How Lavazza Australia goes above and beyond to ensure its coffees are safe, consistent, and remain delicious for as long as possible.
In the development of Mosaic, a bespoke range of blends finely tuned for the Australian palate, Lavazza National Training Managers Nick Ferrara and Peter Dorkota knew they’d have to go above and beyond to create a collection of coffees that meet the high standards of the country’s discerning flat white and long black drinkers.
It’s an ethos that’s deeply imbedded in the brand. Coffee is only required to pass one test before it can be sold in Australia, yet every bean that passes through Lavazza’s Melbourne roastery is subjected to 39. The process is time consuming and costly, but for the team at Lavazza it’s nonnegotiable.
The trials, which range from heavy metals and chemical testing to packaging standards, were first adopted by Lavazza in Italy in line with European Union (EU) requirements. While the EU only calls for 17 of these tests, the company introduced 22 of its own – such as x-ray screening and dust removal – to ensure its products are consistent and standards remain high.
Nick says that although the company isn’t required to do the same testing in Australia, it also endeavours to supply its customers across the country with coffee
of the highest possible quality.
“We don’t have to do these Quality Standard tests by law, but we have made it a core part of our process because we strive to create the best product,” he says.
“Only batches that meet our standards leave the warehouse. Some of the tests are done by independent laboratories before the green beans reach our Melbourne roastery, which allow us to reject any coffee that doesn’t make the grade.”
As part of this set of trials, Lavazza Australia’s storing, roasting, and bagging process has been fully mechanised to minimise the risk of contamination. Nitrogen flushing of the beans before they are bagged has also been added to the workflow to keep the coffee fresher for longer.
“Once the coffee has been roasted, the beans are flushed with nitrogen to remove all oxygen before bagging. Oxidation of the beans degrades the flavour and aroma of the coffee,” says Nick.
“From our research, we’ve found nitrogen flushing not only increases the freshness of the beans for longer but also improves the consistency of the final product, making the barista’s job easier.”
Nick explains that coffee that hasn’t been nitrogen flushed will reach peak flavour around 15 days post roast, but will then quickly start to degrade. Nitrogen flushed coffee, on the other hand, will also reach peak flavour around day 15 but will stay around that level for longer before declining gradually.
“This means when baristas add another bag to the hopper, which may have been roasted on a different day to the beans used in the previous batch, they shouldn’t have to tweak the extraction parameters mid service. The flavour and quality of the coffee throughout the day will be consistent,” he says.
While these Quality Control tests are standard across all Lavazza coffees, the Australian team introduced two extra trials in the creation of its new Mosaic range.
“In the development phase of the Mosaic blends, we introduced a solubility test. This was implemented to identify beans from a large pool of options that roast well together,” he says.
“Blending different beans with similar solubility means we could tweak the recipe as we wanted to create the desired flavour. These coffees naturally work well together, which also benefits the barista when creating the end product.”
Alongside solubility testing, once the team had selected the final three blends, they used gas chromatography to produce extremely precise tasting notes.
“The idea to use gas chromatography came from Carlie Dyer, Master Blender at Starward Whisky in Melbourne, one of the artisan who helped us develop the Mosaic collection. When we approached the company who did the testing, we were the first coffee roaster they’d worked with,” says Peter.
The method is used to identify aroma and flavour compounds in the coffee, which Lavazza employed to ensure its flavour notes were scientifically accurate.
“The results were fascinating. It allowed us to identify the subtle nuances between the coffees in the collection,” he says.
“From a confidence perspective, it also enables our clients to tell their customers, ‘There are flavours of apple in there’, because there’s a compound that proves it.”
Peter says the gas chromatography tests are a great example of how the hand-picked group of artisans – which also includes Pana Barbounis, Chocolatier and Founder of Pana Organic, and Daimon Downey, contemporary artist and restaurateur – helped the team at Lavazza to create a unique collection of coffees that truly captures Australia’s coffee culture.
“Mosaic has been a huge success since it launched in September 2024,” he says.
“The three blends –Tidal, Ochre, and Retreat – each capture a different section of the country’s coffee drinkers, and the feedback we’ve received so far has made all the hours and effort we poured into the project well worth it.”
Both Peter and Nick believe taking these steps to go the extra mile is worth the time and expense to supply its café partners across Australia with the best possible coffees.
For more information, visit lavazzamosaic.com.au
