Bean!Roasters by Cosmorex has been awarded Champion Australian Roaster at the 2016 Australian International Coffee Awards (AICA).
The family-operated business has put Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, in the spotlight once again as a coffee powerhouse. First, with Sasa Sestic of Ona Coffee winning the World Barista Championship in 2015, and now with Bean!Roasters taking the top Australian Roaster award at the AICA.
“We are over the moon. It’s an honour,” said Cosmorex Coffee Director Attilio Sciannimanica. “My father would have been so proud. He started the family coffee business in the 1950s and we began roasting in the 1980s. What we’ve established is simply the progression of a family company – of techniques and practices we did in the old days that have developed along with the evolution of the coffee industry.”
The coffee industry’s acclaimed roasters, leaders and esteemed judges gathered at Meat Market in North Melbourne on 16 March for the awards event, and to toast the launch of the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE),
Conducted by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV), the international coffee roasting competition gives coffee roasters from around the world the opportunity to benchmark their product against that of their peers. The awards recognise excellence and consistency of quality coffee roasting.
In 2016 the AICA attracted 658 entries from 143 local and international coffee roasters, with coffees from New Zealand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Singapore, Canada, United States and Great Britain.
This year Indonesian coffee was put in the spotlight, with Tanamera Coffee Indonesia winning the Champion International Roaster award for the second year running. Champion Roaster trophies were awarded to the Australian and international roasters with the highest average score, calculated on the roaster’s three top scoring exhibits.
“This award is for the Indonesian people, and in recognition of Indonesian beans,” Tanamera Coffee Direction Dini Criddle said.
Tanamera Coffee only source and use 100 per cent Indonesian green beans, with their focus on supporting and develing local farmers to produce the best Indonesian Arabica beans.
Tanamera Green Bean buyer and roaster John Lee says it can be hard to find good Indonesian green beans, but it is his mission to educate the famers in ways they can improve their processing methods and farming practices to improve the quality of their beans.
“People have a perception that Indonesian beans are low grade, but I want to change that mindset. It’s the mission of Tanamera Coffee to source the best green beans and profile Indonesian beans to the world market,” he said. “Indonesia is very poor and there needs to be better education, but we can already see that small improvements are making a difference to the lives of the farmers and their produce.”
Tanamera Coffee Indonesia was also awarded the Champion Filter Coffee for its Malabar Natural. John and Head Roaster Jason Park were thrilled their Flores Honey blend was awarded a silver medal in the filter category.
“I can’t wait to go home and ring the farmers who have contributed to this win. I never told them I was entering their coffee. I can’t wait to tell them and hear their reaction,” he said.
In other results, Diamond Mule, Grouch & Co in Western Australia won Champion Espresso, Grindhouse Blend in WA won Champion Milk Based Coffee, Fix Three Origin Fairtrade Organic Coffee by Grinders Coffee won Champion Soy Based Coffee. Bellissimo Coffee in Queensland was awarded Champion Cold Brew Coffee for its Chno Panama, and was awarded Champion Direct Trade or Microlot Coffee.
From 8 – 11 March a panel of 30 local and international coffee experts assessed each of the entries for criteria including aroma, flavour, aftertaste and conformity to type, to award gold, silver and bronze medals.
For full results visit rasv.com.au