Beanscene Mag June 2022 by Prime Creative Media

A World-Class Coffee Magazine

JUNE 2022

Keep the ﬂow Putting trust in technology to keep businesses moving

JUNE 2022

Building a brand through creativity

Changing the conversation on caffeine limits beanscenemag.com.au

Enjoy the ultimate gap year in the USA No.81 ISSN 1449-2547

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Raising sustainability standards

PLATINUM SPONSORS

SUPPORTING SPONSORS

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MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COFFEE EXPO 27 - 30 SEPTEMBER 2022 MELBOURNE CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE WWW.INTERNATIONALCOFFEEEXPO.COM

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JUNE 2022

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ONE LESS FOOTPRINT

FROM SOURCE TO SHELF

contents NEWS STUFF ON THE SCENE

INDUSTRY PROFILES

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KNOWLEDGE LEADER

DC Specialty Coffee GM Rob Stewart on building a brand through creativity CELEBRITY CHEF

George Calombaris talks frappés, fulfilment, and the future

THE ULTIMATE GAP YEAR

Bluestone Lane shares the opportunity of a lifetime A PIONEER WITH PURPOSE

SUGAR, SPICE AND ALL THINGS NICE

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Arkadia Beverages presents its range of chai and drinking chocolate WHAT’S IN THE CUP

Penny Wolff explores caffeine levels and how little people know about what they’re drinking WORLD CLASS

Riverina Fresh celebrates its centenary year as official WBC milk supplier

COMMUNITY NOTES

Join CafeSmart 2022 and help combat homelessness

MERLO GOES GREEN

Merlo Coffee is on a mission to obtain carbon neutrality

NO TIME TO WASTE

BioPak on the importance of reducing food and beverage waste RECIRCULATING HEAT FOR ALL ROAST SIZES

GIVING THE EXTRA 1 PER CENT

Coffee Tools Distributing’s big goals with bigger impact NOMAD’S CARBON FOOTPRINT FEAT

Why Nomad Coffee Group is determined to become Australia’s most sustainable coffee company

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START YOUR ENGINES

Melbourne Coffee Week returns

Nestlé Professional’s goal towards a more sustainable future

Sustainable roasting solutions with IMF roasters

Cafetto to sponsor the World Coffee Championships at home

SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS

FTA Coffee offers Climate Active certified carbon neutral beans

AGENTS OF CHANGE

Fairtrade ANZ’s Women’s School of Leadership acts as a catalyst for gender equality

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TECHNOLOGY FOCUS

KEEP THE FLOW

BACK TO THE FUTURE

Why Flow is the insurance policy café operators need Kamal Bengougam on how Eversys created a new category of equipment

WHEN SIZE MATTERS

Egro’s QuBe makes its way Down Under MORE THAN ATTITUDE

Why Tempesta Barista Attitude is more than a name or a piece of technology A SOLUTION FOR ALL

Brew Solutions supports brands that celebrate performance and the environment

SKILL BASE

EXTRACTING THE GOOD STUFF

ESPRESSO YOURSELF

UCC’s Babin Gurung explains how to analyse coffee extraction Victor Vu charges ahead with this beast of a pattern: the Taurus

CAFÉ SCENE

PACKAGED WITH CARE

How Locale Coffee Roasters embraces sustainability through its packaging materials

RETURN TO THE GIRO

Faema reignites its passion for cycling and the Giro d’Italia

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FLAVOUR CREATORS

Why it’s time to uncover the next coffee and spirits combo SHAPING WATER SOLUTIONS

BRITA MD Peter Harley on the value of partnerships CAFÉ SCENE

Around Australia and New Zealand NZSCA

Eyes on the WBC prize PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Celebrating industry movements

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BeanScene

covershoot

PUBLISHER Christine Clancy christine.clancy@primecreative.com.au

Covershoot location: Praise Joe Shop/2150 Northcott Dr, Kotara NSW 2289 Covershoot product: The Flow telemetry system baristatechnology.com.au When Barista Technology Australia set us the challenge of celebrating the Flow telemetry system with a killer extraction for the cover of BeanScene’s June edition, we were up for it. This cover shot is a great reminder of just how much technology can support businesses to thrive and survive. To help bring the concept to life, BeanScene visited Praise Joe in Kotara, run by Phil Gamesom and his partner Hayley Sinkinson, located in Westfield Kotara shopping centre. “This is our second Praise Joe shop after our flagship store, and we really like the hole-in-the-wall concept. It’s a lot easier to control and still do high volume. This shop has a different demographic to our suburban café, however it’s quickly become a destination coffee venue,” Phil says. Phil has spent almost 25 years working as a chef in the hospitality industry. Growing up in Darwin, he spent seven years working in London, then four years working as a private chef in Indonesia. He moved back down to Newcastle to help a friend open a restaurant and fell in love with the city. “Newcastle is such a youthful, vibrant city and we realised the huge growth potential. We thought we’d open a café and assess how its going in five years’ time, and Praise Joe Kotara is already in its fourth year,” Phil says. Praise Joe serves Pablo & Rusty’s Pioneer blend with notes of caramel and spice, in addition to rotating single origins and filter or batch brew. The venue goes through about 60 kilograms of coffee per week on its Slayer coffee machine and is carefully paired with Hayley’s delectable pastries, all made in-house. Phil installed the Flow telemetry system thanks to a recommendation from the Pablo & Rusty’s team, and hasn’t looked back. “Anything I can do to increase the consistency of our coffee, I’m all in for,” Phil says. “It was a no brainer to install at our new venue. It holds our baristas to account when working on the machine, showing volume and quality of shots and eliminates human error. Flow helps us identify how our service is going when I’m not on the tools myself. Once we got our heads around it, we realised how efficient our shots are and what’s clearly a good and bad cup.” The quality of those shots is what BeanScene’s June covershot represents, shot by photographer Jeff Mackay with white Fellow Joey Family double-sealed cups, providing a crisp look that celebrates what’s possible when putting trust in technology such as Flow.

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MANAGING EDITOR Sarah Baker sarah.baker@primecreative.com.au JOURNALIST Hayley Ralph hayley.ralph@primecreative.com.au ART DIRECTOR Blake Storey, Daz Woolley DESIGN Kerry Pert, Aisling McComiskey BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Courtney Walker courtney.walker@primecreative.com.au CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Zelda Tupicoff zelda.tupicoff@primecreative.com.au DESIGN PRODUCTION MANAGER Michelle Weston michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au CLIENT SUCCESS TEAM LEADER Janine Clements janine.clements@primecreative.com.au PHOTOGRAPHY Jeff Mackay, Richard Tho, Humaidi Ridwan, The Chain Collaborative CONTRIBUTORS Penny Wolff, Kamal Bengougam, Victor Vu, Emma McDougall, Babin Gurung, Peter Harley, Alexandra Cooper HEAD OFFICE Prime Creative Pty Ltd 11-15 Buckhurst Street South Melbourne VIC 3205 p: 03 9690 8766 f: 03 9682 0044 enquiries@primecreative.com.au www.beanscenemagazine.com.au SUBSCRIPTIONS 03 9690 8766 subscriptions@primecreative.com.au BeanScene magazine is available by subscription from the publisher. The rights of refusal are reserved by the publisher. ARTICLES All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher. The Editor reserves the right to adjust any article to conform with the magazine format. COPYRIGHT

BeanScene magazine is owned by Prime Creative Media and published by Christine Clancy. All material in BeanScene magazine is copyright and no part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic or mechanical including information and retrieval systems) without written permission of the publisher. The Editor welcomes contributions but reserves the right to accept or reject any material. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information Prime Creative Media will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published. The opinions expressed in BeanScene magazine are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by, the publisher unless otherwise stated.

CONTRIBUTORS Each issue of BeanScene we profile a few of our talented contributors. Babin Gurung is the New South Wales Barista Trainer of UCC. With a Masters degree in accounting from the University of Southern Queensland, the only numbers Babin crunches these days are extraction and dose times. He came to Australia from Nepal 11 years ago to study, fell in love with coffee, and hasn’t looked back. Babin has worked at many different cafés in Sydney, and now enjoys sharing his coffee knowledge and skills to help build a new generation of baristas.

Penny Wolff is the Heart Centered Non Executive of Wolff Coffee Roasters. Focusing heavily on leadership through coaching and mentoring, Penny enjoys collaborating on philanthropy, stakeholder engagement, branding, design, culture and marketing. She is a community focused individual who thrives working in an inclusive workplace, where relationships are valued and a genuine sense of belonging and community is promoted. Penny is passionate about fostering powerful social change by working with like minded leaders in their respective fields. Peter Harley is the BRITA Managing Director, overseeing the Australian and New Zealand market. Peter is ‘flat white fanatic’ and a passionate leader who spearheads teams across professional filtration, dispenser and consumer divisions at BRITA ANZ. BRITA has been improving drinking water since 1966, and now operates in 69 countries across five continents. Working with the coffee industry for much of that time gives BRITA significant insight, and Peter is passionate about sharing this knowledge to enrich the local industry.

Victor Vu is the 2020 ASCA Australian Latte Art Champion. Born in Vietnam, Victor worked for three years in hospitality before coming to Australia where he has spent the past six years perfecting his latte art skills. Victor won the 2018 Milklab Barista Battle, 2019 Victorian Breezey Masters, 2020 ASCA Southern Regional Latte Art Championship, and the National title. He is currently completing his hospitality studies, works at Ona Coffee Melbourne and is representing Australia at the World Latte Art Championship in Milan in June 2022.

Emma McDougall is the Communication and Administration Coordinator for the NZSCA. After gaining a degree in hospitality management, Emma has worked in Sydney, Dublin, Auckland, London, and most recently, Wellington. She has owned and managed cafés and tech-judged the New Zealand Barista Championship in 2015 and 2016. Now, she gets to help run them. One of the greatest joys she gets from the coffee industry is watching young people progress through their coffee journey.

A word from the Editor

THE BEATING HEART

’ve been to more events and in-person catchups in the past month than I have in the past two years, and what an energy boost it is. Looking around a bustling Victorian suburban café, you’d almost forget a pandemic ever existed. Tables were full of friends chatting, baristas worked in tandem to pump out the weekend’s coffee orders, and there was no social distancing nor a face mask in sight. How nice it is to see smiling faces again. I must commend our baristas on what they have endured. They came to work in uncertain times to keep us caffeinated. They confirmed and repeated muffled orders under our masks, and they smiled with their eyes. It’s this appreciation for customer service we crave more than ever. In talking with Bluestone Lane Founder Nick Stone in Melbourne before returning to the United States, he said it’s individuals with a knack for human connection he wants to help manage the rapid growth of his Australian-inspired business sweeping the US. With many of our youth deprived of travel expeditions, Contiki trips and gap years over the past two years, Bluestone Lane has an incredible opportunity for J-1 visa applicants to work with the company and explore the US on a 12-month exchange program. If I was 21 again, I’d say “yes” to New York City in a heartbeat. Baristas are also the beating heart of our industry, and they’re in demand. They’re wanted in the US and they’re wanted all over Australia as staff shortages continue as do our coffee cravings. This edition of BeanScene, we highlight just how technology can support our hospitality staff to maintain quality output at a time when a bad coffee is likely enough to send your customer elsewhere. In our chat with Barista Technology Australia, we discover why cafés need to be treated like any other business in order to guarantee their survival and thrive in this challenging climate. Speaking of climate, our annual sustainability feature showcases an impressive representation of companies setting the benchmark for their environmental efforts. It’s something to celebrate, aim for, and match. And lastly, it’s good to see events filling our weekdays: latte art smackdowns, regional barista competitions and venue openings, such as Gruppo Cimbali’s new Melbourne subsidiary. It also means we’re months closer to the Melbourne International Coffee Expo taking place in September along with the World Barista and Brewers Cup Championship. Now that really will be the energy boost we’ve all been waiting for.

SARAH BAKER

Follow us on Twitter @BeanSceneEd ‘Like’ us on Facebook @BeanSceneCoffeeMag Follow us on Instagram @beanscenemag Follow us on LinkedIn @BeanSceneMag

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NEWS

ASCA NORTHERN REGION COFFEE CHAMPIONSHIP CROWNS NEW AND PAST WINNERS David Teguh Kurniawan has won his first barista competition and is now the 2022 ASCA Vitasoy Northern Region Barista Champion. The Brisbane café owner went all the way on his first attempt, claiming glory and is now a worthy contender at this year’s ASCA Australian Barista Championship. “I still can’t believe I did it,” David says. “After I had finished my routine, I got the feeling that I had done everything wrong, but I knew I had the support of a lot of people who had helped me get through it.” Marco Mak placed runner up in the competition, which took place from 23 to 24 April at Archer Specialty Coffee in Chermside, Queensland. For his espressos, David used a Diamond profile coffee that had undergone carbonic macerated washed process from the Konga region of Ethiopia. The

coffee sourced from Ona Coffee had been fermented for five days to help retain the natural flavours of the varietal. For his milk-based coffees, David used a Kenyan coffee from Maguta Coffee Estate, paired with Riverina Fresh, the official Milk Partner of the competition. For his signature beverage, David championed his espresso coffee, with the idea to help make espresso more approachable to customers. Dan Bottesini of Archer Specialty Coffee Roasters won the 2022 ASCA Northern Region Brewers Cup Championship. Independent brewer and pharmaceutical worker Katie Holman placed second and Dale Pollard of Grinders Coffee placed third in the competition. Amy Zhang, also of Archer Specialty Coffee Roasters, won the 2022 Northern Region Latte Art Championship. The event was a clean sweep for Archer, with

Jake Yue Huang runner up and Ramon Marrero taking third place. This was Amy’s first time competing in the regional competition after she started working for Archer in February. She says this win is only the beginning of her success. “For me, this is a great achievement but only the first step in my journey. It was really important to me to share my designs with people because I enjoy creating and communicating through latte art,” says Amy. For her routine, Amy based each design around her favourite Disney movie, Toy Story. Karl Lee of KL Specialty Coffee Lab was crowned the 2022 Northern Region Cup Tasters Champion for the second time. Dihn Van placed second and Michael Pollock placed third. Upon learning of Minas Hill’s appointment as this year’s official Australian Green Bean partner for the competition, Karl strategically ordered as much Brazil coffee as he could and started tasting Brazilian coffees as part of his preparation. “It was not an easy competition, perhaps even harder than my last experience at nationals but I did my best considering I had hay fever and wasn’t in 100 per cent top condition on the day,” he says. Karl used a slow and steady approach, taking more than six minutes to correctly identify all eight out of eight triangulation sets of coffees correctly, proving on this occasion, accuracy was key.

David Teguh Kurniawan (second from left) wins the 2022 ASCA Vitasoy Northern Region Barista Champion and Marco Mak places second.

Amy Zhang of Archer Specialty Coffee wins the Northern Region Latte Art Championship.

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Karl Lee of KL Specialty Coffee Lab wins the Northern Region Cup Tasters Championship for the second time.

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CONTACT INFO For more information or to place an order, you can contact your local distributor at 1800 000 570 or customerservice@bega.com.au

All images: Richard Tho

NEWS

Angus Mackie (centre) wins the Central Region Vitasoy Barista Championship with Isaac Kim runner up (second from right) and Zhuolu Xie in third place.

ASCA CENTRAL REGION COFFEE CHAMPIONS FLY HIGH Angus Mackie of Ona Coffee has won the 2022 ASCA Central Region Vitasoy Barista Championship. Isaac Kim placed second and Zhuolu Xie placed third in the competition from 20 to 22 May at Grinders Coffee in Leichhardt. Two and a half years ago, Angus was diagnosed with a stage three tongue cancer diagnosis. He put his career on hold as Head Barista Trainer at Ona Coffee, focused on his health, and endured surgery and radiation, which severely impacted his taste receptors, voice box and saliva glands. Unable to eat solid foods for six months or use his palate to taste coffee, Angus was determined to discover flavour in another way. He trained his nose to be the best olfactory receptor it could be, until his taste buds slowly recovered. Angus retrained his palate from scratch, and as the competition’s results proved, his taste is sharper than ever. “When they called my name in first place, I was just so happy, surprised, and relieved,” Angus says. For each of his service courses, Angus used a Typica Mejorada heirloom varietal from Santa Gertrudis in Ecuador, thanks to producer Jose Eguiguren. This will be Angus’s 10th year competing in barista competitions. His first competition year was 2008 when he

June Kim (centre) wins the Central Region Latte Art Championship. Minji Hyun is runner up (second from right) and Rawirit Techasitthanet places third.

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stood side by side with fellow competitor Sasa Sestic. This year, they stood alongside each other as colleagues, and winners, with Sasa making a competition comeback and winning the ASCA Central Region Brewers Cup competition. Pirada Tungbenjaphol placed second and Rawirat Techasitthanet placed third. June Kim of Stop Valve Espresso and Bar and Primary Coffee Roasters won the ASCA Central Region Latte Art Championship. Minji Hyun placed second and Rawirit Techasitthanet placed third in the competition. All competitors used Riverina Fresh, the official Milk Partner of the competition, to create creative and original latte art design. After competing twice before, the third time was a charm for June, who moved from South Korea six years ago and has worked in the coffee industry for 10 years. “I’ve had a lot of competition experience and practice, so I had confidence this time and was able to remain calm,” says June. June stood out from the crowd with his Egyptian latte art-themed routine. Nuno Park, Director of Fragment Coffee Roasters won the 2022 ASCA Central Region Cup Tasters Championship for the second time. Nuno scored a perfect eight out of eight triangulation sets of coffees guessed

correctly in the fastest time of six minutes and 13 seconds. Nuno says he is overjoyed to claim the title once again after winning the 2019 Central Region Cup Tasters Championship. “I’m really humbled by the win this time. I keep watching the videos of the competition over and over, I still can’t believe it,” says Nuno. “It wasn’t until I was handed the trophy that I realised I had won.” Andy Cheng placed second with eight out of eight triangulation sets of coffees correct and Tay Carmin placed third with seven out of eight triangulation sets of coffees correct. Minas Hill was appointed this year’s official Australian Green Bean partner for the competition, providing all the Cup Taster competition coffees.

ASCA Central Region Cup Tasters winner Nuno Park (left) with Minas Hill’s Marcelo Brussi (centre).

Nuno says he trained like he was competing at the World Cup Tasters Final, readying himself to take a calm and steady approach. “I mentally prepared myself to go through each triangulation, just as I’d trained, and ended up finding the competition not too difficult. The only challenge I faced was the second triangulation set of coffees, which I spent more than three minutes on,” he says. Throughout the weekend’s event, all competitors used Mythos M1 grinders supplied from Victoria Arduino as the official Coffee Grinder sponsor and Cafetto product as the qualified cleaning Product Partner.

Sasa Sestic (centre) wins the ASCA Central Region Brewers Cup, Pirada Tungbenjaphol is runner up (second from left) and Rawirit Techasitthanet places third.

S C S M

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H A 2

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“I blind tasted 30-40 different milks and Riverina Fresh Milk not only promoted the most distinct fruit characters from my coffee but also maintained a creamy balanced cup profile.” Hugh Kelly, Australian Barista Champion 2020

Official Competition milk for WBC Melbourne 2022 and ASCA Latte Art Championships 2022. @riverinafresh

CALL: 1800 993 081 VISIT: RIVERINAFRESH.COM.AU

STUFF ON THE SCENE

Stuff on the scene BENTWOOD VERTICAL 63 The Bentwood Vertical 63 is making waves in the coffee industry. It is renowned for delivering superior flavours often association with larger burrs: typically much sweeter and juicier for both filter and espresso. With a unique burr geometry, the Bentwood grinder is designed to run super fine to coarse, for single dosing or with the hopper full thanks to timed buttons. The vertical burrs need no calibration due to the unique aluminium burr housing design with extremely tight tolerances. The highly controlled stepless and smooth adjustment ensures users can select their preferred grind size simply, with an added micron reference window. The 63-millimetre burrs feature naked blades, with no screw holes through the face, providing maximum efficiency. The double cooling ventilation system supports the powerful motor, and offers extremely stable grind temperatures and very low retention. The Bentwood is all about flavour, something to be experienced. For more information, visit baristatechnology.com.au

BIOPAK COLD PAPER CUPS Cold paper BioCups are lined inside and out with Ingeo™, a bioplastic made from plants, not oil, ensuring the paper doesn’t absorb any condensation and soften – making them the perfect option for cold drinks. The BioCups are available in 10 sizes in green and bright leaf patterns. They are the only cups permitted for sale in Western Australia when single-use plastic bans come into effect in October 2022. Certified industrially compostable to Australian AS4736 standards, these cups will break down to nutrientrich compost within 120 days. They are now available with home compostable flat and dome uni-lids made from rapidly renewable sugarcane pulp, certified home compostable to AS5810 Australian standards. For more information, visit www.biopak.com

NAKED SYRUPS The flavours at Naked Syrups will quench your cravings. Australian-made, vegan-friendly and natural flavours are what you can find at Naked Syrups. Satisfy cravings with its delicious products available including flavoursome beverage flavourings. Get your tastebuds excited by incorporating essential flavourings for your beverages. From Caramel to Hazelnut, Spiced Chai and Traditional Lemonade – these are only some of the wide range available. Naked Syrups has all the flavours for consumers to enjoy at your café, in the comfort of your own home, or for other sweets – the opportunities are endless. Take the Strawberry Flavouring and create masterpieces like Strawberry Ice Tea, Strawberry Cheesecake Bars, Strawberry Milkshakes and Frappes, and even a tasty Strawberry Cake. Naked Syrups is widely used and loved. For more information, contact hello@nakedsyrups.com.au, call 02 8711 3660 or visit www.nakedsyrups.com.au

PARADOX SINGLE ORIGIN COLLECTIVE 16

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Paradox Coffee Roasters is bringing new and unique single origin coffees to cafés across Australia through its Paradox Single Origin Collective. Designed to excite cafés and their customers, Paradox Coffee Roasters provides cafés with free tasting boxes to get to know each monthly origin before purchasing. What’s unique about the Paradox Single Origin Collective is the varieties of micro-lots that the Paradox team sources. These highlight experimental processing methods that push the boundaries to deliver delicious taste profiles. Special limited release origin coffees previously featured include the Colombia Castillo Niu Process. This has tasting notes of coconut, tropical fruit and white chocolate. The Sumatra Telege Double Fermentation has notes of mango, jackfruit and honey. Cafés that sign-up to the Paradox Single Origin Collective are supported with coffee education including tasting notes, farm details, and digital brew recipe clips in addition to a free origin tasting box. For more information, visit paradoxroasters.com

CHOBANI OAT MILK BARISTA EDITION Made with the goodness of real oats, Chobani Oat Milk Barista Edition is a delicious way to milk. Made with baristas in mind, Chobani has created the ultimate oat milk that tastes amazing, is super versatile and leaves you with a delicious coffee. Chobani Oat Milk Barista Edition is a smooth and creamy alternative to dairy. Designed to froth, foam, and behave like real milk, it’s superior steaming ensures a consistently smooth pour for impressive latte art and the perfect plant-based coffee every time. Chobani believes food should be made the right way and its Oat Milk is no exception; putting extra care and time into the process, taking whole oats, and carefully soaking them batch by batch to create a unique flavour experience. It contains no added sugar and is lactose free. For more information, visit Chobani.foodservice.com.au

CAMPOS COFFEE CAPSULES At last, it’s time to enjoy the distinctive taste of Campos coffee in a convenient capsule for a superior taste every time. Using decades of sourcing and roasting experience, the Campos coffee crew have recreated the iconic flavour of Superior Blend in an aluminium capsule. The result is a full-bodied coffee with caramel notes and rich flavours in every cup. The Campos capsules range also includes new King St Blend, a smooth and creamy coffee and an Indonesian Single Origin that showcases the unique flavours of this growing region. The flavour profile and fresh aroma of our coffees are perfectly captured in an aluminium capsule, which is also recyclable. Campos has partnered with TerraCycle® to make it easy and free to re-cycle used capsules. Capsules are compatible with Nespresso®* coffee machines. *Trademark used is of a third party, not related to Thirty Second Bean Company Pty Ltd For more information, visit camposcoffee.com

GO ON FLAUNT IT. MACHINE OF CHOICE. PROFESSIONAL EXPRESSION. MATCHED WITH PERFORMANCE. MELBOURNE | INFO@CWE.COM.AU | 03 9462 5055 SYDNEY | SALES@CWE.COM.AU | 02 9533 2693

KNOWLEDGE LEADER

The art of a brand DC Specialty Coffee General Manager Rob Stewart speaks to BeanScene about building a brand through creativity, doing things differently, and hitting a 20-year milestone as a result.

hen DC Specialty Coffee Roasters’ General Manager Rob Stewart completed his fine arts degree in print making in 2002, the same year the Melbourne-based roaster was founded, he had no idea his creative passion would one day help transform the brand’s identity into one of the most recognisable on the market. Back then, coffee to Rob was simply a “means to an end”, working as a barista at Coffea Coffee at Melbourne’s Queen Victoria market while he searched for his next career move. “One day the boss said: ‘you need to learn how to roast because I’m taking a holiday,’ and that was that. I took a crash course in how to roast coffee and I ended up doing that for a couple of years,” Rob recalls. His foray into roasting led to an opportunity to co-found C4 roastery with former university friend Bruno Maiolo, and just two years later in 2007, Rob was given the opportunity to join then-titled Ducale Coffee as a roaster. At the time, Ducale Coffee was producing mainly traditional Italian-style blends. The thirdwave coffee movement was starting to trickle in, and the brand was at crossroads as to how it could evolve. “We decided to restructure to what the customer was looking for. We went from being Ducale Coffee to DC, and we started changing the blends and looking at having a much heavier focus on branding as a catalyst to move forward,” Rob says. “We got to the point where the brand started to have a common narrative with others, so we had to find something different.” To create that point of distinction, Rob embraced his artistic background and the musical talents of DC’s employees to influence its brand direction. The result was evident through DC’s vibrant packaging range, featuring graphics of pinball machines and b-side cassettes, gaming themes and face-melting figures. Its business cards mirrored collectable

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football cards, and its industry presence became synonymous with artistic collaborations and live music. “Maybe some of it was selfish, but it was what we knew, and it made sense to the audience and culture we were surrounded by. Art is a medium to give an experience back to the customer, and that started to make a lot of sense. We pushed away from the space other brands were using. That common narrative of prominence and flavour profile was getting quite crowded,” Rob says. “We needed our own voice and our own identity to be unique – we had fun doing it.”

