Tall Timber café has joined the Lavazza family as a venue that exclusively serves its premium coffee and tells its sustainability story.
A Tree of Life mural on the wall of Melbourne café Tall Timber in Prahran is more than a visually appealing piece of art. It has a story to tell. Local artist Georgia Harvey has carefully crafted the tree representing the 24 sustainability projects the Lavazza Foundation supports in 17 countries, which includes its sustainable and locally- roasted coffee, La Reserva de Tierra Colombia.
“La Reserva de Tierra Colombia forms a critical branch of the tree and represents our aim to return the Meta region’s coffee production to a high- quality offering after armed conflict interrupted coffee growing for many years,” says Lavazza Head of Marketing Mimmo Orlando.
The Lavazza Foundation supports more than 100 farming families to restore coffee plantations, improve coffee quality, productivity, and create sustainable work conditions.
It also promotes gender balance within households and communities, supports young people to develop their own business activity in the coffee industry, enhances the role of women, supports reforestation, and responds to the effects of climate change.
“Projects supported by the Lavazza Foundation have the primary objective of helping coffee producers to improve their yields and the quality of their products through agricultural best practices training, and encouraging the development of their entrepreneurial skills,” says Mimmo.
The result of such restoration work is evident in the collection of sustainable quality blends called La Reserva de Tierra, which contains coffee grown from territories and communities involved in Lavazza’s social responsibility projects.
A barista from Tall Timber says it is important to understand where coffee comes from and whether beans are sourced sustainably to ensure coffee growers are supported and environmental impacts are minimised.
“We at Tall Timber partner with Lavazza and serve La Reserva de Tierra Colombia, which supports coffee farmers and the environment in the origins where the coffee is sourced,” she says.
The superior blend of washed Arabica coffee comes from the Colombian hills of Meta, Antioquia, and Huila.
“It is important for venues such as Tall Timber to embrace the sustainable quality coffee dedicated to professional baristas for a unique taste experience of a reformed coffee growing region,” Mimmo says.
According to Lavazza Training Manager Nick Ferrara, La Reserva de Tierra Colombia has an aromatic harmony and a mild taste highlighted by its characteristic sweetness, refined acidity, and full body. Notes of tropical fruits are accompanied by scents of lime zest and jasmine, with a mild liqueur- like aftertaste.
“Choosing Lavazza La Reserva de Tierra means a guaranteed product of the highest quality, thanks to the careful search for the best coffee beans, the selected origins of the blend, and accurate preparation,” says Nick.
“All Lavazza coffee, regardless of where it is roasted, follows all the European quality control requirements such as no pesticides, pathogens, extraction solvents, hydrocarbons, acrylamide, and meets the maximum residue limits for green beans approved by Europe, some of the strictest in the world.”
The roasting process is fully automated to avoid contamination. The coffee is then flushed with nitrogen to remove any residue of oxygen in the packaging.
“Lavazza packaging includes a single- way valve, a technology that allows carbon dioxide to be released from the bag without letting oxygen enter the packaging, thus keeping the beans fresh,” Nick says.
“Quality control is constant in Lavazza, with green coffee quality assurance via cupping as well as roasted coffee quality checks.”
Quality control comes down to use of sustainable agricultural practices from producers at origin. That’s why La Reserva de Tierra Colombia is Rainforest Alliance Certified, with the assurance that the production of this coffees is aiding the protection of forests, rivers, soils and wildlife.
“The Rainforest Alliance certification fosters the values behind our ‘help for self-help’ approach, improving coffee quality production while ensuring that coffee workers have fair wages and improved access to dignified living conditions, gender equity and access to education for children in farm communities,” Mimmo says.
He says it’s Lavazza’s belief that a sustainable coffee future is the only way forward and supporting blends like La Reserva de Tierra Colombia is an important step to securing that future.
“With climate change presenting a real threat to coffee producing regions and bean quality, La Reserva de Tierra Colombia is one way the Lavazza Foundation can help safeguard the future of coffee and the sustainability of the Colombian coffee economy by implementing training programs for coffee producers,” Mimmo says.
For more information, visit lavazzabusinesssolutions.com.au
This article appears in the December 2022 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
