100 Year Celebrations

Our centenary celebrations are well underway. This month we are excited to be holding an online competition. Keep an eye out on Instagram on how to enter!

We are continuing to send out special gifts and finalising details for further celebrations. We are proud to be releasing specifics about further upcoming donations to the main foundations that we support. Stay tuned for ways in which you can help!

Update from the Bennetts Team

June is an exciting month for us as we are expecting to have all our office renovations finished! This will provide us with a bigger and better space for roasting, cupping and green bean quality assurance. We are expecting to unveil the space with a cupping night in July. 

Just a reminder that Bennetts office and warehouse will be closed on the Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday on Monday the 11^th of June. For further information on how this might affect deliveries please don’t hesitate to contact us via email or over the phone.

June Microlot Offering – Kelagur Heights

Kelagur Heights Coffee and Tea Estates has been owned by the Mathias Family for the past four generations. Located in the first range of the Western Ghats in the Chikmagular District of Karnataka State, India, it is spread over 120 hectares. Kelagur Heights Estate harvest up to 150 tonnes of cherry annually with the main arabica varietals being S-795 and SLN9. 

Coffee grows under a mixed canopy of shade with the upper canopy comprising trees such as ficus; albizzia; cedrela toona and javanica. The Estate has fully integrated facilities for coffee processing, with on-site pulp houses and curing works. Fourteen perennial springs on the Estate ensure that the washed beans are of the highest standard. With all their coffees, the emphasis for Kelagur Heights Estate has always been on sustainability under the expert guidance of the Central Coffee Research Institute of India. Some of the varieties found on the estate have been developed in conjunction with the institute, specifically the HDT x Geisha varietal has been developed ostensibly to be disease resistant and sustainable.

All the following Indian Kelagur Heights lots are UTZ certified and packaged in Eco-Tact lined 30Kg Bags. 

Get in contact for cupping notes and pricing information.

Origin News – Kenya

April was characterised by a torrential downpour which wreaked havoc on roads across the country and inhibited the flow of coffee as a result. The flooding showed no sign of abating as we moved into May.

Kenya coffee is prized for its acidity and now another product grown there is sought after…Macadamia nuts. Macadamias is not a new product in Kenya, as traditionally farmers used to grow it to provide shade for their coffee trees. Nowadays, however, the profits from the nut outweigh those provided by the bean, and in many areas, coffee is now playing second fiddle to macadamia. This drive has led to Kenya taking third spot in world macadamia production.

With prices so high, this trend is only set to continue. From December 17 to April 18, farmgate prices for unshelled macadamia nuts rose from 70 Kenyan shillings to a high of 180 Kenyan shillings ($2.40 AUD) a kilogram. This is a stark contrast to the world of coffee, where many coffee farmers operate on average at a loss, according to a report in 2017 commissioned by Fair Trade. Read the full report here.

Back to coffee, and we are looking forward to the arrival of a mixed container of Kenyan AA and AB in the coming weeks. We have also finalised our Kenyan microlot selection, to be shipped in the month of June.  

The Coffee Industry

The Arabica market has made slow but steady gains on the 116 US cents per pound low it hit earlier this month to be sitting precariously just a touch above the important ‘line in the sand’ of 120 US cents per pound. In London, the Robusta market continues to lurch around within the 1700 – 1800 US dollars per tonne range, where it has been all year.

Brazil’s truckers strike is just in time for the start of the coffee harvest, protesting the high price of diesel. This comes as Nelson Carvalhaes, the head of the Brazil coffee exporters association, predicts a record 58 million bag crop this year. Market activity as a result is lethargic as traders await a crucial outcome of a potential resolution of the strike.

In other news, drinking coffee causes cancer (but only in California), a man threw his coffee in the face of a McDonalds employee because he was upset at paying $1, and a barista at Stonehenge got sacked after a two-month investigation because of too much froth in a cappuccino. 

A Word from the QA-Lab

This month the cupping room has been continuously screening and cupping samples. Lately we have been selecting coffees for our new season Ethiopian microlots, both washed and naturals. We are hoping to have these arrive in late August.

