Cow and the Moon opened it’s doors in Enmore. The Crowl family ambition has always been to produce sorbets and gelatos that cater for the ecelctic tastes of their customers. while capturing the seasonal flavours of Australia. Winning awards for their creations is a regular and welldeserved occurence, but winning the Gelato World Tour title in 2014 is the feather in their hat that they are most proud of. Mandorla Affogato is a mouth-watering almond affogato flavour that combines nuts sourced from South Australia, with single origin coffee, on a Madagascan vanilla base. Their strong relationship with Single O coffee roasters in Sydney’s Surry Hills, makes coffee pairing a big part of their world. The following three combinations are built in that spirit, with guidance for replicating them with the coffees you may have to hand. And there’s even an affogato. You’ll find Cow and the Moon Gelato Bar and Café at 181 Enmore Road, Enmore, Sydney, NSW.
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Dulce de Leche gelato with Paradox blend espresso We’ll start with the classic, with the aim of reducing its bluntness by using complementary flavours. Cow and the Moon’s Dulce de Leche – a gelato made with Argentinian butterscotch – has a distinctly fudgy flavour that is well-paired with coffee. The espresso blend exudes tones of crisp fruit and dark chocolate that are perfectly matched to the sticky sweetness of the frozen dessert. The natural bitter characteristics of the coffee mingle perfectly with the creamy textures and folds of the gelato.
Instructions
Brew Single O’s Paradox blend as a double espresso. Pair with Cow and the Moon’s Dulce de Leche gelato, either as an affogato or separately – whatever floats your boat.
I S S UE 01
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G E L AT O PA I R I N G
Watermelon sorbet with Tarrazú Costa Rica Parachute coffee Single origin coffees are a perfect representation of what so many people love about speciality coffee: the wide spectrum of flavour. For this pairing we chose a hot brewed coffee made with Single O’s Tarrazú Costa Rica Parachute, think tea bags with a single origin coffee. The clean, naturally sweet and hydrating flavours of Cow and the Moon’s seasonally-sourced watermelon sorbet is a perfect suitor for the wacky fruity notes associated with coffee from the Dota region of Costa Rica. The hot and cold temperatures add contrast to a pairing that is otherwise about harmony and balance.
Instructions
Brew a Single O Tarrazú Costa Rica Parachute with 200g of hot water for three minutes in your preferred cup or glass.
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Single O latte gelato with Kamvara cold brew coffee This pairing uses a cold brew coffee to emphasise the pronounced effect that brewing with cold water has on perceived acidity. In this instance we have used a washed single origin sourced by Single O from the Kamvara Estate in Kenya. The bold flavour profiles blend seamlessly with the seasonal single origin coffee that Cow and the Moon use in their latte gelato.
Instructions
Brew 65g of Single O Kamvara with one litre of cold water – cold brew will stay stable in the fridge for several days so need to drink it all at once. Drop the gelato into your cup to create a non-alcoholic coffee stout.
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Great coffee shouldn’t cost the earth Caffeine’s editor-at-large Tim Ridley explains how to lower the environmental impact of your coffee-drinking habit Illustrations Ranganath Krishnamani
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he world is changing – literally. Solid, liquid and gas carbons that have been trapped in the ground for millennia are being burned and their byproducts released into the atmosphere. As the amount of carbon dioxide increases in the atmosphere, heat that otherwise would escape into space is trapped. Climate change is the result of this increasing amount of heat in Earth’s geosphere. As a delicate crop best grown at moderate altitude between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, coffee is particularly affected by climate change, and farmers across the globe are actively working to mitigate this. Higher temperatures and more rain later in the season are two key factors lowering crop yields and increasing the prevalence of disease. As a result, many traditional coffee-growing regions are expected to become unviable as the sweet spot for coffee production moves to higher altitudes in different regions. Not only will this influence the quantity, style and quality of coffees produced, it will also drive for massive social and economic challenges as farmers are forced to transition to other crops or relocate. My quest to cut my coffee carbon footprint began when I discovered that a single cup of coffee is responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions. A recent study found that a cappuccino has a carbon footprint of approximately 250g of carbon dioxide – the same produced by travelling 40km on a train. Coffee is fuelling the modern world and raising its productivity, but it’s doing so while contributing more than its fair share of carbon. The goods news is there are simple changes we can make today. Here are five ways to reduce your coffee carbon impact.