“NOW IS THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO ASSESS WHAT WE NEED TO BE DOING TO INNOVATE.” Those collaborations expanded to left-of-field relationships with professional wrestlers, tattoo artists, musicians, and rappers, like Seth Sentry. “These people embrace cultures that are the complete opposite to what we do, and we essentially started creating experiences and products for their audiences such as Ready-to-Drink and cold brew products, and particular blend profiles,” Rob says. “We want to create coffee that connects with lots of different cultures, not just one subset or demographic.” Rob says it was normal to at times question the company’s direction, but it would only take a few customers to affirm their love for the product that gave DC the confidence to stay in its lane.

“Many of us in this industry are guilty of developing things and trying to seek validation from our peers and not from our customers, and that’s where it can go wrong,” Rob says. “Our customers buy our coffee, they enjoy our coffee, and their feedback and engagement what keeps pushing us on. This also means we have to keep finding new ways to build that experience, along with new channels and audiences, because we can’t keep relying on colourful packaging and our connections.” That drive is what led DC to consider the supermarket channel in 2017 when Coles approached the brand to be part of its Coles Local neighbourhood program and help re-energise its coffee category. “It was a really big risk for us because of the perspective of our foodservice customers, but because it was contained in a local setting, we did it. We went from supplying our product to one Coles store to two, then three, to 20. All of a sudden, we were in 200 stores, and we went national from March 2020 in the space of a few months,” Rob says. “Why it ramped up so quickly was because customers really wanted the product. What was on the shelf at the time was cycled over and over and then suddenly there was a product with a massive visual hand break. It tasted great because we were very persistent with Coles that they had to treat coffee as a fresh product, not a pantry product with a long shelf life.” Rob says it’s thanks to the support of DC’s sister company Conga Foods and the larger backing of the Corvale Group that it’s had the infrastructure to manage the nationwide partnership, having a stronger impact than Rob expected. “Back to 2017, there was a bit of industry blow-back that we had sold out in the supermarket. There was also the assumption we would lose a lot of customers if we went into Coles, but the opposite has happened,” he says. “Because of COVID, we find a lot of customers that are buying our product on the shelf and enjoying it at home, ask us

ALL IN THE DETAIL

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Rob Stewart started a plumbing apprenticeship in Hobart before studying fine arts and print making in Melbourne. Rob then worked as a barista, tried his hand at roasting, and has dedicated the past 15 years to growing DC’s fanbase with his creative eye for detail.

KNOWLEDGE LEADER where can they experience it in a café. And now our cafés are benefitting from inquiries of how their customers can have it at home too, so it’s a revolving circle.” The next challenge for DC is how to take its customer on a bigger journey and keep the product line fresh and exciting. Just what that entails is under wraps, but Rob says technology and the development of augmented reality shelf navigation is one consideration to navigate a customer’s in-store purchase. “If technology is available to us, we need to look at it. If there’s a way to help the customer interact with the brand and replicate the café experience at home, we need to consider it,” Rob says. “It’s about trying to find ways of delivering a product to a consumer that is good and consistent. It has to be beyond coffee being an ingredient, but how coffee can be used to create an experience.” This August, DC is celebrating 20 years of operation. Within that time, the brand has undergone three name changes – from Caffe Ducale to Ducale Coffee to DC – and proudly developed its own modern slavery statement, but at each stage of its journey, the company has looked to its customer base to evaluate how it would survive the next five years, and what it needed to adapt to market needs. “Experience is key. If you’re a café or coffee roaster, you need to consider what is the experience you’re bringing to the customer that is different to anyone else, and why should you be here. It’s not a question you solve overnight. It’s a question you have to keep asking yourself weekly and yearly. Then it’s about touch points – what’s going to be the experience when a customer interacts with your brand? If you nail that, it gives

DC’s vibrant packaging range has given the roaster a point of difference, especially on supermarket shelves.

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Rob Stewart says creating an interactive experience for the customer is how DC has carved its own path over the past 20 years.

you such separation from the herd and you can create your own voice from everyone who is peddling the same narrative.” On reflection, Rob says there’s been plenty of memorable origin trips, including to Sumatra with Fairtade Australia, and Brazil with green

bean supplier Minas Hill, but it’s the relationships and friendships in all facets of the industry he treasures most. “We still have customers that have been with us from day one. Fundamentally, they stayed with us and came along for the journey because we still do what we do, and we do it well,” he says. Prior to COVID-19, Rob says specialty coffee was celebrated with flavour profiles, brew ratios and 90plus graded coffee. Now, he says, the pandemic has “fractured a lot of that momentum” and DC must use the current landscape to navigate its own path, once again. “If we’re having the same conversations and still drinking cappuccinos and lattes in 10 years, then the industry hasn’t innovated. It hasn’t moved forward. Now is the perfect opportunity to assess what we need to be doing to innovate, grow and give our customers different experiences of how they enjoy coffee,” Rob says. “It means we have to keep pushing but it also gives us incentive to cross over to different industries and genres, and we can because the brand allows us to go in that direction – and that’s where it’s fun.”

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CELEBRITY CHEF

OUT OF THE BOX COFFEE COMBOS

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George Calombaris says beyond the classic coffee and dessert combination, try using coffee with game meats, oily fish, and as a butter over cauliflower with different applications such as roasting, smoking and curing: “Coffee and cauliflower share similar compound flavours. It’s not about making coffee the first flavour in the dish. It’s about how you can use it to bring out flavours and turn the volume up.”

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CELEBRITY CHEF

Back to basics

George Calombaris has enjoyed more than 25 years working in commercial kitchens and a decade as a household name on MasterChef. He talks to BeanScene about frappés, fulfilment, and what the future has in store.

offee to George Calombaris is about storytelling and memories. It’s about remembering his late grandmother sitting at the kitchen table with a Greek coffee, a good kaimak (foam), and sharing her story of coming to Australia with no shoes on. It’s also the Greek ritual of tipping the coffee cup upside down to predict the future. “I remember my grandmother vividly reading my cup. She would never give me anything negative. She would say ‘that’s going to happen, and this will be amazing’. I reckon 99 per cent of it was made up, but it’s part of that moment when you realise the power of coffee is more than just the flavour,” George says, talking to BeanScene at The Gertrude Hotel in Fitzroy. Despite growing up in a Mediterranean household, instant coffee was generally brewed in the morning, and its aroma could be smelt from down the street. It may not have been the most pleasant to drink, but to George, it was part of the morning ritual. “Still to this day my 83-year-old dad, God bless him, will still have an instant coffee, and so do I. I love an instant coffee, especially in the afternoon around 3pm when you just need a kick,” George says. “I do love a coffee in the morning though. I have one at 5.30am before I hit the squash court. I need it because I love the flavour and I love a bit of bitterness in my cup. It turns my engine on and gets me going for the day. I adore it.” Around Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula where George resides, he enjoyed visiting Miller’s Bread Kitchen in Dromana and hole-in-the wall Flat Blk in Sorrento, and Proud Mary when he’s in the city. But the best part about Australian coffee, George says, is that it’s rare to get a bad cup. “Coffee is nostalgically what we do as Australians and Melburnians especially. We go for coffee,” he says. “Globally, we make the best milkbased coffees in the world. I think we do

By Sarah Baker an incredible job. We are so spoilt. But the best non-milk-based coffees, for me, are in Italy. If you go into an auto grill off the freeway, you’ll see a grandmother behind the machine punching out espressos to a line six-deep, and you’ll only wait two minutes tops. Bang, bang, bang. Off you go. It’s beautiful to watch.

“ENJOYING COFFEE WITH YOUR TEAM IS STILL A BIG THING IN THE HOSPITALITY WORLD. I GO AND MAKE THE TEAM COFFEE AND GET THEM PUMPED UP FOR SERVICE. IT’S A BEAUTIFUL THING WHEN YOU FEEL THAT COFFEE IS MORE THAN JUST COFFEE.” “I love that passion for coffee making no matter the age. If you threw me on a coffee machine right now, I would really struggle. But ask me to fillet a piece of fish and I’ll do it blindfolded because I’ve done 10,000 hours of it. It’s muscle memory and that’s what it’s like for the older Italians who have grown up making coffee.” When George is in Greece, however,

it’s all about the frappé (ice coffee). Commonly made with Nescafé coffee, Greece is one of the top consuming countries of frappé in the world. “I never drink frappé unless I’m in Greece. My favourite café in Athens is called Carpo, and they do brilliant espressos and frappé. Being there with my cousin, sitting there for two hours over one frappé – you can only do it in Greece. As the Greeks say, ‘frappé is not about drinking it to drink. It’s about the moment’, and it’s so true,” George says. He tries to recreate ‘the moment’ with his own kitchen team at Hotel Sorrento in Victoria before service, sharing a round of coffee just as he once did as an apprentice chef. “Enjoying coffee with your team is still a big thing in the hospitality world. I go and make the team coffee and get them pumped up for service. It’s a beautiful thing when you feel that coffee is more than just coffee,” George says. In the many restaurants George has operated over the years, he has always served Vittoria coffee, which started as a friendship with Managing Director Rolando Schirato and has turned into a long-term partnership. “I’ve got a bit of a love affair with the Schirato family. I really adore them,” George says. “Some of the best coffees I have had are in airport lounges that use Vittoria coffee. It’s a brand that has held the same, strong ethos for quality throughout everything it’s done, and the fact it’s still going strong says a lot.” Quality and strength are also the qualities that have guided George through his 25 years in the culinary world. Growing up in a middle-class family, George was always surrounded by “good food on the table that was homely, yum, and delicious”, rarely eating out. “I love the spirit of food. I love the power of food, and I think that’s what resonated in the first instance,” he says. That spark ignited a chef’s apprenticeship where George won the Bon Land scholarship in 1999. He spent two

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CELEBRITY CHEF years working at Reserve in Melbourne’s Federation Square where he won Young Chef of the Year at age 24. He has opened establishments including flagship restaurant The Press Club, Maha Bar and Grill, Hellenic Republic, St Katherine’s, Mama Baba, Elektra in Melbourne, and The Belvedere Club in Mykonos.

a show that had integrity. It’s a rare thing, especially in television, for a show to become successful and have the longevity we did. I was just a little cog in a big wheel, but we were making something really special that aired in 140 countries around the globe. The influence it had was massive. People were religious about

The Age Good Food Guide named George Calombaris “Chef of the Year 2008”. He is now Culinary Director at Hotel Sorrento.

On reflection of his culinary pursuits, George says it was his tenacity and determination that paid off. “I think like anything, talent without hard work is like a tree without its roots. You have to work hard. There’s no question about it. That has been my philosophy from day one. I wouldn’t be where I am in my life without hard work, commitment, and dedication. In the last couple of years due to a little thing called COVID, I actually got to stop and have time to reset, reimagine, and now we go again, but it’s been a wonderful career. I’m very grateful,” George says. George made his television debut on reality cooking show Ready, Steady, Cook before being approached to be one of the three original judges on MasterChef Australia. It was a role that changed his life and lasted over a decade. “Television came to me as an opportunity. I took it with open arms, and I was okay at it. It led me into some really cool opportunities. MasterChef was

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it,” George says. “I loved all 11 years of it. It was a wonderful show and still is.” George says juggling the success of MasterChef along with 20-odd restaurants and a team of 550-plus for 11 years was “madness”. That’s why now, with “chapter two” of George’s culinary endeavours about to kick off, he says he’s going in a lot more educated and his eyes wide open. “Chapter two” includes the launch of an online platform George has cofounded called Culinary Wonderland, due to launch later in 2022. Effectively, the “Google” equivalent platform for food and drink will connect close to 150 global chefs in one destination for users to search recipes, read stories, watch videos, make a booking at a restaurant, and shop for all their culinary needs. “The online industry is so fragmented with recipes from all angles and different star ratings, but here, everything is under one banner. You want to cook profiteroles this weekend? You can find that recipe from the best pastry chefs in the world.

Cook a ceviche from one of the biggest Peruvian chefs in the world, Gastón Acurio, and digest content from Michelin Star chefs,” George says. This is one step towards reconnecting the hospitality industry. Pre-COVID, George says the industry was already “bruised” before the pandemic threw another curve ball. But for some, like George, it was also an opportunity to revaluate and understand what was needed to move forward. “[COVID-19] was a depressing time for a lot of us, including myself. I struggled. I had to dust myself off, get in the kitchen, and cook with the most important people in my life – my kids, whom I neglected for so many years because I was obsessed by being in the restaurants and being on television,” George says. To get the industry back to where it once was, George says an injection of fun, intrigue and creativity is what’s needed. “We’ve got to bring creativity back, and we’ve got to be bold and brave. We built this industry on creativity first. It’s not some formula in a maths book,” George says. “I say to young chefs, don’t be afraid if you cook a dish that doesn’t taste that great, because failure is your best friend. Fail, learn and progress.” George is being brave himself. He’s taken on a new role as Culinary Director at Hotel Sorrento and at the time of this interview, was preparing for 700 Mother’s Day bookings. “I’m really excited to still put that chef’s jacket on and cook. I want to influence rather than being the lead guitarist, or the lead singer where it’s all about ‘the George show.’ It’s not. I consider myself the coach in the background, pushing my team to succeed. That’s where I get fulfilment. And I want to influence them with the life experiences that I’ve had: the good, bad, and ugly,” he says. George is adamant he has much to learn and a lot more to give – to his kids, his peers, the next generation of chefs, and the 33 first-time offenders he visits at Port Phillip Prison once a month as part of their rehabilitation program. “At the end of the day, I’m George, I’m a chef, and I’m focused on being the best I can possibly be at my core. A cook is someone that cooks to feed people’s stomach. I want to cook to feed people’s souls. That’s what I plan to do, and I’m absolutely enjoying it – every bit of it,” says George as he receives a text message from Hotel Sorrento Executive Chef Lucas Caporal. “He says: ‘Chef, can you please pick up vinegar powder on your way back?’ No problem. It’s all part of the fun.”

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COVER STORY

Keep the flow The Flow system is more than a tool. It’s an insurance policy café operators need to quantify and qualify their performance, and ensure they stay in business next week, and in the months and years to come.

ccording to Barista Technology Australia CEO Brett Bolwell, there are two types of coffee shops: one that is run by a business owner, and one that is run by a coffee lover. In today’s challenging market environment, Brett says the one who treats the café as a business will be here next year. The other, will not. “Café owners are no different to restaurant, bar, or retail shop owners. They need to know if they’re being profitable, how they can cover expenses, reduce labour costs, and keep revenue coming in. These are all questions that need to be asked each day,” Brett says. “The bigger question, is how can we make sure you’re here next year? And the answer, comes in the form of technology.” Flow telemetry software, distributed through Barista Technology Australia, attaches to a volumetric coffee machine and records each shot pulled on a shot clock. It captures and analyses data from the machine and gives the user visibility and immediate feedback on whether the recipe is being met or not, and thus the consistency and quality output within a single cup, or across a working day or week. “Rather than saying knowledge is power, it’s actually insight that is most powerful,” says Brett. “Insight is useless on its own, but it’s what you do with it that matters. It’s actionable insight. You can use Flow to tell you so many things about your company, an individual café, or a barista. Roasters can use it to help scale-up their clients, and franchises can use it to sustain their franchisees and maintain a level of consistency.” Flow can be used to help troubleshoot an error remotely and diagnose an issue. Recently, Brett says a barista called their café owner to tell them no water was coming out from the coffee machine and they would need to close the shop for the day, losing a day’s worth of stock and income. When the

Flow can help troubleshoot errors and diagnose issues instantly to minimise machine downtime and lost revenue.

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COVER STORY

The Flow telemetry system provides an objective baseline for baristas to measure their shots and control their output.

technician arrived, they found that the barista had made the grind size so fine that they were instead “choking” the machine. In this instance, Flow would have identified that the machine was not the problem, but human error was. Flow data would also be able to identify if and when a barista was outside of normal recipe parameters, resulting in “bad coffees”, and potentially lost customers. “Customers generally give you a second chance, but will they give you a third chance? Probably not,” Brett says. “What is the value of that client coming in each day, spending $5 on a cup of coffee? Then calculate that value over the year, and whatever else they may buy when they’re in your shop. That’s what people don’t measure, and they absolutely should. Consider the lifetime value of just one lost customer as a result of one bad coffee. Then add up two lost customers. With that in mind, $60 spent on Flow each month is a small investment.” The reason Flow is so powerful, Brett adds, is because baristas have had no real-time actionable insight up until now.

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Prior to the advancement of technology, baristas would simply rely on their palate to make decisions about the coffee they served. In “the Dark Ages”, just 10 years ago, Brett says, they would use their eyesight to judge the volume of coffee in the portafilter basket. Then, baristas progressed to weighing shots and using flow metres, and doing quick TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) readings mid-shift. Even then, Brett says, the result would be subjective. “You didn’t have a baseline that was based on data, you had a baseline that was based on subjective information. What Flow gives you, however, is an objective baseline that you did not have before,” he says. “If a barista sees the numbers are outside of normal recipe parameters, it’s telling you there’s an issue that needs to be investigated. Once you know what it’s telling you, then you can act on the insight and take the next step. “The question you need to be asking, is what the cost of not having Flow technology? And what are you doing without it?”

LESS STATS, MORE INSIGHTS

While Flow does give users a lot of data, Brett says it is important to put guard rails up to ensure that baristas are not given a “data overload”, only paying attention to a few key numbers that can help them understand if and how often they hit the recipe, and the percentage achieved each day. “We definitely want to empower whoever is behind that screen to know what the Flow is telling them. But as an operator behind that machine, or the owner of that system, you don’t need to know the fancy ins and outs of how it works. Instead, worry about the actionable insights it gives you,” he says. With the overwhelming industry challenge at present of finding, employing, and training good baristas, Flow also lowers the barrier to entry to the barista profession, meaning even a chef or wait staff can use the coffee machine when needed. “With Flow, everybody can make amazing coffee because it gives them a level of competence and control. Giving

someone a go who is a mid-level barista, and using Flow, can quickly turn them into a high-level barista,” Brett says. “Technical knowledge is not really needed because it’s almost abstracted by just looking at the Flow screen and seeing the numbers highlighted ‘green’, meaning they’ve accurately hit the recipe, or ‘red’ to show they haven’t. Consider what value do you as a café owner put on your own time to train someone each day? If you value your time and you value your staff, keeping them and finding them in the first place, then Flow is for you.”

A TOOL FOR THE TRADE

Flow was first introduced to market in February 2021 from its New Zealand creators. Since then, businesses such as Pablo & Rusty’s, Seven Miles, and The Coffee Club have embraced the device. Brett says one unnamed business was only hitting 4 per cent of its target recipes. After it started using Flow, it hit 80 per cent of recipes and customers noticed. “One even commented how much they loved the new blend, only they hadn’t changed the blend, they just started hitting their recipe targets more consistently,” he says. Ben Graham, Head of Seven Miles’ Coffee Science and Education Centre, says about 85 of its wholesale accounts use Flow, and agrees it’s become a vital tool in developing consistency of recipes in cafés. “The technology provides comfort to the business owner, so that when things diverge from where they need to be, they can – and we – can see the data, analyse the data, and keep in contact to identify if there’s an issue regarding a barista’s performance or machine error,” he says. Ben says Flow’s technology will particularly benefit multi-site venues, highvolume accounts and business owners who are not on-site 24/7. “I can see the long-term potential for this technology to be super valuable and have seen positive results so far,” he says. “Just like any other tool, you need the barista to be skilled to understand and maximise Flow’s potential, but it’s definitely a good buffer for consistency and a point of different for our customers to have.” He adds that one of the most surprising benefits of implementing Flow to Seven Miles customers, has been the level of competitiveness created between baristas. “Flow has made brewing a bit of a game. At our own Seven Miles venue at Manly Vale, Sydney, the baristas try

to one-up the other and ensure they’re hitting the highest percentage of recipe accuracy. “This shows that baristas are wanting to do a good job and that they are committed to quality output,” Ben says. Barista Technology Australia’s Brett has made the same observation, noting barista’s increased confidence levels because they have parameters to work towards, and a greater pride and ownership of their role. “The ones that do hit their numbers and achieve the recipe will always aim for something higher, and then start measuring how consistently they hit the recipe day to day,” he says. “As a result, what we’re going to see is a much higher quality of coffee across the industry. That’s the goal, right? For customers to have better quality coffee, but we want the barista to be able to take action and be responsible for what they do. Until now, they’ve never had anything to measure their job by.”

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Quite simply, Flow is a tool for baristas to improve their output, but ultimately, Brett says it’s there to make the barista’s job easier. “Baristas on their own want the latest technology to produce the greatest extraction. But they don’t want to be doing much heavy thinking about what they need to do. They just want their life made easier to get to the end goal of serving delicious coffee,” he says. “Working on bars is hard, and it has only gotten harder in the past two years. If you can make the barista’s life easier, then you’ve got staff who are happy in their job and will stick around, and happy customers. And the best part is, you’re likely to still be in business not just next week, but next month and next year because you’re running a business with data, and producing tasty coffee because of it.” Brett says the Flow system has a strong roadmap ahead for access to even more “actionable insights”, but as it exists now, it’s invaluable technology he hopes will one day become the standard for cafés. “The value of Flow is significant,” he says. “It’s great technology now, and it’s only going to get better.” For more information, visit baristatechnology.com.au

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The ultimate Gap Year Bluestone Lane has the opportunity of a lifetime for passionate hospitality workers with a flair for human connection and the chance to share their proud barista talent on the US stage.

uthor James Truslow Adams first described the concept of the American Dream in his best-selling 1931 book Epic of America as “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement”. Ninety-one years on, that dream is still very much alive. Through the Exchange Visitor ( J-1) non-immigrant visa category, Australian-inspired roaster and café brand Bluestone Lane is inviting Australians to spend one year working for the company in the United States. “We’re looking for talented young people who are up for an adventure, who want to live and experience the US culture and be part of the leading hospitality export in the United States. If that’s you, then this is the opportunity of a lifetime,” says Founder and CEO Nick Stone. To be eligible for a J-1 visa to participate in a work and study-based exchange visitor program, applicants must be a full-time enrolled or tertiary student, or a post-secondary student or recent graduate. Successful Australian applicants can stay in the US for 12 months. New Zealand applicants can stay for six months. “We’ve had over 200 successful J-1 workers since the inception of the business, many of whom have moved onto a permanent work visa. We’ve done it many times before. We know what we’re doing, we know the pain points, and where we need to be sensitive,” Nick says. Each successful applicant is assigned a J-1 sponsor to guide them through the process. Health insurance must be paid upfront before travel commences, and applicants then work with the Bluestone Lane team to coordinate

Bluestone Lane is on track to grow Caption 85 per cent year-on-year and have 900 staff by end of the year.

what city they will work in, the hours of work, compensation, and provide accommodation recommendations. “People who travel with J-1s normally stress about finding a job, but that’s guaranteed from the beginning. The other reassuring thing for successful applicants is that other J-1s will likely become fellow co-workers who will go through the same experience, which is comforting,” Nick says. After a challenging few years navigating the global pandemic, Bluestone Lane has rebounded strongly. In 2021, Nick says the company generated more revenue in three quarters than it did pre-COVID. “We’re a fast-moving company that will have 900 staff by the end of the year. We’ll finish this calendar year with 70 stores, with plans to grow 85 per cent year-on-year,” Nick says. “The demand is insatiable. The opportunity for the market is massive, we

just need more passionate, professional, and experienced hospitality staff, and people who want to be part of a team. If we received applications from 101 great Aussies, we’d take them all. We’re looking for the best Aussie talent.” This extends to those who have limited hospitality experience but enjoy making people feel happy and love being part of a community. Nick himself has never worked a day in hospitality, not technically. A former Australian Rules Footballer, Nick went to New York as part of his Master of Business Administration studies, to chase his nowwife, and work in investment banking. “I’m proof that there’s no great skill requirement needed. You just need an orientation around human connection,” Nick says. “People have been starved of communication from COVID, and pre-COVID we already had this obsession with digital connection and

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INDUSTRY PROFILE

Bluestone Lane aims for Aussies to represent 10 to 20 per cent of staff to help maintain the brand’s identity.

no human connection. It’s creating such a big problem with mental health, and that feeling of loneliness and isolation because we’re starved of that ability for someone to sit down and have a tangible connection with someone. We think it’s through messaging platforms and social media but the exponential challenges o f those mediums are so immense. The world is in desperate need of more time together.” For this reason, Bluestone Lane is passionate about becoming a destination to facilitate social catchups, find a sense of community and humanity, and be an exemplary pillar of customer service. “People forget about a bad coffee or a bad meal within five minutes of leaving venue, but they never forget bad customer service. So many cafés in Australia are service oriented because having great coffee is a prerequisite, it’s not a differentiator. What is, is service: name, face, and order, atmosphere, and ambiance,” Nick says. “That’s what people really look forward to and it’s what we focus on at Bluestone Lane because we believe everyone will eventually catch up to coffee [quality]. Technology has pushed better quality coffee, so it’s really going to be about the way people are served and if they feel their café is ‘their local Bluestone’. That’s why we have achieved a boutique café concept at scale. We currently have 60 stores, but we don’t feel like a chain.” With its foreseeable growth goals, Bluestone Lane aims for Aussies to represent 10 to 20 per cent of staff to help maintain the brand’s identity, authenticity, and familiarity as it replicates the quintessential Australian café experience.

