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June 2017

mycuppa June 2017 Newsletter

“Glory lies in the attempt to reach one's goal and not in reaching it.” — Mahatma Gandhi

mycuppa June 2017 Newsletter

A milestone and a significant next step

This month marks a decade since we began selling premium coffees online. In the e-commerce world, that ranks us as veterans.

 

Back then, there were over 230 brands in the market and essentially just a few dedicated online providers of quality, fresh roasted coffees - you can count them on one hand.

 

Fast forward to today, we battle with 1,100+ brands and so many online providers we have simply lost count. It's a tough market as new brands are popping up everywhere, even in the most remote locations, offering the exact promises of the best quality and freshest coffee.

 

It's fair to say that it has been a challenging decade for us - 5 roasting plants (each takes up to a year or more of planning, implementation, and then, of course, getting the damn things to work correctly), three warehouses and four different software platforms.

 

If you joined it all together, it would appear as one long era of constant change with many things changing simultaneously, and just like a swan on the surface, it seems smooth and graceful.

 

I've often wondered what it would be like to take a deep breath and not worry about the constant treadmill of change we seem perpetually chained.

 

Along the way, we have used each change point as a critical opportunity to improve things, improve our overall offering, and apply learning from our experiences of what works and what doesn't.

 

It's one thing to roast great coffee, but to span the entire life cycle to securing customer loyalty and growth is entirely different.

 

Today, we run arguably Australia's largest and most efficient dedicated online premium coffee service.

 

Everything we do revolves around the key metrics of quality, freshness, value and speed.

 

We live in some warp-speed zone that measures deliverables in minutes, not hours or days.

 

According to significant suppliers of coffee roasting equipment, no other facilities are attempting to roast 20+ coffees every day, 5 and 6 days a week. It's a complexity and precision that is challenging to maintain.

 

Sure, plenty of more prominent brands are pumping out huge volumes daily for their mass markets, but they are running like sausage factories dealing with just one or a couple of different coffees on any given day (or week).

 

Of course, only some things we touch turn to gold, as there are always plenty of dramas and problems behind the scenes.

 

Still, we have enough experience to manage risk, contingency and continuity to ensure we deliver every day.

 

There are several areas where we can improve our services:

  1. Our coffee descriptions must be updated more frequently to keep up with the rapid turnover of new coffees moving through the facility.
  2. Our labelling could be improved, providing more information to our customers.
  3. We need to work on our feedback loops, as, at times, the tone can be abrasive and harsh.

Handling this sensitive topic with care is crucial, especially considering some people may have thin skin.

 

So what's the next destination

 

Over the last year, we have been planning a push into markets outside Australia & New Zealand - into select parts of Asia, the US and the Middle East.

 

These markets are more challenging than adding another shipping service. They represent challenges in managing the logistics promptly, so our fresh roasted coffees arrive in days, not weeks, and meet all entry compliance requirements as not all markets are free/open to our type of product trade.

 

Nothing ever stands still in the world of coffee; neither does the landscape of consumer retailing.

 

 

Are all Coffee Scrubs created equal?

 

We often receive inquiries from coffee scrub manufacturers seeking to purchase low-grade or distressed inventory for a low price.

 

As we don't source low-grade coffees or have stale coffees in our warehouse, we politely refer them elsewhere.

 

The coffees many suppliers of scrubs are using are essentially undrinkable.

 

They want anything that resembles coffee particles because, to them, it makes perfect sense as the scrubs are not for ingestion.

 

The lowest quality and cheapest price are all that matters.

 

However, a few ethical scrub manufacturers care about the ingredients they use and the quality of their finished products.

 

Unfortunately, it's not easy to identify these brands, as marketing often promotes false promises via seductive images.

 

One company we know for sure that is using quality coffees in their scrubs is Bondi Scrubs (www.bondiscrubs.com.au).

 

We roast and grind the genuine, certified Organic coffees for the folks at Bondi Scrubs.

 

These coffees are very drinkable and identical to those we sell in our mycuppa store.

 

The coffee used for Bondi Scrubs is roasted and ground differently than those used for general espresso brewing.

 

We aim for higher aromatics levels and less starchy carbohydrate breakdown within the coffee beans for Bondi Scrubs.

 

This difference in roast profile and grinding is the only discernible distinction between the two types of coffee.

 

We developed this process for Bondi Scrubs to ensure the highest possible preservation of active ingredients.

 

Bondi Scrubs is rapidly emerging as the fastest-growing provider in that market by using quality ingredients.

 

DISCLAIMER: mycuppa does not endorse or promote any health or well-being benefits of using coffee scrubs. The purpose of this article was to highlight that many scrub brands are using "questionable" quality coffee in their formulations, and we know for sure that our client Bondi Scrubs is using certified organic quality products. Bondi Scrubs do not sponsor this article.

 

mycuppa new coffee arrivals

What's new & different

 

The following coffees are either in our warehouse or arriving throughout June.

Please visit product pages periodically for updates.

 

Burundi

 

New season, Burundi will be arriving in 2 weeks. This lot is super sweet and a step up on what we have been offering for the last year or so. We are excited to see this coffee and eager to have it in front of our customers.

 

We have also picked up just 180 kilos of an incredible Burundi Natural that scored 89.5 points at the table. The coffee will be assigned to both the Subscription and Pony Express programs.

 

Colombia

 

The new Supremo from Huila Fluata is a delicious coffee available in mid-June. It's an adorable, rounded coffee scoring a fraction over 85 points - dried cherry, plum and cashew aroma, high acidity, full juicy body, dark chocolate, med/high sweetness notes of red grape, melon, apricot and honey with a cocoa finish.

 

In April 2017, we featured an article on the latest "trend" in farming processes designed to improve quality - a system called the Long Ferment Process, or LFP.

 

We have an excellent example of LFP in our Colombian Excelso, a coffee that continues to kick balls right out of the park.

 

We have loved this LFP coffee from the very first roast, and it will remain in our holdings until Xmas now that we were lucky enough to secure final shipments arriving in July and August.

 

The farm that produces this coffee is tiny, and their dedication to quality is exceptional—clean, sweet, consistent, rich, honey-infused buttery goodness.

 

Currently, the LFP is playing a pivotal role in one of our essential blends, but we are keen to let our customers get their chops around this baby as a single origin - watch this space, a potential candidate for the 20% sale frenzy.

 

Honduras

 

The new lot of Honduras 87 is an absolute cracker from the same farm but with an entirely different varietal and processing method; we like to keep things changing and interesting.

 

Last season's Lots of Honduras 87 displayed African-like winey acidity with delicious dominant dark chocolate notes. It has been a trendy coffee among our mycuppa customers, and at a few tons, it's certainly up there in volume.

 

This new lot has fantastic flavours of peach, orange and apricot up front, but what it does next is nothing short of amazing as it dances across your palate with a sublime, velvety body.

 

Rich in complex flavours with a long, sweet finish, the acids are perfectly balanced in total harmony. It's a stunning coffee.

 

Mexico

 

Our new season Pluma Organic lot is due at the end of June.

 

We have discovered a hidden gem in our coffee selection that has surpassed most other varieties in taste and quality.

 

We have high expectations for this coffee, which has already earned a spot in our top 5 favourites list.