“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill
mycuppa April 2017 Newsletter
It was hard to believe we had already said goodbye to summer.
March in Melbourne seemed hotter and more uncomfortable than the entire summer season.
Our big coolers and ventilators in the warehouse were running 16 hours a day for weeks on end, keeping control of the persistent higher evening temperatures.
Fresh, new coffee arrivals have been rolling into the warehouse over the last fortnight, with a pair of superb Colombians being prepared for active duty.
We are going to knuckle down for another round of retail madness with a short burst 20% sale on the delightful Costa Rica Tarrazu.
NOTE - the offer is only available exclusively for our monthly newsletter subscribers, and only 250kg is up for grabs.
Get in quick because last month, the original allocation was all sold in just 6 hours.
If you like Costa Rican coffee beans, we now have premium Costa Rica Jaguar coffee beans available.
Australia Post has changed the default behavior for parcels from the 2nd April 2017.
Safe Drop is becoming the default.
At the end of 2016, we changed the artwork for our 1kg coffee bags, and it's likely that sometime around Easter, the stocks of our existing radioactive green bags will reach the end, and our new bags will be making their appearance.
No Roaster's Rant - don't worry, he's still fired up as always and wishes everyone a great Easter break.
Costa Rica Tarrazu
It's on again, and it's what we call a "Flash Sale".
Last month, we trialled the concept of a 20% discount for a defined volume of a single coffee.
What we did not expect was the incredibly high response rate.
This discount was only available to our Newsletter subscribers - it was not published on our website or through any other promotions, yet the campaign exceeded our original limits, with the allocation being sold out in a matter of hours.
We ended up creating another 2x allocations in the days that followed - quite frankly, it was difficult to keep up with the unexpected demand.
If you are a Newsletter subscriber, then check out your email. We will not be handing out the code over the phone or if you submit a request via our Contact Us page.
Changes to Australia Post Parcel Authority to Leave process
From today (2nd April 2017), Australia Post is changing the default behaviour for parcel deliveries Australia-wide.
Previously, the default for parcels required a Signature On Delivery unless the customer (you) had un-ticked the Check Box for Signature Required in the checkout.
You can also enter basic, brief delivery instructions, which are printed on the consignment label to cater for customer's delivery preferences.
In the situation when a recipient was not present at the attempt of parcel delivery, the item was "carded" as a physical notification that you will need to collect the parcel from a nearby LPO.
Email tracking notifications were also sent by Australia Post indicating an attempt to deliver was unsuccessful.
OK, so we know this procedure has not always been perfectly executed by AusPost and instances when items were not carded in a failed attempt to deliver, or simply they did not even try to deliver the parcel to the premises.
This change is not expected to remedy every type of delivery incident, but it's a step in the right direction.
From today, the default changes to Signature with Authority to Leave. They will still capture a signature when a recipient is home and can take delivery of the parcel.
If the attempt to deliver the parcel is unsuccessful (e.g. nobody in attendance), customers of freestanding residences who have a safe place to leave the parcel will have their parcel delivered, and a picture will be taken of where they have left it.
This picture is expected to be made available to us in the event something goes wrong.
This concept of leaving a parcel is generally referred to as "Safe Drop" and has fast become the most popular mode requested by our mycuppa customers - probably also the reason why AusPost has moved for it to be the default as they see a common trend among their many merchants like us.
When there is no safe place to leave the parcel (assessment made by the delivery agent, not us), it will be carded and returned to the LPO.
We continue to raise performance issues with AusPost to support the interests of our customers and ensure standards are met.
New coffees
The last fortnight, we have taken in a lot of coffee - some of these are new, and others are ongoing forward commitments.
The standout excitement lots for our team were a couple of really nice Colombians, and these were actually not planned purchases as we had already committed sufficient holdings for the next six months.
However, as any tragic enthusiast will appreciate only too well, you simply can not resist buying when you uncover a must-have gem.
One of these lots is a new, innovative preparation method called the Long Fermentation Process (LFP).
Fermentation of the coffee is a highly variable technique, and if not executed correctly, it can risk degrading the raw coffee.
Changes to fermentation practices are currently the most popular topic in the world of specialty coffee.
A large portion of specialty coffee is washed.
Washed coffees have a cleaner cup with higher levels of acidity, sweetness and, more importantly, consistency.
After the raw coffee is pulped, there is a thin layer of mucilage that sticks like a tissue on the skin of the pulped coffee.
It's very difficult to remove this mucilage by washing the coffee.
Fermentation is a way to process the coffee using various yeasts and bacteria in microbial reactions to break down and dissolve the skin.
This process can add various desirable acids to the raw coffee to enhance the finished product - only when it's performed accurately.
The benefit of a well-prepared fermentation is an improvement in the consistency (uniformity) and a cleaner, sweeter cup with delicious fruit elements and acids.
This Colombian Excelso long ferment coffee is amazing and can easily feature as a highlight single origin in our store, but alas, we already have a full list of Colombians and offering yet another choice will only lead to further confusion for our customers.
Instead, this stellar coffee is now being used in one of our existing popular blends (a secret) - it's a cracking good cup with intense toffee, a heavy body and refined sweet acidity.
We are looking forward to hearing some feedback in the coming weeks.
The other Colombian is a quality Supremo lot from Cauca and is yet another sensational 85-point cup displaying hazelnut, toffee, honey & nectarine with notes of red fruit and chocolate.
This same coffee will be used on active duty in about six weeks when our existing crop Supremo lot runs down.
New lots from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Kenya arrived during the last week, and our focus remains on Brazil in the short term. Fresh crops in Burundi and Tanzania are planned for arrival at the end of the month.
For the best single-origin coffee beans, you can't beat My Cuppa.
