Table of contents for Aug/Sept 2016 in BeanScene

Campos Coffee 144 Elgin St Carlton, Victoria (03) 9347 7445 www.camposcoffee.com In this edition of BeanScene we go back to the roots of Campos Coffee's original flagship store in Elgin Street, Carlton. After five years of operation, this Campos Coffee site has been given a facelift of sorts. To honour the redesign, we took the opportunity to attempt something different too. “We spent a few hours shooting the new cover, trying to capture all the interesting elements of Campos Coffee's new store. The tricky part in selecting a winner was that there were so many great elements to consider, from the eye-catching coffee wall which embraces a science-lab feel, to the signature rosetta latte art from Campos to a backdrop of interesting origin artifacts Campos Coffee Director Will Young has…

World Coffee Research (WCR) has published the first-ever catalogue of coffee varieties for Central America, called Coffee Varieties of Mesoamerica and the Carribean. Launched and presented at Re:Co Dublin on 22 June, the catalogue of Coffea arabica coffees for Central America, Mexico, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica gathers the essential information on 33 major cultivars in the region. It is the result of interviews with more than 170 experts across Central America, visits to each Promecafe country, and reviews by all national institutes in the regions. Using the catalogue as a foundation, the WCR Verified Program will introduce a formalised system of quality control for coffee nurseries to ensure that planting material farmers are purchasing is in fact the material they intend to plant. WCR says the new catalogue…

Thousands of people made their way to Dublin, Ireland for World of Coffee (WOC), one of Europe’s greatest coffee events. From 23 – 25 June, WOC celebrated its 16th anniversary. The event attracts some of the industry’s most influential producers, suppliers and professionals to learn about the latest trends and developments in the sector, and compete in major international competitions. This year WOC hosted the World Barista Championship (WBC) and World Brewers Cup (WBrC). To read results and interviews, see page 36. Australia’s Hugh Kelly of Ona Coffee made the top 12 semi finalists of the WBC and placed eighth overall. He presented the judges with his espressos, using a Castillo variety from El Mirador Farm in Colombia, milk-based coffees using a method he called “natural process on the tree”,…

• CONSIDER MACHINERY BREAKDOWN COVER Cafés are reliant on their equipment to trade. Business owners need to be prepared for the possibility of these machines unexpectedly failing. This type of insurance covers the cost of repairing or replacing fixed equipment that has broken down, such as a fridge or cool room compressor. It can also cover for deterioration of stock that occurs from a breakdown. • CONSIDER BUSINESS INTERRUPTION WFI research shows 77 per cent of small businesses don’t have this important cover. An incident beyond your control may shut down your business. This cover insures you against loss of gross profit if your turnover reduces due to an interruption. • CHECK YOUR LEVEL OF LEGAL LIABILITY COVER Most businesses need this cover to take on a lease, but liability…

Mazzer describes its engineering teams as “anthropologists” in the way they observe how baristas care and prepare coffees. After all, Mazzer Export and Key Account Manager Luca Maccatrozzo says an understanding of a barista’s needs and demands is how the Italian grinder manufacturer gains inspiration to develop next-level products. “We are inspired by baristas who care deeply about producing the best espresso,” Luca says. “These passionate baristas cover the range from professional world champions to home baristas, and all of them pay great attention to every detail of the delicate process.” One detail in particular that Mazzer felt it could improve, however, was the direct delivery of a precise amount of ground coffee, measured by weight, to the portafilter. “Until now, [baristas] have wasted valuable time going back and forth…

Where will you be in 2017? While the temptation of a European adventure to start the year sounds exciting, there’s just one weekend you need to be in Melbourne: 30 March to 1 April. That’s right, Australia’s favourite coffee event, the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE), is returning in 2017 – but with new dates. “The change is a result of exhibitor feedback and not wanting the country’s top coffee event to clash with the Grand Prix, Arnold Classic, or any other event in Melbourne,” Event Organiser Simon Coburn says. “We want Melbourne – in fact the entire country – to be completely focused on coffee for an entire weekend, and moving the event later in March is the best way to satisfy our exhibitor needs, that of consumers, and…

