Welcome to the month of May,
The days are getting shorter, the wind is picking up and the leaves on the trees are turning brown… but a hot cup of coffee makes everything better!
And you can enjoy coffee more often if you switch your afternoon hot beverage to a Swiss Water Decaf!

Read more about our recent visit to the Swiss Water Process Decaf plant below.
  

SPECIALTY COFFEE ASSOCIATION (SCA) EXPO 

Last month, Scott, Georgia and Marco attended the SCA Specialty Coffee Expo in Boston, USA. This year, the expo attracted over 10,000 members of the coffee community to the Boston Convention Centre during the three-day event. While the show floor was slightly smaller than previous years, it was encouraging to see a high attendance from producers, and relevant industry leaders, without all the fuss of subsidiary market representatives.
 
After two years of Covid restrictions limiting our ability to leave Australia and travel to the SCA and producing origins, it was a welcome relief to be able to see and meet with our valued Supplier Partners face to face again. To make up for lost time, we maximised every minute at the expo and caught up with a record number of suppliers.
 
Some main take outs from the show are listed below:

• Brazil – The effect of last year’s frost and drought on the recent harvest was reported differently by each of our suppliers, indicating that different growing regions across the vast country were not affected to the same extent. Estimates of loss are still rolling in and range anywhere between 5 - 30% depending on the region and altitude. Some of our suppliers have been working on ways to maximise the proportion of their crop that is classified for export through processing techniques and enzyme addition at the fermentation stage… interesting advancements to watch here. 

• Costa Rica – This year’s season was good with rain and flowering occurring at the right times for a good harvest, albeit it the crop being down about 10 – 15%. While covid and market prices pushed up the value of coffee, it has made the industry more attractive to the younger generations, and hopefully inspiring a new demographic of producers to engage in the future of the industry. In addition to this, Costa Rica has been focusing on environmental sustainability, with a keen interest in carbon emissions and the capture of nutritional supplements from the coffee cherry itself.

• Colombia – Elections are coming up at the end of May in Colombia. It appears that no matter which candidate wins, there will be civil disruptions in the country, which will inevitably lead to disruptions to supply and export delays. We will be keeping an eye on the situation at the end of the month.

• Ethiopia – This year’s crop volume was down 20% in general across the country. A large proportion of these losses were attributed to civil unrest at the time of harvest, which resulted in a lack of resources – which in turn lead farmers to skip the washing process and lean towards the less intensive method of Natural processing. This year we are likely to see low supply of Washed Arabica out of Ethiopia and an abundance of Naturals.

• India – While quality has been good this season, there was a notable lack of ‘parchment’ (washed) Robusta this year as farmers tended to process the easier ‘cherry’ (natural) Robusta due to lack of workers at the time of processing. In addition, the lack of human resources, Indian farmers weren’t receiving a good premium for the crop this year so it didn’t warrant the expense of washing their Robusta.

 
A WORD FROM THE CUPPING ROOM
 
Finally in store last week – we had the pleasure of cupping our new Tanzania and Rwanda specialties, and we have to say we were quite impressed (despite the transit delays)

Our Tanzania AB Kiboko (Hippopotamus) coffee is a balanced sweet cup with milky caramel and vanilla notes accented by orange, lemon and blackcurrant acid. Scoring 83.75, this lot will suit filter or espresso roasts.
 
From Rwanda, we have two lots available, the Washed Kanyege Isimbi is a juicy bodied cup with red wine acidity, moving through to notes of creamy hazelnut, milk chocolate and vanilla in the finish. Scoring 85.5 points, we think its pretty delicious.  The Natural lot from Nyamiyaga scores 86.75 with bold and boozy with red wine and spice notes up front, moving to walnut, molasses and cherry liqueur. A smooth, rounded body carries through to a sugary black tea finish.
 
And back in stock is our Washed Cuba Serrano. In true Cuban style, this coffee boasts spicy notes of tobacco, vanilla and caramel with soft citric acidity and deep smooth finish of almond and dark chocolate. Stock is limited, be quick to contact your Bennetts Account Manager for price and availability on all our new arrivals.
 

SWISS WATER PROCESS - THE ROADMAP TO PERFECTION

On our way to the SCA in Boston, Scott, Georgia and Marco decided to stop over in Vancouver, Canada and catch up with  the team of our prestigious supplier of the best coffees we import into Australia… that is…Coffees without caffeine: Swiss Water Decaf Inc.
 
We were excited to visit their newly finished, custom built 82,000-square-foot production facility in Delta, a suburb south of Vancouver city. We were fortunate to be taken on a tour of the production plant and witnessed the step by step the journey it takes for the green beans to reach their 99.9% caffeine-free status, while preserving all the original flavour and origin characteristics of the bean. Swiss Water Decaff Inc engineer genius technology with careful attention to the ecological footprint.
 
Did you know? Because Swiss Water Process is chemical-free, more than 80% of the water used in the decaffeination process can be safely returnedas clean water to local waterways. Not using chemicals keeps their workers safer, eliminates environmental contamination risks and keeps potentially harmful residue out of the final cup of coffee.