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“Being Australian differentiates us. Bluestone would not be particularly unique in Australia, but it is in the US,” Nick says. “We don’t have a lot of US staff who have worked in premium cafés before as 65 per cent of all coffee shops are either Starbucks or Dunkin – probably even more because after COVID because so many independent coffee shops have closed, but the bigger chains prospered.” Nick says it’s important for prospective applicants to note that the J-1 opportunity with Bluestone Lane can be much more than just a quick exploration of the US lifestyle and culture. For many, it could be the start to a successful career path in hospitality. “The vast majority of roles are in retail but there’s so many other roles and functionalities we’re looking for to help manage our growth. We have a huge focus on promoting from within. Most people start with the business working in a retail role but could end up in a corporate

position or running multiple stores and operations,” Nick says. On the other hand, landing guaranteed work in the US can also open the door to other career opportunities, in whatever form they take. “This is not just a part-time gig. Once you work in the US and work for Bluestone Lane for a year, applicants may realise they want to work for a big accounting firm in New York and cease the opportunity to apply in person. Those who are eligible may have the opportunity to transition to an E-3 visa,” Nick says. After two years of lockdowns, restrictions and social distancing, Nick says a gap year to the US is the opportunity many young Australians are ready for; that chance to travel overseas for the first time, rejuvenate a love for adventure, and most importantly, human connection. “Successful J-1 applicants really do have the best year ever. They meet a lot of celebrities, work with the best people in the industry, and have access to the best restaurants, and the best parties,” Nick says. “You get the chance to live in the most sophisticated cosmopolitan cities of the world – New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Boston, and Texas. Travel to the Hamptons, explore the US culture, and have a guaranteed job working in a café profession they were probably already doing back in Australia.” Nick has lived in the US for the past 12 years. He says while there’s really no comparison to living in NYC with the population of Melbourne and Sydney combined on one island, there’s a big world waiting to be explored, and that rare opportunity is available right now for those eager to take it: “One year living in the best city in the world? I’d say yes for sure.” For more information and to apply, visit bluestonelane.com/j1-visa

Work with Bluestone Lane for one year and explore the United States through its J-1 visa exchange program.

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Flavour creators Move over espresso martini, it’s time to uncover the next coffee and spirits combo, and with the help of MONIN syrups, let flavour be the guide.

ONIN’s Brand Ambassador Karel “Papi” Reyes knows a thing or two when it comes to coffee

and cocktails. The Cuban national grew up in one of the country’s main coffee producing regions, Santiago de Cuba along the Sierra Maestra mountain range. Consumption of the local coffee drink Pico de Gallo was as popular as Cuba’s aged rum, considered a symbol of the island’s national identity, but for Papi, it was his first experience of an Irish Coffee in London where the combination of coffee and liquor really inspired him. “I still remember being impressed by the careful preparation of the drink with layers of coffee, sugar, Irish whiskey and cream on top, served in a beautiful glass. It opened my eyes to what coffee could be outside of Cuba,” says Papi, who also

To really spice up a menu, try a Café Colada with MONIN’s Piña Colada syrup.

represents Stuart Alexander’s portfolio of spirits and liqueurs. London was also the city where Papi was taught how to make an espresso martini by the very man said to have invented the cocktail, British bartender Dick Bradsel. “I was working and living in London’s bar scene for four years when Dick told me how he created the espresso martini recipe. I learned from the best,” Papi says. “The espresso martini became a real gamechanger in breaking down the barrier to coffee becoming more than a daytime beverage and transitioning into the cocktail scene. It is the first cocktail to become iconic for the coffee industry and unite bartenders and baristas. Australians are pioneers of flavour. We love the latte and flat white, but the espresso martini is still the number one selling cocktail in Australian bars. It’s taken over.” Papi adds that while the espresso martini has set the foundation for coffee and liquor combinations, now is the time to leverage its potential. “There’s definitely room to innovate and grow. You can create a new espresso martini every day using a different single origin coffee, alcohol combination or MONIN product such as our Toasted Marshmallow syrup. Have it on your menu, but create a combination that hasn’t been done before,” he says. For example, the Bramble cocktail, also a Dick Bradsel invention, which traditionally incorporates dry gin, crème de mûre, sugar syrup and lemon juice, can take on a life of its own by altering the recipe to include vodka and a shot of espresso or cold brew. “It’s all about experimentation and integration, that’s where a barista’s and bartender’s skill come together and really shine,” Papi says. One Australian advocate for the combination of coffee cocktails is Ona

Coffee Head Roaster and three-time MONIN Australian Coffee in Good Spirits Champion (CIGS) Danny Wilson, who will compete in the international competition in Milan in June. “Danny has really explored some unique flavour combinations, such as MONIN’s passionfruit syrup with coffee, gin, Licor 43, and sparkling apple juice. But the important thing to know, is that you don’t need a science degree to make a delicious coffee cocktail, or create a cocktail list for customers to explore,” Papi says. After a challenging few years of hospitality trading, Papi says café owners should be considering a liquor licence and using the opportunity to expand their beverage menu after 5pm for a further injection of trade and income. “The Italians were very successful with the aperitivo, offering classic negronis and Aperol spritz with nibbles, and I can see that taking off here in Australia,” he says. “Australians have an appetite for flavour and there’s healthy competition between coffee shops, so there’s equal opportunity to create a unique alcoholic or non-alcoholic Aperol spritz with Italian bitters and a bit of cold brew, or a negroni with cold brew. There are so many delicious and easy drinks to create with just cold brew and tonic. I think customers just need a little confidence, and for café operators to be creative.” MONIN has been playing with flavours for the past 110 years, and with the assistance of Papi and John Davidson, Head of Advocacy and Innovation at Stuart Alexander, the pair are excited and eager to inspire bartenders, baristas and café owners with easy cocktail recipes that can be integrated into their menus. “What type of drinks you put on your menu will depend on your location and demographic. That’s why we have a dedicated MONIN studio in Brisbane and Melbourne to help customers explore flavour combinations and inspire them to innovate. That’s what we do best, we play with flavour, and have been doing it for a long time,” Papi says.

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INDUSTRY PROFILE

“The aim is to create a partnership where we impart our coffee and alcohol knowledge so that our customers benefit. We want to make businesses more successful and we’re confident that by working together to create different recipes, we can maximise menu offerings and attract new clientele.” The key when playing with flavour combinations, Papi says, is to always use coffee and its flavour profile as the base of the beverage. Then, build flavours around it that complement it, or enhance its natural flavour profile, rather than using spirits and alcohol that are heavy and strong that overpower, conflict, or antagonise the flavour. “If a coffee is super bitter for example, then I would add a strong, smoky mezcal and incorporate sweetness with a berryflavoured coffee or MONIN Salted Caramel syrup. Even a MONIN Agave syrup gives natural sweetness to a drink,” Papi says. All MONIN syrup flavours are made with a pure cane sugar base and natural ingredients for intensity of flavour and shelf life. To demonstrate the quality and versatility of MONIN syrups, Papi is excited to introduce four new cocktail combination pairings café operators can easily integrate on a menu: Spiced Old Fashion, classic Espresso Tonic, Café

Colada, and Irish coffee with a twist. MONIN’s Spiced Old Fashion incorporates Scotch, bitters, and a touch of MONIN Tropical Island syrup poured over a cold brew ice sphere. As it melts, the aroma of coffee and spices are released. The classic Espresso Tonic combines a light ristretto with tonic water to reduce any bitter flavours, and No.3 London Dry Gin. For a non-alcoholic combination, simply replace the gin with MONIN’s Red Grapefruit puree. To really spice up a menu, try a Café Colada. This beverage includes a double espresso, coconut milk, a pinch of salt, and 60 millilitres of MONIN’s Piña Colada syrup for a hit of acidity. MONIN’s Irish coffee includes coffee liquor with cinnamon, single origin batch brew, and cream on top, a combination Papi says is simple yet invites maximum flavour. “The Irish Coffee is my top prediction to make a rejuvenised comeback. I really hope it will be the next big trend. There are so many ways to maximise its potential. Why not integrate soft whipped cream, MONIN Cherry Syrup, and Scotch or Irish whiskies to create a different sensation?” he says. For years, Papi says Australians have observed the London and New York cocktail market for inspiration of coffee

Use coffee and its flavour profile as the base of a beverage, then build flavours that complement or enhance it with MONIN’s range of syrups, fruit puree’s and cocktail mixers.

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cocktail trends, but with such a strong coffee culture of our own, all eyes are actually on Australia. “We are a premium beverage market. The world is looking at us to see what we do next and the different ways we can approach cocktails and flavours of coffee to magnify coffee’s profile in the bar scene. The London population drinks a lot of tea, whereas Australians drink mainly coffee, so we should use that to our advantage,” Papi says. Experimentation is how Papi has carved a successful career in the world’s alcohol and spirits industry. After spending time in London, Mexico, Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, working in and helping develop some of the best cocktail bars in the world, Papi is passionate about sharing his international experiences with the Australian hospitality scene. “This is an industry that doesn’t stop,” he says. “It’s a marvellous and unique industry that is constantly evolving and we must evolve with it. Australia: let’s get creative.” Stuart Alexander & Co is the exclusive distributor of MONIN’s range of syrups, sauces and purees in Australia. For more information, visit stuartalexander.com.au/brands/monin

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Green coffee with zero carbon footprint. FTA Coffee is the first Australian coffee importer to offer Climate Active certified Carbon Neutral green coffee beans.

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INDUSTRY PROFILE

A pioneer with purpose BeanScene speaks with Cafetto about its deep industry support and the significance of sponsoring the World Coffee Championships on home soil.

hen Cafetto Director Chris Short received confirmation that his business would be the Qualified Cleaning sponsor for the 2022 World Barista Championship (WBC), World Brewers Cup (WBrC), and World Cup Tasters Championship (WCTC), it was a full circle moment for the company that had pioneered cleaning and sanitation products in the prestigious global competitions. “There was no cleaning equipment sponsorship of the World Coffee Championships (WCC) until I proposed the idea in 2008,” Chris says. “I had gone to Vancouver in 2007 at the suggestion of my friend, Instaurator, to witness the qualification process for grinders and coffee machines involved in the competition. I then thought about the need to have clean machines on stage at all times for the world’s best baristas. I wrote a proposal to the WBC board, they came back and said they loved the idea, and we formalised the arrangement.” Chris submitted a cleaning and rinsing protocol aimed at having the competition espresso machines clean and ready during an international coffee competition. The aim was for each competitor to have an equal opportunity to present their coffees without contamination. “To guarantee the cleaner would not leave a residue nor was corrosive to the machine, I stated that any competition cleaner must be certified by NSF to its P152 standard. This is a comprehensive standard which deals with the health effects and corrosivity associated with the use of commercial espresso machine chemical cleaners. Naturally, Cafetto’s Espresso Clean and EVO espresso machines cleaners are certified by NSF to

From left: Stephen McGovern, Cafetto Director Chris Short and James Hood at the 2016 World Barista Championship in Dublin, Ireland.

this very vigorous standard,” Chris says. Cafetto became the equipment cleaning sponsor of the WBC in 2008, and from 2015 to 2017. This year, Cafetto will again be a key sponsor of its own backyard event: the WBC and WBrC, both taking place at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE) from 27 to 30 September. “I’m extremely chuffed for Cafetto to be supporting World Coffee Events again,” says Chris. “Cafetto is recognised as a very important brand in the global industry, and to be a recognised partner of the world’s most prestigious coffee competitions, and in front of a home audience in Melbourne, is really special.” Cafetto General Manager Christine Song says the Australian brand has always been interested in supporting events that help grow the coffee industry, such as the Australian Specialty Coffee Association and New Zealand Specialty Coffee

Association national championships, and partnering with the WCC is another testament to the brand’s relevance to the global market. “Within the past 10 years, such a wide portion of the industry have come to know Cafetto, and this global partnership is another opportunity to show people who we are, connect to the industry, and share the importance of our product to execute coffee quality,” Christine says. “We take pride in providing cleaning solutions the industry wants. For some people who are new to the industry or have never attended MICE or seen a global coffee competition, it will be exposure to a new audience and demographic, which is equally as exciting.” Cafetto is also hoping to reignite its Barista Base Camp, a host venue for the world’s barista champions to train ahead of the heats at MICE. Cafetto first launched the concept in Melbourne

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INDUSTRY PROFILE at MICE in 2013, and continued the initiative in Gothenburg for the World Latte Art Championship in 2015, then again in Dublin in 2016, and Seoul in 2017 at the respective WCC events. “Demand for the first Base Camp in Melbourne was enormous. I remember we had baristas training from 7am all the way until 2am trying to get as much practice time on the machines as they could. I really hope to provide that facility again as part of our hospitality to the world’s best baristas coming all the way to Melbourne,” Chris says. “I want to make Melbourne and this year’s WBC a huge success for Australia, and the Barista Base Camp is just another layer to that.” Since the last time Cafetto was a WCC sponsor in 2017, Cafetto has expanded its Organics line of products, and upgraded its production facility to keep up with customer demand and provide a reliable supply chain. But as Chris affirms, the success of Cafetto, which is now distributed globally in more than 70 countries, all started thanks to a gap in the marketplace, and a love for Melbourne’s coffee scene. When Chris first lived in Melbourne in 1985 for six years, working at 179 Queen Street in Melbourne’s CBD, he would often frequent Nick’s Coffee Bar around the corner, a traditional Italian coffee bar run by Nick Fazzolari and his brother Michael. “I got to know them really well and it was their place that made me fall in love with coffee,” Chris says. “I went there every day. Melbourne really was an important chapter in my coffee journey. My love for coffee has stayed with me my whole life.”

Cafetto hopes to reignite the Barista Base Camp in Melbourne as a host venue for the world’s barista champions to train ahead of the WBC.

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“TO BE A RECOGNISED PARTNER OF THE WORLD’S MOST PRESTIGIOUS COFFEE COMPETITIONS, AND IN FRONT OF A HOME AUDIENCE IN MELBOURNE, IS REALLY SPECIAL.” When he moved back to Adelaide in 1991, Chris missed his coffee experience so much that he installed a one-group commercial espresso machine and grinder. It was then that he realised it needed a special cleaning product. On Chris’ next trip, he visited the espresso machine distributor and purchased the recommended cleaner. He used the product but found it to be unsatisfactory and thought it would be better to make his own. Chris’s father Leslie operated a cleaning and sanitation products business called Dominant. He decided to give the company’s research and development team the task of developing an espresso machine cleaner. They did, and it became Espresso Clean, Cafetto’s original coffee

T machine cleaning product, now used globally. “I still recall a conversation with my father where, after I proved there were many opportunities for cleaning products within the coffee industry, he said: ‘I don’t mind you going in this direction but don’t lose sight of the main goal,’ which he believed to be my commitment to Dominant,” Chris says. Since the first day Cafetto was established, that “direction” has been a longstanding commitment to the Australian and international coffee industry. It has meant a focus on specialised cleaning products for espresso machines and equipment. It has also meant ensuring the company responds to customer needs and requests. Chris recalls working with Miriam Heycoop and her husband Eric, co-founders of Emporio Coffee in Wellington, New Zealand. “She asked if we had a product that could clean milk jugs. When I realised we had a gap in our product offering, I sat down with our chief chemist and developed a formulation for that purpose. I called the product Inverso, and sent Miriam the first jar Cafetto manufactured,” Chris says. “It must be a great product because all these years later, Emporio Coffee still uses it.” Chris says listening to market needs has helped the company stay in tune with market trends. He says it was Rob Balassa of Douwe Egberts’ (now Jacobs Douwe Egberts) need for cleaning tablets and other product – none of which Cafetto produced at the time – that led to a rapid expansion of Cafetto’s most popular product. “We now make millions of tablets and sachets each month and Douwe Egberts became a customer,” Chris says. Cafetto has become a trusted brand and significant contributor to the global coffee industry over the past 19 years. When Chris looks out at the competition stage at MICE, surrounded by cheering fans after three years of event postponement, and the world’s best baristas producing their best-tasting coffee thanks to clean equipment, it’ll be a moment to savour for “the little company from Adelaide that put coffee cleaning agents on the map”. “I’m still genuinely amazed at what we’ve achieved,” Chris says. “I could never have imagined, sitting in Nick’s Bar all those years ago, thinking we would make a global business of cleaning products. I love what we’ve accomplished and where we’re headed.” For more information, visit www.cafetto.com

Today's Blue, is tomorrow's Green

As a carbon-neutral organisation, Merlo Coffee is dedicated to sustainable business practices that preserve our environment for tomorrow's generations. From our zero-emissions policy, to our solar energy infrastructure, compostable waste management and our quest to keep 3 million takeaway cups out of landfill, we pride ourselves on greener thinking when it comes to being blue. If you'd like to partner with an environmentally conscious, Australian owned, leading coffee roaster, call us today on 1800 637 567.

INDUSTRY PROFILE

Sugar, spice and all things nice Arkadia Beverages is helping cafés stand out from the crowd with its extensive range of chai and drinking chocolate options.

The Arkadia Drinking Chocolate contains 40 per cent cocoa using 100 per cent Ivory Coast cocoa powder.

ith market competition strong and café operators looking to retain consistent and new customers, having a point of difference and unique menu can be make or break to business success. To assist café operators in the process, Arkadia Beverages Brand Manager Nathan Alfrey says Arkadia offers a variety of chai and drinking chocolates that can be served in multiple ways to suit the venue’s unique menu. “We have developed the Arkadia Beverages range understanding that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. With each chai and drinking chocolate we produce,

we try to offer something for every type of café and every beverage menu,” says Nathan. “There are so many incredible coffee roasters in Australia, so we try to fill the rest of the gaps on a café’s beverage menu. For cafés, it means they can buy their preferred coffee and get everything else they need for their menu from the same supplier, which makes life so much easier.” Nathan says the Arkadia range caters to everyone, whether customers like their chocolate indulgence to be sweet and creamy or rich and dark. “The Arkadia drinking chocolate range can be used to create cappuccino dusting, higher cocoa content blends and specialist

offerings. The product range includes Fairtrade Organic, gluten free and vegan options,” he says. “Trends are always on the move and lately we’ve seen a shift towards higher cocoa content chocolates, and our 33 per cent cocoa blend seems to have hit a real sweet spot in the market.” Similarly, Nathan adds that its chai range has continued to grow to give cafés all the options they need to meet market demand. “Our chai spice powder is probably what we are best known for and the go-to chai for many Australian cafés. Many cafés now serve a leaf chai as well as a powder, so the Arkadia sticky chai gives cafés a leaf option as well,” he says.

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INDUSTRY PROFILE

The Arkadia Chai range is available in a range of sizes and formats to meet every café’s needs.

As customers become more educated in high-quality beverage options and seek premium coffee and beverage blends, Nathan says Arkadia has seen an increased demand for sticky leaf chai. “The café scene in Australia is very mature, and the quality is second to none. Consumers are looking for new taste experiences and are more willing to experiment and taste new menu items,” he says. “Now we’re seeing a trend in cafés serving both sticky chai and a powder selection as premium options rise in popularity, so we created both, leaving the choice to the consumer. “For other cafés looking for a point of difference but still wanting the convenience of a powder, our Turmeric, Masala and Vanilla chai give more choice to baristas and consumers.” Nathan says Arkadia’s powder chai dissolves easily, meaning it’s fast to serve as a chai latte, and can equally be used to make an iced chai or chai frappe by simply adding hot or cold milk, and stirring. “The clean-up is just as easy, with no tea leaves to scoop out and tea pots to have to wash up. It literally takes as long as the time needed to steam your milk and pour it into a glass. There’s no steeping required, which is a huge operational advantage for high turnover venues.” Developed for the Melbourne café scene over 15 years ago, Nathan says Arkadia chai blends are now enjoyed all over the world, due to a refined and perfected ingredient list.

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“The Arkadia sticky chai is handcrafted and all natural. The wet chai blend is made from 100 per cent pure Australian native honey and Ceylon loose leaf black tea, combined with cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, cloves, ginger, and black pepper to create a truly distinctive taste,” he says. “We’ve had the product in the market for six years and continued to tweak and improve the formulation over time to ensure we are serving the best tasting chai on the market.” Nathan adds that Arkadia’s drinking chocolate range is also quite extensive, each with its own special formulation. “We source a variety of cocoas from around the world to make each blend unique. From West Africa, the Dominican Republic and South America, our cocoas each have their own taste profile that gives the drink a distinct flavour,” he says. “Likewise, the range of sugars used are varied. Each gives their own influence to taste and mouthfeel. The vast majority of sugar we use is sourced from Australian farms, with some of the more specialist sugars coming from overseas, like panela and coconut blossom sugar. “Our research and development team are experts in the art of blending those cocoas and sugars to deliver a uniquely indulgent beverage that cannot easily be replicated.” With many ingredients sourced from Australia, Nathan says it is important the company supports Australian made products and employment. “We have our own dry powder

blending facility in Melbourne where we produce all our powdered products. Our sticky chai is also hand blended out of the same facility,” says Nathan. “We also have a second manufacturing site in Queensland where we produce all our own liquid beverage bases, including syrups, sauces, milkshake toppings, smoothies, and more.” He adds that due to the company’s use of high-quality ingredients, baristas and consumers can be assured they’re getting a great taste experience with Arkadia. “The range is widely available from coffee roasters and distributors around the country, and we try to make it as quick and easy as possible to serve up a great beverage,” Nathan says. Arkadia Beverages has no plans to stop growing, with several exciting new launches expected to hit the market this year. “We have a new range of loose leaf and pyramid tea bags that just launched in May, and another premium drinking chocolate in the pipeline for later in the year. We’re also developing new syrup flavours to keep growing that range,” says Nathan. “At the end of the day, our expertise is in selecting and blending the right ingredients to make a unique and indulgent beverage. It’s our mission to make your menu stand out through offering other quality beverages.” For more information, visit www.maltrafoods.com and www.arkadiabeverages.com.au

BE INSPIRED. BREW DIFFERENT. the new espresso machine helping coffee professionals to offer a better coffee experience.

@ranciliospecialty ranciliogroup.com

WATER WORKS

Peter Harley is BRITA Managing Director Australia/New Zealand.

Shaping water solutions BRITA Managing Director Peter Harley reflects on the company’s impact on the café industry and how it has educated its partners on the importance of water quality.

RITA’s main objective has always been to find the best water filtration solutions for our clients. It has been committed to improving drinking water since 1966, and 56 years on, that goal has not changed. From humble beginnings in Wiesbaden, Germany where our founder Heinz Hankammer made the first BRITA water jug, this family-owned business has made leaps and bounds in the world of water filtration, now operating in 69 countries across five continents. Working with the coffee and tea industries for much of that time has given us insight into how we best cater to these markets, with vital information on market needs from each country “filtered through” to our research and development team. Today’s coffee culture means coffee enthusiasts are more discerning than ever when it comes to the quality of their coffee ingredients, including water, which makes up more than 95 per cent of the coffee. Water quality and composition have a fundamental impact on the flavour, aroma, mouthfeel, and crema of a coffee, and overtime, can impact the functionality of the machinery used to produce it. Here at BRITA, we draw on our extensive in-house experience to provide product recommendations tailored to local tap water conditions. Water hardness and quality differ across Australia, from state to state and town to town, meaning the best

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Water quality and composition can impact coffee flavour, and overtime, the functionality of equipment used to produce it.

water solution for one customer could be completely different to another. A big part of finding that solution is through training our partners and distributors, so they have the knowledge and resources to make an informed

decision about water filtration. We strive to empower our dealers with knowledge, but we also benefit greatly from the insights they bring to us. For example, our dealers tell us they often have customers who lack an

understanding of water’s taste properties. To assist their understanding of water’s broad sensory experiences, Birgit Kohler, our very own water Sommelier and Head of our Organoleptic Department, has helped raise awareness to the value and chemical aspects of water. Because people often lack words to describe the sensory attributes of water, Birgit’s team developed the sensory water wheel to help describe the sensory characteristics of water under the dimensions of taste, odour, and mouthfeel. The water wheel was initially designed and used for panel training, however, we find it helpful to demonstrate the wideranging sensory parameters of water to our customers and café partners so they’re aware of the value and varied sensory qualities of water. Water infuses through coffee to extract that wonderful liquid gold. It’s also used under pressure to produce steam to texture the milk, and let’s not forget the importance of balanced clean water to protect coffee machines from increased mineral build-up in the boiler, such as limescale, leading to the longer life of the espresso machine. To us at BRITA, water is not only a science but a passion, and one that we share with our national business partner for coffee filters, Bombora Coffee + Water Supplies. Bombora has always played a key role in not only in the sales of our products, but more importantly, education surrounding the importance of water conditions and the effects non-filtered water can play on equipment and coffee profiles. Our past thought leadership pieces in BeanScene magazine have only strengthened our partnership as leaders in water education. Since we discussed the importance of equipping a café with the right water filtration solution in the August 2021 edition of BeanScene, both companies have received enquiries around testing of water and have made filtration recommendations directly with cafés and technicians. Our other thought leadership piece with Bombora in the April 2022 edition of BeanScene has also been vital in changing customer perceptions of the impact of floodwater on water quality. The flood disaster earlier in the year hit many cafés in New South Wales and Queensland. It was an example that in such conditions, it’s not just the physical damage to properties that suffer, but the quality of water supply too. We really wanted to reiterate the message of clean, safe water for drinking and coffee use. Passing on our filtration knowledge to other industry partners like Coffee Works Express has also empowered the company to become experts in water filter selection.

BRITA’s water wheel has become a useful tool to demonstrate the sensory parameters of water to its café partners.

