“Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough.” — Mark Twain
mycuppa January 2017 Newsletter
Top 10
We've done much work tweaking roasting profiles over the last few months, so the rewards are showing in the coffees we send out to our mycuppa customers.
I remember when we would enjoyed every coffee that was QA.
Hence, it's become rather challenging to identify standout favorites, so here is our list of coffees we think have kicked some big goals.
Listed in no particular order
1. Kenya
We can't say any more about this delicious coffee.
It runs out the door fast every day.
Since March 2016, our Kenyan has been the undisputed #1 single origin.
Kenyan coffees appeal to customers due to their high acidity and winey characteristics.
Still, the proof has been in the stats - processing more than 5,700 kilos of top-grade Kenyan in 6 months.
It's good to be wrong sometimes. Kenya
2. PNG
An origin close to my own heart.
We had been desperately searching for a suitable PNG for five years - it's been a barren zone for way too long.
The gods were smiling our way in the middle of 2016 with our Highlands offering from the renowned Simbu Province.
This stunning coffee is without peer - a classy, lavish, rich, full-bodied liquor with subtle complexity and superb balance.
We have gone long and robust on this baby as it will remain an essential feature of coffee in our store for the future now we have secured a solid supply. Highlands
3. Costa Rica
Costa Rica keeps lifting the bar each season. Incredibly rewarding and moorish.
Who would have thought toffee and nuts in a coffee would create such a wild sensation?
Give me another cup, please, as one is never enough.
We love the nut/toffee combo so much; it is a pleasant change from the chocolate notes that seem ubiquitous in the coffee world. Jaguar
4. Ethiopia
Now and again, the superstar origins have a shocker, and for Ethiopia, the 2015 crop was very ordinary indeed.
For much of 2016, we zigged and zagged in our attempts to source increasingly better lots, but they were not coming to the mark.
Our sentiment was a broad consensus, with the entire industry affected the same way.
Challenges existed across the Ethiopian range of Yirgacheffe, Sidamo, Limu and Harrar.
The good news is that the 2016 crop arrived in late October 2016 and has been far superior in every regard.
We are seeing a return of the elegant citrus notes, vibrant acids and delicious complexity.
Our Yirgacheffe, Sidamo and Limu offerings are some of the best in the last five years. Sidamo
5. Honduras Microlot 87
It's the Cinderella story of 2016 - entirely out of nowhere.
A few lots from a previously unknown farm are pulling incredibly high cup scores.
This coffee (well, it's two different lots we have from the same estate) has proven to be a massive hit with our mycuppa customers.
In a short time, the H87 has climbed the best seller's list and has regularly sat at #3 or #4 on our Single Origin top sellers scorecard since its release.
So impressed have we been with this coffee we managed to scoop up another lot (#3) that amazingly cups even better than the first two lots. Honduras 87
6. Sumatra Aceh Gayo
Sumatra is always a tricky origin to source coffee as the beans can be significantly different from bag to bag and pallet to pallet.
We jumped on a new shipper for this lot, and it's been a very successful program.
The price and availability of Sumatran coffees have been challenging for the entire coffee industry over the last few years.
Low supply and top prices have caused many coffee companies to reduce or abandon Sumatrans.
We have been pleased with the performance of our Aceh Gayo as a clean, sweet and powerful coffee capable of matching the best from the vast and diverse Sumatran region. Lake Tawar
7. Colombia
The wonderful thing about Colombia is that it produces coffee almost the entire year, so it's one of those origins where you can pick up a fresh arrival at any time.
Combined with thousands of small landholders rapidly implementing quality improvement at both the farming and processing areas, Colombia is fast returning to its eminent position as a coffee super-power.
Noted for a rich, rounded, highly flavoured cup, our Colombians have always punched well above their weight.
Our portfolio boasts a consistently top-ranking Single Origin for seven years.
A coffee with a huge customer following and possessing a similar cult status to our Kenyan. Excelso
8. Centre Way
It's rather unusual for a blend to appear in our annual list of favourites as there is a strong tendency to lean towards stunning single origins - they have a habit of sticking in your mind more profoundly.
