BeanScene Magazine

Despite heavy rains, the 2010 crop has been harvested and the yield looks good. Many growers saw declines in the amount of cherry processed, but this was offset by larger plantations enjoying increases in tonnage.

One grower, Greg Jansen, from Hills of Byron, found himself in a particularly tight spot – he was on a motorbike safari in Africa with Charlie Borman of Long Way Round fame – when members of the Australian Subtropical Coffee Association (ASTCA) informed him the harvest had to take place.

Greg had taken the opportunity to be involved in the experience of a lifetime, trail riding across his homeland at a time when he should have been servicing the tractor in preparation for the harvest.

One of the team at ATSCA, Jos Webber, from Kahawa Estate, put a proposition via email to Greg. We would look after his harvest for him. The alternative for Greg was tonnes of premium cherry left to decompose, as heavy rains knocked the bulbous ripe fruit to the ground.

Greg was over the moon. The ASTCA team got prepared.

Harvesting sub-tropical coffee in Australia is predominantly done by machine these days.  Industry pioneers didn’t have the labour saving Korvan (a mechanised harvester) and were reliant on many expensive pairs of hands to get their cherry off the tree. Since the South Americans developed these massive hydraulically powered shaker/vacuum harvesters, our industry has gained a second wind. As labour costs increased after World War II, coffee plantations became less economically viable. Now smaller producers are able to harvest quickly and efficiently using the Korvan.

Over three rain soaked days we harvested, processed and dried Hills of Byron’s 2010 crop. More than 400mm of rain had turned the normally manicured rows of coffee at Rocky Creek into a quagmire. Early morning on the first day saw bins of cherry delivered to the processing shed. Ron Woods from North Coast Agricultural Services ran his Korvan over the rows, adjusting the harvester to remove only the ripest of cherry, leaving under ripe beans to mature for another week or so. Ron declared it “one of the best picks ever.” “The rains have made the cherry fall off really easily…reducing the need to be too aggressive with the harvester,” he said.

With most of the harvest over by the end of the second day all that remained was the processing and drying of the parchment. Hills of Byron use the same processing method as most ASTCA members. However it always takes a little while for operators of processing equipment to become accustomed to the nuances of each machine. We had problems with conveyers, belts and pins, but thanks to Ron’s ingenuity were able to complete the processing without major repairs.

Cherry plucked from the trees are loaded into a washer separator that floats off unripe beans. These “floaters” are spread onto shadecloth to dry. The juicy, dark red cherry that sinks to the bottom of the separator is moved to the pulper, which sees off the sweet red skin. The sticky parchment covered green bean is then scrubbed by the demuscilager, which removes almost all of the sticky, slimy coating from the parchment.

The washed parchment is then sent to the massive diesel powered driers at Cath Ford’s place next door. There the moisture in each bean is reduced to around 10% over a period of about 10 hours.

Hills of Byron, like most ASTCA growers, store the green bean in parchment until it is needed for roasting. Parchment inhibits the movement of moisture through the bean as they “rest” for up to two months.

Greg returned from his safari with great stories of the irascible Mr Borman and some excellent photos . He rewarded everyone involved with a terrific banquet on the estate on a Sunday afternoon, once the parchment was safely in his green bean store.

Around the same time, our regional agricultural show saw Australian sub-tropical coffee take centre stage at the fine food pavilion. One reason why I love being a part of this industry is the sense of community that can be found at every coffee event. Competitions, food shows, expos, field days and plantation tours all overflow with the free exchange of ideas and information, generosity and wisdom that come with years of experience, confidence and skill.

The local regional agricultural show recently gave the public a chance to taste Australian Subtropical coffee prepared by professional baristas, compete in a “cupping competition” and win a hamper of coffee grown and roasted by growers from their region. It also saw the official launch of the new ASTCA logo.

The ASTCA had a stall in the Fine Food Pavilion where we took centre stage to demonstrate how to get the best out of your beans on a domestic machine, siphon, pour over and plunger. Audience members competed in three heats to contest the inaugural “cupping competition.” The winners of the final walked away with a bag of fresh roasted beans for their trouble.

Our barista, Nick Muller, demonstrated latte art on the domestic machine, many free shots were enjoyed and a whole lot of people got to shake hands and have a yarn with a grower.