BeanSceneの February 2020 の目次

The annual CafeSmart campaign has raised more than $200,000 in 2019. StreetSmart Australia created CafeSmart to unite the coffee community to combat homelessness. Around 800 cafés participated in this year’s campaign by donating $1 per coffee sold on 9 August. With $203,070 of funding going to 173 organisations in 2019, CafeSmart’s total tally has been taken to $1.2 million since the campaign began. Single O won the National Roaster Champion award after recruiting 83 of its wholesale customers to join the initiative. Five Senses Coffee Roasters was runner-up and Allpress, Padre, and Campos Coffee rounded out the top five. Single O in Surry Hills, New South Wales, was also crowned the National Fundraising Champion after raising more than $2300 during the campaign. It was the café’s ninth year of involvement…

Arseny Kuznetov of Traveler’s Coffee in Russia has won the 2019 World Coffee Roasting Championship, held at the Taiwan International Coffee Show from 15 to 18 November. Bogdan Georgescu of Coffeeville Roastery in Romania placed second, and Mateusz Karczweski of Audun Coffee – Norwegian Roast in Poland placed third. Australian representative Takumi Sakamoto of Brut Coffee placed 15th in the roasting competition. Twenty-three competitors took part in the competition, which included green bean evaluation, sample roasting, production roasting, and blend roasting stages. “I think it’s unbelievable that I’ve gone down in history,” Arseny says, translated from Russian. Arseny is the second Russian competitor in a row to win the World Coffee Roasting Championship, succeeding Vladimir Nenashev of Mosaic Coffee. The next World Coffee Championships, the 2020 World Barista Championship and…

As the old adage goes, “getting to the top is hard, but staying there is even harder”. Devising ways to continually improve and build on achievements can be an immense challenge for any individual or business, especially those in highly competitive industries such as coffee. One business that appears to have found a formula for sustained success is Danes Specialty Coffee. The NSW-based roaster celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2019 in style, winning its second consecutive Champion Australian Roaster title at the Australian International Coffee Awards (AICA). “It’s a fantastic achievement for our team and our customers. The rule of thumb remains the same since we started back in the 90s – there is no shortcut to quality,” says Graeme Powell, General Manager at Danes Specialty Coffee. “Our desire to…

From the humble cappuccino to the hallowed flat white, Australians love the hot, milky, espresso-based coffees that their country is known for. However, with such an emphasis placed on espresso-based coffee, Campos Coffee Founder Will Young says many cafés are underestimating the value of adding cold coffees to the menu. “We just enjoy our milk coffees so much that it’s hard to not think about coffee in that way,” Will says. Until recently, most Australians’ awareness of cold coffee beverages started and finished with iced coffee – either an espresso served over cold milk and ice with ice cream and whipped cream, or a sugary, ready-to-drink bottle from a shopping centre fridge. But like the specialty coffee movement did for hot coffee, it has shone a light on the possibilities…

In the first year of my little garage roasting business, I managed to double the turnover. In the second year, I doubled it again. In the third year I doubled it yet again. That was eight-fold growth rate in just three years. How did I do this? For one, I hired a young hardworking mum to do my deliveries while I focused on sales and tried to “sell the sizzle not the sausage”. I purchased a set of sales training cassette tapes by American Tom Hopkins. I listened to those tapes continuously, and even memorised some of the motivational prompts that were designed to help sales people cope with rejection, some of which I still recall on cue to this day: “I never see failure as failure but only as…

In 2009, Andre Selga and Nadia Moreira were running successful grocery and exporting businesses in their native Brazil. The pair had built a strong professional network and were exporting goods to Europe, the United States, and Africa. Everything quickly changed when an old friend, who had a background in coffee, approached them about a new business opportunity to trade green beans. “Over time, Nadia and I came to learn about the industry and like just about everyone, once we started dealing with coffee, we got hooked,” says Andre Selga, Owner of Southland Merchants. In 2017, the couple and their young children emigrated to Adelaide, South Australia in search of a new challenge. After months of hard work and research on the Australian coffee market, Southland Merchants, a specialty coffee importer…

In his position as CEO of Minas Hill Coffee, Marcelo Brussi has formed countless friends and contacts within the coffee industry. In 2014, a chance meeting with Melbourne-based Colombian coffee roaster Sebastian Farias left an indelible mark on him, which he knew one day would lead to something special. “What caught my attention about Sebastian is that we shared many of the same thoughts about the industry. He had really strong views about sustainability and the importance of promoting the welfare of farmers,” says Marcelo, Founder of the South American Growers’ Association (SAGA). As well as personal ideologies, another factor drawing the pair together was professional experience. Sebastian’s work with Colombian-based Farmore has led him to advocate for small-scale independent farmers, something Marcelo says he could empathise with through his…

