December 2016 - Xmas Trading Hours, Costa Rica, How to Store Fresh Coffee, Sendle shipping

Date Posted:3 December 2016 

“The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live.” — George Carlin

 

coffee gifts for xmas

Xmas trading hours and shipping update
 

Peak freight season occurs from the end of October through to the end of January (due to limited resources operating at freight companies during January).

The extreme levels are happening right now which is essentially from mid November until the middle of December. For the last 9 years we have felt pain, especially the first week of December. This week was no exception.

Congestion is everywhere and affects all freight providers, not just our friends at AusPost.

Planning, speed and patience are the only solutions to these challenges - it's very frustrating for us as we race to get orders processed in minutes yet see all the hard work undone through transit congestion and delays.

AusPost are responding with extra resources deployed to widen their normal delivery hours - they are delivering later in the day and also on weekends to cope with increased parcel volumes.

Our message is simple - plan ahead and allow an extra day or two in your expectations for transit to avoid disappointments.
 

Xmas Trading Hours
 

Freight services stop at midday Friday 23rd December 2016 and resume Tuesday 2nd January 2017.

Our store will remain open for accepting orders but no freight will be sent between Xmas and New Year periods.

sendle logo

Shipping Services Update - Sendle integration
 

Everyday we encounter freight incidents and situations that in our mind, quite frankly, should never have occurred in the first place given. These problems deeply impact our customers and subsequently our business suffers as a result.
We never just shrug our shoulders or hide behind another company's responsibility because ultimately the long term affects of us doing nothing with logistics will challenge our aspirations for business and customer satisfaction.

For many years now we have trialed alternatives to AusPost. Some of these trials have not worked adequately and it's important to understand we have a clear responsibility to provide an Enterprise grade of service, not just throw parcels to a Provider and hope for the best. Our customers are spread out everywhere in the most remote of areas, so range, reach and facilities are critical.

We have configured Sendle in our mycuppa.com.au store as an alternative to the AusPost service. Currently, Sendle is in trial mode - carefully being opened for limited use.

Sendle is a relatively new company, however, it does not have it's own infrastructure and instead relies upon the traditional hub and spoke model using selective carriers such as Toll, Fastway and Couriers Please, amongst others.

There has been significant levels of hype around Sendle over the last 18 months. Much of this hype has been generated on the basis that it's a direct competitor to Australia Post, offering true choice in the consumer/residential freight market, breaking down some of the monopoly stranglehold of AusPost. A lot of the hype has also been specifically to attract attention of investment partners as every canny investor just loves the opportunity to break a monopoly. Some large companies, including NRMA, have taken a substantial stake in Sendle and remain optimistic shareholders.

Sendle promises a lot of benefits such as freight savings, however some of these don't apply to us as we are already offering more competitive and subsidized rates to our customers for the AusPost freight.

Sendle is based upon 5 basic weight and volume categories, which means for some orders it may be cheaper and for other orders it may be more expensive depending upon the makeup of the order.

The quoted transit timeframes are also comparable with the AusPost standard parcel freight. There is no Express with Sendle.
Sendle does not cover the entire area of Australia, but has decent coverage in the higher population zones. There are exclusions such as no PO Boxes, Parcel Lockers or use of any AusPost infrastructure - which is pretty standard for any non-AusPost freight company.

There is a degree of hope that some freight segments will be faster, particularly capital city metro areas, but again we stress that as this service is a hybrid hub & spoke model, which means the parcel may travel on 1, 2 or even 3 different freight companies depending upon the choices for routing that Sendle make internally.
Please note that we do not determine routing or carriers with Sendle.

Futile deliveries remain an area of close scrutiny and to be honest are my biggest concern.
This is where attempts at delivering the parcel are unsuccessful. Whilst the Authority to Leave feature will remain available, there are a range of possible actions that may occur following a futile delivery. These include a carded response asking the recipient to collect from a depot or designated collection points, or it may involve another attempt to deliver the following day. Some providers like Fastway also have collection arrangements with local Newsagents where parcels can be left for collection, but it's important to understand this is not a uniform offering across Australia and can differ from area to area and even suburb to suburb.