When Art Therapists Amy McKay and Michelle Dixon walk into the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) cancer ward, or the Kookaburra Ward as it’s commonly referred, the smiles on the children’s faces are instantaneous. Maybe it’s the envy of the colourful paints in the art trolley, the pencils, paper, and glitter, or the opportunity to do something fun and therapeutic. Whatever the reason, Amy and Michelle’s presence is welcome in an environment of doctors, nurses, and treatments. “We love coming to work and seeing the impact something as simple as art can have on the hospital’s sickest cancer patients,” Amy says. Both Amy and Michelle have worked at Melbourne’s RCH for the past seven years. They studied visual arts and completed a Masters of Art Therapy, and have seen the profession…

José Abel Girón Dubón of Finca Las Botijas in the Comoyagua region is the winner of the 2016 Poject Origin Best of Honduras Late Harvest auction. Panels of national and international judges critiqued 150 samples over five rounds of cuppings from 4 – 10 July in Santa Barbara, Honduras. Thirty-two lots scoring 85 points or more made the finals, and 20 lots were auctioned. José’s Pacamara coffee scored an average of 91.7 points, and received an incredible 69 bids. Honey Coffee in Japan was the winning bidder, buying the Las Botijas coffee for US$20 per pound. As such, José receives a total of US$5620 (approximately $7407) for his 127 kilograms of auction-winning coffee. A Red Catuai from Finca La Colmena was the second-highest scoring coffee at 90.8 points. It was…

Authentic chai has been part of Indian culture for centuries, but it’s also been a part of Matt Pohle’s lifestyle for more than 12 years. Each Saturday, Matt would frequent St Andrew’s market in the foothills of the Yarra Ranges to sell spices and serve his hand-made chai. The sweet aroma of blended exotic spices would help customers drift in his direction. Before long, Matt didn’t just gain a long line of customers and a loyal following as “Matti Chai”, but many friends along the way. “After the market I would invite between 20 to 60 people back to my place to play drums and sit around the fire while I served them chai,” Matt recalls. “I just love the process of making it. In the ‘old-school’ way, I crush…

BERG WU When Berg Wu of Simple Kaffa in Taiwan was named the 2016 World Barista Champion, he barely had any words to describe the momentous occasion. A gigantic smile said it all as Berg lifted the Irish green trophy high above his head. When BeanScene asks Berg what that moment was like, his response is true to that of a humble champion. “Let’s put it this way. What does it mean to me when all the judges told me my coffee tasted amazing when they debriefed my score sheet? That’s the best compliment a barista can ask for – that your customer told you your coffee was so amazing and made their day,” Berg says. “Winning a championship is a tricky thing. You may think your coffee tastes great,…

BURNS BEACH CAFÉ 35 Ocean Parade, Iluka, Western Australia, 6028 Open Saturday 7.30am til late, Sunday to Friday 7.30am – 5pm (08) 9304 8080 In the mid 1970s, Burns Beach Café operated as a one-stop-shop kiosk, servicing an adjacent caravan park where customers had to transverse kilometres of dirt road just to get there. Today, the café is a little more accessible, and just metres from the white sand of Burns Beach. The café seats close to 200 and welcomes a broad cross section of patrons into a relaxed environment – not just caravan park customers. “Our growth in the past five years has been astounding with the population growth in the region one of the fastest in Australia,” Part-Owner and Manager Dion Blake says. “The challenge has always been…

Maltra Foods’ Nathan Alfrey says Sticky Chai is “en vogue” for consumers wanting a coffee alternative, and for cafés wanting to please customers with another high quality indulgent drink option. “We know that cafés are under time pressure, but we believe the Arkadia Chai Sticky Blend makes chai lattes super easy. The product is ready to go – the longest waiting time is the steeping,” Nathan says. “There are 101 different ways to blend a chai but we feel we’ve found the best one for customers and cafés to enjoy.” Arkadia’s Sticky Chai is hand blended in Melbourne. It contains a generous amount of 100 per cent natural Australian sourced honey, a lot more than usual chai products, but Nathan says it embodies a natural sweetness that helps release the…

Australian baristas have a reputation for being some of the best in the world. Take a look at our history. The 2015 World Latte Art Champion Caleb Cha gained his foothold into the industry after completing a TAFE course. This foundation of knowledge paired with his enthusiasm and determination to be “the best” saw him reach the Australian Championship and then World finals in the space of a few short years. Likewise, 2016 Australian Barista Champion Runner-up Jade Jennings trains baristas day in day out at Veneziano Coffee Roasters. She knows what it takes to be a quality barista at café level and on a competition stage. She shares this insight with participants from a beginner to advanced level of education. Genovese Coffee is renowned for its Specialty Coffee Association…