CARBON FOOTPRINT
1
Buy locally
Despite the high temperatures required, roasting is typically so energy-efficient that the energy used to transport the coffee from the roastery to your home has a greater environmental impact. You can significantly lower the carbon footprint of your cup by opting for a local roaster, or better yet pick up your coffee while already at your local coffee shop. There are literally hundreds of roasters across the country, and most regions have several high-quality options from which to choose. There are a variety of carbon-neutral delivery companies, but air-shipping coffee from a foreign roaster is a surefire way to dramatically increase your cup’s carbon footprint.
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Choose greener beans
To produce a bumper, viable crop, coffee shrubs need fertilisation – one study found that 1kg of Brazilian coffee typically requires 1kg of fertiliser. Conventional inorganic fertilisers have significantly higher greenhouse gas emissions than traditional organic
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Waste not, want not
Coffee is precious. Every bean has passed through dozens of hands and travelled thousands of miles. Each kilogram of coffee requires about 1.3kg of water, 1kg of fertiliser, 100g of diesel
fertilisers, such as manure or waste farming products. And while the vast majority of emissions occur in countries where coffee is consumed, rather than grown, you can reduce your carbon footprint by choosing to buy those coffees produced with organic fertilisers. Organic production should not be confused with organic certification. For a farm to obtain certification it needs to be verified by an accredited, local controlling body. However, many farms use some organic fertilisers without certification, simply because they are readily available and cheaper. While most baristas will handle too many coffees to know the specific production of all of them, most coffee roasters should know the fertilisers used and most definitely all good green bean brokers will. Much of this information should be readily available in the coffee’s specification on the broker’s website, or can be found with a simple internet search. Another thing to look out for is that the beans weren’t airshipped from origin to the roaster – an expensive and surprisingly common route for small, rare lots.
and 10g of pesticides to produce, and is responsible for about 5kg of carbon dioxide. Make sure you savour and enjoy every cup, and don’t let any go to waste. Buy only the beans you need and waste as little as possible. I have a special “magic mix” jar, into which I tip the remnants of a bag when I don’t have a full dose. I’ve enjoyed some of the best – and worst! – brews of my life from this magic mix… I S S UE 01
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CARBON FOOTPRINT
Red herrings
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Get the most out of your energy
A portion of the carbon footprint of any individual cup of coffee comes from the energy required to heat the water. In fact, around half the carbon dioxide emissions of an espresso or black coffee are from electricity use alone. To cut your energy use at home, brew using methods that require less electricity such as pour-over and cafetière, and avoid energy-intensive methods such as espresso. Only heat the hot water you need, keeping the amount of water in your kettle at the minimum, and avoid equipment that heats a lot of hot water to make a small amount of coffee. Emissions calculations are different for coffee shops, where multiple cups of coffee are made from a single machine, such as bulk brew and espresso. In these cases, electricity use can be allocated over multiple cups of coffee, making them comparatively more efficient. That said, there’s still lots of work we need to do as an industry to reduce the carbon footprint of coffee-making equipment.
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5
It’s good to be a mug
Kick out capsules
Sack it off
A Canadian study has compared the use of ceramic cups in a coffee shop with single-use paper cups, plastic reusable take-out cups and insulated mugs and found that, from an environmental perspective, staying in and drinking coffee from a ceramic cup is the best option. The break-even point for a plastic reusable cup is around 20 uses, compared with a single-use paper cup, and for a more complex-tomanufacture travel mug it’s typically 300 to 1,000 uses. A single-use paper cup with a lid comprises about 5% of the carbon emission of your flat white or latte, so a reusable cup lowers your carbon footprint by a percentage point or two.
The idea that capsules are better for the environment because they use less coffee is a bit misleading, except in very specific circumstances. This claim is usually based on a study that compared coffee made from capsules with a brew cycle of a Moccamaster, and assumed 50% of the coffee brewed on the latter would be wasted and that the hot plate would be on for 37 minutes. Another study assumed an 80% aluminium capsule recycling rate (in reality it’s probably closer to 10%). If these figures are accurate for your office or home, you can be reassured you’re making a small difference; otherwise any other brewing method would reduce your footprint.