The flow-on effect has elevated the reputation of both companies and in turn strengthened our relationship. Water mapping is something that BRITA has undertaken globally as an educational tool for a better view of local conditions. BRITA’s detailed water map has been beneficial to Coffee Works Express as they often send equipment to remote areas, where they don’t have first-hand experience or understanding of the water quality. The outcome of our mapping collaborations has also allowed Coffee Machine Technologies to stay informed of the local water conditions. It means it has the correct information to safely and confidently service customers outside of major cities. Partnerships and the learning experience goes both ways. Working with Coffee Machine Technologies has also strengthened our knowledge of the local water conditions in Victoria. As a result of Melbourne’s soft water areas with high particle densities, John Colangeli from Coffee Machine Technologies entrusts our range of filters such as our C50 Fresh and Quell range, to use with his own machines, such as his Viper independent milk steamer, and the many others he distributes for the Victorian market. Coffee Machine Technologies has also taken an active role in adding an educational element of water filtration into all sales and service-related calls, in turn elevating the customer experience. We’re very proud of these partnerships and are thrilled to celebrate their work

through our collaboration with BeanScene. We have received so much great feedback from our dealers, especially from customers that have made the switch to BRITA and not only seen, smelt and tasted a positive difference on their coffee quality, but over the years have commented at how well their coffee machines have continued to work with minimal scale build-up. While education will always be at the forefront of BRITA’s purpose, our global footprint and commitment to providing everyone with a sustainable drinking solution is another main aim. The demand for sustainable products has been steadily increasing for all manufacturers, and the products we bring into Australia follow protocols that keep this in mind. BRITA is always striving to become better at keeping our planet safe. As a family business we need to do our part for future generations to come. Our company has been a trusted brand within Australia for many years. It started with our consumer portfolio introducing Australians to our famous in-home jug systems. Naturally we progressed to manufacturing our professional range and within Australia many coffee dealers welcomed us with open arms, understanding we had a solid and recognisable brand presence and reputation. Australia is a unique country and one that BRITA intends on supporting with outstanding sustainable water solutions for many years to come. For more information, visit www.brita.com.au

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PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

Penny Wolff is the Co-founder of Wolff Coffee Roasters.

What’s in the cup? Penny Wolff of Wolff Coffee Roasters explores caffeine levels and just how little people know about what they’re drinking.

Wolff Coffee Roasters’ new Caffeine Collection range gives customers the choice to control their volume of caffeine intake.

hen a barista hand crafts a cup of coffee and delivers it to you in a porcelain or takeaway cup, do you ever ask what the volume of caffeine is? Would the barista even know? Probably not. The amount of caffeine in your daily coffee varies greatly. It’s a personal choice how much you consume, but it’s also something we’re not talking about. If you walk into the drinks aisle of any supermarket and purchase a canned product, such as Coke or Red Bull, you’ll see a detailed listing of every ingredient within that can, including caffeine percentage. But that’s not the case when you receive a cup of hand-crafted coffee. There’s a movement of consumers looking to be more conscious about what they put into their bodies, and large commercial brands are noticing. CocaCola Company released Coca-Cola No

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Sugar, and alcohol brands Great Northern Brewing Company, James Squire, Corona, Peroni and Carlton have released zero alcohol beers. The coffee industry has long offered a decaf option, but the word, for whatever reason, often has negative connotations when it shouldn’t. But what if we started talking about a “zero caffeine” option, changing the language and the way we describe no to low caffeine beverages? Now it gets interesting. We’re in a period of transparency where we happily disclose the origin,

beans, and farm to customers, even the prices paid along the supply chain. We give them choices of 10 different dairy and alternative milk options, so why wouldn’t we give customers the right to choose their preferred volume of caffeine per cup? When Wolff Coffee Roasters’ Founder and Master Roaster Peter Wolff first started in the industry in the mid-1980s, he recalls the busiest trade period between 9pm to 2am. Coffee shops were packed with consumers enjoying coffee and cake. Over time, coffee has transitioned into a breakfast drink with the stereotype of a morning coffee helping you wake up and start the day. As an industry coming out of a turbulent two years, with a recession looming, why shouldn’t coffee shop doors remain open after 5pm and transform those last few hours of the day to generate additional revenue? The barrier, however, has been the fear from customers about the impact additional caffeine will have on their bodies after 2pm. But what if you were able to drink delicious coffee all day long and not be pushed over the threshold? At Wolff Coffee Roasters, we have always tried to stay ahead of the curve and develop products that align with consumer needs. For us, that means addressing customer concerns around the volume of caffeine consumption and

Caffeine per 100g

Caffeine per 250ml

Zero Blend

0.03 to 0.041

6mg

Low Blend

0.4 - 0.75g

50mg

Hero Blend

2.2 - 2.7g

180mg

Table 1: Caffeine Levels

exploring the reasons people don’t drink or have stopped drinking coffee. Research suggests that the safe volume of caffeine consumption is 400 milligrams per day. We did our own market research with questions and surveys to our own customers and decided to create three flavoursome blends with three different levels of caffeine to help consumers understand that sipping coffee all day can be a reality. Our new Caffeine Collection range is mindfully curated to consider daily caffeine intake and provide the consumer with the power of choice to discover the daily caffeine level that suits their needs, without sacrificing on flavour. We treated the coffees in the same way we would present any normal roast. We did a short maillard reaction, then a long maillard reaction, and conducted the roast to extract the most flavour potential. The way we roast can affect the acid experience and mouthfeel of the coffee, as well as viscosity, and sugar experience by level of caramelisation. It’s a lot of trial and error. We would cup and taste each coffee as a group and discuss what we loved and didn’t love. It took around 11 months of hard work to get each blend to a place we’re happy with. Our new Zero Blend – with less than 0.5 per cent caffeine – contains Colombia La Sienna Sugar Cane Decaf and Brazil Mogiana Eagle Swiss Water Decaf. Its flavour profile consists of dark chocolate, dried apricot, cedar, walnut, with a syrupy mouthfeel and brandied fruit-toned finish. The Low Blend has 60 per cent less caffeine than any of our regular coffee blends. To create this blend, we looked at specific varietals of coffee that are naturally low in caffeine and found an Aceh Ribang Gayo Washed coffee. We roasted it to get the best flavours we could and combined it with our non-caffeine Colombian La Sienna Sugar Cane Decaf coffee. By using a lower caffeine and no caffeine varietal, we have managed to deliver something tasty, smooth, and rounded without bitterness. It contains flavours of bakers’ chocolate, blackcurrant, walnut, brown sugar, and brandied fruit tones. Our Hero Blend is a mix of India Arabica and Robusta, and beans from Colombia, Papua New Guinea and Brazil. Its flavour profile is dark chocolate, ruby grapefruit zest, sweet pine, almond and cedar, with a fudgy mouthfeel. Historically we don’t use a lot of Robusta in our blends, but we knew it was necessary to include to increase the volume of caffeine content. We ran a longer roast, about two minutes more than the others, to help round out the espresso

Caffeine volume is dependent of the choice of coffee varietal and length of roast.

without making it too dark. This way, we lost some of the less desirable qualities of Robusta and picked up sharpness from the bitterness of the caffeine. The Hero Blend has 20 per cent more caffeine than regular blends, purely because of the choice to use Robusta. To the average person who loves their morning cup, they wouldn’t know that a Robusta coffee equates to a significantly higher caffeine hit. I’m sure most cafés can resonate with having a customer that will come in asking for a “double shot latte” because they perceive that it’s going to give them the largest caffeine hit they’re looking for. But what they don’t understand is that caffeine volume is largely due to the coffee varietals used in the blend and the length of roast. The percentage of caffeine in each of our new blends was confirmed after sending each coffee for laboratory testing, as shown in Table 1. At Big Bad Wolff in Hendra,

Queensland, we’re already “dialling in” our caffeine levels during the day. We put the Hero Blend into our grinders in the morning, then transition to the Low Blend and the Zero Blend in the afternoon. We’re using this method as a touchpoint to see what customers prefer, and the practicalities of transitioning this structure to our wholesale accounts, and our cold brew and capsule products over time. The Low Blend is currently the crowd favourite, and the biggest benefit is that customers now know they can come to our café after 2pm and enjoy a delicious coffee while consuming 60 per cent less caffeine. It’s time consumers start asking more questions about what’s in their cup, and for us as industry professionals, to help them make conscious choices. This whole experience has been such an eye opener, and I hope it is for you too. For more information, visit wolffcoffeeroasters.com.au

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KAMAL’S CORNER

Kamal Bengougam is Director of Business Development & Marketing at Eversys.

Back to the future Eversys’ Kamal Bengougam discusses ‘imposter syndrome’ and why the espresso machine manufacturer had to redefine its narrative to create a new category of equipment called Super Traditional.

hen actor Jodie Foster was awarded an Oscar for her role in The Accused, she thought it was a fluke.

“I thought everybody would find out, and they’d take it back. They’d come to my house, knocking on the door: ‘Excuse me, we meant to give that to someone else. That was going to Meryl Streep,’” Jodie said in a 60 minutes interview.

Lots of people have had an experience like Jodie’s. The phenomenon is called imposter syndrome, a term coined by clinical psychologist Dr. Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in the ‘70s. It’s a mindset in which smart, successful people believe that they have fooled others into thinking they’re more intelligent and competent than they really are.

THE STORY

The Eversys Cameo Super T machine integrates authenticity of taste with design aesthetics.

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When I attended my first coffee exhibition back in 2011 with Eversys, everyone was very complimentary about the performance of our espresso. However, we were also told that, as good as it was, it could not compete with the traditional world. But, for an automatic machine, it was amazing. I was not quite sure what to make of this reaction. Were we truly good enough? Should we be satisfied with the comments and yet remain firmly confined within the realm of our ‘automatic’ world? Or could we improve and become a genuine contender, rise up the value chain, and be truly considered among the greats? We did not want to feel like imposters, pretenders to a realm that would remain elusive, that could never be attained. And, as such, we developed a vision, a plan on how we could go, evolve from being an aspiring brand/product to becoming a market leader, part of the inner circle of coffee quality, accepted and respected by our peers.

THE MYTH

Myths are beliefs that have no real substance beyond established mores, customs, things people say. And, in specialty coffee, it is generally believed that, in order to make an authentic espresso, a person had to utilise an Italian-made semi-automatic machine. And yet, when studying the actions of a seasoned barista, one could not fail but notice that a part from sensory, visual, taste, and quality control, the person merely pushed a defined sequence of buttons, and did not produce the beverage. Beans in hopper. Grind button. Powder. Portafilter. Tamp. Machine-brew. Service. Milk frothing. Latte art - if and when required. Myths, like songs, are not real even if some people believe in them...even for a short instant. Picture yourself in a boat on a river with tangerine trees and marmalade skies. You travel on the long and winding road, working eight days a week listening to Sergeant Pepper, trying to not let anyone down while leaving yesterday behind, hoping for something to come together. You jump out of the mythical ‘yellow submarine’ and get back to the reality that, after all, this story is not about equipment... it is all about coffee.

THE MISSION

We began a journey of refining our espresso, analysed all the parameters that contributed to its quality and optimised them. The Eversys research and development team embarked on a mission towards in-cup excellence, and in search of espresso perfection. This included grinder control and precision, the brewing module and its various programmable components of infusion, pressure and temperature consistency and balance. To be able to compete with the traditional greats not only became a mission, it turned into an obsession. We worked with industry leaders and one of the key people we turned to was Australian Matt Perger. Matt had been an innovator in specialty coffee, had competed at international level but, the quality which appealed to us most, was his capacity to understand and evaluate complex technology and then convert them into simple programmable solutions. Matt was gifted with the discerning palate of a coffee geek as well as the logical mind of an engineer. Matt worked closely with our R&D team to help guide and marry our technology to the exact sensory demands of the world of specialty coffee.

The Enigma expands the space between super automatic and traditional machines.

From coffee techs, we had to become espresso nerds, talk the talk, and walk it. We learned words such as sensory, origin, and dialled in, and spent time studying the flavour wheel. We learned that ‘papery’ and ‘petroleum’ tastes were bad, whereas chocolate and maple syrup were good ‘notes’.

THE OUTCOME

Once we had created this machine capable of producing fantastic coffee products, time and again, we began the journey of developing a vision for aesthetics, creating equipment that produced an incredible sensory experience of mouthfeel blended with visual relevance. Our team expanded beyond taste and into design and embarked on a mission to integrate authenticity of taste as well as aesthetics. An in-depth study of metals, colours, shapes, textures was initiated and that resulted in the development of a new range of machines called Cameo. Metallic nuances, spectacular hues and shades followed an intuitive interface. Authenticity was preserved as function met art, form and substance, blended in harmony. Old prejudices vanished like a thief in the night, acceptance beckoned. The imposter

syndrome was suddenly exposed as a fallacy, a myth that had been propagated by fear, ignorance, control. Out of ashes arose Enigma, a new Eversys machine designed to decode the DNA of coffee. Equipped with a range of sensory attributes, we realised that we could no longer fit in the category of historical super automatic machines. Nor could we be, in absolute honesty, be coined a traditional machine. We had to redefine the narrative, create a new category of equipment which we called Super Traditional: ‘Traditional’ in sensory experience with the addition of ‘Super’, the technology that provides productivity, consistency, connectivity and, by eliminating a large part of the barista’s ‘factory’ work... community. The imposter syndrome was put to the sword, exposed as a mere myth. Coffee is the music, the machine is the instrument, and the barista is the maestro. “It’s helpful to have some arrogance mixed with paranoia. If we were all paranoid, we’d never leave the house. If we were all arrogance, no one would want us to leave the house.” Chris Martin, Coldplay lead singer. For more information, visit www.eversys.com/en/

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NITRO

THE PLUG & PLAY SOLUTION

The TONE NITRO incorporates an integrated cooler and uses nitrogen from the air instead of high-pressure nitrogen cylinders to deliver maximum performance and space efficiency in the workplace. The addition of nitrogen enriches your beverages by giving them a smooth, velvety texture with a foamy surface no matter whether iced coffee/ tea or sophisticated cocktail creations. Nitro has a 5 liters plug & play canister and works in unison with Touch 01 to deliver a total solution that generates a wow factor.

TOUCH 01

MULTIFUNCTIONALITY AT ITS BEST

One device, delivering coffee and tea, hot and iced at the touch of a button with a bulk brewer 2-4 liters. The TONE IBS – Intelligent Brewing System - allows the barista to adjust the key brewing parameters and find the optimal extraction. The intuitive interface facilitates programming and total control of water volume, temperature and time of extraction. Perfect for the barista’s daily operations.

TOUCH

THE FIRST BOILERLESS BATCH BREWER The most revolutionary brewer on today‘s market. TONE boilerless Touch 03 features a state-of-the-art brewing system that sustainably channels brew water through a highly innovative heating element that eliminates the need for a traditional heating phase. Touch 03 can reach 94°C / 201° F within 2 seconds after powering on and brew batches from 250 ml to 2 liters. The Touch 03 offers two working mode, basic and advanced. In basic mode, the Tone 03 comes with four pre-defined temperature and pulsation built-in and labelled as mild, medium, bold, and xbold. In advanced mode, the barista is empowered to easily adjust brew recipes to profile various coffee and tea beverages by controlling (via tablet) at different stages of brewing (blooming-, turbulence-, development-) the temperature, brew time, delays, volume flow and pulse patterns.

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TECHNOLOGY PROFILE

Return to the Giro Gruppo Cimbali reconnects to the world of cycling with Faema’s official sponsorship of the Giro d’Italia.

he annual Giro d’Italia is one of the most iconic cycling events in Italy, if not the world. Since 1909, the multi-stage race has become a symbol of athletic endurance and community spirit as hundreds of riders weave their way through the hillsides, towns, and picturesque Italian landscapes. Italian espresso machine manufacturer Faema sponsored its own Faema team from the 1950s to 1970s, which to this day, remains one of the most successful teams of the Giro d’Italia. More than 50 years later, Faema has returned to cycling and its sponsorship of the iconic race. “We really wanted to return to the world of cycling and enter into this partnership with the Giro d’Italia. Faema will be official sponsor of the competition for the next three years. We believe this partnership will rekindle in the hearts of fans that old love that has been going on since the early 1950s,” says Enrico Bracesco, General Manager of Gruppo Cimbali. That love extends to Marta Kokosar, Gruppo Cimbali Communications Director and company coordinator of the Giro d’Italia project, who would go to watch the final stage of the race with her grandfather as a child.

Eddy Merckx won his first major stage race at the Giro d’Italia in 1968, representing team Faema.

The special edition Giro d’Italia Faema President represents timeless design, vintage and modern style.

“My grandfather would take me to watch the end of the race outside the Cathedral in Milan – with his bike,” Marta recalls. “The Giro is a race that unifies the country with routes from the south to the north of Italy, and a festival of activities and regional races that runs the year-round. The riders cycle nearly 200 kilometres every day for a month, no other sport has so much fatigue and endurance.” One rider who has experienced this firsthand is former professional cyclist and Faema team rider Eddy Merckx of Belgium, who won his first major stage race at the Giro d’Italia in 1968. “That first year with Faema I won the Giro, I had the pink jersey for 13 days and I won four stages. It was the first great success for me, and it was for the Faema team,” says Eddy, speaking with Marta. “I remember that we always drank an espresso before the race and we were also given a free uniform because we always had to be dressed well to represent the company with class, and I liked this a lot. They also gave us shoes... and socks, with the inscription ‘Faema’.” From 1968 to 1970, the Faema team became known as “Faemino-Faema” but Eddy says it was always the same, strong group of riders.

To announce Faema’s renewed partnership, Faema held a press conference with the nephews of Italian cyclist Learco Guerra, who presented his original pink woollen jersey used to win the Giro d’Italia for team Faema in 1931. The race was first organised in 1909 to increase sales of the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, of which the logo is still evident on the front of the jersey. That jersey is now on loan at Gruppo Cimbali’s MUMAC museum thanks in a special exhibition titled ‘Never Ending Love’, which tells the love and history that has united Faema and cycling for almost 70 years. To demonstrate its more recent innovations, Faema presented its custom E61 and Faema President, and its latest machine Faemina – in the pink colours of the Giro – to the cyclists and spectators at the starting village each morning before the commencement of the race stage. For the riders, it was an opportunity to enjoy an espresso each morning, and for spectators, it was their first experience of the Faemina espresso machine designed for the home and small business environment. “The Giro d’Italia is certainly an excellent showcase for making people aware of Faema and expanding our target

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TECHNOLOGY PROFILE

For the first time, Italian spectators of the Giro d’Italia are experiencing the one-group Faemina espresso machine.

audience. Thanks to our broad product portfolio and careful reading of market needs, this is a development strategy that we continue to pursue successfully, seizing the best commercial and visibility opportunities,” says Enrico. Marta says that spectators have enjoyed having a nice coffee from the range of Faema machines, in addition to learning about Faema’s history and connection to the Giro d’Italia and discovering its new innovations. “It’s a big opportunity for us because one day those customers may become our ambassadors,” Marta says. While the internet provides one method of interaction, Maurizio Cimbali, President of Gruppo Cimbali, recalls watching the third to last stage of the 1956 Giro on television when the cyclists arrived at Monte Bondone in raining, freezing conditions. “Of the 80 riders, only 42 remained in the race and managed to finish the stage. Among them was [Faema rider Charly Gaul], lifted by the spectators who were watching, and Fiorenzo Magni who, at the age of 36, came third in that legendary stage with a broken collarbone and holding his handlebars with an inner tube clenched between his teeth, ending his career that year with a second place,” Maurizio recalls. “The event made me realise how great humans are, beyond being riders, and that stages are not only won through great physical prowess, but also with the heart.” It is with this sentiment that Faema is helping spread awareness of World Bicycle Relief, a non-profit organisation specialising in a bicycle distribution program to help reduce poverty in areas

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where even the most basic forms of transport are lacking. “World Bicycle Relief does incredible work making bicycles in Africa, and donating them to people in rural communities, places where bikes are crucial to the environment. They help kids go to school, act as ambulances to transport sick people, and move goods or cargo,” Marta says. To support World Bicycle Relief, Faema, in partnership with Technogym, set up a stationary bike at its booth in the starting village of each layover. One dollar for every kilometre cycled was donated to World Bicycle Relief. Donations could also be made through joining Faema’s virtual cycling Strava club.

Faema sponsored its own team from the 1950s to 1970s, which remains one of the most successful teams of the Giro d’Italia.

Cycling remains deeply rooted into the fabric of Italian society. After the Second World War, Italians used bicycle riding to gain more confidence and connect with other villages. “Italy was very poor after the war and bicycle riding became one way we could get around and do things, especially for women. That’s why cycling is a strong part of the Italian culture,” Marta says. The Giro d’Italia did not run for two years because of the war, but ever since, Marta says it’s become an important event that has united the country and showed the Italian people they could still stand together. “There are some similarities to this with the past two years of the pandemic but once again, cycling – and sharing a coffee – has become a way to bring people back together,” Marta says. “There’s a real sense of normalcy in Italy again. People line the streets cheering the rides, there’s a party in the village each day, and it really has connected communities.” Faema hopes to further contribute to that community connection next year when it evolves its storytelling and shares more of the many values the familyowned company believe ins, such as its commitment to sustainability. Until then, Marta is looking forward to celebrating the result of the Giro d’Italia on 29 May in the northern town of Verona, where the town centre will be decorated in the pink colours of the Giro. “It will be a very emotional and special end to what’s been an incredible return back to the Faema’s support of the Giro d’Italia – and we can’t wait to do it all again next year,” she says. For more information, visit www.faema.com/int-en/

TECHNOLOGY PROFILE

When size matters Egro’s new QuBe fully automatic coffee machine is making its way Down Under, and it’s a real size solution for small businesses and the office coffee sector.

n any office building, the coffee machine is a place of community gathering. It gives people permission to take a break from their work and invites conversation with colleagues. The only downside, however, is how much coffee quality can vary based on the person making it. Do you really trust Mary with your first cup of the day? Could Alex texture the milk a little better? Or if left in the hands of Jack, do you find yourself using the excuse to “miss this round and grab another later”? In 2022, Rancilio Group Australasia General Manager Paul O’Brien says there should be no apologies or excuses for a bad cup of coffee, including from an automatic machine. As such, the new Egro QuBe fully automatic coffee machine, under the Rancilio Group umbrella, is the solution that Paul says will make bad office coffee a thing of the past. “Everyone is getting back to the office in some capacity, and we want to support that by ensuring businesses have the right equipment. Egro’s Zero machine was our previous entry level machine, and now Egro has taken the technology from our high-volume machines and applied it in a much smaller, compact format,” he says. “COVID-19 has done a lot for coffee education. Australians are spoilt when it comes to coffee quality, and now we’re transitioning that education from home to the office and small business market, and we’re closing the gap between automatic and barista machines, and what’s acceptable.” QuBe is available in three versions – Pure Coffee, Quick Milk, and Pro Milk – and a total amount of seven configurations. Pure Coffee is suited to volumes of 80 cups per day, Quick Milk to 100 cups per day, and Pro Milk to 120 cups per day. Paul says due to Australia’s high volume milk market, customers will have access to the Pro Milk version, which uses a milk pump system to digitally control the milk temperature and texture/aeration of every dose. Unlike most old-school push-button office machines, Paul says the QuBe

Through the interface, users can program up to 27 drinks, adjust the dosage and temperature, and set hot water doses.

produces a “true long black” with hot water bypassing the solenoid valve through to the group head and onto the coffee for a distinct crema. “The devil is in the detail,” Paul says. “Coffee quality always speaks for itself and with QuBe, that’s the focus. We’re not over-complicating it. It’s about simplicity, choice, and ease of operation so anyone can use QuBe and produce a great result. “The Apple iPhone is the benchmark of high-end technology in a small unit. It’s a simple, clean, easy, and robust device

from the outside, with highly advanced technology on the inside, and that’s what we have here with QuBe.” Egro has been part of Rancilio Group for almost 15 years and as a company, it’s shared the same philosophy for quality since 1927. Rancilio Group Export Sales Director Andrea Lucchini says QuBe is a product the market has been demanding, and something the Italian-based company was able to achieve in just 2.5 years. “Egro always invests in quality and

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TECHNOLOGY PROFILE

QuBe celebrates simplicity, choice, and ease of operation so anyone can use it and produce a great result.

top-of-the-range products. But the key with QuBe was to reduce the size capacity of the machine and thereby price point, and provide a machine with flexibility. In this way, we can give the user different options according to their needs, keeping in mind that quality drives choice,” Andrea says. The main consideration, however, was not to sacrifice the coffee quality output despite developing a lower volume production and more compact model. According to configurations, QuBe features up to two coffee grinders, up to two built-in powder hoppers for chocolate or powder milk, and an optional external fridge for fresh milk. Its adjustable brewing chamber from nine- to 16-gram capacity allows users to customise each coffee recipe during programming. The seven-inch digital touchscreen makes it easy to navigate and select the drink to be dispensed. Through the interface, users can program up to 27 drinks, adjust the dosage and temperature, and set many hot water doses. The QuBe interface is designed with three different menus depending on the operational role as a manager, barista/ operator or technician. In the tech menu, all the different parameters can be set. In manager mode, users can modify menu

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recipes, and in barista/operator view is the list of products to be selected. “When we develop a machine, we really think about everyone in the chain – our technicians, engineers, designers, customers and operators – to see how we can develop a solution that is really accessible, easy to maintain, and makes an overall improvement for our users,” Andrea says. The machine boiler, thermoblock, water tank, and waste basket all fit into the compact space, which is 58.5 centimetres tall. With carefully placed internal components, the QuBe’s compact size is ideal for fitting in most commercial kitchens or under kitchen cupboards with minimal workspace required. The arrangement of QuBe’s internal components, assembled in modules, is also designed to speed up maintenance and cleaning operations. The front panel of the machine allows easy access to QuBe’s internal components, including group head and circuits, for maintenance, while intuitive, easy-step instructions guide users to clean the machine properly with pre-dosed cleaning detergent for the brewing unit and for the milk system. Once the cycle is complete, all the user needs to do is empty the container of waste and refill with fresh water. Just as QuBe is a size solution, it’s also

a solution for venues, such as offices or small businesses without an experienced barista, and with minimal training required. Through Rancilio Group Australasia and the support of Moffat Group, all machine set-ups will take place with a specialised technician in Australia as per the Egro commercial range, as will ongoing training, maintenance, and ongoing support. During installation, customers can choose to have the machine connected directly to a mains water supply, or can simply use the optional four-litre water tank inside the machine. The QuBe also connects to Rancilio Group’s Connect telemetry system. As a powerful IoT solution, Rancilio Group Marketing and Communication Manager Simona Sordelli says the Connect system helps customers gather and easily analyse value-relevant data and key performance parameters. “Users can track and measure consumption of the machine, its performance at various stores within a group, and be notified should an element not be working and is need of attention, further preventing lost downtime and anticipating the need of spare parts if required,” says Simona. For offices considering diving into the world of coffee machines and using QuBe as an incentive to drive staff back in and satisfy their daily coffee cravings, Paul says the cost per cup saving is also worth considering. “Efficiency in the office has always been a consideration, and whether the company is putting free coffee on for all its staff or at a discounted price, it’s good to know the Egro range can be set-up for cashless payment solutions,” he says. “Wouldn’t you rather keep staff within your building for a tasty coffee rather than leaving the premises for 20 minutes each time they go for a coffee break to another venue down the road?” QuBe is just one of many Egro and Rancilio products that will be on display at the 2022 Melbourne International Coffee Expo in September, which will also feature the Rancilio Silvia Pro X, new Classe 20 multi-boiler espresso machine, and Specialty Coffee Association certified Rancilio Specialty RS1 with pre- and postinfusion and optional wooden portafilter and steam lever handles. “There’s so many exciting projects on the way. We can’t wait to receive QuBe in Q3,” Paul says. “MICE will be a big celebration of the broad range of products that embrace Rancilio Group’s commitment to quality offering solutions for every market need.” For more information, visit www.ranciliogroup.com/egro/qube

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Hey mates, come join us at Bluestone Lane in NYC and LA. We’re looking for Baristas, Servers & Chefs who want to build their careers in the USA.