The Sendle parcel will never be allowed to be left at a local Post Office for collection.

It's this specific area that we are closely focused upon in our trials. We understand there is an inconvenience when a delivery is missed, so how it's handled makes a big difference in the overall solution and everybody's satisfaction levels.

Tracking information is made available to our customers and Sendle has an Enterprise Support Centre operating for servicing client issues. The first point of support will be for customers to engage with Sendle directly.

We will offer Sendle as an alternative to AusPost. It's not replacing AusPost but simply offering choice for our customers.
 
If we encounter issues that cause us or our customers problems, then we will switch off the service - it's that simple.

Costa Rican coffee bean image

Costa Rica - the quiet quality leader
 

Coffee farming in Costa Rica is a respected and revered profession - which can be a stark contrast to many other coffee origins as farmers use coffee for just a basic cash crop.

Costa Rican coffee farmers are considered, along with Kenyans, the most skilled and advanced in the world, developing and perfecting many innovative techniques for growing, grading and processing. It's this long heritage and dedication to quality and constant improvement that established Costa Rica's reputation as a trusted source of coffee quality.

A significant factor in the history of Costa Rica has been the country's past reliance on coffee as a key driver of the Costa Rican economy. Today, coffee is only a small portion of what is now a very stable and diverse Costa Rican economy that encompasses manufacturing, export, services, resources and various agricultural commodities.

It's this stability and competitiveness that enables the Costa Rican coffee industry to continue evolving, improving and innovating whereas ongoing challenges in neighboring Central American origins like Guatemala, El Salvador, etc. ultimately impact the lifecycle of coffee production as farmers are unable to afford adequate infrastructure and systems. Many farmers in neighboring Central American coffee origins can at time be forced to sell crops at unsustainable prices therefore missing the opportunity to segregate quality grades.

Last year we were fortunate to host a visit from Sebastien Lafaye of the Costa Rican Sustainable Trading Company (STC). In our discussions with Sebastien, it became clear that Costa Rica was experiencing similar changes in demographics to Panama whereby farming lands are being replaced or converted to alternative use by construction development. With a stable and mature economy, the cost of labour was also edging up higher at a fast rate in accordance with improved living standards.

This shift was creating a set of fundamental challenge for farmers in Costa Rica as the cost of producing their crop was escalating faster than the rest of Central America and hence reducing Costa Rica's competitive advantage in the international coffee market. With Honduras being a larger producer, operating at lower cost points and with rapidly improving quality outcomes, Costa Rica was acutely aware it needs to keep lifting quality standards, or differentiating via segregation, else the buyers demand for quality and value raw coffees will divert elsewhere.

Costa Rican coffees are best described as sweet, clean and bright. It's these attributes that are highly sought after by roasters around the world to inject some character and sparkle into their coffee blends. The clean, sweet and bright also plays directly into matching demands of the modern day coffee drinker's preference of milk-based espresso (latte, flat white, cappuccino). Costa Rican coffees exhibit good levels of flavour and body with a delicate fruit element.

We have a delightful, fresh Costa Rican from Tarrazu - the premium growing region.

I regularly drink a lot of single origin coffee as there are so many roasted control samples to evaluate in our portfolio, it's never ending. When you come across good coffees, there will be some striking feature that stands out - whether it's acid, sweetness, fruit elements, complexity or finish. At all times, we look for this standout feature and then try to imagine how our customers will respond to this feature, or how it might integrate into a blend. Surprisingly, it's not about what we want in a coffee, but we must try to anticipate how to best serve our customer base with broad appeal.

Sometimes, when a coffee has a striking feature it can be like a one trick pony........ a characteristic that will, after time, become either boring or mundane after repeated consumption. It does not mean the coffee is mediocre, it's just the response or excitement may wane easily.