Used coffee sacks may pile up in roasteries, but their carbon footprint is so small they’re typically – and deliberately – excluded from environmental studies. The sacks offer real benefit by preventing spoilage during transportation and storage, and there are a number of initiatives for their reuse. You may have seen sacks turned into cushions and totes, but you may not know that the gorillas at London Zoo sleep on them, and that a producer in Guatemala has established an export industry by creating denim coffee sacks that are turned into garments and merchandise once the coffee has been transferred.
Milk matters
Over half the emissions of a flat white or caffè latte come from milk. The combination of fertilisers and bovine flatulence and burping contributes greatly to greenhouse gas emissions. Not all milks are equal, though: while much of Australia’s milk production is on an industrial scale, some smaller,
specialist producers are working on farming methods and technologies to lower their environmental impact more generally and methane and carbon emissions more specifically. For example, 30% reductions in emissions can be achieved by changing the cows’ feed. There are also a variety of alternative milks, or mylks, now available. The environmental impact of these varies depending on their ingredients, but oat typically has a lower carbon footprint than alternative options.
S OU R C E S : B B C NE W S, E NV IR ON ME N TA L P R O F IL E O F B R A Z IL IA N G R E E N C O F F E E (F E RTI LI SE R) C OLT R O E T A L 2 0 0 6, K E W GA R D E NS, K IL LIA N E T AL 2 0 1 3, POO R E A ND NE M E C E K 201 9
Think you’re already doing your bit for the environment? It may be time to think again…
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CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE
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01 Bruer Cold Brew System
Create your own delicious cold drip without the fuss of a full set up. Practical, affordable and aesthetically pleasing to boot. Price $119.00 cremacoffeegarage.com.au 02 Acaia Lunar Scale
The ultimate in water-resistant weighing for the hardcore coffee bean – it even hooks up via bluetooth to give insights and recipes. Price $355.95 cremacoffeegarage.com.au
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03 Flavour Wheel Poster
Display your passion for coffee and impress your friends with your taste vocabulary, and perception of coffee flavours and textures. Price $29.95 cremacoffeegarage.com.au
Gifts
galore
Shopping for someone who’s crazy for caffeine? Here’s a few pointers to what to get for the coffee lover who hasn’t quite got everything Photography eroomcreative 04
SCAN THE CODE Use your smartphone to discover more and buy any of the products in our Christmas Gift Guide.
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ISSUE 01
05 04 Cafelat Robot
Ironically, this robot uses no electrics; plus it’s plastic-free. Quirky and unconventional, it extracts a fine espresso while giving you an upper-body workout. Price $599.00 coffeeparts.com.au
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05 Kanso Hiku Hand Grinder
Timeless design meets precision engineering. This sleek and compact manual grinder has stainless steel burrs that take the guesswork out of achieving a perfect grind. Price $349.00 RRP coffeetools.supply
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06 Diptyque Florabellio
Smelling of coffee may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but this intriguing fragrance possesses the merest hint of roasted coffee. Price $187.00 for 100ml mecca.com.au 07
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Coffee Pin
Wear your passion with pride in an understated and stylish way. Price $20.85 hardtofind.com.au 08 Fellow Stagg Electric Kettle
A stunning electric kettle designed with pour-over coffee lovers in mind. Variable temperature management and an elegant gooseneck spout for increased pour control. Price $259.00 cremacoffeegarage.com.au
Ceramic Dripper
Elegant ceramic drippers in a variety of sizes and patterns to suit your brew style - brass ring sold separately. Price from $20.00 sipimports.com.au
08 NOTE: PRICES CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRINT
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10 Coffee Lovers Jigsaw
If you love a jigsaw at Christmas then this coffee-themed puzzle is a must. Price $34.95 hardtofind.com.au 11 BOD Cold Brew System
Unique, convenient and lightweight, the BOD takes the fuss (and the mess) out of brewing your own subtle and sweet toddy cold brew. Price $80.00 RRP coffeetools.supply
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CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE
12 Coffee Candle
Feast your senses on the invigorating scent of fresh roasted coffee beans. Perfect for that coffee kick when it should be wine-time! Price $45.00 thecandlelibrary.com
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13 Bialetti Mini Express 2 Cup
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A clever and compact stove-top brewer for espresso-style coffee in a flash. Ideal for any home, office, or camping trip. Price $79.95 alternativebrewing.com.au 14 Moccamaster Classic
Batch brew filter coffee to suit your taste with this classically iconic handmade machine. Oozing with retro-cool. Price $475.00 nordcoffee.com.au 15
Peak Water Jug
Improve your brew with the world’s first adjustable gravity-fed water filter. You will literally taste the difference. Price $99.00 fivesenses.com.au 16
PUSH Tamper
If metronomically consistent tamping is your thing then this ergomic and supertactile little beauty is just for you. Price $249.00 coffeetools.supply 17 Coffee Socks
Put your feet up and get your message across without uttering a syllable. Price $21.00 hardtofind.com.au