Now hiring eligable J1 Visa holders scan the qr or visit:

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TECHNOLOGY PROFILE

More than attitude

Tempesta Barista Attitude is about to make its competition debut at the World Barista Championship, and as BeanScene explores, it’s more than a name or a piece of technology.

arista Attitude is a name the barista community will start hearing more of. At first glance, the words may be confused with a barista’s strong opinion or behaviour, but in fact, the brand aims to have nothing more than a positive influence on the coffee community and use its voice for good. “The name Barista Attitude is a catalyser but it’s something we believe in – the power of the barista’s attitude and energy to share positive change,” says Cosimo Libardo, Strategic Advisor to the Barista Attitude project. The brand’s latest espresso machine, the Tempesta, has been named the Qualified Espresso Machine of the World Barista Championship (WBC) from 2022 to 2025, and will make its competition debut at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE), hosting the WBC in September. While the machine and brand Barista Attitude are relatively new to market, both sit under the supportive umbrella of CMA in Veneto, Italy, which has been manufacturing espresso machines since 1969. “The Barista Attitude project started a few years ago as a collaborative effort between internal and external stakeholders to do something different for

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the market that hadn’t been done before,” says Cinzia Pietrobon, Barista Attitude Brand Manager. “It led to the creation of Storm a few years ago, but it never became a complete project. We took the time to improve and explore, using the experience and knowledge of CMA and Storm – still very much part of the DNA of the company – to approach the market in a new way, and that’s what we’ve done with Barista Attitude, and Tempesta.” Being named the Qualified Espresso Machine of the WBC is one thing, but Cinzia says the partnership is about much more than having a good product. “We had to start thinking about who we were today, how we got here, the experience we want to share through Tempesta, and what we want to be tomorrow,” she says. The result was a company manifesto representing the values of the brand first, rather than its technical ability. “The manifesto is not just a statement of what we are, but an exploration of how we can do better and what direction we need to take,” says Cinzia. “It’s more of a moral compass for the way we’re doing things, but it will materialise into projects and what we do in future.” Francis Needham and Michele Marchetti of communications company

Display studio helped design the manifesto, using bright colours and eye-catching graphics. Some of its key phrases include Barista Attitude’s “belief in the greatness of small things and exceptional routines”, “coffee is a plant not a cup”, and “exploring means feeling”, symbolising the barista’s connection to the espresso machine. “The relationship between the barista and machine is powerful. Each time a barista makes an espresso, they’re exploring something: the changes in temperature, pressure, extraction, flavour – it’s a constant exploration of coffee, and that’s part of the spirit of Barista Attitude. What we’re trying to give the barista is a tool that gives them absolute control and the possibility to experiment,” Cinzia says. That combination is thanks to Barista Attitude’s hardworking factory workers in Veneto, Italy, whom Cosimo says are extremely proud of the work they have produced. That includes Tempesta’s intuitive touchscreen interface, which controls the brewing of the coffee. Displays on the group head make it easy for operators to receive performance and extraction data in real-time, in addition to information on pressure, flow and temperature. This is a feature Cosimo is confident baristas around the world will be impressed with. The WBC version of the Tempesta is a

multi-boiler system, but other modules are available with FRC pressure profiling for users to modulate manually or program. The temperature of the group heads can also be changed quickly, with a precision of +/- 0.5 in temperature settings, which can also be easily adjusted. “Every feature and function of the Tempesta is for the insurance of quality in the cup, and to allow the barista to focus their attention on the customer,” Cinzia says. Everything has been designed with ergonomics and ease of operation in mind. The height of the trays is adjustable and the steam wands, featuring Super Dry technology without need for additional water, are easy to modulate with progressive levers that adjust to different pitcher sizes. “The ergonomics were really considered because we don’t want the machine to interrupt the barista’s movement, but to facilitate and enhance it. We want to leave space for the barista

The Tempesta has been designed with ergonomics in mind to help facilitate and enhance the barista’s movement around the machine.

to express themselves and interact with the machine. After all, the machine is the stage for the barista to share their talent,” Cosimo says. “The espresso machine is also an agora, a place where space and imagination combine. It becomes a place where beautiful people come together, where the most beautiful possibilities are created, and where important conversations are had – job interviews, catchups, breakups.” Barista Attitude is also focused on the social and sustainable impact of its product. To support the livelihood of coffee farmers, the company sponsors the Specialty Coffee Association’s Green Coffee Buyers and Sellers program to connect producers with green bean buyers and roasters. Internally, Barista Attitude is conducting its own diversity and inclusion project, Project Flux, to culturally map areas for improvement as a company, and as a group of people.

“We want to have a greater social impact with the projects we’re involved with, and the opportunities we create internally and externally,” Cinzia says. Outside its own walls, Barista Attitude also wants to inspire the next generation of baristas and attract more people to the profession. “Baristas are the last touchpoint of coffee for many people, but they’re so much more: psychologists, artists, creators. We ask a lot of them. Barista work is not easy, and now the industry is facing staff shortages. The question is: how can we attract more people to the profession? You can do a course to learn about brewing methods but who teaches you the art of hospitality,” Cosimo says. “We value their role as one of the highest professions, and we would like to have a positive impact on their development.” Part of that impact, Cosimo adds, is to remove any stigma surrounding specialty coffee as a privileged beverage. “Specialty coffee should be accessible to everyone,” Cosimo says. “We want to create a better, more joyful experience without any arrogance, which only makes coffee bitter. We know that great extraction without a smile only serves to fill the cup, so more smiles please.” When the world’s best baristas take to the stage for the WBC in just a few months’ time, using Tempesta, it will be an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the machine. It will also be a time for Barista Attitude to learn from the barista community and enhance its relationships. “We are very aware we are the newcomers to a certain degree, but we’re not amateurs. We are one of the largest companies globally with huge technical and manufacturing experience behind us, and we have a really wonderful machine in Tempesta,” Cosimo says. “But more than celebrating its technology ability, our partnership of the WBC is an opportunity for us to learn from the community, to improve and to continue to do better.” Barista Attitude has a clear direction for Tempesta in the Australian market, in what Cinzia describes as “one of the premier coffee markets” it wants to succeed in. “We are going to be very seriously and deeply embracing the Australian market and we look forward to having meaningful conversations at MICE in Melbourne,” she says. “I hope that Australia gives the machine a chance to perform, and a chance to create relationships so we can stay beyond the WBC.” For more information, visit www.barista-attitude.com or Australian distributor cwe.com.au

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TECHNOLOGY PROFILE

Ascaso’s Barista T two-group machine use electronically controlled thermoblocks to conserve energy by heating the extraction water only.

A solution for all

Technical service provider Brew Solutions is passionate about supporting its customers to make informed decisions about machine performance and environmental impact.

s the coffee industry focuses on sustainable developments in each segment of the supply chain, Brew Solutions Australia Co-Founder Leigh Michelmore says the technical service provider has a key role to play. Not only is it committed to providing customers with a range of products that deliver high performance standards, it is committed to educating customers about their sustainable benefits. “Sustainability has become pretty black and white. Everybody’s talking about it. If you’re not thinking about it and considering being sustainable, you risk being left behind,” Leigh says. “Business owners need to be accountable, and staff need to be educated to help eliminate our industry’s contribution to waste, in what has a big throwaway culture. Customers know about base level initiatives such as reusable coffee cups, even producers using sustainable farming methods, but many don’t know the benefits of sustainable machinery.” The key, Leigh says, is communication. While coffee machines lack the energy star ratings applied to appliances such as washing machines and fridges, the

information Brew Solutions Australia shares with café and roaster customers is crucial to helping them make informed purchasing decisions. “It’s up to us to be responsible and inform our customers about the range of machines on offer and their sustainable features, which may actually sway a purchasing decision,” says Leigh. “As a business owner, it’s important to align yourself with brands that meet the sustainable needs your customers are looking for. Using equipment that proves its efficiency and power, has reduced environmental impact and helps lower power costs, is a win-win.” Ascaso is one such brand that has a strong sustainable ethos. Reducing the energy consumption of its coffee machines has been a priority for the past 10 years. The result is the creation of its own T technology developed in-house at its Barcelona headquarters. Its Barista T two-group machines consume 4.6 kilowatts per hour and guarantee an energy saving of 50 per cent compared to other single-boiler machines. Based on average European usage and prices, it is estimated Ascaso customers can save about $450 on their annual electricity bill and an average 5.5

kilowatt-hours per 24-hours over 300 days of machine usage. Its machines use electronically controlled thermoblocks to conserve energy by heating the extraction water only. Thanks to its electronic temperature management feature, the heating element only operates when necessary, and only for as long as required. As there is no water in the group, very little energy is needed to maintain the right temperature. All coffee groups and steam boiler are PID-controlled and feature electronic thermostats that are fast and precise, in addition to thermal lagging to help increase the machine’s energy-efficiency. “Ascaso ticks all the boxes. It’s professional, communicates well, and always has the interests of the consumer and the environment front of mind,” says Brew Solutions Business Development Manager Nick Ferguson. Victoria Arduino is another passionate manufacturer producing machines that are economically and environmentally considered under its core pillars of innovation, education, and sustainability. Its Eagle One commercial espresso machine embraces sustainability in all senses of the word: energy use, space saving, new materials, and accessibility.

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TECHNOLOGY PROFILE

Armede espresso machines celebrate minimalistic design with recyclable materials.

Victoria Arduino’s instant water heating system called NEO (New Engine Optimisation) includes a new boiler made entirely of stainless steel, and thermal insulation made with a material that guarantees extreme isolation and reduces heat dispersion. NEO operates in the extraction phase. Its role is to heat the amount of water required exactly in the moment it’s needed, thus reducing energy-related costs. This same technology and NEO engine is also used in Victoria Arduino’s E1 Prima. The patented technology in the Eagle One is the Temperature Energy Recovery System, also aimed at further reducing the need for thermal energy. This system works in combination with the autopurge, thus ensuring sustainability and workflow are improved simultaneously. Every time a barista purges the group head, the energy of this hot water is recovered, and used to pre-heat incoming water, resulting in an 8 per cent saving on total machine consumption. A lifecycle assessment of Eagle One’s new technologies found this model to have 23 per cent less environmental impact and fewer CO2 emissions compared to other devices. “Victoria Arudino is a brand that actively considers power saving, energy efficiency and its environmental impact. Every time Victoria Arduino designs a machine, it connects with café owners and baristas to address their needs and constantly works on its technology to see how it can accommodate in the most power-saving and cost-effective way,” says Brew Solutions Business Manager Stacey Benjamin. Aremde is another brand that stands by its ethos of minimalistic design and using materials that have a recyclable purpose. “In the production of Aremde machines, nothing is wasted, and everything has a purpose,” Leigh says. “Ninety per cent of the components used to manufacture the machine are sourced with sustainability in mind. Aremde products are made in Brisbane,

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Australia, so not only are you saving on freight, which is costly and harmful for the environment, you are supporting the Australian economy.” Leigh says it’s important customers keep an open mind when making a new or refurbished machine purchase. Design and functionality are one thing, but a healthy supplier relationship is another. “We want to build a sustainable relationship with our customers and for them to feel we have their back and are here to support them whenever the need it,” Leigh says. “Here at Brew Solutions, we’ve all run cafés. We know the costs of running a business and what customers want, and cost savings and machine longevity is certainly part of that. We don’t want to sell a machine because it’s a machine. We want to make sure it is right for the customer and will save them money over time. Customers can trust our experience and knowledge. As business owners, we genuinely want them to succeed, and have a positive experience with Brew Solutions.” Leigh and Geoff Michelmore founded Brew Solutions in 2016. With Leigh’s many years of corporate and customer relationship experience and Geoff’s technical know-how, their opposite traits have complemented a business that has quickly evolved into a family-run technical service provider for Southeast Queensland, and a national equipment supplier.

“We have worked in the industry long enough to know what we didn’t want the business to be, and it’s grown from there,” Leigh says. “I pride myself on looking after our customers, as well as our staff. I will go above and beyond. That comes down to just being a decent person, treating people with respect, being open and honest. People have enough struggles and problems as it is. To have someone they can rely on, someone who can always provide a solution, is why we’re here.” Leigh also gets a huge sense of satisfaction knowing her staff love coming to work each day. “We spend a lot of time together so knowing that their time at Brew Solutions is enjoyable for them, also increases productivity and the wellbeing on each individual. That energy is then is passed onto our customers,” she says. Leigh is confident Brew Solutions has a strong future ahead, and is determined to see the company thrive. “We’re always learning. The industry is forever changing and we need to change with it, but our growth is very organic. I want to watch our team grow and still be here in 20 years’ time with the same customers by our side – that’s when you know you’ve created a successful business.” For more information, visit brewsolutions.com.au

The team at Brew Solutions Australia are committed to providing customers with a positive experience.

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Sustainability FEATURE

Merlo goes green Merlo Coffee is on a mission to obtain carbon neutrality, and to get there, Head of Operations Simon Brooks reflects on its sustainability endeavours.

risbane-based coffee company Merlo Coffee is turning up the heat on its sustainability goals, making a very deliberate effort to become more environmentally friendly in all its business practices. Merlo’s Head of Operations Simon Brooks says this includes everything from discounts on reusable cups and compostable packaging, to recently installed solar panels at several facilities. “Sustainability has become a buzz word in recent years, and people are increasingly looking to companies to implement sustainable business practices. There’s no reason for businesses to not try and do the most for the environment and do their part here in Australia,” says Simon. “Our goal this year is to reduce our emissions even further, firstly by reintroducing reusable cups back into the marketplace as COVID-19 subsides.” To incentivise customers, Merlo is offering a free coffee on purchase and $0.30 savings on refills for customers that use a reusable cup. The company also provides a complimentary coffee to customers who bring six Merlo cup trays in-store to be reused. Merlo is determined to keep more than three million takeaway cups out of landfill. To help reach its goal, sustainable packaging company BioPak has introduced fully compostable, eco-friendly packaging for Merlo customers. “Compostable BioCups from BioPak are the first and only products of their kind to be certified carbon neutral and commercially compostable to Australia and New Zealand standards. It allows customers to make a big difference through their choices,” says Simon. “Now you can do something good for the earth by dropping a Merlo BioCup in our collection bins outside any Merlo Coffee store. These cups and lids will be combined with Merlo’s coffee grounds, food scraps and packaging and in less than 12 weeks, the by-product is utilised as a nutrient rich compost.”

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Merlo BioCups can be deposited in blue compost bins outside any Merlo Coffee store.

Merlo’s BioPak cups use Ingeo polylactide bioplastics, which utilise a number of renewable resources such as plant oils, cellulose, starches, sugars, carbohydrates, bacteria and algae. This results in 75 per cent less greenhouse gases than conventional plastics. “We distribute around five million cups per year from our warehouse, which is a huge amount of landfill. That’s a major reason why we partnered with BioPak, to make sure we reduce our wastage and do as little damage as possible [to the environment],” Simon says.

Merlo has even switched from double to single-wall cups, thereby saving 112 tonnes of paper and 335 tonnes of trees required to make the paper each year. Merlo also exclusively uses BioPak’s compostable cups, lids, packaging, and cutlery across all retail stores. Since partnering with BioPak, and from the period of June 2020 to July 2021, Simon says Merlo has made many positive contributions to replace conventional foodservice packaging, such as offsetting more than one million kilograms of carbon, the equivalent of

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driving just under five million kilometres in a new car. “We’ve also avoided 45,000 kilograms of plastic by choosing sustainable alternatives to finite fossil-based plastics,” says Simon. Outside of the factory, Merlo has made a wider environmental contribution by planting 157 trees to support Rainforest Rescue and Greenfleet with their tree planting and environmental restoration initiatives. “We’ve always been very sustainably focused, since [company founder] Dean Merlo started the business. We want to contribute as much as possible to support the Rainforest Rescue and the Greenfleet initiatives so we can replenish trees and the coffee industry as a whole,” Simon says. A number of Merlo’s top selling beans, such as its Brazilian Single Origin and Decaf Blend are also Rainforest Alliance certified, ensuring compliance to rigorous environmental, social and economic criteria. “It’s one of the largest non-profit organisations that supports responsible business. Not only does the alliance protect forests, but it improves the livelihoods of farmers, promotes their

Merlo offers customers a $0.30 discount on the refill of any reusable cup.

human rights, and helps them mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis. That’s why we promote the organisation, to help support the farmers, where it all begins,” says Simon. In 2019, Merlo invested more than

$300,000 in solar energy panels to power both its Eagle Farm and Bowen Hills roasting facilities. The use of solar energy offsets the large amounts of electricity used to power its roasters, which produce 1200 tonnes of roasted coffee per year. The husks from its roasters are also compacted into pellets which can be used in the garden, as a fire starter or in worm farms. “Our objective is to offset our carbon footprint by ensuring our roasting facilities are carbon neutral,” Simon says. He is happy with Merlo’s sustainable efforts so far, but is driven by the company’s big future plans to reduce the company’s waste even further. “We’re getting very close to where we want to be, however there’s still a way to go. There’s still a lot of takeaway packaging we’d like to get rid of, and we’d like to transfer our wholesale customers to compostable bags,” Simon says. “We hope we set an example to other businesses of how easy it is to operate sustainably. There’s plenty of incentives and technologies out there to assist everyone, so there’s really no excuse.” For more information, visit www.merlo.com.au

CO-Tube is a system capable of accelerating the degassing time with nitrogen injection, in a deep vacuum environment. A closed-handling system almost allows zero-oxygen process conditions, making it unique to guarantee the maximum aroma preservation with significant savings in terms of inert gas used during the process. A STEP AHEAD IN DEGASSING TECHNOLOGY. ima.it/coffee

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Sustainability FEATURE

One less footprint FTA Coffee discusses becoming Australia’s first coffee importer to offer Climate Active certified carbon neutral green coffee beans.

hen FTA Coffee considered becoming a carbon neutral green bean company, it was Brazilian producer Henrique Sloper who inspired General Manager David McKennariey to take the leap by demonstrating the importance of sustainable farming practices. “Henrique Sloper, the owner of Fazenda Camocim and former Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association President, uses biodynamic agriculture to grow coffee. He spoke to me about this process and the influence it had on neighbouring farmers, which triggered us to question how we could contribute to the work he was doing,” David says. “After mentioning that he was carbon neutral, we first looked at shipping a single container of coffee from Henrique to roasters in Australia as carbon neutral coffee. Then one of the owners of FTA Coffee, Steve Ward, suggested instead to make our entire organisation at FTA Coffee carbon neutral. “Having the support of the owners of the business really increased the scope of something which was initially quite limited and triggered by an individual producer.” Andy Todd, FTA Coffee’s Quality and

Funds raised through FTA Coffee’s purchase of carbon offsets are currently directed to initiatives like the Rainforest Rescue project.

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Sustainability Manager with post-graduate studies in sustainability, then helped map out FTA’s supply chain and carbon footprint. Now officially certified by the Climate Active organisation, the green bean importer is committed to providing 100 per cent carbon neutral green coffee to the Australian market. David says the company chose to join Climate Active to ensure its carbon neutral program was verified to the highest standard. “The aim of FTA Coffee’s carbon neutral project is to mitigate the negative environmental impacts of the coffee valuechain while contributing to positive social outcomes for the producers that we source coffee from,” says David. “In doing so, we will make a positive and impactful contribution on behalf of our customers.” Climate Active is a partnership between the Australian Government and Australian businesses to drive voluntary climate action. The brand represents Australia’s collective effort to measure, reduce, and offset carbon emissions to lessen negative impacts on the environment. David says FTA Coffee wants to encourage roasters who source their coffee through the company to also consider

reducing their footprint by mentoring them in the development of their own carbon neutral programs or offsetting their emissions on their behalf. “Our carbon neutral certification allows us to provide two different levels of carbon neutrality. The first is carbon neutral certification of product to the roaster’s door, whereby we provide carbon neutral coffee beans to our customers who then know that they are playing a part in reducing carbon emissions from the coffee value chain,” he says. “This option to purchase carbon neutral green coffee from us is at no extra cost to the roaster. We’ve taken that cost on and are only looking to motivate customers to do more if they have the ability to. “The second, is carbon neutral certification of product to the café door, whereby in addition to providing carbon neutral coffee beans to roasters, we then account for and offset all the roaster’s emissions within our certification, allowing the roaster to provide carbon neutral roasted coffee beans to their customers. In effect, we certify the roaster’s operations by proxy.” David says the latter option is a great way for roasters to make an impact when they don’t have the resources required to go down the path of certification. “FTA Coffee encourages both its customers and end consumers to become even more aware of the positive impacts they can make by deliberately choosing to purchase coffee that is environmentally friendly and ethically sourced, thereby making a positive contribution to the planet and to the people producing it,” he says. “There is great appetite and motivation in the Australian coffee scene to be a positive contributor towards coffee sustainability, be it environmental, producer pricing or community impact. “Being the first importer in Australia to achieve a net zero carbon footprint addresses one of those key pillars and no doubt will encourage other businesses in the industry to follow suit.”

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Working with climate change advisory firm Ndevr Environmental, FTA Coffee Quality and Sustainability Manager Andy worked hard to identify, measure, and analyse the carbon footprint of its largest emissions source of ocean freight shipments, as well as the coffee it imports. According to David, the funds raised through FTA Coffee’s purchase of carbon offsets will initially be directed to a range of projects. These projects were selected by FTA Coffee in partnership with Tasman Environmental Markets who ensure and maintain strict verification standards. This includes the Cool Fire Project, a venture that manages preventative burn-offs, which in turn reduces the risk of much bigger and more harmful bushfires. Another initiative includes Rainforest Rescue in Peru, a project supporting sustainable coffee and cocoa production. Enterprise Improved Cookstoves in Malawi and Guatemala, which improves wood-burning stove efficiencies and indoor air quality, is another project FTA Coffee supports to offset emissions. As a result, the project promotes positive community health outcomes and lower carbon emissions. David says the carbon neutral project

is the first sustainable milestone for FTA Coffee in establishing a formal sustainability platform for the company. It is one David hopes will inspire all stakeholders, employees, suppliers, customers, shareholders, and the community to consider their own impact on the planet and act upon it, just as Brazilian producer Henrique has done. Henrique says regenerative agriculture

FTA Coffee aims to find the best quality coffee from the finest producers and deliver it to roasters in Australia and New Zealand.

WE ARE CARBON NEUTRAL

Climate Active certification formalises our journey to a net zero, carbon neutral future by 2022 and our quest to create a sustainable future of coffee. Certified by Climate Active for our business operation.

is the future of coffee, with a focus on carbon footprint, water usage and soil health. “Working with a partner like FTA Coffee who understands and values these principles is key to ensuring the viability of future generations of producers, roasters and consumers of coffee,” he says. David says the next and more challenging goal for FTA Coffee, is to actively work towards reducing its carbon footprint, as opposed to just offsetting it. “This includes less travel, reducing heating and cooling consumption, contributing to programs at origin that help establish sustainable farming practices, transitioning away from gas roasters to electric, and sourcing green energy,” David says. “As green coffee importers, we’re focused on developing sustainable supply chains and providing environmentally friendly and ethically sourced quality green coffee from around the globe. “Every little thing we do to reduce our impact on the environment brings us closer to the holy grail, the great guilt-free cup of coffee.” For more information, visit www.ftacoffee.com.au

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Sustainability FEATURE

From source to shelf BeanScene discovers what drives Nestlé and its dedicated foodservice division, Nestlé Professional, towards creating a more sustainable future for the coffee industry, and its customers.

Nestlé’s approach to sustainability builds on over a decade of work, culminating in its Net Zero Roadmap.

hile Nestlé has expressed the ambition to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, at the heart of its goals lies the aim to inspire collective action in its customers and end consumers. In this way, as the world’s largest food and beverage company, Nestlé has a unique opportunity to address the issue of climate change. “Climate change is one of the biggest threats we face as a society. It is also one of the greatest risks to the future of our business,” Nestlé Professional General Manager Scott Stuckmann says. “Deploying Nestlé’s resources and industry know-how, we know we can make a difference at a significant scale, both globally and locally.” Nestlé’s holistic approach to sustainability builds on more than a

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decade of work culminating in its Net Zero Roadmap, released in 2020. This identified science-based carbon emission targets of 20 per cent by 2025, 50 per cent by 2030, and net zero by 2050. “We have created a three-stage plan which will see us first accelerate our sustainable sourcing, manufacturing, and packaging efforts, moving more of our brands to become carbon neutral by 2025. Our next step will involve us globally investing in new technologies and making fundamental changes to our products and businesses by 2030. We’re also taking steps to achieve a regenerative food system at scale with advanced agricultural techniques,” says Scott. As part of Nestlé’s Net Zero Roadmap, Nestlé has made the commitment to have 100 per cent of its coffee responsibly sourced by 2025. This means that the coffee can be traced back to an identified

farmer group and verified or certified by independent organisations. “From the plants to our cup, we put a lot of love into our coffee. We aim to reduce carbon emissions where we source coffee and throughout our operations. We are also addressing our coffee’s packaging materials and taking many steps to help reach Nestlé’s commitment to making our packaging 100 per cent recyclable or reusable by 2025,” says Scott. Nestlé’s sustainability focus is evident across the entire value chain. “We roast all of our whole coffee bean range locally in Gympie in Queensland. More than 80 per cent of the total energy at our Gympie factory is renewable energy, sourced from 100 per cent renewable electricity and other renewable sources, including used coffee grounds. This kind of circular innovation is a great example of sustainability in action,” says Scott.