A stand out on the cupping table this week was our Costa Rican Dota Tarrazu Coopdota Honey Microlot. Scoring 84 points the cup is delicate yet inky. With notes of sweet milk chocolate throughout with lemon and red apple acidity lingering.

Our QA team member, Harry Ko, founder of Kind Materials is excited to have exclusive rights to the December Dripper in Australia. The December Dripper is an adjustable pour over coffee dripper with four levels of flow adjustment. This allows you to make the most of your coffee by having complete control over your brewing. New silicon gaskets have arrived as an add on to ensure a perfect seal during brewing. Check it out here and email hello@kindmaterials.com for special offers

Scotty's SCA Sentiments

The Specialty Coffee Association get-together in Seattle was again very well attended by all facets of the industry. It has now developed into a very important forum for meetings and networking. We met with growers, shippers, exporters, importers, financiers, certification parties and roasters from many origins across all levels of the industry. 

The most noticeable change from a personal point of view is how new technology is forging its way into the industry. It was evident on the show floor this year with new designs and concepts in roasting equipment, brewing equipment, packaging and consuming ideas, all of which was an obvious variation from last year’s SCA. 

From an importers point of view, it was insightful talking to many of our grower suppliers, exporters and related parties. Listening to them talk about their trials and tribulations of the 2017/18 crop year and what they foresee for the upcoming season left me with two clear takeaways. 

Firstly, the dreaded Roya disease (leaf rust) seems to be appearing in Central America again. Roya seems to have morphed since the last outbreak five or so years ago. Many in the industry are hopeful that growers can respond quicker to the outbreak with a more targeted response as growers are more educated and knowledgeable about ways to tackle Roya. This will have consequences on production in some Central American countries, mainly in regions with lower altitudes. Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Guatemala are already raising a flag signalling that production will fall in the coming season starting December 2018. 

The second issue which was commonly discussed was shipping and logistics. This came from all levels, growers, exporters, importers and roasters. The availability of good quality shipping containers and the troubles in booking space on export vessels is now becoming unreliable and frustrating. Many ports and shipping lines are having problems at all levels of service and this will not be short or easy fix. This is likely to take years to overcome as world trade continues to grow. 

All in all, the SCA Seattle was very insightful for me to gain current global and origin understanding.

‘After much deliberation and deep thought as to my selection this month, I decided to go with a coffee that resonates with flavours that I love in a good red wine at dinner time. The Burundi Kabingo Natural is dark and inky with strong notes mulberries and purple grape. It has a full syrupy body with a crab-apple acidity. A long chewy malt and toffee finish, this one lingers around for a while. We scored it 86 internally with 8’s across the board. This must be one of my favourite African naturals!’ – Scott    

Coffee of the Month 

The coffee of the month, as nominated by the Bennetts team, is our Nicaraguan Diamond Coffee Microlot. This unique hybrid of East African and Latin American varietals truly flourishes in the highlands of Nicaragua. Referred to by local coffee producers as a "diamond" for its precious qualities in the cup, these beans come from Nicaragua's Jinotega and Matagalpa departments where the ideal climate and rich soil meet to create the perfect environment for the distinctive flavours to fully develop.

CIRAD, the renowned French agricultural research institute, has been responsible for conducting research and plant breeding since 1990 to create hybrid coffee trees that combine the resistance and quality characteristics of varieties from Ethiopia with the productivity and local adaptation of Central American varieties. The resulting hybrids bear fruit earlier than traditional varieties, have 40-50% increased productivity, and have more body, acidity and aroma which translate to equal or better quality than traditional varieties.  

Our lot is clean and sweet. Heavy apricot flavours and similar stone fruit acidity. Syrupy silky body with a sweet milk chocolate and macadamia finish. Bennetts scored this lot 82.5 with emphasis on its sweetness. 

Project 1-2-1 Still available 

We have 6 Project 1-2-1 lots still available to roasters. We have 2 each from Peru, Colombia and Honduras. For more information on these lots please get in contact via email or over the phone. 

Enjoy the Month of June! 

From, 

The Bennetts Team