June 2025
The middle of our calendar year marks a significant shift in coffee shipments entering and leaving our warehouse.
New crops from Central and Southern America, Africa, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea are landing on our doorstep weekly.
The pace of change is frenetic and impacts not only our Premium Quality Single Origin offerings but also all our blends as a result of changes to ingredients or blend components.
It's certainly a busy time for us, as QA checks the new lots, tests, and understands the differences to find the optimum roast profile for each new lot or blend.
We love this time of year; whilst it's rather stressful dealing with a high velocity of change, there is real excitement in discovering the unexplored potential of these new harvests.
As coffee is an agricultural product, it's exposed to the nuances of growing conditions and harvest processes.
However, what may surprise many of our readers is that we often struggle to source the same lot of coffee as we did in the previous year.
For example, African coffees exhibit high degrees of variability or differences between farms. For coffees like Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, Harrar, or Sidamo, these lots are always remarkably different from one crop cycle to the next.
These differences are in flavour, body, acidity and aftertaste. In essence, you will be drinking an entirely different coffee today compared to just a couple of months ago.
So here's a quick rundown of the changes so far.
Burundi
By far, this biggest difference has been in our new Burundi. It's not even remotely like last season's lot. It's quite different, and we're loving this new lot.
Tanzania
Generally renowned for exhibiting high acidity, this new season lot has muted acidity; what it lacks in acidity, it certainly makes up for in flavour and body.
There's delicious honeycomb and toffee here, along with sweet caramel.
Ethiopia Yirgacheffe
Without a doubt, each lot of Yirgacheffe we receive throughout the year is significantly different from the lot before it.
Yes, it's one of those coffees that's a "Kinder Surprise"-always nice, but you never really know what's inside until you try it.
Clean, juicy citrus acidity with sweet notes of lemon and jasmine.
Ethiopia Sidamo
Cocoa, lime and dark chocolate. This is a nice coffee with deep flavours and amazing sweetness.
Colombia Excelso
Our previous lot had some of the most exceptional chocolate notes ever, and this new lot from Narino, famous for its distinctive and exquisite fine acidity, is a truly classy coffee with amazing complexity.
It's one of the best all-around single-origin coffees we have on offer.
Timor Organic
Okay, we hear you - where is it, and why has it been out of stock for so long?
The good news is that a fabulous Timor Organic is about to dock in Port Melbourne within the next 8 days.
We will then wait a week or so for customs and AQIS clearance before we can roast and sell this coffee.
This year, with numerous shortages across every origin due to the global shortfall, it has not been easy to source a Timor Organic.
We have a new crop of coffee, but please be aware it does not have the same cup attributes or taste profile as our previous Timor Organic.
If the pre-shipment samples were anything to go by, this new lot has interesting earthy notes and tons of prodigious bodies with a lingering, syrupy chocolate aftertaste.
Java
Over the last 12 months, we lost a few origins, such as India, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Sulawesi, as these offerings were simply too difficult to purchase or the prices being asked were exorbitant.
We discovered a hidden gem in West Java - coffee with amazing flavours and body, featuring an intense, long-lasting aftertaste.
We are excited to offer this new lot in mid-July, pending the resolution of sea freight challenges that keep us on our toes.
Sumatra Organic
It's been six years since we were able to offer an Organic Sumatran and let me tell you, this lot is just drop-dead gorgeous.
Sumatrans have been in short supply for the last decade, and whilst our access to Lake Tawar remains solid, it was well overdue to explore further and pick up a delicious Organic lot.
You will be pleased to try this Organic Sumatran, currently on the water and expected to be available from mid-July.
Sumatra Natural
If you think waiting 6 years for an Organic Sumatran is a long time, try waiting 9 years for a Sumatran Natural.
This coffee is one of the most intense we have tasted in a long time.
We don't have a lot of this naturally processed Sumatran as it's only in the early stage of the harvest.
Naturally, processed coffees normally become available towards the end of the harvest, when a more ripe cherry is used.
Destined for filter roast duty only.
Guaranteed to blow you away.
Hopefully, from mid-July.
