Planet Ark partners with roasters to trial coffee diversion program

A new Planet Ark trial aims to divert spent coffee grounds from landfill and repurpose them into higher value uses.

Planet Ark will begin the Coffee 4 Planet Ark two-month trial in September in Sydney in collaboration with leading coffee roasters and founding members Allpress Espresso, Genovese Coffee, Grinders Coffee and Lavazza. Tata Global Beverages via its Map Coffee brand will collect spent coffee grounds from limited corporate businesses in Melbourne.
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The Brew Bomb

The months are getting colder, but demand for cold brew is only heating up. 

At the 2017’s Specialty Coffee Association Expo, a little company by the name of Brew Bomb set up shop in the back corner of the expo with a little banner and the masterpiece brewing unit that is the Brew Bomb. 

Founder and the CEO Ray Buerger sold four machines at that launch event, including one to Klatch Coffee in Los Angeles, who has since integrated the machine for all of its commercial volumes of cold brew. 

In the past year, Ray has sold 28 units into the US market in “strategic places” for high-end specialty roasters wanting to convert their coffee into cold brew on a large scale, and each one shares the same positive feedback: it’s an asset for time, control, and quality.

Well Australia, we have good news to share – the Brew Bomb is here and ready for market distribution thanks to its partnership with Bombora Coffee + Water Supplies. 
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Danny Wilson of Ona Coffee wins Australian CIGS Championship

Danny Wilson of Ona Coffee is the 2018 Australian Coffee in Good Spirits Champion.

Jay Lee and Chanho Hong, both of Normcore Coffee Roasters, placed second and third respectively.  

“It’s super exciting to win,” Danny says, Senior Roaster at Ona Coffee. “I had the chance to go to Seoul, South Korea with Hugh Kelly assist in his WBC preparation last year, which was pretty inspiring, and now I get to represent Australia on the world stage. It’s amazing.”

Danny has competed in the barista competitions for the past five years and placed sixth in the Australian Barista Championship finals in 2017.  

He attempted the Australian Coffee in Good Spirits Championship (CIGS) four years ago, and was thrilled to hear of its return.
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Bureaux Collective to host Taste of: Copenhagen 

Bureaux Collective will bring a taste of Denmark to Melbourne when it hosts Taste of: Copenhagen on 9 August.

The event will revisit Scandinavia and feature some of the region’s trailblazers in coffee roasting, including samples from The Coffee Collective, April Coffee Roasters, The Factory, Andersen & Maillard and Prolog. 

Copenhagen is home to one of the most progressive food scenes in the world, with many starred restaurants serving up top-shelf coffee programs. 
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Seven Miles Coffee Roasters digs deep

For the past 50 years, Seven Miles’ Coffee has shared its roasting expertise with hundreds of Australian cafés and thousands of coffee consumers. Within that time, the popular roaster has undergone a name change (formerly Belaroma Coffee), rebranding, a refurbishment of its Manly Vale headquarters in New South Wales, and become a Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) certified barista training campus. But with an increasing thirst for knowledge, Seven Miles Coffee Roasters decided to launch a science and education centre to push the boundaries of coffee experimentation.

Leading its Coffee Science and Education Centre (CSEC) is Dr Adam Carr, a chemical engineer who has forged a research career over the past eight years, working at Cornell University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Aerodyne Research.
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Chef Tobie Puttock’s true colours

After 25 years working in Italian kitchens, Tobie Puttock has consumed more espresso shots than many would dare attempt in a lifetime. 

At just 18 years of age, Tobie would watch as waiters brought a tray of 12 espressos to the kitchen for the staff of four on the hour, and they’d drink every one. 

“It was espresso all the way because that’s what the other chefs had and I wanted to fit in, to the point I’d drink so much I’d be a shaking nervous wreck,” Tobie says. “We were doing six double shifts a week on a seven-month contract, and everyone just lived off caffeine.”

Growing up, Tobie’s parents weren’t big on coffee. His first taste of Nescafe was thanks to his “bogan best mate” at 17, but it is the aroma of coffee he recalls most, brewing in his godmother’s restaurant. It’s still the thing he enjoys waking up to each day. 

“The first thing I do in the morning is put a pod through my Nespresso machine, which is like getting a big warm hug to start the day,” he says.
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Drink coffee, do good on 3 August for CaféSmart

On 3 August, the coffee community will unite to support CaféSmart 2018 and help fight homelessness.

More than 600 cafes have registered to participate in CaféSmart 2018 next week, with $1 from every coffee sold at participating cafés directed to support grassroots homeless charities.

Last year CaféSmart raised $285,500, including matched funding from partner philanthropists, and supported 156 homelessness projects across Australia.

This year, CaféSmart is aiming to beat that total and raise $300,000 for critically underfunded services.
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St Ali to host Wide Awake latte art smackdown

St Ali and La Marzocco will host a Wide Awake Coffee Latte Art Smackdown in Ballarat on 9 August.

The competition, taking place at Mitchell Harris Wines, next to Fika Coffee Brewers, invites regional Victorians to share their best latte art talent.

Entry is $10 to compete, viewing is free, and winner takes all. 
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McCafé launches new coffee blend with Kenyan hit

McCafé has released a new coffee blend nationwide with complex flavours to keep up with Australia’s evolving coffee palate.

“For 25 years, McCafé has been part of the daily ritual for many Aussies. As coffee tastes evolve, so does our blend,” says Jo Feeney, Director of Marketing McDonald’s Australia.

The last significant recipe change to the McCafé blend was in 2016, following the introduction of group handle espresso machines in 2015, and the launch of McCafé Drive-Thru in 2014, an extension that is said to have transformed the accessibility and convenience of barista-made coffee in Australia.
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Aussies buy up big at record breaking Best of Panama auction

Australian buyers have secured nine of the 39 coffee lots on offer at the Best of Panama (BoP) auction on 19 July.

“The two best Geisha Washed coffees are coming to Australia,” Coffee Treasures CEO Gavin Gam says.

Gavin won a share of the top-ranked Elida Estate Geisha Green Tip Washed from producer Wilford Lamastus for his new green bean sourcing company, and on behalf of roaster D’Angelo Coffee.

Kew Specialty Coffee also won a stake in this top palced BoP coffee, which scored 94.66 points in the international judging and was sold for US$661.00 per pound (about $886.33 per pound).

Coffee Treasures secured four other top BoP coffees, including the record breaking Elida Estate’s Geisha Green Tip Natural, which received the highest bid of a green coffee sold at auction at US$803 per pound (about $1088 per pound).
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