The coffee was created less than two years ago by a café owner with 15 years of experience managing multiple big cafes.
Despite being a tough person to please, finding the perfect solution was ultimately worth it. Even though he rejected everything at first, the result was worth it.
Whenever visitors or guests come over, I like to serve them a unique coffee that always leaves an impression.
This coffee is meant for unique moments and always impresses. I derive immense pleasure from the reactions on their faces when I serve them a perfectly crafted flat white or latte made from Centre Way and watch their head spin around like Linda Blair in The Exorcist. Centre Way
9. Redemption of the Spro
Yet another blend makes the list, and for good reason.
Spro has to be the most underrated coffee in our entire portfolio, and I'm surprised it has yet to gain popularity despite its loyal customer base.
Spro is a type of coffee that was made initially as a standalone espresso.
But over time, it has been refined to become a perfectly balanced milk-based espresso. It has a rich taste of chocolate, caramel, and toffee.
Whenever I want a latte or flat white, Spro is my go-to coffee.
It's rich, smooth, and creamy and perfect for any time of the day.
10. Mexico Pluma Organic
Pluma may be listed here as #10, but it is the #1 on our list.
This lot of Mexican Pluma was our overall winner for the year - a big call considering the competition it was against.
A coffee that led me to rediscover the importance of balance in coffee.
Like the Costa Rica Tarrazu and the PNG Highlands, this Mexican Pluma Organic has complexity, balance and class in spades.
The tipping point was about its subtle complexity.
Somewhere in the Pluma were hints of various spices that we can't accurately describe - spices that add incredible texture and uniqueness in ways we rarely see in coffee.
It's not a distinct coffee sitting on some edge, just very memorable.
Our roasted coffee bag supplier said this to me in June 2016 - "my wife is very fussy when it comes to coffee.
As you know, we supply 1000+ coffee brands, and after trying many of their coffees, this Mexican Organic has been the standout coffee - she won't drink anything else!".
Black tea and lemon citrus acidity. Delicate and refined body through to a lingering toffee and subtle buttered stone-fruit finish. Pluma
Guatemala
This month, I'm not going to write a long story about Guatemalan coffee as it's all been done before just a couple of years ago.
Guatemala, just like Kenya, Costa Rica, and Ethiopia, is a highly respected origin in the world of coffee.
The coffee beans from Guatemala are known for their rich flavours and high acidity, making them one of the most sought-after coffee cups in the world.
Guatemala has perfect growing conditions, such as rich volcanic soil, ideal microclimate, and high altitude, which makes it a perfect place for coffee cultivation.
Challenges in Guatemala continue to hamper its economic development and the living standards of its people.
Unfortunately, coffee farming in Guatemala remains on a knife edge as the majority of coffee communities (farmers, pickers and processors) producing these excellent coffees live well below 3rd world poverty - it's a terrible injustice considering the outstanding quality of the coffee.
Guatemalan coffee trades at a price premium due to the quality and worldwide demand by coffee companies.
Guatemalan coffee is not cheap, so the prices we pay for the raw coffee are not reflected in the living conditions of the farmers.
It's important to clarify that, as coffee roasters, we are not exploiting the situation in Guatemala.
By comparison, coffee roasters pay more for Guatemalan coffees than of comparable quality from Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Mexico.
We have been big supporters of a high-quality estate in Huehuetenango for five years. In the past, this coffee was a key feature in our premium blends, but over the last 8 months, there have been some significant difficulties in the ongoing sourcing of the bean in the volumes we have required.
In 2016, we needed more trusty Huehues to substitute with Huehues from other estates to fulfil our demand.
The good news is that a new shipment arrived just before Xmas, so we have our outstanding, trusted Huehue in store.
This specialty-grade coffee is a premium offering, scoring 83.5 points - a perennial favourite.
Bright, juicy cup with a refined and balanced berry acidity.
Long, sticky caramelised sugar and peanut finish.
Sensational in milk-based espresso.
Grab it here >> Huehuetenango
Over the Xmas break, we indulged in the usual ways befitting the festive season - lots of eating and especially drinking anything alcoholic.
This year, I noticed something interesting in the marketing of alcoholic beverages - and it's only relatively recent.
