August 2013 - our take on the new coffee arrivals from Central America and Africa

Date Posted:1 August 2013 

We are now well and truly into the new crop season and transition some new arrivals into our mainline blends.

There are way too many new arrivals to list, but I thought it was worthwhile to highlight some beans that have delivered something exception or exceeded our expectations.

The Tiger - yes, India Tiger Mountain - better than ever - creamy cocoa with soft acidity and a long chocolate finish. The last 2 tons of this shipped to us in June and August were poly-lined with Ecotact - preserving the Tiger Mountain raw coffee in such a dramatic way it now cups an incredible 3.4 points higher compared to bags with no liner.

The classic flavor of coffee. A number of different lots for the Tiger have arrived into Australia and one lot in particular really stood out - so we swooped to scoop up the entire lot (many tons).

That formidable coffee powerhouse Colombia is back - yes, it's re-discovered it's mojo and recovered from the near disasterous Roya epidemic that brough Colombia to it's knees in the 2011 season.

Having destroyed a lot of plants to eradicate the highly contagious coffee leaf rust, they re-planted and rebuilt the industry with stronger varietals and improved farm techniques.

We have been running some exceptional Excelsos - namely the La Union and Popayan, but just this month we added something utterly sublime - the Inza Rafael. Hello Tropical paradise - think berries and currants in milk - wow !

Sumatra is a challening origin - sometimes it can be hit and miss, but as we know they are continuin their journey on the road to continuous improvement.

We are somewhat of a Sumatran specialist having 6 different offers available. It has taken us more than 7 years to get to this point of getting the absolute best from this origin.

An exciting addition, albeit temporary (we have just a small amount at the moment) is the Tano Batak.

Grown in that famous Lake Toba region this coffee produces some lively action in the cup - fruit, spice and a constant sweet, clean finish that lingers forever.

Ethiopia has been somewhat disappointing this season - many bland and boring lots on offer.

We were just not happy with the majority of coffees being offered and kept hunting - finding three very nice coffees - Limu, Yirgacheffe and Sidamo.

These will be staged in over the coming months as we did the right thing stockpiling some of our favorites earlier this year.

A cracking Guatemala Huehuetenango we came across almost by accident - well, not really an accident, we do have to thank our fantastic brokers for steering us in the right direction.

Loved this coffee - intense fruit and incredible sweetness. Grabbed more than a ton so it will be a regular staple each week in our store.

Costa Rican coffees have been as rare as "rocking horse shit" recently.

We are in again for the fabulous La Candelaria, but the Terrazu's have been very thin on the ground - so we have been stretching our stocks carefully.

Next week (mid August) we have the Nicaragua Diamond arriving, so that will give us another 400kg of buffer in that origin.

As we noted in a previous article, Brazil has re-captured our imagination and thoughts.

Our friends at Minas Hill have been supplying us with some stunning coffees and these continue to please our customers - sales of Brazil coffees are up a whopping 60+%, a reliable indicator that the Australian coffee drinker has a natural affinity with the flavors and characters of Brazil.

Tanzania seems to be popular amongst our specialty cafe clients - they are loving the high flavor, bright notes and sparkling acidity - so we have continued to invest in this great coffee region.