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Keeping it Mobile When the café is just too far away
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Extract a quality espresso while you’re on the move. This lava red model is part of the Elements limited edition and has it’s own fitted case. Price $115.00 RRP
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D Hario Smart G
Hand Grinder
This USB-powered hand held motor gives you all the benefits of a hand grinder without flexing a muscle. Price $75.95
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B Brew-It Stick
E Delter Coffee Press
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Perfect for all you infusers out there. Simply fill with your favourite grind or leaves, add hot water and brew up on the spot. Price $39.90 C AeroPress Go
All the convenience of it’s bigger brother with a Russian doll-like experience that includes it’s own cup measuring spoon and stirrer. Price $55.00 RRP
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Regain control of your brew. Achieve quality and consistency with this compact and easy-to-clean piece of kit. Price $49.95 F Trinity Zero
Aussie-designed pocketsized hybrid coffee maker. Pumping out a stronger coffee than a French press in half the time. Price $49.95
cremacoffeegarage.com.au
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SCAN THE CODE Use your smartphone to discover more and buy any of the products in our Christmas Gift Guide.
I S S UE 01
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NOTE: PRICES CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRINT
A Wacaco Nanopresso
CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE
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SCAN THE CODE Use your smartphone to discover more and buy any of the products in our Christmas Gift Guide.
Cup Corner The vessel is an important part of the experience
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A KeepCup Brew
The world’s first barista standard reusable cup is still a great way to sip your brew out of glass. Price from $24.00 au.keepcup.com B Fellow Junior Cups
and Big Jo’ Mug
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C Huskee Cup
A unique Australian planetprotecting creation and the only thing you need to qualify for the HuskeeSwap system. Price from $16.00 huskee.co D Nomad by Loveramics
Stylish simplicity and the only dual wall ceramic re-usable on the market... apparently! Price $40.00 sipimports.com.au
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Loveramics
Beautifully classic cups, saucers and mugs with a myriad of colour options to match your mood. Price from $16.60 for an 80ml egg cup sipimports.com.au F Shuh Duh Fuh Cup
Let people around you know what you’re thinking even while you’re drinking. Price $44.99 F hardtofind.com.au
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Mr Black Espresso Martini Kit 18
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All you need to make the perfect Espresso Martini. Mr Black cold brew, First Press cocktail mixer and premium shaker, strainer and Japanese-style jigger! Price $119.00 mrblack.co
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19 Baratza Sette 270Wi Grinder
The Big Daddy of grinders will perfectly pulverise your beans to a precise size and weight, while also learning and adjusting as you use it. Price $715.00 fivesenses.com.au
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20 Pulcina Espresso Maker
Combining illycaffè technology and Alessi design. The unique shape preserves the qualities of the coffee. Price $172 top3.com.au
21 Barista Hustle Unlimited
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23 Varia Multi Brewer
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25 The Original NitroPress
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Coffee scrub your body with a bit of old school sass. This limited edition kit includes a complimentary reusable cup. Price $39.95 frankbody.com 25
Infuse your brews with pure nitrogen for a thick and creamy texture – ideal for Espresso Martinis. Great looking too. Price $229.00 cremacoffeegarage.com.au
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26 Hario V60 Metal Dripper
Quick and convenient pour-over perfection is now available in super-sexy matte black. Price $91.95 cremacoffeegarage.com.au
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Roasting At Origin
It used to be expensive and impractical – but farmers are now able to roast and export coffee, with a huge positive impact on their income, says Phil Wain equipment and funding, but mainly for two reasons; roasted coffee costs far more to export than green coffee and, most importantly of all, roasted coffee needs to be consumed fresh. However, there are ways to extend the shelf life of roasted coffee, namely packing it in nitrogen or argon. And as anyone who has tasted freshly picked coffee that’s been roasted at altitude will tell you, it still tastes remarkably fresh even after shipping. In Colombia, Amor Perfecto – a company that has played a large part in the development of the local speciality scene – is leading the way on exporting roasted coffee. Its plan is to offer good prices to its extensive network of Colombian coffee farmers, then export the roasted coffee. Amor Perfecto’s approach is twopronged. The first is nitrogen-flushed Illy-style cans of good-quality singleorigin coffee for the general US market. This way it can offer the best prices for farmers while undercutting the prices of US producers. It has attracted significant investment for this already. The second aspect focuses on singleestate microlot bags with QR codes highlighting transparency from farm to roastery. The plan is to bring these coffees to subscribers worldwide.