At the other end of the value chain, Nestlé Professional is also working with its customers to encourage more sustainable purchasing and consumption. Unsustainable coffee production can have an adverse impact on people and the environment. With an ever-increasing number of end consumers searching for a sustainably sourced brew, the impetus is being placed on cafés and restaurants to identify and use sustainable coffee beans in their establishments. “Sustainability has become increasingly important to today’s consumer, and they are more interested than ever in supporting sustainable products and businesses who can reduce the impact of climate change,” Scott says. Nestlé Professional works with the Rainforest Alliance for certification, validating that the coffee has been produced using methods that support their three pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic, and social. The company plans to source all blends under its The Roaster Guy brand from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms by 2023. Already, its Brazilian beans in this range are completely sourced from

Nestlé Professional aims to source all blends under its The Roaster Guy brand from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms by 2023.

Rainforest Alliance Certified farms, while 35 per cent of the beans featured in the Merchant’s Vice, Traveller’s Pick and Wanderer’s Brew blends have become Rainforest Alliance Certified. By ensuring coffee meets sustainability standards, Scott says benefits can be felt throughout the whole value chain and the future supply of high-quality coffee can be secured. As organisations like the Rainforest Alliance create an easier route towards sourcing more sustainably, cafés and restaurants can aspire and search for other ways to incorporate more sustainable practices into their businesses. Examples

of this might be as simple as participating in recycling programs for single-use coffee cups or promoting the use of reusable coffee cups. “I think if we all do our part, we can achieve real change both within our business and our supply chain. Supporting our customers goes beyond supplying more sustainably sourced and produced coffee, we want to help educate and inspire them to operate more sustainably and in doing so, be part of the climate change solution,” says Scott. For more information, visit nestleprofessionalbeverages.com.au

Distributed in Australia by Coffee Tools Distributing www.coffeetools.supply Proud sponsors of the World AeroPress Championship

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Sustainability FEATURE

No time to waste BioPak discusses the importance of reducing food and beverage waste and how its Compost Connect online platform is connecting the hospitality industry to industrial composters nationwide.

ompost Connect board member and BioPak CEO Gary Smith happened to be sitting at a local café in Bondi, New South Wales, in late 2017, when a drive-by organic recycling truck made him realise how simple it was to collect waste from cafés and restaurants and divert it from landfill to compost, and that he needed to change business waste disposal behaviour. This encounter sparked Gary’s idea to not only provide waste collection services for cafés and restaurants but educate the broader public about composting. “As a business we are committed to growing the local composting infrastructure. That is why we started a non-profit organisation Compost Connect, which aims to reduce the one million tonnes of organic waste created by Australia’s hospitality industry every year,” says Gary. Sustainable packaging business BioPak launched its first Compost Service in 2017 to help make composting more accessible for its customers. Composting bins were set up at various venues, and

BioPak partnered with waste collection providers to collect and transport waste to an industrial compost facility. Due to the success of the program, BioPak received a government grant in 2020 to open the service to all businesses that provide compostable packaging, thus launching the Compost Connect initiative. “The Compost Connect website makes composting far more accessible by providing users with a directory of companies that supply certified compostable packaging, alongside a simple search to find your local compost collection partner,” Gary says. Through the website, individuals can also find local councils that provide food and garden organics collection services with detailed information on what is being accepted, to further help divert these materials from landfills. This is especially useful for takeaway packaging. According to BioPak, so far there are 80 councils across Australia that accept compostable packaging in their residential Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) collections. Compost Connect provides education

Compost Connect aims to grow access to organic recycling and instigate widespread change.

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and resources about compostable packaging and only lists distributors providing packaging certified compostable by the Australasian Bioplastic Association, which is the certification body for Australian home and industrial composting standards. It provides an industrial seedling and home compost logo that can then be applied to packaging to give consumers and composters confidence that these products will completely biodegrade within a defined timeframe, without any adverse impact on the final quality of the compost. Composting plant-based packaging is a closed loop solution. Compostable packaging like BioPak’s is made from plants that require quality soil to grow. When its packaging is composted along with food and beverage scraps, it breaks down through the composting process and returns nutrients back to the soil to grow more plants. Gary says BioPak could not continue to simply accept that its products were ending up in landfill when there was a more sustainable option available. “We accept responsibility for all stages in the lifecycle of our products,” Gary says. “We’re not about being ‘less bad’. Instead, we’re creating products that reflect a cradle-to-cradle life cycle rather than a cradle-to-grave life cycle.” Gary says reducing food and beverage waste is one of the most important strategies to combat global warming, and an opportunity to divert organic waste from landfill. “Composting is hyper local, utilises natural processes and does not require significant energy to operate. You put all your compostable packaging and food and beverage scraps into one bin, and it all gets converted into compost.” Individuals can also choose to support cafés and restaurants who are using compostable packaging and composting on the Compost Club Map. Venues include Neil Perry’s new restaurant

Margaret and Matt Whiley’s Re bar in Sydney, and vegan delight Smith + Daughters in Melbourne. The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) was an early adopter of Compost Connect and composting. Across its three Sydney offices, CBA feed 10,000 people a day, generating more than 10 tonnes of organic waste a month. Now that CBA is composting, it has turned its waste into enough compost to fill more than 8400 10-kilograms bags of compost. Composting also enables CBA to avoid the release of 61,200 kilograms of carbon emission, which is equal to driving a new car 230,322 kilometres, or nine laps around Australia. Gary explains how composting can also help to fight climate change. “When organic matter, such as food and beverage scraps, is disposed of into landfill, it releases methane, a harmful greenhouse gas. That means waste sent to landfill is a huge contributor to climate change,” Gary says. “Composting diverts organic waste from landfill, and subsequently helps fight the climate emergency while also producing a useful new resource – compost

– that improves soil quality and water retention.” Gary says composting is also a low-tech, low-cost solution for waste management in the hospitality industry. “It offers a means to divert large volumes of food and beverage scraps and organic waste from landfill. In Australia and New Zealand, the infrastructure already exists and is rapidly becoming more widely available in different councils and constituencies,” he says. Gary adds that more than 250 businesses are already participating in the Compost Connect initiative, which is collectively diverting an estimated 2000 tonnes of food and beverage waste and packaging from landfills annually. This material is then transformed into 1400 tonnes of compost, reducing potential landfill greenhouse gas emissions by 1300 tonnes. “Compost Connect eliminates the need for consumers to dispose of food and packaging in separate bins and reduces contamination of high-value materials, which simultaneously lessens the environmental impacts of organic materials in landfills,” he says.

“The good news is that it’s an easy system to implement. There is no change to your back-of-house set-up. The general waste bin becomes the organics bin, which is emptied into the compost wheelie bin instead of the general waste one. Just remember to use compostable bin liners. Cardboard and plastic recycling can continue to be collected as normal.” By connecting packaging and hospitality businesses with the organic waste industry, Compost Connect is helping to grow access to organic recycling and instigate widespread change at a local and global level. “It’s been an amazing accomplishment, especially when I see the thousands of tonnes we’ve avoided from landfill and the number of people that are educated through the Compost Connect network, who are then able to educate others,” Gary says. “It makes us immensely proud that we’ve been able to play a small part in creating solutions that will help us achieve zero waste as a nation.” For more information, visit www.compostconnect.org or www.biopak.com

BARISTA T ONE

Where power and performance meets sustainability. Multi-group technology with PID control. Professional-grade performance: Thermal stability guaranteed. High steam production.

Freshly Delivered Water. Avoiding the use of standing, constantly reheated water to make the coffee.

Energy efficiency. 50% average saving compared to a traditional machine and 25% compared to other multi boiler machines.

Brew Solutions Australia is the official Australian distributor for Ascaso. Contact us today. www.brewsolutions.com.au | 1300 211 173 beanscenemag.com.au

Sustainability FEATURE

Recirculating heat for all roast sizes BeanScene speaks to Roastquip Managing Director Will Notaras about his longstanding relationship with IMF roasters and the importance of sustainable roasting solutions.

hen it comes to purchasing roasting equipment, speed and consistency are one thing, but environmental considerations are another. To Roastquip Managing Director Will Notaras, climate change is everyone’s responsibility. “It’s almost impossible to not have this in mind when looking to install a new roaster,” says Will. “Not only do IMF roasters reduce greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, but they also save roasting companies enormous amounts of money in energy costs, so it’s a win-win situation.” IMF have been manufacturing low nitrous oxide (NOx) recirculating heat technology drum roasters for more than 25 years and is a pioneer of this technology. “Unlike conventional roasters that use a burner for the roaster and a separate burner (afterburner) to treat the emissions, IMF roasters use only one burner chamber,” says Will. As the coffee is roasted, emissions leave the drum and enter the burner chamber to incinerate and purify the hot air. Some of the clean heat in the burner chamber, which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere, is recirculated back into the drum, saving between 30 to 47 per cent in gas consumption. IMF roasters feature its exclusive Vortex and Equaliser roasting technology. The Vortex system mixes ambient air into the hot airstream before it enters the roaster via an electronically operated modulating valve that makes hundreds of calculations per second. This ensures air is already at the correct temperature

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IMF’s modern-designed roasters allow for efficient and uniform high volume roasting batch after batch.

before it enters the drum. The Equaliser ensures the same volume of hot air both inside and surrounding the drum surface enters the roaster. This creates even heat distribution across the surface of the coffee beans, resulting in coffee roasted with precision and consistency. “The whole recirculating heat process is fully automated resulting in maximum heat efficiency,” says Will. IMF’s first Australian installed roaster was in Adelaide in 1999. Over the years, IMF roasters have been upgraded with advanced features due to the high demands of Australian roasters. Through IMF’s Australasian agent Roastquip who have been exclusive IMF agents since 2012, it has installed more than 70 plants in Australia and New Zealand, making it one of the largest selling roasters in Australia.

IMF’s roasters are easily adaptable to customer’s needs, with 50 parameters that can be adjusted per profile. “Bean and air temperatures as well as drum speed and airflow can be adjusted at each step of the 12-step profile, giving the operator unlimited control over how much conductive and convective heat can be applied, which is especially important when roasting for espresso coffee,” Will says. “Manual override of any of the parameters can also be done in real time, and up to 1000 profiles can be stored.” Will says IMF has a precision temperature stability of one-degree accuracy, making it one of the most consistent roasters on the market. “As well as this, the chaff extractor system removes chaff automatically into a bin. A double filter system cleans green

bean dust while loading the coffee, and a built-in maintenance schedule reminds the operator when to carry out maintenance. A modem is fitted as standard for remote assistance,” Will says. He adds that IMF’s compact, space saving roasters mean owners do not require a large premises, therefore saving considerable rent or warehouse purchase costs. All IMF industrial roasters incorporate the afterburner, loader on scale, destoner and continuous chaff extractor all in one compact unit, so no separate afterburner required. “The roaster arrives fully assembled so there is minimal set-up costs. Once flues, gas, power, air and water are connected, the roaster is ready to go on day one,” Will says. “Silos and blenders are also available which are electronically controlled from the roasters PLC to load the green and roasted coffee automatically.” All IMF roasters are compliant to Australian Gas Association (AGA) regulations, including IMF’s new model shop roasters, which use the same gas saving recirculating heat technology as its industrial roasters. “The new six-kilogram and 15-kilogram models have larger

Using the same technology as IMF’s industrial roasters, the IMF shop roaster is suited to cafés and roasteries where space is limited.

touchscreens, and now are fitted with Riello burners just like the industrial roasters,” says Will. IMF and its Australian agent Roastquip will exhibit one of the new Automatic IMF 15-kilogram shop roasters

at the 2022 Melbourne International Coffee Expo in September. “IMF automatic shop roasters offer all the technological components of industrial roasters in small and compact dimensions, ensuring high quality production. The roasters are complete with integrated afterburner to reduce emissions, management software, and an easy chaff collection bin, all incorporated into the roaster,” says Will. It’s not just IMF’s roaster leading the way with sustainable solutions in mind. IMF’s Italy-based headquarters in Occhiobello has installed solar panels on its roof to provide much of the electricity for the manufacturing of the roasters. “Further upgrades to the factory to reduce greenhouse gases is a priority for IMF, as is its continuous research and development on all their product lines,” says Will. “When it comes to environmental sustainability, it’s Roastquip’s and IMF’s main focus for the year ahead, with a primary target to continually reduce our carbon footprint.” For more information on Roastquip and IMF roasters, visit www.roastquip.com.au

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Sustainability FEATURE

The Chain Collaborative, supporting womenled cooperative Jovemcafé in Guatemala, is one of the beneficiaries from Coffee Tools Distributing’s commitment to 1% for the Planet.

Coffee Tools Distributing discusses its efforts to help protect the environment and why any small business can be an example to make a significant impact.

eading about the AeroPress brewing device online, shortly after it was released to market in 2005, was the spark that started Curtis Arnold’s journey with Coffee Tools Distributing. Established 16 years ago, the company is the exclusive Australian distributor of coffee brands such as AeroPress, Wacaco, Able Brewing, Basal, and more. From day one, company Director Curtis has been focused on creating a healthy company that can survive in the coffee industry and lately, one that contributes to the greater good of the planet. “While we’re looking forward to an exciting future and more growth, we realise that we’re very lucky to have achieved a certain amount of success thus far. With that realisation comes the understanding that we need to share some

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of that and give something back. You don’t have to travel very far to realise just how lucky we are to live where we do and to have the opportunities that we do here in Australia” Curtis says. “When we’re looking at new suppliers, we try to find companies that have similar attitudes towards the environment and sustainability. Even if the products themselves are not specifically reducing waste or having a positive impact, we like to work with companies that are conscious of these issues and trying to operate sustainably themselves.” To showcase its commitment to the environment, Coffee Tools Distributing has joined 1% for the Planet, a global movement inspiring businesses and individuals to support environmental solutions through everyday actions. Each year, the company donates 1 per cent of its total sales to approved sustainable organisations.

“Coffee is truly the source of what we do here at Coffee Tools Distributing and is an essential part of the lives of the people who work here, which is why the causes we support are so valued to us,” Curtis says. “When we talk to manufacturers and customers alike, they’re excited to see the 1% for the Planet logo on our website, and they’re happy to be working with a company that is trying to make some sort of difference – however small.” The company also donates to Trillion Trees Australia, a non-profit organisation with a mission to bring people together to plant and grow trees to achieve a healthy and biodiverse environment. “We donate every year at Christmas time to have them plant a couple of trees for each one of our customers,” says Curtis. Coffee Tools Distributing is also passionate about reducing its carbon footprint in its own way.

Image: The Chain Collaborative

Giving the extra 1 per cent

Roasters “We’ve always done things like recycle all our cardboard waste, reuse all pallets, reuse packing materials and boxes. Our lighting is all LED, we purchase our electricity from sustainable sources, and our warehouse uses very little water or power,” says Curtis. He says the company is only at the beginning of its sustainability journey and has promising plans to further reduce its carbon footprint. “We’ve just started a relationship with the consulting firm Pangolin Associates, who are going to guide us on becoming carbon neutral. Our goals are to be Climate Active certified and then become a certified B Corp company,” he says. “A lot of our customers are headed down the same path. There’s a lot of great Australian coffee companies that are already either B Corp certified, or a 1% for the Planet company. It’s so rewarding to see, and shows that anybody can make a difference, however small. “Obviously, big picture, we’ve only got one planet and every little thing we can do helps push the needle in the right direction so we all benefit. Even small actions get noticed and can influence others to act. Specifically for the coffee industry, we need a healthy environment for coffee to grow, because without that we have nothing.” With that in mind, Curtis is grateful for the growth of Coffee Tools Distributing, which, over the years, has acquired a wealth of products to offer consumers from reusable cups to reusable coffee filters to handheld grinders, and the list keeps growing.

Complete DRUM roasting plant in ONE compact integrated unit. (roaster, afterburner, loader, destoner)

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Coffee Tools Distributing Director Curtis Arnold says the AeroPress was inspiration behind starting the company.

RECIRCULATING HEAT TECHNOLOGY SAVES UP TO 47% IN GAS CONSUMPTION • PRECISION ROASTING TO ONE DEGREE ACCURACY • • LOW INSTALLATION COSTS - ARRIVES FULLY ASSEMBLED • “We have a number of new products arriving over the next few months, such as the Loca ceramic pour over filter range and, coming soon from Wacaco, the Exagram scale and Exagrind hand grinder. These are both designed to complement the recently released Picopresso, which is a premium handheld espresso machine,” says Curtis. “As well as this, we’re going to be adding a new electric temperature-controlled kettle line, a couple of batch brew machines and a new line of Moka pots and French Press.” Curtis says Coffee Tools Distributing is always on the lookout for new products to offer consumers, and that it’s important that all offerings are products he would use and enjoy himself. “We don’t sell thousands of products. We try and stick with what we like using. It’s important that all the products fit what we want from a coffee perspective,” he says. “Our goal for 2022 is to keep pushing forward and try to do the right thing, one step at a time.” For more information, visit www.coffeetools.supply

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Sustainability FEATURE

Nomad’s carbon footprint feat Nomad Coffee Group talks with BeanScene about its commitment to combat climate change and why it’s determined to become Australia’s most sustainable coffee company.

s part of its ongoing commitment to the sustainable future in the coffee industry, Nomad Coffee Group, the parent company of Veneziano Coffee Roasters, has officially been certified as carbon neutral by government-backed initiative Climate Active. Nomad Coffee Group CEO Craig Dickson says it’s a significant achievement for the business and one it’s extremely proud of. “This certification allows us to make a statement to the industry and to our customer base that sustainability is incredibly important to us,” says Craig. “It’s vital that we do our part and step up as an industry leader in Australia, to show that not only is it possible for larger businesses such as ours to obtain carbon neutrality, but that it’s affordable and accessible for all.” Climate Active certification is Australia’s most recognised carbon neutral certification. It is a partnership between the Australian Government and Australian businesses to drive voluntary climate action. It requires organisations to comply with the rigorous Carbon Active Carbon Neutral Standard administered by the Australian government. After the creation of an internal sustainability committee in 2020 to bring together ideas from all departments, Nomad Coffee Group identified climate change as one of the key concerns and areas to address. With a long list of things the company wanted to achieve, it became apparent a dedicated resource was needed to design and manage the sustainability strategy. This led to the appointment of the company’s first Sustainability Manager in Nick Percy.

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“My job involves overseeing our Corporate Social Responsibility program, specifically the environmental and social elements. This includes assessing our carbon footprint, and liaising with our supply chain partners, to strategise the most effective changes we could make to do business in a more sustainable way” says Nick.

“NICK TACKLED LONGTERM WASTE REDUCTION STRATEGIES, SUCH AS DIVERTING 75 PER CENT OF NOMAD COFFEE GROUP’S WASTE FROM LANDFILL TO RECYCLING PROGRAMS.” “I’m always evaluating new policies and procedures we can implement to ensure all activities in the workplace incorporate the most environmentally-friendly options. We were amazed at how some of the changes we’ve made were no-brainers: simple, fast and painless quick wins.” The first priority was to calculate carbon emissions to understand what impact the business had on climate change. As such, Nomad Coffee Group

engaged the team at Ndevr, a climate change human rights advisory firm, to help measure and understand the company’s carbon footprint. Using 2020 as a base year, the company was able to identify where its largest emission sources were and where the biggest opportunities for change lay. “We identified our major emission areas as inbound and outbound freight, energy usage and waste to landfill. We are working on our freight carbon footprint as a major project for 2022 and 2023. The second largest source was natural gas, but currently no viable alternative exists for the coffee roasting industry,” says Nick. To combat these emission sources, Nick says the company implemented several sustainable initiatives. “We tackled two key areas, electricity, and waste. We shifted our facilities to 100 per cent GreenPower, which sources renewable energy to the equivalent quantity on the company’s behalf. This allowed us to remove around 500 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions with one decision,” he says. Next, Nick tackled long-term waste reduction strategies, such as diverting 75 per cent of Nomad Coffee Group’s waste from landfill to recycling programs. “We did a dumpster dive to identify what waste we could remove from our operations. We recognised plenty of organic matter that we could divert to organic bins, as well as soft plastics and other specific recyclables such as the strapping on green coffee bulk bags. In doing so, we effectively doubled our diversion rate. Working towards a target of 75 per cent diversion from landfill, we’re sitting at about 60 per cent at the moment,” he says. “We are continuing to explore options for the problem of single use takeaway cups and support many businesses looking

Nick Percy is Nomad Coffee Group’s first Sustainability Manager.

for better solutions. This includes a current trial with Good Edi edible coffee cups, partnerships with Noa and Parker, a reusable container manufacturer, to produce reusable cups and implement a return a cup system, and with Closed Loop to give our café customers options for recycling single use coffee cups.” To achieve net zero, the remaining emissions of 3171 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent have now been offset through investment in a renewable energy project in India, called Winds of Change. This project supports the power needs of one of the world’s fastest developing countries and a country of origin supplying beans to Nomad Coffee Group. “India is a country that we’ve been working with for many years. From a coffee sourcing point of view, it’s one of the top 10 emission sources in the world. This presented a really great opportunity for us to invest in those carbon offset programs to balance what we do here in Australia,” says Nick. Looking to the future, Nick says Nomad Coffee Group is only at the start of its corporate social responsibility journey, with a long way to go.

“We have a number of projects we’re working on, such as our Reconciliation Action Plan, which involves working with local Indigenous communities to help businesses such as ours better understand Indigenous culture, how we can support them, and make decisions with them in mind,” he says. “We’re also doing a deep dive into coffee supply chain modern slavery risks. Certainly, over the last two years with COVID-19 lockdowns and the corresponding inability to visit producers, there is a higher risk of exploitation occurring throughout the supply chain. We want to acknowledge that we’re aware of that and are working closely with our supply chain partners to ensure that those most at risk are offered the same levels of protection as we all deserve.” Nomad Coffee Group is also building a new facility in Truganina, Victoria, for its private label roasting business, Black Bag Roasters. In line with the Nomad sustainability goals, company CEO Craig Dickson has given Nick the responsibility to ensure it is the greenest large-scale coffee roasting facility in Australia.

“This includes installing the most energy efficient packing equipment on the market, world-class pollution reduction systems, use of renewable electricity, and more. “For example, right now, I’m looking at double-glazed tinted windows, solar panels on the roof, and water tanks. Full consideration of employee wellbeing is factored into the build to make it a great place to work and will include employee health and well-being checks. Staff amenities will include a free-to-use electric charging station for employee cars, bikes and scooters,” Nick says. He adds that the company’s main sustainability goal for the year was to become carbon neutral, and it achieved this status in March 2022. “This is a feat we are extremely proud of, but we also know that our work is not done yet, and we will continue to make positive changes in our business to reduce our overall carbon footprint and reduce our reliance on carbon offsetting,” says Nick. For more information, visit nomadcoffeegroup.com.au

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Sustainability FEATURE

The Women’s School of Leadership is a training program to improve participants’ leadership skills and knowledge of gender issues.

Agents of change Fairtrade Australia New Zealand explains how the Women’s School of Leadership, including new schools for coffee farmers in the Pacific, act as a catalyst for gender equality in developing regions.

airtrade originally established the Women’s School of Leadership (WSOL) in Africa to help female farmers generate more income through smarter farming and give them the confidence and skills to thrive in Fairtrade certified cooperatives. Fairtrade Australia New Zealand is now rolling out the life-changing initiative in Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea. CEO Molly Harriss Olson says increasing the opportunities available for women in these communities has flow-on effects for everyone. “We know that women do more work for less pay, the world over, but in developing countries the impact of this is magnified. In those countries, research shows that if women don’t get paid, the whole household suffers,” says Molly. “More money for women means they

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can choose to spend money on things that support their children and the household. This then improves the chances of their family achieving health and prosperity. “When women are empowered, the whole society benefits. There’s less poverty, more food, and more education.” According to United Nations research, providing women with access to information can mean huge gains in productivity. “On average, women make up about 43 per cent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries. Evidence indicates that if these women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20 to 30 per cent, raising total agricultural output in these countries by up to 4 per cent. This would reduce the number of hungry people in the world by around 15 per cent,” Molly says.