A lot can happen in a month: job change, new haircut, new birth, even a new government. Within the coffee world, the past two months have been jam-packed with events that have put Australia’s coffee industry and indeed the world’s in the spotlight. A new World Barista Champion was crowned in Dublin (see page 36) which resulted in 72,000 unique Livestream views across the globe and 2.8 million impressions on Facebook, rainbow lattes flooded social media and divided opinions – I’m talking smurf, golden, and beetroot lattes – edible coffee cones made their mark, and Australian documentary The Coffee Man based on Sasa Sestic’s World Barista Championship win toured Australia and Europe and won Best Australian Documentary at the Melbourne Documentary Festival. Side note, if you haven’t watched it yet,…

The Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) has announced the schedule for the 2017 competition year. The competition calendar is as follows: • 17 – 18 September ASCA Southern Region Coffee Championships at Maillard Atelier, VIC • 8 – 9 October ASCA Northern Region Coffee Championships at Extraction Artisan Coffee in Slacks Creek, QLD. • 29 – 30 October ASCA Western Region Coffee Championship at Little Italy by the Sea Festival in Fremantle, WA. • 26 – 27 November Central Regional Coffee Championships at Bare Witness in Rhodes, NSW. • 30 March – 1 April ASCA Australian Coffee Championships at Melbourne International Coffee Expo, VIC. Registration is now open. Please note, the 2017 Regional Competitions will follow 2016 World Coffee Events rules for each respective competition. ASCA will use 2017 rules…

Filip Kucharczyk of Cafe Targowa in Poland has won the 2016 World AeroPress Championship in Dublin. After an evening of hotly-contested competition on 23 June, the 11 international judges agreed that Filip consistently brewed the tastiest cup of coffee using an Aerobie AeroPress. A party-like atmosphere full of psychedelic colour and fun prevailed as attendees enjoyed the competition at event venue WigWam. This year saw a pool of more than 2000 competitors try their hand at the AeroPress competition, which produced 52 national champions. Australia’s Georgina Lumb of Patio Coffee Roasters in Adelaide represented Australia proudly on the international stage, having won the national title on 17 March. Unfortunately Georgina didn’t make it past the first round but says it was the trip of a lifetime. “The buzz before going…

Julian Mitchell and Ryan Creed live and breathe the proverb “waste not, want not”. Earlier this year the former health professionals turned waste entrepreneurs started Life Cykel, a business dedicated to reducing coffee waste by using it to grow mushrooms. Julian says it was after reading Mycologist Paul Stamet’s presentation Six Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World that he had a “lightbulb moment”. “[Paul] talked about food production and mentioned the volume of coffee waste and its potential to be a good nutrient for fungi growth,” Julian says. “I did some research, read his books, conducted some trials, and found a business proposition that could work.” Together with Ryan, they crowd-funded their campaign to start an urban mushroom farm, received $30,000 in donations, and made the idea a reality. “I…

It is human nature to be competitive. It’s best displayed on sporting fields, within careers, and between siblings, and occasionally, this driving force can be seen among the tea industry. On Sunday 15 May at Melbourne’s Meat Market building, competitors gripped their teapots as they fought for dominance in the Tea Masters Cup. The heats for the Australia and New Zealand competition were held in Melbourne as part of a global competition, with similar events run in 12 other countries. Poland had completed its heats just a few days prior to Melbourne’s from 10 and 11 May in Krakow, where 30 competitors vied for the top position. The Tea Masters Cup is open to talented individuals, whether they are trained tea professionals, tea enthusiasts, coffee baristas, restaurateurs, or anyone who…

Melbourne may be Australia’s coffee capital, but the city was happy to extend a warm welcome on 29 May to the nation’s other favourite hot beverage – tea. Sipping a steaming cup of tea is the perfect response to a brisk winter day, so it was no surprise that thousands turned up to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in South Wharf for the inaugural Melbourne Tea Festival. Run by Tea Festivals Australia, the Melbourne event followed its two successful Sydney festivals in 2014 and 2015. It combined the knowledge and experience of The Rabbit Hole Organic Tea Bar’s Corinne Smith and Amara Jarratt with Perfect South’s Renee Creer. Melbourne’s numbers matched Sydney’s first year, which Corinne says was extremely promising. “We had more than 4200 visitors on the day…