Winter is well and truly here… aaaand it’s tax time again!
Coffee and tea are so essential to our daily lives, the government declares them exempt from GST!
Maybe because you’ll need a big cup to help you with all the paperwork 😝
 
This month we look at some new coffees coming in from Colombia and share with you an exciting new opportunity to join our team.

MARKET REPORT

The market opened in June just above 230 US cents/lb, peaking shortly thereafter at 241 and, following a month of steady volatility, bottomed out under 220 US cents/lb before promptly shooting back up. The volatility seen last month had hardly anything to do with coffee itself, and mostly to do with the macro environment, mainly the price of crude oil and foreign exchange.

 

 
Recent supply and demand estimates published by StoneX and USDA showed both upping their production volumes for the 22/23 Brazilian crop. If this holds true, this could see the market come down a significant amount. On the other hand, demand is also expected to increase by 1.1% so may balance it out.
 
In addition, there has been a lot of talk recently about adjustments to countries’ production in the 21/22 cycle and upcoming 22/23, with new figures being published by some of the big players. In Colombia, they have currently harvested 8 million bags which is down 11% year on year. In order to reach the expected level of the USDA – 13 million bags – they would have to harvest above their monthly average every month for the rest of the season. Considering the average so far, it’s likely to finish on 12.7 million bags. Guatemala has also seen an 11% drop year on year. It’s said that the Brazilian harvest reached 35% by June 21st but is still behind schedule compared to the same period last year due to difficulties with labour. Despite this, the local market in Brazil has physical coffee available, but at high prices.
 
The lack of vessel space is expected to continue to be an issue until at least the second half of 2023. The availability of containers has improved, but the ships are still with restricted allocations. Therefore, one should continue to work with long lead times in mind if one wishes to have stock when one wants it.
 
Market news provided by DR Wakefield for the month of June.


A WORD FROM THE CUPPING ROOM
 
This week we landed some amazing microlots from our friends at Lohas Beans in Colombia. Lohas Beans is a leader in promoting the certification of its famer associations, and in the transparent commercial sale of its coffees to the top coffee-consuming countries around the world. Lohas Beans is proudly B-Corp certified, utilising the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

Colombia is the first country to approve a Law promoting “B Companies,” or Collective Benefit and Interest (BIC) corporations. In accordance with the System B Criteria, the certified companies are evaluated annually against improvements made to their corporate practices related to their employees, clients, government, community, and the environment. Following the evaluation, the best companies in the world are selected across five categories. Lohas Beans was recently chosen among the best companies in the world for the “Community 2018” category, in recognition of the impact they’ve made through their associations with small coffee producers.

We currently have several microlots available from two of  Lohas Beans small producers – El Diviso and Las Flores. Read more about the producers below. For pricing and availability of specific lots, please contact your Bennetts Account Manager.
 

 
Las Flores Farm

Las Flores
 
The Las Flores Farm is located in the Huila Region of Colombia at 1730 masl. Spanning over 14 hectares, the farm produces two crops of coffee pear season – the main crop is harvested from February to March, and the mid-crop from September to October.
 
Begun in 1990 by the matriarch of the Vergara family, who was dedicated to raising 18,000 coffee trees. Each year the family continued to plant more seedlings until they reached 90,000 coffee trees.
In 2006 Las Flores participated in the Cup of Excellence. From that moment the family began their journey into the world of specialty and differentiated coffees. Dedicated to several years of testing, learning and a lot of experience, the family took time to identify what profiles their coffees had and how they could be improved agronomically and in the cup.
 
Now three generations on, owner Edilberto Vergara with the help of his son Johan, have begun to adjust production and improve the post-harvest processes.  Today they propagate varieties such as: Pink Bourbon, Tabi, Java, Maracaturra. In addition, they have implemented fermentation processes in exotic varieties such as Wush Wush and Bourbon Sidra.
 
All the coffee at Las Flores is handpicked and naturally dried to ensure consistency in quality. Different fermentation techniques such as oxidation followed by anaerobic process and fermentation in bags is used to create unique flavour profiles.
 
El Diviso
 
El Diviso Farm was founded in 1997 by Mr. Jose Uribe Lasso in the Normandia district of. It is about a 30-minute drive northwest of Huila's Brucellas, Pitalito region of Colombia. Spanning about 14 hectares, at 1770 masl, the farm harvests just once a year – from October through to December.
 
By 2022, Jose had encouraged his three sons (Jonathan 29 years old, Adrian 25 years old and Nestor 23 years old) to become involved in farm management and production. The three sons are very enthusiastic and actively working to introduce the latest manufacturing methods. In particular the family is experimenting with long fermentation times, oxidation, anaerobic fermentation and re-application of mucilage juices to the cherry during processing.
 
All the coffee is handpicked at its most ripe stage, then naturally dried under controlled conditions and homogeneous temperatures and to give durability to the coffee and preserve the quality.
Surrounding the coffee plantation and mill the family keep a large area of natural reserve that approaches 5 hectares, where they take care of and preserve the natural flora and fauna to ensure diversity of the landscape.

JOIN OUR TEAM

We are currently looking for a full-time Marketing Coordinator to join our team.
 
Are you or do you know someone who is passionate about coffee, highly organised, motivated, creative, and ready for a challenge? 
 
This role will report to our Quality Assurance Manager and work closely with the Quality Department to develop your language and knowledge and in turn produce effective marketing campaigns and promotional pieces for our established and varied product portfolio.  If you are looking for an opportunity to expand your skills in marketing and a product you love, this is a great opportunity to join our experienced team.
 
As Marketing Coordinator, you will be responsible for content creation, direction and publishing of digital content, internal education, SEO, analytics, executing digital marketing on our website and leveraging opportunities across our wide and varied customer base. This role will also align with the Quality and Sales Departments to execute product samples and product information directly to customers.
 
We are looking for a candidate with a desire to enrich the Bennetts brand and communicate our brand message and values consistently across all marketing activities. For the right person this offers an amazing opportunity to work in an inspiring team in a fast-moving and thriving industry sector.

While Bennetts has been around for a long time, we are constantly evolving and growing our business and our passion for the industry. We want our company values to be reflected in the opportunities and growth we aim to provide for each employee. To achieve this, we are looking for someone who respects equality in everything they do, strives for better sustainability practices, and positively adds to our culture.
If this opportunity interests you, send your application through this link.