Programs like WSOL are not only educational but aim to empower female farmers to increase financial security for the laborious work they already undertake. It also helps farmers diversify income streams so that their families have more options when a crop fails or the market price of a particular commodity falls. When the program was launched in February 2022 in Timor-Leste, the 26 participants were drawn from the Fairtrade Cooperative Comercio Agricola De Timor (C-CAT). C-CAT is one of Fairtrade’s fastest growing coffee cooperatives, increasing from 107 farmers to 1206 in just seven years. It currently exports 150 to 200 metric tonnes of Arabica coffee, mostly to the United States, Canada, and Japan. The coffee is both Fairtrade and Organic certified. The initiative also launched in PNG in

May 2022 with participants coming from Unen Choit, Alang Daom and Neknasi cooperatives in the Southern Highlands. “The first cohort of students in TimorLeste will graduate in October 2022 while Papua New Guinea participants will be due to graduate in December 2022. The participants in both countries are being drawn completely from Fairtrade coffee cooperatives,” says Molly. Throughout the Fairtrade system, the year-long program teaches confidence, money management, sustainable farming practices, and gender rights to leaders in local communities. Ten training modules for the school are broken into human rights and women’s rights, Fairtrade standards and gender strategy, confidence building, cooperation and group cohesion, women and leadership, women and economy, budget management, income generation and diversification, negotiation and influence, power and masculinity, and gender equity. “From the very beginning, the lessons learnt by participants in place likes Cote d’Ivoire have been applied in some amazing ways, often to generate new sources of income,” Molly says. “For example, two school canteens using the food crops grown by a women’s association have been set up, providing more than 100 primary schoolkids with lunch. “Often, these side enterprises by women supplement incomes and protect families against wildly volatile commodity prices. This, in turn, means the children are more likely to go to school.” It’s farmers like Eva Mendonça from Timor-Leste who will reap the benefits of the new WSOL program. Married with two children and a student at Cristal University in TimorLeste, Eva is a member of C-CAT and determined to be a role model for women in her community. “Here at the Women’s School of Leadership, we learn about women’s rights and gender equality. Through this opportunity, we can demonstrate that women are entitled to the same opportunities as men,” says Eva. “I want to be a leader because there are young people who, despite having completed their studies, are still abandoned in our village, so I want to bring them together to create our own opportunities, like growing vegetables.” Novelia Mendonça Bolan is a young female farmer from Timor-Leste that has not let adversity stop her from achieving her goals. At 18 years old, she is studying general nursing at the University of Dili.

“It’s important for women to be involved in farming so both genders are equal,” says Novelia. “At the end of this course in September, I want to go on to teach women in rural areas who lack knowledge of this type of training. Many of my fellow women cannot express the knowledge they have. I want to attend this training at WSOL so I can lead them.” The World Trade Organization’s Enhanced Integration Framework program and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade fund the WSOL in Timor-Leste as part of a larger ongoing program to promote gender equality, climate resilience and trade in the region. The PNG program is funded through New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Roy Trivedy, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Timor-Leste, was at the official launch of the program and extended his congratulations to Fairtrade ANZ. “I’m excited about the launch of the training centre for women coming from cooperatives from six different municipalities of Timor-Leste,” says Roy. “I think participants will learn about the way the world works, the way that cooperatives function, the way that markets work and also their own role and

how to support their cooperatives and their communities in Timor-Leste.” Roy says this is the first time a gender equality course is taking place in TimorLeste, with many young people learning about Fairtrade across the world, and how it supports families and the economy. “This course is extremely important because it builds self-confidence. It helps people to understand their own role in society and how they can support their own communities and cooperatives,” he says. “I think the Fairtrade movement will really assist coffee producers, families, and the economy of Timor-Leste to be stronger, more sustainable, and more equitable. “Together, we can break down gender stereotypes in Fairtrade farming communities and build up a new model of women as entrepreneurs and leaders.” Fairtrade ANZ CEO Molly Harriss Olson adds that the company’s partners, including donors and licensees, see the long-term value in the Women’s School of Leadership. “We look forward to this being the first of many of these programs in the years to come,” she says. For more information, visit fairtradeanz.org

The Women’s School of Leadership concept, originally developed by Fairtrade International, was first run in West Africa in 2017.

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Sustainability FEATURE

Packaged with care BeanScene speaks with Locale Coffee Roasters Marketing Manager Kristin Jackson on how the company has embraced sustainability through its packaging materials and products.

pecialty coffee roaster Locale was born in 2015 in Abbotsford, Victoria with the vision to build relationships and positively impact the community through a deep love for coffee. This translates to how sustainability has informed the business, particularly in its recent efforts in introducing more sustainable packaging. Packaging became an important area of consideration for Locale once it began to look into its overall carbon footprint, according to Locale Coffee Roasters Marketing Manager, Kristin Jackson. “We were previously using a foil-lined bag which was the packaging standard in the industry five to 10 years ago,” she says. “While the craft may have looked more sustainable than white plastic, it was far from it. We discovered the material used couldn’t be processed through

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any existing recycling stream and were ultimately ending up in landfill.” For Locale, the solution lay in using bags made from soft plastic. Despite its single use nature, it was the best available option at the time to ensure the coffee remained fresh when tested against the more “sustainable” packaging options on the market. However, the specialty roaster was not satisfied with the end result. “The thought was, if we could somehow create our own circular economy, we could make sure they’d be recycled and go on to have a second life cycle,” Kristin says. “From there, we looked into existing soft plastics recycling streams like Redcycle. [It was] great from the consumer perspective, but didn’t solve one of our biggest concerns: our wholesale packaging. We couldn’t recycle large amounts through Redcycle, so we started

looking at other companies who could process that kind of volume.” This was where Reground came into play. A business model centred on turning waste into a resource, Reground provided a soft plastics solution that allowed the bags to be recycled through their existing partnerships. “We drop [our packaging] to Reground in 120-kilogram lots at a time and for a small fee, they ensure it gets processed from there,” Kristin says. “In the first six months, we diverted 600 kilograms of soft plastic from landfill, which is equivalent to 120 shopping trolleys’ worth. This move also prevented an estimated 480 kilograms of harmful gases from entering the atmosphere. And we have roughly another 600 kilograms we’re preparing to drop to Reground.” To divert such a high volume of soft plastic from landfill, the Locale team

offered to collect empty bags from its café partners with their fresh coffee every week. This initiative has been met with considerable success already, with approximately 60 per cent of the bags being returned. One drawback however, is that the one-way degassing valve in the packaging is a rigid plastic that soft plastic recyclers can’t process. “But it can be mainstream recycled,” Kristin says. “In the beginning, we were taking the bags back with the valve still attached and cutting them out ourselves. As you can imagine, that quickly became a massive job for our small team. We learnt our lesson the hard way. After cutting out tens of thousands of valves by hand, we’ve asked our café partners to cut them out before returning them.” So far, the recycled soft plastics have been used to create building film, which would otherwise be made from virgin plastics. Additionally, all of Locale’s cardboard products are made from 100 per cent recycled material and can be recycled again. Meanwhile, its retail canisters – produced with 90 per cent recycled paperboard – were designed to be reused. On returning the canisters to Locale’s participating café partners, customers can have them refilled for $1 less than the original retail price. The closest refill station can be located using the Café Finder on Locale’s website. Sustainable practices have also infiltrated Locale’s other business endeavours. The specialty roaster’s

product range became certified Carbon Neutral in 2018 before joining the Carbon Reduction Institute’s Zero Carbon Economy two years later, eliminating its carbon footprint. The roastery and warehouse is powered by solar energy, carbon neutral delivery services are used for the online store, and various small but impactful changes were made to further reduce emissions. In the instance where Locale are not able to reduce emissions, such as importing green coffee, it purchased carbon credits that are used to plant trees or support renewables. Sustainability is also considered within the coffee itself, Kristin says. “Our organic Eco Warrior blend uses a coffee from the Orangutan Coffee Project in Indonesia,” she says. “We pay a premium on top of the agreed green bean price, which helps to rescue and rehabilitate Sumatran orangutans, fight deforestation and protect their habitat through rainforest conservation. “We’ve also created our Community Initiatives Fund, where we donate 5 per cent of all Eco Warrior coffee and merchandise sales to good people doing good things in the community. As part of that initiative, we’ve donated to environmental not-for-profits like the Climate Council. But its main goal is to support the community via charities like StreetSmart, Beyond Blue and Children’s Ground, as well as our donations recipient for this quarter, GIVIT Australia – giving aid to flood affected communities in

Queensland and New South Wales.” With sustainability so embedded in the business, Locale aims to continually review its packaging materials and takeaway cups to incorporate the best solutions on the market. It is also looking to become B Corp certified, which will add another layer of transparency for its customers and keep them accountable. It’s also a way to measure Locale’s impact and how they can improve as a business. “Sustainability is something we consider in every decision we make. We didn’t want to be just another business putting profits above all else, or ticking a box in terms of what we think we should be doing in order to say we’re ‘sustainable,’” Kristin says. “It’s important to educate people on the environmental impacts of the coffee industry. We’re proving it’s not that difficult to make the sustainable choice, nor does it take away from having a profitable business model – it’s just a question of whether businesses are willing to make it a priority.” Many consumers certainly are, in choosing to support businesses like Locale Coffee Roasters. “Our hope is the more we talk about the positive impact we can have, the more people will start to look for the businesses doing the right thing,” Kristin says. “That’s a thought process that can be taken way beyond the coffee industry.” For more information, visit www.localeespresso.com.au

Locale Coffee Roasters is passionate about making sustainable choices and making a positive impact.

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INDUSTRY PROFILE

Riverina Fresh is excited to put Australia’s dairy produce in the spotlight at this year’s WBC in Melbourne.

World class Riverina Fresh is celebrating its centenary year as the official World Barista Championship milk supplier, putting its local team, dairy farmers, and their product in the international spotlight.

t’s not uncommon for coffee producers to watch baristas use their coffee at a World Barista Championship (WBC), but perhaps for the first time at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE), Riverina Fresh dairy farmers will get to watch the world’s best baristas use their milk in person. “We expect to have a big group of Riverina Fresh farmers travelling from the Riverina region for the event. Our suppliers already understand that Riverina Fresh milk is a product used by the country’s best baristas and cafés, but when

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they see their product used by international baristas in the industry’s premium competition, I think they’ll be blown away,” says Riverina Fresh CEO Rob Collier. “It’s been a challenging five to six years with drought and rising input costs, so this is just the lift our farmers will enjoy.” Australian owned Riverina Fresh was first approached to be the competition’s official milk supplier in 2020, but with the onset of COVID-19 and the postponement of the competition in Melbourne, the honour will finally be realised at this year’s event in September. “We were flattered that World Coffee

Events had spoken to leading roasters and cafés in Australia who had advocated for our product. We’ve worked closely with the Australian coffee industry for years, building relationships and getting the product right, so to get the recognition and now have the chance to show why we’re an industry favourite, is a real accomplishment,” Rob says. “We were looking forward to the WBC in Melbourne in 2020 like most of the coffee industry, but in many ways we’re even more excited now that it’s finally happening and that Riverina Fresh will play such a significant role.”

Each international competitor will have access to Riverina Fresh’s Gold, Full Cream, Light, Skim and lactose-free milk products for training purposes in Melbourne, and on the competition stage throughout the event from 27 to 30 September. Past Australian Barista Champions to use Riverina Fresh milk on the WBC stage include Ona Coffee’s Hugh Kelly, Matthew Lewin and soon Danny Wilson in the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship. This time around however, no extravagant measures of cold chain transport will be needed to send Riverina Fresh milk around the world. Each morning, batches of milk from Riverina Fresh’s own distribution centre in Melbourne will be transported to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre after having met all functional and quality criteria. “Our freshness has always been one of our strengths. We have a dedicated farming group who are quality milk producers with close proximity to our operations in Wagga Wagga,” Rob says. “This makes a difference because the product is typically bottled 24 to 48 hours

from milking. Riverina Fresh then gets the right balance of fats, proteins, and lactose – we run on tight specifications to achieve the best quality and consistency – and test and texture every batch of milk in our laboratory before it’s released for use. “In the same way the world is aware that Australia has a world class coffee industry, I hope the international baristas will discover we also have a world class dairy industry.” With this in mind, Rob says Australian baristas will likely have a slight advantage leading into the WBC given their familiarity with Riverina Fresh and use of the product in the Australian Specialty Coffee Association regional and national competitions, to which Riverina Fresh is also the milk sponsor. “Milk around the world does vary based on variables like breed of cow, feed type and climate, therefore local baristas should benefit,” Rob says. “We’ve had really positive feedback from baristas at the regional competitions so far and many inquiries about our product.” Riverina Fresh’s partnerships on the national and world stage are just one

eveloped in conjuction with the BeanScene magazine website, The Long & Short of It news EDM is dedicated to keeping the coffee industry abreast of the latest relevant news as it breaks, in addition to providing an electronic interface for the viewing of BeanScene magazine content. To keep up to date with fresh, informative and relevant content, register your details at www.beanscenemag.com.au

part of the company’s plans to support its 100th year of operation this year. Celebrations kicked off at the Royal Easter Show in Sydney and will extend throughout the year to honour those who have contributed to the company’s history and success, including employees, farmers, the local community, industry partners and consumers. “Hitting the 100-year milestone is really great recognition for Australia’s food production, the Riverina region as a renowned food bowl and dairy producer, and for a regional, independent, Australian-owned business that is still here and thriving,” Rob says. “I think consumers and businesses understand the value of locally-produced agriculture, food security and our supply chains. We need to support local food production to ensure its long-term sustainability. Riverina Fresh is very dedicated to the Australian coffee scene, and we thank those who have supported us over the past 100 years too.” For more information, visit riverinafresh.com.au

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MICE2022

Start your engines The De’Longhi Melbourne Coffee Week returns with a week of registered industry events to bring Melbourne back to life and prove it’s a coffee city that never sleeps.

or the last two years, Melbourne’s coffee community has been deprived of the in-person connections and gatherings that underpin what its culture is all about. COVID-19 has stretched the hospitality industry, but not broken it, and now it’s time to turn up the heat and bring the city back to life with not one day, but an entire week dedicated to, you guessed it, coffee. From 24 September to 1 October, Melbourne Coffee Week returns, and it wants to see three years’ worth of events crammed into one. “The De’Longhi Melbourne Coffee Week is a celebration of events and doing what the coffee industry does best – share coffee, connect, and party,” says Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE) Show Director Lauren Winterbottom. “The initiative was established years ago as a way for companies and brands to showcase their industry event, contribute to an important charity, and help maximise the time and networking opportunities for national and international guests making their way to Melbourne for MICE. We want to see multiple industry events registered throughout the week.” Events could be anything from masterclasses and lectures to networking over an espresso martini, a competitive latte art smackdown, or just a good excuse to hold a party. De’Longhi is this year’s title sponsor

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of Melbourne Coffee Week. De’Longhi will host the opening night’s industry event party, and says it was important to get involved in the industry’s main comeback event. “Coffee is a part of De’Longhi’s DNA, just as it is to the city of Melbourne,” says De’Longhi Marketing Director for Australia/New Zealand, George O’Neil. “It’s exciting to be able to connect again in a series of events that celebrate coffee. At De’Longhi we are committed to elevating the coffee experience in the home,and helping consumers to achieve quality outcomes. We believe it’s important to invest in events that connect people together on coffee so that they may share knowledge and inspire each other. This is what Melbourne Coffee Week and MICE is all about. We are proud to be a partner that brings both consumers and industry professionals together to celebrate the wonderful world of coffee.” Also kicking off Melbourne Coffee Week festivities is an inaugural golf day, an exclusive networking event of industry figures brought together by Nomad Coffee Group, La Marzocco and Prime Creative Media. Taking place at Latrobe Golf Club on 26 September, the event will see limited participants tee-off for a morning ambrose event before lunch and networking with Australian and international guests. “It’s not often that the world coffee industry comes together as one, and as

such, for this year’s MICE we wanted to not only showcase our magnificent city of Melbourne – the coffee capital of the world – but also provide a great networking opportunity for those attending the event in a relaxed and social setting with all money after costs going through to MICE charity partner StreetSmart,” says Lance Brown from The Nomad Coffee Group. All registration fees to Melbourne Coffee Week are donated to MCW official Charity Partner StreetSmart and its CafeSmart program, working to fight homelessness. Each year during Homelessness week, hundreds of coffee roasters, green bean traders, cafés and coffee lovers fundraise for their local homeless charities. Over the past 11 years, the event has helped raise and distribute more than $1.6 million across more than 1000 projects tackling homelessness (see page 90). “StreetSmart has been a proud partner of MCW and MICE for many years, receiving incredible support from the Australian coffee community for our CafeSmart campaign,” says Cynthia Mac Caddon, Partnerships Manager, StreetSmart Australia. “We know the hospitality industry is a generous one, and to see how much the public gets involved each year is a great indication of the passion they have to ‘drink coffee and do good’ supporting grassroot homeless charities in their local communities. We are very excited to see everyone in September.”

MICE will be the headline act of Melbourne Coffee Week, taking place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 27 to 30 September, in conjunction with the World Barista Championship (WBC) and World Brewers Cup events. The last time MICE hosted the prestigious events was 2013, and has since evolved into a world-class spectacle. MICE was launched in 2012 with the purpose to unite the Australian coffee community under one roof and do business. Back then, that roof was the big-top tent of the Grand Pavilion at the Melbourne Showgrounds, spanning almost half the size of the playing surface of the MCG or the equivalent of 30 tennis courts. When MICE hosted the WBC in 2013, the sold-out event featured an extended walkway into the WBC arena, and the grandstands were filled with spectators and country flags as Australia’s homegrown talent Matthew Perger stood side-by-side with Pete Licata of the United States in the ultimate showdown. On that day, nine years ago, Pete was victorious. He became the 2013 WBC Champion and recalls his experience in Melbourne like it was yesterday. “For me, winning in a country with such a love for coffee felt like I was truly at the top of the game. Winning against some of the legends who were in that year’s competition was even more of an accomplishment to me. I built connections which have taken me

to where I am in life today, and while the country where the WBC takes place is not what defines the winner for that year, it does become a part of our DNA,” says Pete. “When I heard that we were (finally) going to have WBC back in Melbourne in 2022, I felt the nostalgia of nine years ago. The thrill of announcements, the adrenaline of learning I won, and the journey I’ve been on ever since have flowed through my mind. “I will be here to congratulate your future Melbourne WBC champion, whoever you are. You’re going to love what comes next.” Beyond the WBC in Melbourne, coming to Australia is a bucket-list destination for many coffee professions, or as Pete describes it, “a coffee geek’s paradise”. He endured a whirlwind experience on his first visit to Australia back in 2013, adapting to the time zone, getting ingredients prepped and focusing on the details of his competition routine. He says it wasn’t until after the competition, and subsequent visits, that he really got to experience the city in full. He now calls Melbourne home, working as a Research and Development Coffee Consultant with Veneziano Coffee Roaster’s parent company Nomad Coffee Group. “The expectations of coffee here are high, the café scene is fantastic, and it is a great city to experience a coffee event,” Pete says.

Expectations of MICE2022 and this year’s De’Longhi Melbourne Coffee Week also remain high, with more events expected to fill the social calendar from 24 September to 1 November. MICE General Manager Simon Coburn says it’s important to lock social events in as soon as possible to encourage further support and exposure, and to give travelling participants a planned itinerary. “Now that we’re getting close to the event, travelling guests have booked flights, hotels and Airbnb reservations. They are committed to making the most of their time in Melbourne and we are just as committed to helping them maximise their experience in our wonderful coffee city,” Simon says. Melbourne Coffee Week will conclude with the official MICE and World Coffee Events Afterparty. When that time comes, it will be a celebration of a momentous week but more importantly, of the efforts of the Australian coffee community to host the world and prove that Melbourne is still very much one of the best coffee cities in the world. For more information and to register an event for the De’Longhi Melbourne Coffee Week, visit www.melbournecoffeeweek.com.au For more information or to purchase a ticket to MICE, visit internationalcoffeeexpo.com

Pete Licata was the World Barista Champion when MICE last hosted the competition in 2013.

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COMMUNITY NOTES

United for good BeanScene explains why this year, it’s more important than ever to drink coffee, do good, and sign up to CafeSmart 2022.

ach year when StreetSmart CEO Geoff Hills wakes up on the morning of CafeSmart, he knows the next few hours will be a magical experience watching an influx of photos, hashtags, and yellow dressups uploaded to social media from participating businesses in the annual fundraising tradition. “It’s a day of community participation, workplaces coming together, and seeing people support an initiative they believe in,” says Geoff. “We have such longstanding contributors who have supported the cause for so long, and it’s those roasters and café operators who are the real drivers of the event’s success.” Each year, CafeSmart, under the umbrella of StreetSmart, invites

La Marzocco is a Principal Sponsor of CafeSmart and is committed to enriching the lives of others.

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the Australian café and hospitality community to raise much-needed community grants to fund small grassroots organisations doing big impact work around homelessness. Over the past 11 years, StreetSmart has helped raise $1.6 million across more than 1000 projects tackling homelessness. This year, after the height of the pandemic and devastating floods in Queensland and Northern New South Wales, donated funds will be aimed around emergency relief efforts, material aid and support for people most at risk of homelessness in directly affected and neighbouring communities. “After the past two years, people want to know where their money is going, and we want to provide that transparency and sustainable connection by working with

grassroots projects in the local areas of participating cafés,” Geoff says. This year’s event is spread over one week from 1 to 7 August to target maximum participation. After two years of COVID restrictions, Geoff says this year’s event is the perfect opportunity to visit a city-based café or get together with work colleagues and support a local participating venue. Cafés are invited to donate $1 per coffee sold on Friday 5 August. Customers are also encouraged to donate via the QR code on provided posters throughout the week of CafeSmart. This year, roasters are invited to donate a portion of retail beans or online sales towards the impact of the event. Alternatively, they can encourage their café network to sign up to CafeSmart. “We have had around 850 cafés and more than 60 roasters connecting to the event in the past and we hope everyone will jump on board again. Although for us, it’s not just about the numbers, but the quality of activation and community engagement,” Geoff says. “For instance, on the day of CafeSmart, you may see a lifesaving club in Sydney’s Northern Beaches raise funds through the sale of their coffees, specialty coffee shops in Melbourne will raise donations dressed in yellow with smiley face stickers. Some hold bake sales and breakfast with neighbouring networks, so there’s always a strong hospitality link. But our participating venues always take a moment to help customers understand the cause and what CafeSmart is all about.” This year, La Marzocco Australia has been named a Principal Sponsor of the event, joining the likes of Vitasoy and media partners Broadsheet, Beanscene and the Melbourne International Coffee Expo to help up-scale the impact across the country. “La Marzocco has a longstanding affinity with CafeSmart and is very passionate about its cause as it aligns so closely with our own social purpose of ‘giving back to drive change’. La Marzocco is a global organisation and the principle we stand by is to help enrich the lives of others – so extending our ongoing support to CafeSmart is a natural

two refurbished machines, raising $20,000 to have real and meaningful impact in its local area. It has also worked with Youth Projects, an independent charity proving frontline support to open pathways out of homeless and poverty, by providing equipment to help people begin their coffee journey. In this way, Barry says Youth Project’s trainees have become more confident using equipment they are likely to see and use when applying for future café jobs. “We want to support people in whatever misfortunes they find themselves in and help provide a career path in hospitality, be it as a barista, a chef or even a technician,” Barry says. “I think we are a very caring industry. We care about getting the right price for coffee at origin, but in the past few years we’ve seen how precious life really is through the pandemic, and subsequent challenges people are going through such as mental health issues, and personal crisis. For this reason, I really feel that partnering with CafeSmart is a full circle experience where people get to connect around the café, around community, and with the purpose to help elevate the need to do good.”

Over the past 11 years, CafeSmart has helped raise and distribute over $1.6 million across more than 1000 projects tackling homelessness.

“WE WANT TO SUPPORT PEOPLE IN WHATEVER MISFORTUNE THEY FIND THEMSELVES IN AND HELP PROVIDE A CAREER PATH IN HOSPITALITY, BE IT AS A BARISTA, A CHEF OR EVEN A TECHNICIAN.” next step for us,” says La Marzocco Australia Managing Director Barry Moore. “We’re in a privileged position where we serve roasters and hospitality operators of all sizes across Australia and through those connections, we’re

really hoping to amplify the awareness of CafeSmart and Streetmart and the incredible work they do to prevent homelessness. Many initiatives that the campaign funds lead to creating working opportunities and career pathways within the coffee sector, so it’s a no brainer for us to jump on board.” The La Marzocco team is looking forward to help elevate the campaign by engaging the roaster community and through its Brewtech technical team, in the cafés they serve, along with helping promote CafeSmart in different industry events. Going into a decade of partnership, La Marzocco Australia continues to be true ambassadors of CafeSmart, supporting and donating towards CafeSmart 2022, but also through others fundraising initiatives such as StreetSmart’s Flood Relief Campaign and SmartMeals programs. “With the recent floods up North, we were compelled to support in any way we could, and we knew through our partnership with StreetSmart, that our donations went directly to the communities in need. We also want to make sure people don’t see CafeSmart as a Victorian or Queensland-only campaign. We want to see participation from all over the country to support those at risk in their local areas.” Back in 2015, La Marzocco auctioned

To register your café or roastery, and for more information, visit streetsmartaustralia.org/cafesmart/

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CAFÉ SCENE LITTLE H 34 Marri Road, Duncraig, Western Australia, 6023 Open Monday to Sunday 6am – 3pm 0448 181 803

Little H café serves Locale Coffee Roaster’s Ultimate Wingman as its house blend.

The pavlova pancakes are a customer favourite at Little H café.

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If pavlova and pancakes are two of your favourite sweet treats, Managing Director Carmelo Cirillo says you need to head to Little H café in Perth. “Our pavlova pancakes are definitely a favourite among our customers and something that sets as apart from every other café. A specialty dish of ours, the pavlova pancakes are served with a coconut base, fresh fruit and passionfruit syrup,” says Carmelo. The modern menu combines sourcing fresh local produce and brunch staples which Carmelo says will deliver comfort and flavour. “We also have the classic eggs benedict, with our not-so-classic signature house made hashbrowns, which is another favourite among customers, laid with bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise,” he says. Nestled in the coastal suburb of Duncraig, Carmelo, who owns the café with his wife Vanessa Cirillo, says Little H is a modern and aesthetic local haunt among the growing café scene in the area. “We took over the business from the previous owners in November 2020, and have continued on its legacy,” says Carmelo. “It’s been fantastic, we’ve got a great

customer base and excellent staff here in the community. Our aim was to continue to drive quality and customer service.” Featuring hexagon tables, concrete walls broken up with lush green indoor plants and a crisp white alfresco outdoor dining area, Carmelo says it’s a relaxing space to enjoy a cup of coffee. “We serve Ultimate Wingman from Locale Coffee Roasters as our house blend. It’s the perfect all-rounder, made up of Colombian, Brazilian and Indian coffees. It’s full-bodied, with mild acidity and a balanced finish. Just like any great wingman, it’s always got your back,” he says. “Locale has worked with the business for five years, and we’ve always been able to rely on them to provide a consistent blend.” For Carmelo, the most fulfilling part of owning Little H is being able to execute great service and products that keep customers coming back. “When you look around the room on a Saturday or Sunday and see a full café of people enjoying their coffee, smiling and laughing, it’s such a rewarding feeling,” says Carmelo. “To be able to provide stability for our staff and create an environment where they enjoy coming to work and delivering great service to customers, makes it all worth it.”