For the love of coffee
When Amor Perfecto’s founder Luis Fernando Vélez (left) was starting out in the late 1990s, he bought a Diedrich roaster – only to discover that roasting speciality coffee in Colombia was then
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Bogotá, Colombia’s capital, where coffee is now starting to be roasted
almost impossible. The best coffee was kept for export and licences for roasting were prohibitive. Even an attempt to enter the 2001 World Barista Championship was foiled by the lack of a recognised Colombian guild. Eventually, the law was changed. After taking part in the 2003 Championship, Luis organised Colombia’s first barista championship and has trained countless local coffee professionals since, helping to drive Colombia’s shift from a producing country, drinking only the lowest-quality leftover coffee, to a country of coffee professionals and quality coffee experiences. Roasting at origin may have a huge effect on the coffee value chain, but even a small transfer of the value of coffee to origin countries in this way could be significant. Plans are already in place to export the Amor Perfecto model to producers in Panama, and
R A N DO M I NST IT UT E /U N S PL A S H
B
ack in 2019, a UK newspaper article headlined “From bean to cup, what goes into the cost of your coffee?” caused a global stir. It told its readers what most of us in the coffee community already knew: farmers and other workers in producing countries receive only a tiny fraction of the price of a cup of coffee. The report estimated that two cents per cup of speciality arabica goes to the farmer, with around another 12 cents to processing and transport costs in the producing country. Many in the industry are keen to explore ways to allow those in coffee-producing nations a greater share of the value chain. Roasting coffee at origin could have a dramatic impact – what Silicon Valley types call a market disruption. For a long time, roasting at origin could never compete with roasting in consuming countries, partly because of access to
INDUSTRY
many other producing nations have similar potential – in fact, origin roasting programmes have been initialised in Rwanda and Ethiopia. Moyee Coffee is run by Dutch innovator Guido van Staveren in collaboration with Ethiopian entrepreneurs, roasters and farmers. Sourcing and roasting in Ethiopia, Guido has said his aim is to share more of the value created with producing countries using a concept known as FairChain. According to Moyee’s figures, if Ethiopia were to roast all its own beans and export the finished product, the country could triple its income to over US$2.5 billion a year – and start to move beyond aid. Origin Roasted is a company based in the French Alps that is working with Ethiopian roaster Aster Buna to have roasted coffee delivered. In Rwanda, RWASHOSCCO (Rwanda Small Holder Specialty Coffee Company) is a green coffee exporter that also exports roasted coffee, currently mostly dark roast but adaptable to customers’ desires. Gorilla’s Coffee, run by the Rwanda Farmers Coffee Company facility, also exports dark roasted beans from Kigali.
For local people
One advantage of the Amor Perfecto model is that it allows the project to be entirely locally owned. Foreign initiatives are usually well-meaning and can be very helpful, but local ownership and control are of more benefit to the
Above and above right: locally roasted Colombian and Ethiopian coffee Right: Castillo varietal farming, with nails painted to indicate the correct cherry ripeness
producing country in both the short and the long term. There is also added value in sharing expertise with local producers: Colombian companies like La Palma y El Tucán and organisations like Cenicafe are upping everyone’s game. One example is in the quality of cup scores for varietals such as Castillo, long considered a compromise varietal, trading flavour quality for disease resistance. Farmers would pick the
If Ethiopia were to roast all its own beans and export them, it could triple its income coffee cherries as they turned the colour that indicated the maximum ripeness for the traditional Caturra coffee cherries; recently it was discovered that Castillo cherries benefit from being left on the plant to turn a deeper shade, leading to a sweeter taste. This simple adjustment has prompted an improvement in Castillo cup quality. Luis Fernando Vélez has suggested pickers paint their nails to match the perfect colour of cherries that are ready to be harvested.