Ziggy Varamulia of Arlo by Mo has won the Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) 2020 Vitasoy Western Region Barista Championship for the second year running. Matt Goncalves of Merchant & Maker placed second and Lena Richrath of Five Senses Coffee placed third in the competition, which took place at Optus Stadium in Perth from 16 to 17 of November. “[Barista competitions are] difficult, time consuming, and draining, but I want to share the stories of people who have dedicated their lives to coffee. There’s surely no better feeling than standing in front of the judges and the crowd and telling that story for everyone to hear,” Ziggy says. “I’m a bit calmer this year and just want to keep the focus – with nationals looming and then the World Barista…

The first Rancilio Silvia left the factory in 1997. In the two-plus decades since, little has changed about the humble domestic espresso machine, which can still be recognised for its sleek and simple silver exterior. According to Paul O’Brien, Area Manager – Australasia for Rancilio, that’s because nothing had to. “We’ve sold hundreds of thousands of Silvias, and they’ve gained a reputation for reliability. I was speaking to a guy yesterday who has had his Silvia for 16 years,” Paul says. “The Silvia is all about unfussed simplicity and has grown a cult following globally. If you took the first version from 1997 and compared it to the latest one today, you’d recognise it straight away.” However, as the coffee industry grew, Rancilio saw the opportunity to update the classic…

Just as the world’s viable coffee producing regions are under threat due to climate change, the world’s sand supplies are also diminishing. According to Sand and Sustainability, a study by the United Nations Environment Programme, after water, sand is the most extracted mineral in the world. It is used to produce concrete, glass, and many other essential construction materials, as well as countless other commodities. The report adds that sand extraction is severely underregulated and many operations have a severe impact on marine, coastal, and freshwater ecosystems. Desert sand is too fine to be used in construction, which means a growing strain on coastal stocks. Determined to find an alternative material, two civil engineering students from Melbourne’s RMIT University, Senura Kohombange and Anthony Abiad, as well as their lecturer Dr.…

The Apple iPhone is identified by the tech giant as “the world’s most powerful personal device”. Each day users utilise their smartphone to coordinate their day. They check the weather, emails, pay bills, and look up road directions thanks to square icons no bigger than a thumbnail. On the outside, the iPhone is simplistic, stylish, and user friendly, evident by the 46.89 million sold in the fourth quarter of 2018. On the inside, however, is a complex web of technology, just like the new Victoria Arduino Eagle One coffee machine. With Eagle One unveiled to the world at HostMilano 2019, Simonelli Group CEO Fabio Ceccarani says he was pleased to see such a positive reaction from expo attendees seeking products with “sophisticated yet hidden” technology. “In today’s digital era, less…

Standing in the entrance to Accademia Del Caffè Espresso, visitors to the centre for espresso excellence could liken the establishment to the Peggy Guggenheim museum with its crisp white interior and artistic displays. But Accademia is not a display of 20th-century European and American art. It’s a symbol of the coffee industry’s past, present, and future. “Welcome to Accademia Del Caffè Espresso,” exclaims Marta Kokosar, General Manager of Accademia del Caffè Espresso at the exclusive media preview following HostMilano 2019. “This is a magical place for everyone to enjoy, dedicated to research, innovation, and exchange of information. Accademia will create value for the entire coffee industry. It was a concept on paper a long time ago, and now we have completed a special place here in Florence that puts the…

Visiting the town of Masina in Ethiopia, Project Origin General Manager Habib Maarbani was struck by how few options the people had for drinking water. “Where this particular town is in the mountains, access to clean and fresh running water is limited. You always see kids, women, and people with donkeys and carts, carrying old, yellow watering cans and walking to get them filled up,” Habib says. “Seeing that and coming from a country like Australia, where you turn on a tap and water comes out, definitely hits home. Servicing the community with convenient, reliable, and clean water is something we wanted to support.” When Habib returned in October for his second biannual trip of 2019, construction had almost completed for the water well Project Origin financed from its community…

CREAM 4/49 Jetty Road, Brighton, South Australia, 5048 Open Monday to Friday: 7am to 2:30pm Saturday and Sunday: 8am to 3:30pm (08) 8298 3149 After more than a decade in hospitality, two-time Western Region Latte Art and Adelaide Breezey Masters Champion Josh Rivers thought he could offer something new to the Brighton community with his café Coffee Rules Everything Around Me (CREAM). Taking its name from a Wu-Tang Clan song, CREAM combines Josh’s love of hip-hop music with coffee, which has helped the café make an impression since opening four years ago. “It’s like fine-dining food with a laid-back vibe, and it’s pumping all the time with loud music,” Josh says. “Jetty Road in Brighton had nothing going on at the time, but I could see there was a good…

The Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) Condesa Co Lab 2020 Australian Coffee Championships will take place at Tasting Australia in Adelaide from 27 to 30 March. The event will include the Vitasoy Barista Championship, Pauls Professional Latte Art Championship, Brewers Cup, TCX Cup Tasters Championship, Monin Coffee in Good Spirits Championship, and Monin Coffee Chain Challenge. “With the excitement of the World Barista Championship coming back to Australian shores, hosted again at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE), the ASCA board has had to ask, ‘where will the Australian National Championships be held in 2020?’” ASCA President Kieran Westlake says. “Ultimately, we saw this as an excellent opportunity to take the nationals outside of Melbourne for the first time in recent memory, to engage with other markets, and provide a…