BANKSIA BAKEHOUSE 225 George Street, Tenancy 4 Grosvenor Place, New South Wales, 2000 Open Monday to Friday 7:30am – 3:30pm 0434 589 806 When Co-Founder Josh Kim started working on Banksia Bakehouse in 2018, he didn’t think he’d be launching the CBD bakery in the middle of a pandemic. But he had, and despite a tough beginning, the Grosvenor Place spot is creating a buzz in the Sydney CBD with its amazing selection of cakes, freshly made pastries and specialty coffee by Paradox Coffee Roasters. “Originally, we were supposed to open after Easter break in 2020, but then COVID-19 happened, so we delayed opening for about two months until June 2020,” says Josh. Named after and inspired by native Australian flora, the bakery and café has an aesthetically pleasing design with inviting leather banquette seating, a sleek white interior and a cascade of hanging greenery. “After co-founding the bakery Passiontree Velvet nine years ago, we already had a bit of experience in the

industry. We wanted to create a style completely opposite to our first business, a modern and simplistic café,” says Josh. While the interior design is impressive, it’s hard to tear your eyes away from the open kitchen, where pastry chefs whip up flaky pastries and towering cakes. “Our line-up includes Australian bakery classics. We’re known for our pastries, which are made fresh every day and are

Co-Owner Josh Kim helped launch Banksia Bakehouse in 2020, despite COVID-19.

the cornerstone of our business. We’re also building our elaborate cake offering for your next office party,” says Josh. Cakes, while rotating often, include black forest, raspberry meringue, dark chocolate ganache, and tropical sponge cake. Two specialty coffee blends by Paradox Coffee Roasters complement the extensive cake line up. “We use Paradox Coffee Roasters’ Penny Lane blend for our milk coffees and the Picasso Baby blend for our black coffees. We chose Penny Lane because we’re able to extract body and flavour and maintain the coffee’s caramel notes and sweetness,” says Josh. “We put a lot of thought into the coffee we serve, because we wanted to start off right and give our customers excellent coffee. The guys at Paradox Coffee Roasters provided exactly what we were looking for. They do a fantastic job and always provide expert service.” Josh says the bond he’s created with his staff along with accomplishing his business goals are what he’s most thankful for. “We’ve created a positive work environment that everyone enjoys, which is really rewarding to see. It makes me very proud of what we’ve achieved as a team,” he says.

REZZ HOTEL 20 Hamilton Terrace, Newton, South Australia, 5074 Open Monday to Thursday 8am – 8:30pm, Friday 8am – 9:30pm and Saturday and Sunday 8am – 9pm 08 8337 2888 After a complete rebuild of the entire venue in 2021, the Rezz Hotel is a completely unique space to any other hotel in South Australia. Director of Rezz Hotel Richard Hanood says the design encapsulates a Mediterranean look and feel, utilising natural materials such as rendered walls, arches and slate paving throughout, complete with a central internal piazza. “The focus for us was for it to become a meeting place for friends, family, and the local community. We want to build a strong café culture at the venue that will have a solid impact on the public,” says Richard. Studio Nine Architects are responsible for the new design of the Rezz Hotel in Newton, which honour the venue’s rich history in addition to creating four new spaces, a café and play area, the stylish Z-Bar and restaurant, a trendy sports bar and beer garden, and a spacious gaming lounge for late-night entertainment. Richard says the café and play area are sure to be a new favourite among families,

The Rezz Hotel features a central internal piazza.

with the rebuild creating a unique indoor and outdoor dining experience. While customers take in the venue’s unique ambience, Richard says they can enjoy Veneziano Coffee Roasters’ Crave blend, a coffee with notes of almonds, dark chocolate and caramel. “We tried out many different coffee producers and roasters, as we were looking for a coffee that just hit the mark. That’s when we found Veneziano’s Crave blend. It’s got a really lovely balance and suits us perfectly,” says Richard. “We went through the process with Veneziano, and they spoke with us about what flavour profiles, equipment and servicing and support they had on offer, and

with that relationship, they just ticked all the boxes. While the competition was strong, they outperformed across the board.” When entering the venue, customers are presented with a glass display cabinet of modern Mediterranean style food, including cheeses, cured meats, and aged steaks. “I’d say our most exciting offering is our Marana Forni rotating pizza oven, which delivers exceptional pizzas. We handstretch our own dough and source a lot of ingredients locally,” says Richard. “[It’s] the perfect place to bring the kids for breakfast, lunch or dinner. We’re excited to broaden our range of customers and be known as a place where you can get a great meal and an even better coffee.”

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CAFÉ SCENE LITTLE BYRD 160 Union Road, Ascot Vale, Victoria, 3032 Open Tuesday to Sunday 7am – 3pm, 03 9372 7093 For a casual spot of people-watching from a large window-fronted facade, or to mingle in the jovial local atmosphere, Little Byrd in Ascot Vale has you covered. After buying the business in 2013, Owner Robby Nassour conducted a complete renovation of the café in 2018, investing in a new look and specialty coffee menu. “I came from the restaurant business, and this is my first time owning a coffee shop. I wanted to make the switch to working during the day to spend more time with my family,” says Robby. “It was a big step for me, but a great decision to start serving Campos Coffee. They’ve got a great product which customers love.” At Little Byrd, customers can enjoy the Campos Superior blend, its signature coffee blend. Combining coffees from Ethiopia, Kenya and Colombia, this full-bodied coffee is carefully roasted to deliver sweet caramel, butterscotch and milk chocolate flavours. “I’ve always enjoyed Campos coffee, not only the taste of their blends but their quality of service. They always look after us and provide us with whatever beans and equipment we need,” Robby says. To pair with its Campos Coffee, Little Byrd serves Mediterranean cuisine. Robby says

Little Byrd café offers something different to ensure a memorable food experience.

a customer-favourite is the eggs benedict, featuring slow cooked pulled pork, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. “We have a variety of delicious menu options, including shakshuka eggs, fritters and falafel wrap. There’s something for everyone,” he says. The salvaged furniture and re-worked

’70s sideboard tables are filled with loyal locals and the occasional newbie intrigued by the rustic design. “It’s the whole package. The café is very family oriented, and we have a friendly community here. Everyone loves to come in and have a chat because everyone knows each other,” Robby says. Little Byrd serves up Campos Coffee’s Superior blend for its smooth and full-bodied flavour.

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SWIMSUIT COFFEE 38 Dixon Street, Wellington, New Zealand, 6011 Open Monday to Friday 7am – 4pm and Saturday 9am – 3pm (64) 4 260 0045 Swimsuit Coffee owner Tait Burge is swimming against the tide of café closures, turning a dark and grungy establishment into a light and breezy coastal-inspired café within weeks. “After consulting with a mentor of mine, I made the decision to open my own coffee shop in 2019. With the help of some talented friends, I was able to complete the café’s fitout within 19 days,” says Tait. With the assistance of close friend-turnedbusiness partner William Bridewell-Roberts, Tait has already opened a second Swimsuit Coffee location in Miramar, and is well on his way to achieving his goal of opening three sites by the time he’s 30. “Will’s recently come onboard as a shareholder but has been around to help me from the beginning. It’s nice to have someone alongside me on this journey,” says Tait. “We realised recently we’ve only spent about 10 months in a pandemic free environment. To have not only survived but thrived amid these lockdowns is so rewarding.” With retro furniture, light colours and an

Owner Tait Burge encourages customers to hang around, read a book, and get chatting.

appetite for good tunes, Swimsuit has paid clear attention to its ambience. “We focused on this whole vibe of just softening up the space and putting in colour. They are subconscious ways to make people feel more comfortable,” says Tait. The relaxing atmosphere is paired with People’s Coffee, a roaster Tait chose because it’s certified B Corp and follows a fair trade philosophy. “We use their Don Wilfredo blend, which has a mix of Colombian, Peru, and Guatemalan origins, and is a complex, full-bodied flavour blend of chocolate and creamy caramel overtones,” says Tait. For the hungry visitors there’s four types

Park Lane Barista is described as a community hub that is family oriented.

PARK LANE BARISTA 133 Bryants Road, Loganholme, Queensland, 4129 Open Monday to Friday 5:30am – 1pm, Saturday 6am – 1pm and Sunday 6am – 12pm 0436 929 373 Originally built for a friend of hers, Natasha Cleveland and her husband overtook the Park Lane Barista in March 2021, and since then, Natasha says it’s been the most amazing decision she’s ever made. “When the opportunity came up, we thought, ‘let’s just go for it’. The first few weeks really opened my eyes to how difficult

it can be to run a café, but we have great staff behind us, and we’ve taken leaps and bounds since opening. It’s the first and best experience I’ve had in hospitality,” says Natasha. Park Lane Barista, which opens at 5.30am, has become a popular hole-in-thewall take away espresso bar for the local community picking up fresh ham and cheese croissants, toasted sandwiches, danishes and a piping hot coffee blended from beans from Toby’s Estate. Serving its Woolloomolloo and monthly single origin blends, Natasha couldn’t be happier with Toby’s Estate’s prompt and thorough service.

of scones, two versions of house-made baguettes and a meat or vegan toastie option to see you through the day. “Our cheese scones are our biggest hit, especially toasted on the grill with a bit of hot sauce, you can’t go wrong,” says Tait. Tait says he started the café with the premise of keeping it simple, wanting to create a costal café with excellent espresso and service. “What I really wanted to do was create a community café,” he says. “It’s been really quite amazing to see what has come from this space since we started, and it’s thanks to the staff here. It’s about more than just making good espresso.”

“The thing I love about Toby’s Estate is just because you have a designated representative, doesn’t mean you only deal with them. “I get calls from everyone asking how our machine’s going, or whether we have enough beans. It’s the most amazing company to deal with, everyone looks after you,” Natasha says. Equipped with a Slayer coffee machine, Mythos and EK43 Mahlköenig coffee grinders, and a Puqpress automatic tamper, Natasha has all the coffee gear to cater for the cafés growing demand. “When we first opened in March last year, we were lucky to be using 20 kilograms of coffee a week. Now we’re using 55,” says Natasha. “We have such a supportive community. Small businesses can leave their cards here, and we have a few local authors that sell their books in the café. I made up a loyalty card for the local boys’ soccer club, and they got me a team shirt with my name on it. “And the local real estate agent comes down every couple of months and he’ll just put a tab on and whoever comes in gets free coffee. It’s that interaction with the customers that gets me up, excited to come to work every day.”

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TRAINING TACTICS

Babin Gurung is the New South Wales Barista Trainer of UCC.

Extracting the good stuff UCC’s Babin Gurung explains how to measure, maximise and analyse coffee extraction with tools, techniques and your trusty palate.

n coffee, the term extraction refers to the amount of coffee solubles dissolved in water. The idea, regardless of brewing techniques, is to draw out maximum flavours from coffee without any unwanted harshness. Extraction is what takes coffee from tasting dull, sour, with a lack of texture, to rich, sweet, and full-bodied. Therefore, it is important to understand the variables involved in coffee extraction and use them to brew delicious coffees. But remember, there is always a limit to how much you can extract. Higher extraction doesn’t always mean better tasting coffee. There are two main ways to measure and analyse coffee extraction: • Refractometer: A refractometer is a small device used to accurately measure solubles or TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) in liquid, or in this case, brewed coffee. This information can be used to calculate the extraction yield in percentage. Brewed coffee generally sits between 18 to 24 per cent extraction. • Tasting: A refractometer only gives you the percentage of solubles present in your drink. It can’t measure whether the coffee is flavoursome. So, it is important to use taste as a guide to evaluate extraction and adjust your techniques to achieve the desired result. Here are some techniques you can use to improve extraction in coffee: 1. Pressure: Let me quickly talk about water pressure, which is what separates espresso coffee from all other styles

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While refractometers are useful to measure TDS or extraction yield, it’s still important to use taste to evaluate extraction and adjust your technique.

of coffee. The high pressure from an espresso machine (electric or manual) allows solubles to be extracted even with small amount of water. A similar level of extraction isn’t possible with drip or immersion brewing without introducing a high volume of water, which can make them taste less intense. However, pressure that is too high

can sometimes lead to choking and channelling of the puck, causing uneven extraction. Most commercial espresso machines are set at nine bars, which is widely accepted to produce a consistent result. On most home machines though, this level of pressure isn’t possible, so a pressurised portafilter basket may be used to replicate this effect.

2. Water quality: Here, water quality refers to hardness (containing higher minerals) or softness (containing lower minerals). Hard water is generally preferred for brewing as the minerals and ions not only add to the flavour but also help extract more solubles from coffee. Tap water can have a wide range of mineral content depending on the area. So, water filtration is a good solution for having consistent water quality. Refer to Dr. Monika Fekete’s October 2017 article in BeanScene titled “Water hardness made easy” to learn more on the role of water quality in extraction. Similarly, various water recipes can be found online to match your coffee extraction needs. 3. Water temperature: The higher the water temperature, the more solubles it can extract. Therefore, most espresso machines are set at 92 to 93°C, but this can be changed to optimise extraction. Retaining heat is just as important during the brewing process and most commercial machines are designed for it. But simple techniques like keeping group handles locked inside the group head when not in use, and flushing water before loading the handle, are some effective ways of maintaining higher temperature. This is also applicable in manual brewing where pre-heating your brewer by running boiling water through it can help retain a higher temperature. 4. Coffee beans: As discussed in my February 2022 article of BeanScene “Creating espresso recipes”, coffee beans can have wide range of density based on the variety, growing region, processing and roasting. Coffee grown at higher elevation generally are denser and break down slower during processing and roasting, making them more difficult to extract than a lower elevation coffee. Roasting has a similar effect on the beans. On darker roasted coffees, the wall structure is weaker, making them easier to extract than a lighter roast. Therefore, when working with denser or lighter coffees, it helps to lower the dose or increase yield, and increase brew temperature and grind finer to achieve longer extraction time. 5. Pre-infusion: In previous BeanScene editions, we have talked about age of roasted coffee affecting flavour and extraction. Fresher coffee contains excess Co2 gas which can create a barrier for water to properly extract. A simple solution is to allow small amount of water to infuse and release some of the gas making it easier for the rest of water to fully extract the flavours. This is called ‘pre-wetting’ or ‘pre-infusion’ in espresso and referred to as ‘blooming’

Tools such as coffee distributors help de-clump coffee for better grind distribution and a higher extraction.

in filter-style coffee. Some espresso machines come with this feature, but this can be done manually as well. Pre-infusion is usually done for 30 to 40 seconds depending on the roast and freshness of coffee. 6. Agitation: Like pre-infusion, the idea behind agitating coffee is to ensure no dry spots are left, which can cause under-extraction. This method is specific to immersion and drip style coffee where the coffee, once wet, is stirred or agitated using a spoon or stick, or sometimes just by swirling the brewer itself. Aggressive agitation can lead to channelling, which can give a muddy flavour. Adopting a proper technique is essential when agitating. 7. Grind size: Grinding coffee beans into smaller pieces means creating more surface area, allowing water to extract. So, a general rule is: finer grind equals higher extraction. Coarser grind equals lower extraction. Once again, there is a limit to how fine you can go before it starts to over-extract or cause chocking and channelling. Use extraction time as your guide to how fine your coffee is. Uniformity in grind size is equally important as having too many fines in your grind can cause some coffee to over-extract while others may not extract properly. Using precision grinders or removing fines using a coffee sieve can help with this issue. 8. Time: Time is one of the biggest factors in extraction. The more time water is in

contact with coffee, the more solubles it will be able to extract. For espresso coffee, the time ranges anywhere from 20 to 40 seconds, while for filter style coffee, it can be little longer. One good example of using time to extract flavours is ‘cold drip’, where room temperature water is used for brewing for an extended period of time. Because cold water isn’t good at extracting solubles, small droplets of water are poured over the course of 10 to 12 hours for a gentle extraction. 9. Grind distribution: Along with having uniform grind size, equally important is uniform distribution of coffee in the group handle or in a brewer. This allows water to travel through the coffee, evenly allowing a higher extraction. One of the techniques that is quite common in espresso coffee preparation is to use your fingers to spread the coffee across the basket. In recent times, we have seen tools such as coffee distributors or pins to de-clump coffee for better grind distribution. You can take an extra step to ensure water disperses evenly through the puck by placing a metal mesh/filter paper on top of the prepared puck before loading the group handle. All the above techniques will help you achieve higher extraction. But knowing your coffee and equipment will be a key to your success. Tasting your coffee and refining the techniques will help you take your coffee from average to amazing.

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ESPRESSO YOURSELF

Victor Vu of Ona Coffee Melbourne is the 2020 ASCA Australian Pauls Professional Latte Art Champion.

The Taurus Victor Vu charges ahead with this beast of a pattern, designed to push your skills to the limit and give you strength to tackle whatever challenge comes next.

he hospitality sector was thrown its greatest challenge to date with the global pandemic struck in 2020, forcing inperson dining restrictions, the reduction of staff hours and in some cases, permanent shop closures. It wasn’t an easy time. On reflection, we got through it with determination and resilience. When I think back to that period, the symbol of the Taurus comes to mind. The Taurus, Latin for bull, is a symbol of strength. In astrology, the Taurus is the second sign of the zodiac, and in the night sky, the constellation is hard to miss. Why? Because of the giant red Aldebaran star in the constellation, which forms the bull’s eye. So why not turn that constellation

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into a latte art design? If it’s a pattern in the sky, we can surely create it in the cup, and that’s exactly what I’ve done. I first presented my Taurus pattern in 2019 at the Australian Latte Art Championship. The inspiration for this design came to me after I had a dream about a Taurus shape. When I woke up, I drew it on a piece of paper, and that’s where the evolution of this design started. I used it again at the 2020 Nationals competition, and it seemed pretty effective, landing me the winning spot and a booked place at the World Latte Art Championships (WLAC). The biggest development I’ve made with this design is making it more realistic. That’s always the hardest part, taking a design from a concept to a physical form,

then trying to pack in as many features and skill-based techniques to get it looking as detailed as possible. The key pressure point in this design is the clarity of separation between the different elements, and awareness of space. There’s a lot to pack into the cup, and each element needs to be in proportion to bring the facial structure of the Taurus to life. It’s been a long journey of training and preparation to get ready for the WLAC, and it’s finally arrived. I’ll be in Milan, Italy from 23 to 25 June and I’m so ready. I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been working so hard on, and I want to thank everyone for their support along the way. I will try my best, and channel my inner Taurus.

1. Build your base with the handle at nine o’clock. Pour a two-layered tulip or heart as you push into the layer and see it curve. This forms the temple of the bull.

3. Now pour two smaller eight-leaf rosettas either side of the heart to create the nose. Rotate the cup clockwise as you go. Pour one rosetta underneath the heart in the centre of the cup to form the structure of the Taurus’ face.

5. On the left-hand side of the cup, make a small pour on an angle, then continue the drag straight down the cup. This will form the eyebrow and facial bones of the Taurus.

7. At the bottom of the cup, pour a loop or an infinity symbol. This will form the nostrils.

2. At the opposite end to the tulip, pour a 10-leaf rosetta on either side of the cup.

4. With the cup handle now at three o’clock, drag your pour from the end of the rosetta to form a loop shape. Repeat on the other side. This will be the Taurus’ horns.

6. Repeat the same step on the opposite side so you have two lines either side of the centre rosetta.

8. Drop one dot of foam underneath nostril for the mouth, and two small dots for the eyes, and you’re done!

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NZSCA

Emma McDougall is the Communications and Administration Co-ordinator of the NZSCA.

Back on The Trans-Tasman borders are open again and New Zealand’s Barista Champion has her eyes firmly on the WBC prize – and all the food and coffee Melbourne has to offer. repetitive training time,” she says. Condensing a 15-minute routine is often described as hard work but Luise tells us about the fun parts. “I really enjoy coming up with concepts, sharing ideas with the team, finding the right coffee and the whole writing process,” she says. So, which comes first, finding the coffee or developing the narrative? “This is a little bit of a ‘chicken or egg’ situation where it’s hard to say what comes first, the chosen coffee or the concept of your routine,” Luise says. “To me, the most important part is that the coffee represents an important story that I would like to tell. The barista champs are the best way to bring attention to an audience and to the world. On this stage, new ideas are born. So normally I start by

Image: Humaidi Ridwan @doshotz

e’re dusting off our passports, brushing up on the Melbourne must-do’s and after three years between MICE’s, we have a fair bit of catching up to do. Pop the kettle on and rustle up a brew, the Kiwis are coming to explore the Australian industry and landscape which have undoubtedly dramatically changed in the pandemic era. Way back in March 2021, when we held our last Barista Championship, Luise Metelka of Flight Coffee Roasters in Wellington took the crown. There was no COVID-19 in New Zealand at the time, though it was ominous overseas. Our borders were tricky and expensive to get through, with a two-week quarantine stay. So, while we badly and sadly missed the 2021 World Barista Championship, we know that the wait will be worth it. “Melbourne has a special place in my heart because this is where I started my coffee journey,” Luise enthuses. “I can’t wait to catch up with all my great friends and old colleagues over there. I am also looking forward to trying different cafés and roasteries. I was still a beginner when I left, so it’s exciting to return as a more mature coffee professional.” As for food, Luise says she is looking forward to the amazing laksas and Korean BBQ. Back to the serious reason of why Luise has her eyes set on Melbourne. “The creative process of writing the script, collaborating with the team, the growth that you go through as a competitor, the excitement on the day… I love every step of this journey, even the

coming up with a few ideas, and then try to find a coffee that matches the concept. I order heaps of coffees from producers and if I fall in love with a coffee on the way, I would even change my concept. The coffee should ideally be fruity and clean, so it’s easier to identify flavour notes.” Aspiring baristas will be inspired by watching the national champions on stage, and with the opening up of travel, the number of attendees has been touted at around 15,000. “I could think of a few people that I’m looking forward to seeing, but I am hoping to meet Aga [Rojewska] again,” says Luise. “Her winning World Barista Championship 2018 presentation had a massive influence on me as a competitor, so she continues to be my role model.” The upcoming 2022 Meadow Fresh NZ Barista Championship is taking place from 20 to 21 August, with the winner set to represent NZ at the 2023 WBC. Luise’s advice for competitors, is to know the rules and know the scoresheet: “Everything you do and say should show passion and purpose.” And that’s exactly what Luise aims to do when she competes in Melbourne in the 2022 WBC. There will be a big contingent of Kiwi’s flying over to support Luise. Bring on September. *Luise would like to thank our sponsors, the team at Flight Coffee and her partner Brett.

Luise Metelka of Flight Coffee Roasters will represent New Zealand in the 2022 WBC in Melbourne.

For more information on the New Zealand Specialty Coffee Association, or to join, visit www.nzsca.org

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101

PEOPLEON ONTHE THEMOVE MOVE PEOPLE

People on the move

BeanScene celebrates the latest industry appointments in the Australian coffee landscape.

BRIAN DESSAIX – VICE PRESIDENT WEST COAST OPERATIONS & COFFEE AT BLUESTONE LANE JACK BRENNAN – VICE PRESIDENT SUPPLY CHAIN & STRATEGIC PROJECTS AT BLUESTONE LANE

CHLOE TATHEM – MOCOPAN/UCC-COFFEE AUSTRALIA QUEENSLAND BARISTA TRAINER Chloe Tathem is the Queensland Barista Trainer of Mocopan/ UCC-Coffee Australia. She joined UCC-Coffee in 2021 after 10 years with Espresso Engine, where she managed three of its CBD sites. In 2020, Chloe was part of the “Hope Project”, a QLD Government initiative program aimed at increasing training and employment opportunities in rural communities. She ran the barista program in Cunnamulla and Charleville, teaching rural indigenous high school students coffee skills. This sparked Chloe’s love for teaching and led her to join UCC-Coffee to continue providing the next generation with skills they can use worldwide. Chloe is predominantly based in the Brisbane/Gold Coast region but travels QLD-wide, providing coffee training to the teams of corporate customers and independent cafés. 102

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Jack Brennan has joined Bluestone Lane as Vice President Supply Chain & Strategic Projects. He had a successful executive career at Retail Zoo where he held the position of Head of Supply Chain & Strategic Projects, including leading the Cibo Espresso Cafe brand and CPG product business. Jack joins the Bluestone Lane Executive Team and will have a broad leadership remit including supply chain, strategy, strategic projects and licensing.

Brian Dessaix has joined Bluestone Lane in the position of Vice President West Coast Operations & Coffee. Brian has had a successful career at Campos Coffee, including overseeing its United States market entry, and most recently as Australian National McCafe Manager at McDonald’s. Brian is a member of the Bluestone Lane Executive Team and is responsible for leading the holistic Bluestone Lane coffee program, which includes sourcing, roasting operations, new product development, training, and innovation.

WANTED: EMPLOYEES! Is your business looking to fulfil a vacant position in the coffee industry? Tired of sifting through non-industry specific candidates via saturated marketing platforms and failing to find “the one”? Look no further. BeanScene has created a new “Jobs” page on our website to help target industry-specific roles. Standard and premium listings are available. All job listings will be promoted through our weekly EDM and shared on BeanScene socials. For pricing inquiries and more information, contact: COURTNEY WALKER courtney.walker@primecreative.com.au +61 481 736 890

If you have taken on a new role in a prominent coffee business, or if you would like to promote your exciting new hire, send details of the career news alongside a high-res photo to Sarah Baker at sarah.baker@primecreative.com.au

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JUNE 2022

LO C A LLY R OA S TE D

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