Value added
So should Australian coffee roasters be looking over their shoulders? Probably not yet, although some large-scale US roasters could be set to lose market share (thanks to their geographic proximity to producing countries if nothing else). The coffee value chain undoubtedly needs a shake-up, and roasting at origin will change things in numerous ways, with impact on aspects such as carbon footprint and consumer perception of freshness – we will continue to explore these in greater depth in future issues of Caffeine. One positive consequence of this shift is greater choice for consumers, and there’s no doubt that tasting coffee that has been freshly roasted at origin is an exciting sensory experience. But it’s the effect on growers and producing countries’ economies that’s most important, and it could be considerable. Roasting at origin fulfils many of speciality coffee’s aims of sharing the income more widely with producers and enhancing quality and transparency. The industry is truly evolving, and exciting times lie ahead.
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MoistureMatters Moisture meters have been shown up as fallible – so should we stop relying on tech?
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he moisture levels of green coffee can drastically affect the roast profile and consequently the taste of the drink produced. If moisture levels are too low, it can result in fragile beans that are difficult to roast to a speciality standard. That’s why it’s always been important to monitor moisture levels, and until now there has been complete faith from farmers and buyers that these levels remained constant – there are many digital meters on the market to ensure the coffee is dried to an agreed standard. However, a recent discovery by coffee farmers has shown this not to be the case. A problem that has gone largely unnoticed is inconsistency between various meters. In fact, there are a number of cases where producers and green bean buyers measuring the same coffee have produced drastically different readings. After realising the problem and looking into the issue, producers at Brazilian farm Daterra discovered that in October 2017 the Brazilian National Institute of Metrology, Standardisation & Industrial Quality had issued an ordinance demanding that all manufacturers of digital moisture meters follow the ISO 6673 calibration. Unfortunately, this information was not clearly disseminated globally by many of coffee’s governing bodies, so buyers had not caught up. Daterra’s solution was to devise a conversion chart to reduce the disparity. This chart enables buyers and roasters to anticipate the difference in moisture level readings between different meter calibrations and adjust their processes accordingly. Daterra’s Gabriel Moreira also points out that sensory analysis – an important component of roasting and testing coffee – is too often overlooked. While they have excellent technology at
"buyers and producers are relying too heavily on the data rather than trusting their ability to judge quality through touch, sight and taste"
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their disposal, buyers and producers are relying too heavily on the data rather than trusting their ability to judge quality through touch, sight and taste. Following the efforts of these coffee farmers, it is now up to the rest of the coffee industry to do what it can to maintain parity between all parts of the supply chain. Perhaps the most important lesson is that our industry needs to re-evaluate how much it relies on technology to judge quality, and return to more traditional methods.
If you’d like to know more about how coffee is roasted, Coffee Roasting Made Simple is a delightfully accessible book. Author Raimond Feil has a wonderful way with an analogy – his comparison of the fruit ripening process with roasting and brewing is inspired. It is mainly aimed at coffee roasters and Raimond is unafraid to get technical,
but you certainly won’t need to be a roaster to find something of interest, and it’s genuinely demystifying about the process. With 12 years’ experience as a speciality roaster, Raimond has a clear passion for condensing and communicating his knowledge. eBook USD$39 / AUD$53, coffeeroastingbook.com
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THE PLACE TO FIND REAL T HAEU PS LT A C E TA O FS ITNODR IREESA L R A L I N AUSTRALIAN STORIES I S S UE X X
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Bitter Barista
Latte art competitions have been milking it for too long – they used to be fun, but now their focus on the wrong things is harming barista skills, says our cantankerous columnist
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person and taking instruction from another will tell you, it’s difficult, but the best baristas are brilliant at it. Latte art contests are systematically reducing these essential aspects of the role to a barista’s ability to perform a single task. Having the ability to ignore the noise and time pressures around you to focus solely on what’s immediately in front of you is the opposite of the traits a barista needs to succeed in their job. And, crucially, we’re getting worse baristas because of it. Just ask any coffee shop proprietor off the record and after a few drinks.
