mycuppa August 2013 Newsletter
We are now well and truly into the new crop season and transitioning some new arrivals into our mainline blends.
There are way too many new arrivals to list, but it was worthwhile to highlight some beans that have delivered something exceptional or exceeded our expectations.
The Tiger - yes, India Tiger Mountain - is 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 that it now cups an incredible 3.4 points higher compared to bags with no liner.
The classic flavor of coffee. Several different lots for the Tiger have arrived in Australia, and one lot, in particular, 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 its mojo and recovered from the near-disastrous Roya epidemic that brought Colombia to its knees in the 2011 season.
Having destroyed many 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 this month, we added something utterly sublime - the Inza Rafael. Hello, Tropical paradise - think berries and currants in milk - wow!
Sumatra is a challenging origin - sometimes it can be hit and miss, but as we know, they continue their journey to continuous improvement.
We are a Sumatran specialist, having six different offers available.
It has taken us more than seven 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 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 lots on offer.
We were unhappy with most coffees being offered and kept hunting - finding three very nice coffees - Limu, Yirgacheffe and Sidamo.
These will be staged over the coming months as we did the right thing, stockpiling some of our favourites 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.
Absolutely loving this coffee for its intense fruitiness and incredible sweetness.
We bought over a ton, and it'll now be a weekly staple 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 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, giving us another 400kg of buffer in that origin.
As 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 flavours and characters of Brazil.
Tanzania seems popular amongst our specialty cafe clients - they love the high flavour, bright notes and sparkling acidity - so we have continued to invest in this great coffee region.