Coffee generates a lot of waste. Tonnes of organic and water waste is produced processing coffee at origin and thousands of takeaway cups end up in landfill in consuming countries. Between the two, a large amount of plastic disposable packaging is used to transport coffee. Because waste exists throughout the supply chain, Clark St Coffee Roasters in Melbourne believes a holistic approach to sustainability is necessary. Founder Melissa Floreani tells BeanScene that Clark St aims to make its coffee supply chain plastic-free. One way it has done this is swapping to coffee packaging that is 100 per cent compostable, including the one-way degassing valve. “When I talk about it with baristas and customers, they touch and feel the bag, and feel proud to be using something that is compostable and…

The internet is arguably the most influential invention of the modern era. People are more connected than ever, as information, ideas, and knowledge spread at the click of a button. Society’s reliance on virtual communication has led to a decrease in face-to-face interaction, but the internet can also act as a powerful tool to organise events and bring communities together. Melbourne International Coffee Expo’s (MICE) Melbourne Coffee Week (MCW) aims to do just that by leveraging modern connectivity to unite the domestic coffee scene for an entire week. “Melbourne Coffee Week began as a celebration of coffee. We know that so much happens around MICE, as everyone is in town for the expo. We wanted to create a way for people to easily find all of these amazing events so…

Vietnam is famous as the world’s largest producer of Robusta coffee. However, when Jibbi Little visited the country in December 2019, she experienced a completely different part of the nation’s industry. “I had never been to Vietnam before and really wanted to see the coffee scene and farming for myself,” Jibbi says. “Specialty coffee focuses much more on Arabica coffee than Robusta, so I wasn’t sure how that would be reflected in Vietnam. But it has small farms that are growing only Arabica and processing fully washed coffee. It’s quite interesting to see that there’s still a minority of farmers focusing on quality.” Jibbi was flown to Vietnam for five nights as part of her prize for winning the Milklab Barista Battle Series at the 2019 Melbourne International Coffee Expo.…

At any given time, airport cafés are swelling with activity. Passengers in transit congregate in cafés hoping to kill time, enjoy a meal or coffee, or simply to break up the monotony of waiting by the boarding gate. The fast-paced nature of airports has bred a general perception that the airport hospitality industry favours speed and convenience over quality, but that’s all about to change. Specialty coffee brands are opening in Sydney and Melbourne airports from T4 to international departure lounges, turning one of the most populated daily hang-out spaces into the next café destination. “Historically, airports have had basic food and beverage offerings, but over time people’s expectations have changed. Specialty coffee is part of a broader strategy to address these expectations and improve the experience for travellers,” says…

“THE KEY IS BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN FARMERS AND CONSUMERS BY HIGHLIGHTING THE UNIQUE AND DESIRABLE FLAVOUR AND AROMA PROFILE OF PNG COFFEE.” Coffee is Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) second largest export behind palm oil. The coffee industry employs approximately three million people and will play a major role in the developing country’s economic future. After PNG gained independence in 1975, many foreign-owned coffee plantations were subsequently abandoned, leaving the local Indigenous population to learn coffee production from the ground up. “Traditionally, coffee production in PNG was handled by plantations. Indigenous members of the community were picking coffee or occasionally processing it, but all the knowledge stayed with the plantation’s owners,” says Will Valverde, Producer Support and Relations Officer at Fairtrade ANZ. Blessed with an ideal climate and soil profile…

10 HASTINGS STREET 10 Hastings Street, Noosa, Queensland, 4567 Open Monday 7am to 3pm, Tuesday to Sunday 7am to late (07) 5455 3350 Louise Thoms did not anticipate just how busy her café would become when she opened 10 Hastings Street at Noosa Main Beach in Queensland seven years ago. “We were living in Portugal when my husband was offered a job in Australia. We arrived in Noosa, where I found this empty space and thought, ‘I might open a café here’,” Louise says. “I had never been in hospitality before, was seven months pregnant, and already had three boys under six. We initially only served coffee and cakes, but it has since grown to seven-day breakfast, lunch, and dinner service.” Louise and her husband, who left his job to…

Every edition we highlight BeanScene’s digital coffee community, hearing from Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram followers. For more information, visit www.beanscenemag.com.au ANDREW AKATHIOTIS My coffee journey is one that started through family bloodlines spanning well over 50 years in Melbourne’s café culture. I remember when I was eight years old, trying for the very first time to make coffee at one of my father’s cafés. I don’t know if my passion stemmed from this moment or if it was a culmination of life experiences that made me realise this is what I wanted to pursue. Today, I find myself honing my craft at my latest venture, Volume 2 café in Abbotsford, Melbourne. Volume 2 is the personification of a modern Melbourne brunch experience, something that has been sculpted from the beginnings…