Campos Coffee continues its commitment to coffee excellence and explains why it’s passionate about giving consumers a front row seat to the best and most exotic coffees in the world.
Twenty years ago, Campos Coffee was born with the mission to share its love for quality coffee with as many Australian consumers as possible, and its focus has never wavered.
This commitment embraces coffee excellence and longstanding partnerships, and will be on full display in the upcoming opening of Campos Coffee’s new flagship café in Melbourne, set to open in November in the high-end shopping precinct of Chapel Street. The new South Yarra flagship will serve the local community a uniquely Campos experience in a beautifully curated space.
“Cafés are often thought of as being the heart and soul of a local community – a place for locals to connect with each other over a great cup of coffee. Our vision for the Chapel Street flagship is to not only serve an exceptional coffee experience but also to connect with and support the community,” says Adam Matheson, Head of Coffee at Campos Coffee.
“We want to get to know the locals and build an authentic and credible reputation as being a great Melbourne café for coffee lovers to visit.”
Many Victorians have already had a taste of Campos’ Superior Blend, served in the brand’s iconic green cup thanks to a growing Victorian network of independent café partners who proudly serve the brand. In May 2020, Campos released its range nationally in Woolworths, making it even more convenient for consumers to access.
In September, Campos Coffee was awarded Melbourne Royal’s Australian International Coffee Awards 2022 Champion Australian Roaster for the second time. It was also awarded Best in Class for its yet-to-be-released Colombia Santa Monica coffee.
“The Campos Superior Blend is our original café blend and what we’re famous for. While we look forward to serving an iconic Campos experience to the South Yarra community, we’re also excited to introduce customers to the full breadth of delicious coffees we have on offer,” Adam says.
This includes coffees sourced direct from origin as a result of the company’s long-term producer and cooperative relationships, which it’s maintained since 2010.
“The long-term nature of our partnerships helps us deliver consistency of quality in every cup. Our coffee producing partners know us well at Campos, and they know the high standard of coffee we’re looking for,” Adam says.
Such relationships include partnerships in Kenya, Ethiopia, and wider Central America. Thanks to the personal partnerships Campos Coffee has established, Adam says the brand is fortunate to have exclusivity of the coffee it buys.
Campos Coffee is also proud to secure exquisite coffees because of its ongoing and long-standing commitment to the Cup of Excellence (CoE) specialty coffee competition, which it has supported since 2010. In that time, Campos Coffee has purchased more than 130 CoE coffees.
“I’m proud of our history and support of Cup of Excellence. I think we’re the biggest supporters of the program in Australia, maybe even in the Southern Hemisphere. Campos Coffee has also been involved in more than 60 [Cup of Excellence] international juries, and since COVID, our head office has been a global cupping centre for eight Cup of Excellence competitions,” Adam says.
“The most important thing that’s evolved through our involvement in CoE is the direct relationships we have now established with farmers outside of the competition. It started with us buying their lots and now we’ve continued to support them beyond the event, buying more and trying their different coffees, even buying container loads. It’s not always about single origin, unicorn coffees. It’s about seeing what else the producer can supply and what potential there is to broaden the relationship. That’s the great thing about Cup of Excellence, it facilitates those relationships.”
A return to origin for CoE judging in 2023 will provide Campos Coffee a chance to observe innovation initiatives taking place at farm-level. This can be represented in the form of new coffee species, processing method, or the exploration of a producing region customers may not be familiar with. Recently, Adam says Campos Coffee introduced a Hawaii coffee to its offering which sold out within a week of its launch. He adds that interesting coffees from India and Timor-Leste have also surprised a lot of consumers.
“Coffee producers are innovative. It blows my mind at how innovative they are. So often they are ahead of the curve and doing weird and wonderful things,” Adam says.
“The purpose of our coffee program is to educate our customers and consumers on what’s happening in the world of coffee, and share it with them. We want them to know what’s going on, what different origins are producing, what innovative practices are taking place and what different coffees exist. That’s one of the reasons we buy from Cup of Excellence or Best of Panama coffee – just to share these amazing coffees with our customers.”
To further drive the sensorial experience of the future of coffee, Adam is proud of the recent establishment of the Campos Coffee Laboratory where innovation and experimentation in coffee will be centre stage.
“It takes a strong team of experienced, passionate coffee experts to collaborate and discover these amazing coffees that we can’t wait to share with the coffee community in the months and years ahead,” he says.
Despite the challenges of the past 12 months with rising coffee prices and increased freight costs, Adam says Campos Coffee has made a commitment to not waver on quality.
“We haven’t let what’s happening with coffee prices changed the level of quality we buy, and we haven’t pivoted to [buying from] other regions. We will always source, roast, and serve the same high level of quality coffee we know our café partners and consumers expect from us,” he says.
Looking to the future, Campos Coffee is focused on doing what it’s done for the past 20 years – delivering quality coffee to its customers and continuing to remain a coffee pioneer.
“We’re transparent about our coffee program and our commitment at origin. We’re proud to show our coffee credentials and will continue to take our customers on a journey and share the world of coffee with them,” Adam says.
For more information, visit camposcoffee.com
This article appears in the October 2022 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
