Bradley Cahill and Mafalda Moutinho of Casa De Cha on why it’s important to create tea ambassadors and drive a common vision.
Like many out there, our life plans didn’t include a radical change in professions, but as we like to say, ‘tea chose us’, not the other way around. We imagine that many people in specialty industries – coffee, wine, food – have had a particular experience that changed everything. Read more
Christine Manfield, one of Australia’s most celebrated chefs and culinary ambassadors, speaks to BeanScene about her fascination with flavour and the importance of being brave.
Christine Manfield believes there are some things that should be enjoyed in their most natural form, and coffee is one of them. Mention of latte alternatives such as matcha, chai, broccoli, turmeric or cauliflower spark strong resistance from Christine, with the culinary icon questioning the interest and purpose in such fads. Read more
Kirby and Sarah Koopman, Owners and Founders of Ransom Specialty Coffee Roasters, have established a business that specialises in customised coffees and barista training for cafés.
Kirby and Sarah Koopman are living their dream. Up at the crack of dawn, each day you’ll find the owners and founders of Ransom Specialty Coffee Roasters in their Cairns-based factory roasting, packaging, and preparing coffee for distribution to cafés in and around Queensland. Read more
Emilio Lopez Diaz is a champion of El Salvador’s coffee industry. Through Topeca Coffee Roasters, he operates a vertically integrated company from production and milling to roasting and retailing.
In 2000, Emilio Lopez Diaz had a decision to make. A recent graduate of an engineering management degree at the University of Portland, Emilio could follow his original plan to open a microbrewery in his home country of El Salvador, or, he could join the family coffee business. Read more
After winning the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship (WCiGS) in Brazil 2018, Dan Fellows was already developing his WCiGS routine for 2019 in Berlin, Germany.
“After winning in 2018, I already knew what I wanted to present in the 2019 routine. I was immensely proud and excited by the concept,” says Dan. Read more
When Daniel Horbat, Trainer and Consultant of Coffee Laboratory in Dublin, was announced the 2019 Cup Tasters Champion after four years of competing, he felt all his hard work and sacrifice had finally paid off.
“Each year, I felt more motivated to come back stronger than before and I knew that I will only stop until I leave with a trophy,” Daniel says. Part of his success was down to his rigorous training and diet. Read more
ASCA exists to promote and develop the Australian specialty coffee community, and relies on it to continue thriving.
Recently, the Australian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCA) Board was approached by a regional community looking to up-skill their baristas to a level where they could compete on the national stage. Read more
New Zealand Latte Art Champion Hoony Chae relives his World Coffee Championship experience and why reality can bite.
Often, the journey is as important as the destination. Especially when it takes 26 hours and four flights to get from New Zealand to Berlin for the World Coffee Championships. I talked to Hoony Chae about his experience representing NZ at the World Latte Art Championship (WLAC) in June. Read more
The Australian Subtropical Coffee Growers Association salutes two trailblazers of the local coffee growing community who dedicated their lives to encouraging quality over quantity.
Last year saw the passing of two stalwarts of the Australian subtropical coffee industry: Joan Dibden and John Zentveld. Each, in their own way, contributed to the establishment, development, and expansion of the coffee-growing industry in the Northern Rivers Region of New South Wales. We, as an industry, have benefited from the sound groundwork these modern-day pioneers put in place, and will do so for years to come. Read more
Bruck Fikru of Volcafe describes the legacy of Ethiopian coffee and how new ideas are transforming traditional processes.
It took a while to connect with Bruck Fikru, General Manager of our sister company, Volcafe, in Ethiopia. Political turmoil in the country led to restrictions being placed on people’s internet and social media access. Bruck says this difficulty with communication is one of several challenges being overcome by Ethiopia’s enduring coffee industry. Read more