“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”  — Nelson Mandela

mycuppa July 2020 Newsletter

July marks a milestone for Australian businesses to reset and renew, just like some of us do at a new calendar year with our resolutions.

For many large, mature businesses, it's just another start of a new budget, and sadly, they take a lazy approach by concentrating only on the numbers in a simplistic method of hoping for an addition over last year's performance without evolving or pushing their businesses into new directions.

But for us, like most dynamic small/medium companies, it's about aiming for better outcomes that don't necessarily need to translate into financial performances, so instead, we can take on other values, such as social and ethical metrics.

While running a business has its daily challenges, it is beneficial when you own a company with total freedom to steer into directions that you feel are relevant or important without fear of consequences.

So, we have set our sails to different courses for this new financial period and beyond.

Over the last year, we have been working on improving the environmental impact of our packaging - it's a gradual evolution as the new eco-materials are big on promise and not fully capable yet of delivering the adequate barrier protection required for high levels of volatile compounds in freshly roasted coffees.

Unfortunately, coffee marketers still use too much deceptive smoke and mirrors to generate a false point of difference in a crowded retail coffee industry.

Progress is a case of small but significant steps forward - so for us, quality and integrity will always come first, and we won't resort to promoting outlandish claims.

Our most important new mission is to ensure our investments in coffee-related social programs are generating tangible benefits for coffee farming communities.

We will continue to participate in the FAIRTRADE system. Still, there's a growing realization that these "at arms-length" programs may not be providing adequate transparency or properly advocating the benefits, so we see ourselves stepping up to a more "hands-on" role by focusing our social investments directly on coffee community programs such as funding initiatives at origin.

Secret Label has been wildly popular, and for this month, we are breaking from tradition and instead featuring an exceptional Coffee of the Month - it's a story about proud indigenous coffee farmers producing stunning coffees against considerable challenges.

From the prized growing region of Guatemala, this exceptional micro-lot from Todos Santos is jaw-dropping. We reckon it's even better than our Secret Labels, so get on board and help support a proud indigenous farming community with this fantastic lot - as a black coffee, I'm ranking it as one of the most excellent lots we've had in a while. 

July 2020 feature coffee - mighty Guatemala Todosanterita Microlot 

What can we say about Guatemala to get you incredibly excited?

Is it the ideal micro-climate for growing coffee with near-perfect weather patterns and temperatures, or maybe it's the rich volcanic soils that are the envy of many other coffee-growing regions around the world, or perhaps it's the lush high altitudes that promote excellent conditions for sensitive fine cup arabicas.

Any way you look at it, Guatemala has so much going for it that those in the coffee industry with enough experience regard it as an origin capable of punching well above its weight to produce unforgettable Cinderella moments - deep, dark chocolate bombs with sparkling acidity.

I have always likened Guatemala to fireworks as they produce an intensity overloaded with incredible joy.

However, it's challenging; most of these are outside of the coffee farming realm.

With political instability, dire economic conditions, increasing violence, poverty, and a general lack of infrastructure and services, Guatemala seems destined like some of its Central American neighbours, to experience tumultuous moments of darkness.

When our coffee brokers have travelled to Guatemala, and I ask them about the trip, overwhelmingly, it's a sombre story of despair. Too many coffee farmers are living in poverty. They are constantly afraid of risks in unexpected random acts of violence that have become a part of daily life for many villages. With continued levels of unchecked corruption, the government cannot reset, control and build a modern nation.

Against this background of chaos exists a sublime coffee industry. Farmers surviving in almost impossible financial conditions turn out mind-blowing qualities.

This month, we have a coffee from Todosanterita Cooperative, a unique community in Guatemala's Todos Santos area, located in Huehuetenango over the Cuchumatanes ranges at an altitude of 2000 metres above sea level, surrounded by high mountains and isolated mainly from many transport hubs and typical infrastructure. Hence, the Co-op has its own milling and processing facilities.

The Todosanterita cooperative was founded in the mid-1980s by an original 20 members and now consists of 130 members, 16 of whom are women heads of household.

The Co-Op has a combined output of almost 380,000 kilos of coffee each harvest, of which only a part is sold via direct channels, obtaining better prices, like the lot we purchased. These higher-quality coffees provide better prices for farmers that, in turn, help fund community facilities like education and health services.

Yes, it's a single origin, so for all those lovers of blends, please don't despair. Blending never means better, and there's still a big bundle of joy in single origins, so we suggest giving this coffee a run. It's got balance and complexity in spades.

It's a micro lot coffee with impeccable credentials that would be a crying shame to blend with anything else. Nope, this puppy is going out the door in its whole, intended unvarnished glory.

To understand what we mean by the term "micro-lot", it's the best of the best for that coffee plantation, estate or region. The farmers know the highest quality cherries that taste the best, so they grade the coffees before preparing the harvest for sale to Co-ops, exporters or processors.

In other words, imagine having first correct to pick the top-tasting coffees of a crop. That's what is meant by micro lot. However, unfortunately, too many companies use the term to exaggerate the quality or pretend their coffees are a level above everything else.

This lot is remarkable with delicious flavours of red apple, blackcurrants, crisp acidity and floral notes, a silky smooth texture and a long, creamy chocolate and hazelnut finish.

1kg packs only. Sorry, no 500g packs.

Perhaps one of the most versatile lots we have come across all year - working exceptionally well in black or milk-based beverages. The balance is stunning, and the rich hazelnut and chocolate finish in a silky body is impressive.

This coffee is in limited supply and may sell out by the end of August - please take advantage of this great opportunity.