We came across a remarkable Costa Rican lot. It didn't jump out of the cup in any extraordinary way and there's no particularly dominant or redeeming feature that defines it........but, it was just superbly balanced. Balance is often forgotten when you evaluate coffee because it can be such a hard target in a single origin bean, but this Costa Rican has it in ways that remind you of a symphonic harmony. Some may call it "Moorish"......as soon as you reach the bottom of the cup, you want another.

This Costa Rican lot just seems to do many things really well, all at the same time - rather than blow your socks off.........it's been quite a pleasant surprise.

To draw a comparison, if I look at a classic black and white image and see incredible shades of light and dark .......the picture is far more powerful and effective monochromatic compared to the same image in colour. It's exactly how I see this coffee - a classic B&W image that is timeless - refined, sophisticated and classy. In my opinion, this Costa Rican, along with our superb PNG Highlands, come very close to an ideal as a single origin that provides broad universal appeal.

From the Llano Bonito district, it is the only cooperative in the department of San Pablo de Leon Cortes. Ripe cherries are harvested by the farmers from 1200 hectares of coffee farms of the Coop. at elevations between 1,400 to 1,700 masl. 35% of the almost 1000 farmers are women who own and work in the farms.

  • Acidity: Bright and balanced
  • Body: Medium 
  • Aroma: Hazelnut and toasted caramel
  • Flavour:  Mixed berries, grape acidity, citric-apple, balanced medium body, toffee chocolate notes with a clean sweet finish.

 
We have just 750kg of this wonderful coffee. Grab it now before it's all gone. .. too late .. it's all gone.

Available here are other single origin coffee ebans from Costa Rica

 

keep coffee fresh

storing roasted coffee
 

Continuing with our knowledge series, this month we take a detailed look at the often debated topic of how to best store roasted coffee. It's a long read, but we hope that by the end you have a new found appreciation for the volatility of fresh roasted coffee.

Look on the internet and you will encounter a vast array of practical advice and tips describing various methods to best preserve your fresh roasted coffee. Sometimes, this information contradicts previously held views or opinions promoted elsewhere. Personally, I find this is confusing and rather frustrating. Sometimes it's utterly annoying when the advice is just plain wrong.

Before we can talk about storing fresh roasted coffee beans, let's take a look at the factors affecting freshness such as the critical events occurring in the first week of life for fresh roasted coffee in order to better understand the dynamics and variables to play. We will then explain coffee packaging and suggest some simple and effective best practices for storage.

Firstly, some context. Ground coffee is a entirely different beast to whole beans - well yes they both suffer the same oxidization effects, but with ground coffee it's game over very quickly indeed......in fact, ground coffee is pretty much a dead duck despite the fact we use coffee straight from the roast, grind, seal and eliminate every possible aspect that may risk staling. We've said it before many times - 15 mins of oxygen exposure, opening the sealed bag......boom......it's like jumping off a cliff - there goes all the good stuff !

So, for this article we will focus on whole beans as the lifecycle can be more easily explained in stages and it's the by far the most common product sold by mycuppa. As a sidebar, ground coffee makes up less than 3% of our sales........but we secretly wish it was 0%.

wait......I'm not ready yet - what do you mean it's too fresh ?

It may come as a bit of a surprise to our customers that we ship coffee that is too fresh.

That's right, I'm not making it up, not playing marketeer, not trying to be a smartypants, but there is such a thing as "too fresh" when it comes to roasted coffee beans - sometimes it is referred to as yet to be "degassed" or "not yet developed" or "unstable".

When coffee is roasted, there is an extreme level of CO2 emitted during the first 48 - 72hrs and this continues for around 7 to 10 days, depending upon the ambient temps. This rate of CO2 exhaust is incredibly high just after roasting and it tapers down gradually over this first week period as the pressure inside of the beans equalize to the atmosphere or the conditions inside of the sealed bag or container. If you have ever wondered what the 1-way valve is for......bingo.