That or I've been missing it all year when sneaking down the budget aisle looking for cheap volume over quality.
Almost every wine or spirit I purchased around Xmas (lingering for too long in the expensive section) used the concept of "single estate" as an attempt to create a point of difference.
This was not just subtle text on the label but a prominent display like a badge of honour.
Then I took a bit more notice, and wines from $20 a bottle also appeared to use Single Estate as their crucial message.
Light bulb moment, hang on, was the alcohol industry now trying to mimic coffee?
Ten years ago, the coffee industry lagged behind the wine industry by 5 to 10 years in marketing and maturity.
Even today, winemakers have a far better skill in eloquently describing the fruits of their labour than tongue-tied coffee-roasting folks devoid of descriptive flair.
Over the last decade, "coffee follows wine" has become common.
Seeing these new marketing labels on the wines and spirits at the end of 2016 would have you believe that coffee had managed the impossible and leapfrogged wine at some point in the last couple of years.
Did coffee now occupy a more "advanced" position than wine in marketing to the consumer's increasing desire for Providence?
Like wine, coffee has always had the advantage of being free from rigid traditions and heritage.
Culturing coffee worldwide has resulted in various coffee types and flavours. In the last decade, innovation has moved much faster in the coffee industry compared to wine.
While wine lovers may strongly disagree, it is evident that coffee has seen an order of magnitude more innovation over the past ten years.
Coffee is not as consolidated and regulated (constrained) as wine or spirits in Australian retail.
The retailers for alcohol tend to hold most of the power in the business relationship, and it's this concentration of just a small handful of influential alcohol retailers that are calling all the shots (yes, those devils in disguise, the supermarkets - the wrecking ball of many vital industries).
Coffee, therefore, leverages an infinite level of freedom to innovate and experiment without fear of failure in the marketplace.
Yes, we have seen the emergence of ciders, an explosion in craft beers and new micro-distilleries - even a creative product that blends cascara coffee with moonshine has recently popped its head up.
So, what does it mean for the coffee consumer?
The pace of innovation in coffee shows no sign of slowing. It's hard to imagine where the coffee industry will move or jump too next.
Whilst it's always been moving, the big jump is tough to predict.
Let's take the USA as an example, where Ready To Drink (RTD) coffee has gained immense popularity and is now competing with batch brew.
Cold brew has become a hot topic in the US, with more than 90% of the country's coffee industry focused on new RTD brands.
On the other hand, Japan has a unique coffee culture where bright coffee in a can is available in vending machines on almost every corner.
In Nordic countries, filter coffee with light roasts is more popular than espresso. Therefore, it is clear that the coffee universe is not just limited to espresso.
In Australia, nitro-brewed coffee is often served on tap in cafes and bars.
To date, these nitro brew programs have only experienced a lukewarm response from consumers, so I would not consider that segment a success - at least not yet. I compare nitro brew to drinking Guinness, but it's coffee.
It messes with your mind and is a bucket list item for many.
During the summertime, there's nothing quite as refreshing as a cold brew coffee over ice. Light-roasted, fruity coffee blends with vodka are emerging.
These are examples of the many mad-scientist coffee-related innovations that start small but struggle against the established markets for espresso.
The real challenge is scaling innovations significantly and converting consumers across from their trusty espresso.
The market for alternative brewing (non-espresso) keeps expanding and growing. I like to tinker with new and exciting methods for applying coffee.
Still, there is one sure thing - for my personal tastes, nothing comes close to beating a well-made espresso.
As far as the Australian coffee market is concerned, espresso-type beverages remain the dominant category.
As a beverage-consuming nation, Australians love their coffee during the day and their alcohol in the evenings.
I'm just not sure when (or if) the Ready-To-Drink coffee in a can/bottle system will break out and gain mass-market appeal, given solutions have been available for more than two years now but have yet to crack the mainstream in finding a home on Australian retail shelves.
Enthusiasts for the alternative brew segment (non-espresso) would like you to think it's a booming opportunity ready to explode at any minute - whilst it's just a cottage/sub-craft market, this innovative sector is vital for the future of coffee as espresso in Australia has already peaked.