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legendary Ultimate Barista Fighter in the UK, was a personal failure; I walked home afterwards, tipsy and determined to become a better barista. But there’s only so much milk this Bitter Barista can stomach. What started out as a highlight of the calendar, a learning opportunity and a chance to have fun with my peers, has become monotonous and dreary. The problem is not so much that latte art events exist, but that it’s pretty much all that exists for the up-and-coming barista. The term barista came to English from Italian, where it simply means someone who serves customers at the bar. This means they need to exhibit flair, conversation, competency and proficiency in their service. As anyone who’s tried to make something while holding a conversation with one
he expansion of the latte art competition format from community meet-up, to event, to competition circuit is related to the rise of sponsorship. Organising an event and competing are time-consuming and expensive activities, so I’m not suggesting that people should be doing all this just for the love of it, or lambasting the original proponents of events that made great contributions to the coffee community. My criticism is squarely targeted at the unimaginative, mediocre, middle-tier marketing managers who think the best way to connect with their audience is to organise yet another latte art contest. In the five years pre-pandemic, barely a month would go by over without a brand approaching us about hosting such an event. For the record, we reject them out of hand. So much time, effort and money is wasted – in the case of the milk, literally, down the drain. And it’s not just the cost in cash; as you’ll have read in our feature “Good coffee shouldn’t cost the earth” on page 22, much of the carbon footprint of a latte comes from the cows. Maybe there’s no point crying over all this spilt milk, but to me, latte art events have now gone more than a little sour.
MA RT IN K IN G D OM
here’s a time and place for everything. In Italy, the country that gave us the espresso, the only time for a cappuccino is first thing in the morning. In the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia, dairy is typically processed into other products to extend its life in the hot climate, and butter is traditionally added to black coffee. Closer to home there’s a different attitude. The abundance of pasture land and widespread lactose tolerance means milk is widely consumed by Aussies at breakfast, lunch and dinner. And local baristas, it seems, share that love – just look at their latte art. The rise of speciality coffee and the rise of latte art go hand in hand. A heart or rosetta topping one’s flat white or cappuccino quickly became a hallmark of cup quality, and a key point of difference from the high street coffee chains. At first, my baristas struggled to pour even the most basic of requests, but this changed rapidly and soon their rosettas were served with dozens of leaves, while it wasn’t uncommon to see peacocks and unicorns. Some shops cashed in by offering latte art courses to consumers. While some of speciality’s more serious founders wondered whether this was good for the industry’s reputation, in part because some of the enthusiasts’ efforts were at least vaguely phallic, most coffee shops realised the social media potential and began to hire baristas who could paint pretty pictures with protein. Some described themselves as artists, thanks largely to latte art competitions. Celebrating this unique aspect of the baristas’ craft, these events quickly became a rallying point for coffee folk to socialise, champion the role of the barista and create a little spectacle. My first barista competition, inspired by the
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PROMOTION
the caffeinated tipple Sit back and savour a piece of history with an Aussie spin on one of the oldest cocktails in the cocktail book
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e’ve teamed up with our good friends at Mr Black to bring you a fully caffeinated spin on the Old Fashioned – one of the world’s oldest mixed drinks. Traditionally made with whisky, bitters and sugar, we’ve lost the sugar and added Mr Black cold brew coffee liqueur. The bold and balanced mixture of Australian vodka and ethically sourced coffee perfectly compliments the subtle sweet tones of Starward Two-Fold double-grain whisky from Melbourne.
Cold Fashioned 30ml Mr Black coffee liqueur 30ml Starward Two-Fold Australian Whisky Two dashes of orange bitters Preparation is super simple. Stir the ingredients together and serve on the rocks – or an extra large rock in our case. Garnish with a twist of orange if you’re feeling fruity!
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This is the reuse revolution.
KeepCup is the world’s first barista-standard reusable cup. Designed for drinking pleasure on the go, diverting billions of throwaways from landfill every year. Use it and join the movement. Reuse it and change the world.
keepcup.com