Some coffee companies roast their coffee and let that roasted coffee sit in tubs, silos or hoppers for a couple of days. They might then pack the roasted coffee and either store on a warehouse rack for another week or ship it to the retailer - whatever makes it easy for them. Truth is, I'd love to have one of those types of businesses because it's simple, predictable and easy when you to run to stock, rather than running to order (a day off once in a while would be lovely!).

You may think for a moment why don't they pack the coffee immediately. For some of these companies, they may need to grind the coffee, or fit into smaller packaging that has less tolerance for expansion. A case in point is the retail shelves, you don't want to see puffed up bags as the general consumer may think the product is defective or less appealing - so they want some of this staling process to occur before it's packed and the approaches used by companies varies considerably such as "whatever, don't care, doesn't matter, that's how we have done it for 30 years".

At mycuppa, our products are not sitting on a retail shelf so a puffed up bag is less of a concern - it actually helps protect the contents during shipping. We also have to keep a large portfolio of coffees from constantly running out of stock......every day we run short on at least 30 - 40% of our portfolio as we roast only enough for 24hrs in blends and 48hrs in single origins. Typically, Monday afternoon we literally have nothing left from the roasting that morning. Sometimes, we run out of certain roasted coffees in just hours when a group of customers place orders for the same coffees in a short timeframe. Our daily routine tops up approx. 20+ different coffees in a never ending cycle to keep it always fresh. Our products need to move so quickly we don't have the luxury of allowing roasted coffee to sit in tubs for days - we need to ship immediately because customers tend to place orders when they have already run out.

We roast and pack within an hour....that is, the coffee is not allowed the opportunity to de-gas or develop. Whilst it's not an ideal situation, it's the safest and most reliable method to ensure peak freshness for the end-customer. With roasted coffee too fresh leaving our warehouse, it can lack full flavour, sweetness and body as it's not yet developed - but don't worry, it's will occur.

In this "too fresh" state, the roasted coffee may have a slightly woody note because still very gassy - there is way too much CO2 in the espresso extraction and this affects flavor. Coffee that is too fresh also needs a much coarser grind which results in less flavor, body and sweetness being released due to limited contact time from espresso and large ground particle size. You may notice that when you open a fresh pack of roasted coffee beans, it may also partially "choke" your espresso machine due to the static/clump grounds.

There is no easy way to deal with this imperfect balancing act, so it's always safer for us to ensure it's too fresh and utilize the buffer created by freight transit times to aid development of the roasted coffee. The objective being that customers receive coffee still a bit too fresh and experience that unique peak/optimal usage window.

You can't get that same result from a supermarket or most retail stores due to uncontrolled or unmanaged inventory turns that are measured in weeks and months, versus our mycuppa approach of hours and days.

The challenge of course exists for those customers in that use Express freight - receiving coffee that is barely 24hrs and maybe not even 48hrs off the roaster - it's yet to develop.

Packaging  of roasted coffee.

Fresh roasted coffee is a highly volatile food product. It has many hundreds of active compounds that are dynamically changing by the hour and the day when it's fresh roasted coffee beans. Some of these are what we refer to as the core essential elements providing magnificent attributes we love about fresh roasted coffee such as aroma, etc. but there are also many other active compounds that we can't see or touch that contribute to the flavours, oils, acidity and complexity of fresh roasted coffee. It's important these compounds are protected by a barrier.

A roasted coffee bean is not the same as an apple and therefore you can't store fresh roasted coffee beans in a plastic or paper bag.
Most plastics suffer from  a process called effusion where the gases emitted by the fresh roasted coffee pass through small holes in the molecular structure of plastics. Whilst that sounds pretty techie, it's easily proven..........take some fresh roasted coffee and store in an airtight plastic container.......come back a few hours later, don't open the container but sniff around the outside and sure enough you smell coffee aromas. There are some plastics that are much harder/dense and able to act as a better for of barrier, although these types are rarely used in containers these days, except in some expensive brands.

It's for these reasons that coffee is not packaged in plastic or paper bags but instead we use a 3-layer specially constructed bag with 1-way valve. The middle layer is metalized with a film that acts as the protective barrier to prevent the escape of volatile compounds from the fresh roasted coffee.

The 1-way valve is important as CO2 builds up in the bag, it needs to escape otherwise the bag continues to expand and may burst. This pressure can build significantly when the ambient temperature rises. As we are into the warmer season, this becomes a factor when the coffee is in transit.

Some coffee bags have zip locks. The 500g pouches have a traditional zip lock and the 1kg gusset bags have the 2nd generation embedded zip lock, which by the way is not very effective at all but unfortunately there are only a 2 factories in the world that make this product and they are not in Australia.

Zip locks on coffee bags are NOT intended to keep the coffee fresh - it's a short-term convenience feature only. I've had numerous interactions with customers that believe the zip-lock on their coffee bags work the same way as the packets of other food ingredients - Zip locks do not keep coffee fresh and they are like a plastic bag........all the good stuff will leach out !

What can I do with the coffee beans ?

Metal, ceramic or glass are the best containers for coffee beans - something with a firmly sealing lid. With glass, it's best to keep it in a dark area away from light.

Is it safe to place coffee that is too fresh into an air-tight container? Yes, but you should decant the seal at least once a day in warm weather (above 20 C) for the first week.

Where can I store the coffee ?

Not in the fridge. Not in the freezer and not near anything that gets warm - which mean above 25 C.

Over the last decade, I've lost count of the number of people from the "extreme brigade" swearing by the virtues of freezing coffee beans. They claim it works a treat.....or it's the only way to store beans in their hot climate. The opinions on whether to or not freeze are polarizing. Personally, I' firmly in the camp of experienced industry professionals that say NO. Having performed multiple tests over many years, ever time an unfrozen sample of beans was tested........result = not nice....or yuk.

The ideal storage conditions for coffee is between 12 to 20 C, but there is no need to stress if you can't keep your place below 20 C.

If you live in a hot climate, you can do something very simple like place your coffee beans in a small esky - cheap and reliable. Store the coffee in the coolest part of the house which is normally the bottom of the pantry or a room in the south eastern corner - the lowest point is generally coolest. Don't place it where the temps reach 30+ otherwise your fresh coffee will accelerate the oxydization process and stale faster. Don't leave it on top of a coffee machine, or on your kitchen window ledge.

 

open gate image

gate is open on the Pony Express
 

Last month the Pony Express was an incredible hit and to be honest we were absolutely floored by the response - entire lots were sold out in under 4hrs and we had to keep increasing stock inventory levels for the following days. I had intended to roast these just once, but ended up roasting some of the lots 4 or 5 times over the days that followed. We have never seen such a positive reaction to a campaign.

The gate has been opened again now and will remain open until these limited lots are sold, or for another 7 days.

All of the coffees are sourced from the upper spectrum of the specialty coffee range, starting around 85+ points up to virtually 90 point coffees and they represent great value buying - literally 30+% cheaper than our competitors

In December 2016, we offer 5x coffees in small quantities available until the roasted lots are sold out.

  • Sumatra Wahana Natural (88 points) - rare, exotic tropical fruits
  • Tanzania Mondul Estate AA (89 points) - deep dark chocolate
  • Tanzania Tweega AB (87 points) - a molten cherry ripe
  • Colombia Munchique Excelso (87 points) - big, bold flavors, intense cocoa
  • Panama Boquette (88) - honeycomb, caramel, thick rich toffee

Available in 1kg bags only - no small packs.
First in, best dressed.
It is all gone but you can get a great coffee blend online here.

hip hip hooray

The mycuppa team wish all our customers a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.