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    • Coffee Should Be $8 Per Cup
      • Coffee Should Be $8 Per Cup By Richard Corney Managing Director of Flight Coffee 28th August 2024 The State of Play On the 12th of September 2024 our flagship café, The Hangar, celebrates its 12th birthday. It seems like a lifetime ago and given what hospitality has endured over the last 4 years, it’s no surprise that for the first time in 20 years, the number of cafés and restaurants in New Zealand has shrunk compared to the year before. It's a tell-tale sign of the times and if you ask any hospitality operator, they likely all agree the current climate is worse than Covid. The Hangar started 2024 (which happens to coincide with the start of our financial year) strong. We beat our Quarter 1 revenue budget by 1.3% and while that’s not anything to write home about, to start the year on track was a great result given the previous 3. Our 2024 budget is an honest one, a true representation of where we thought we’d land and what we could achieve with no fluff. Imagine our shock that came with our April result - 5% behind budget, then May 22% behind and June 10% behind. The cumulative total netting out at 11% behind our Quarter 2 Budget. July was worse, 25% behind. All our operating profit from a well-managed Q1, gone. We expected headwinds this year but nothing as drastic as a reduction of revenue by 20-25%. A confluence of reasons, not least of which the impact that public sector layoffs have had within Central Wellington (and Auckland), a recession and the lag impact of high interest rates impacting discretionary spending. It’s a perfect storm coupled with the cost-of-living crisis. The Hangar will finish the year in the green, we have no doubt – it must - it just won’t be as green as we had hoped. The issue facing cafés and operators is that most costs are fixed or pegged to revenue. For most operators rent doesn’t decrease according to revenue, it’s a fixed cost, and relative to a budget, the cost of employment goes up when revenue is down. The volatility and unpredictability of the hospitality market at this time makes it near impossible to run a café with any certainty of a profitable outcome. This, coupled with over supply, is why we are seeing the closure and sale of so many cafes and for the first time in 20 years, a contraction of the hospitality market in New Zealand. Volatile and unpredictable revenue is just one side of a much more sinister coin facing our industry. In the case of coffee roasters and cafes, it has never been more expensive to manufacture a kilo of coffee or as costly to make a cup of coffee and there’s a common fear amongst the industry, cafés in particular, that by passing on price increases, they will lose business. As of the 1st of September 2024, The Hangar will be increasing cup prices by $0.30 per cup. A regular black coffee will be $5.60, and a regular dairy milk white coffee will be $6.10. We are doing so because we cannot afford not to. Why Such High Prices? The Arabica Coffee Futures market is at historic levels. Only two other times since 1980 has the market been above the levels it has traded at for the last several months, in 2011 and in 1997. Supply of Robusta, the usually reliable cheap cousin of Arabica that multinationals and commodity buyers rely on for low-cost coffee is highly constrained and trading at historic levels. For the first time it is trading above the Arabica market as buyers gobble up stocks of low grade Arabica in lieu of Robusta supply. The mind boggles, objectively lower quality coffee is fetching higher prices than Arabica. Compounding and contributing to this is the rush to full European warehouses before new European Deforestation Regulations come into force come January 1st 2025. With the fear that some producing countries will not be EU compliant in time, they will no longer be able to export their coffee to Europe until compliant stoking fears of further short supply of some origins. Typically, at this time of the year there are about 4.5 million bags of coffee afloat heading to destination ports, currently, this number about 6.8 million bags. From multinationals to boutique roasters, there is no escaping the fact that coffee is the most expensive it’s ever been to produce, especially so when coupled with increase in operation costs and other factors like freight and increased utility and manufacturing costs. What does this mean for cafes and consumers? The price of coffee must go up both by the kilo and the cup. The coffee industry cannot sustain the cost pressures on their own. This is one of the reasons why we’re putting our cup prices up at The Hangar by $0.30 per cup. By The Numbers When we opened The Hangar in 2012, we charged $3.50 for a regular black coffee and $4.00 for a regular dairy milk white coffee. Our September 1st price increase represents an increase on our 2012 price of 53% for a regular white coffee at $6.10. Since opening our rent has increased 134% and minimum wage has increased from $13.50 per hour in 2012 to $23.15 in 2024, or 71%. Given The Hangar pays Living Wage, come September 1st, this will go to $27.80 per hour or an increase of 106% on 2012. Our increase in cup pricing is no less than half of what other major cost centers have increased over the same 12-year period relatively speaking. If our cup price increased at the same rate, we should be charging >$8 per cup, and this isn’t even in consideration of the cost of goods, simply representative of the increased operating cost of the café. $8 per cup isn’t something sustainable for consumers to endure out right but there must be a balance, a reconciliation of sorts, as cafés and hospitality cannot continue to absorb these sorts of costs without reasonably passing them on. It’s irrational to think otherwise. There’s a notion amongst consumers that coffee is immune to inflation. We see this whenever there is a news article about coffee prices and the subsequent commentary of keyboard warriors on social media linked news articles. If you’ve ever read the comment section of a 1 News, Hearld or Stuff article about the price of a cup of coffee (don’t for your own sanity’s sake) you can see why some operators are so reluctant to do what’s right by their business. A particular sample set I admit, however, it’s fair to say its representative of many consumers. This has permeated through the minds of some café operators and there is a real fear that if they pass on prices, even as little as $0.10-$0.20 per cup, they will lose business. The truth is, if we don’t pass these costs on, the face of our coffee industry will look very different in the years to come, and operators will face losing their business. Lessons Learned I opened my first café in 2006 and by 2009 it was a statistic. It failed and I was personally in debt as a result. I know what it’s like to throw your heart and soul (and money) into something you love and for it to struggle and ultimately fail. One of my favourite authors and podcasters David McRaney once said something I’ll never forget: “Those who are successful rarely get paid to talk about how not to fail, which is a great shame… Success boils down to serially avoiding catastrophic failure while routinely absorbing manageable damage”. There are several reasons why my first café failed. One of the most pertinent lessons was at the time I believed the value of my offering was one derived through price point. I falsely thought that if my prices were low enough, competitive enough, I would win customers over other cafes and be successful. Very rarely do cafés ever win on price. I believed a in a fallacy. I should have focused on the quality and consistency of my coffee and food and at margins that allowed my café to run at a sustainable operating profit rather than to scrape what I could from the bottom of the barrel. Coffee is not immune to inflation. Cafes should be passing on reasonable price increases in line with their increased costs. And consumers should pay more for a cup of coffee.

    • Sunset Run with RUN4 Auckland
      • Yesterday the epic Sunset Run took place thanks to our fam at RUN4 Auckland.RUN4 is a running community for all fitness levels. Every Sunday morning around 8:50am you can find the crew limbering up for a run from Victoria Park in Auckland. As the weather clouds put on a show just over 120 runners assembled at our 222 Dominion Rd Studios. Diego from RUN4 provided a briefing and a pre-run stretch. Nadieh from Flight spoke about the partnership and with Regan dished out hot and cold brews to ensure everyone was hydrated. Then we were off for the slow and steady climb up to Mt Eden. As the clouds broke for a moment we seized on the opportunity to capture the group in all their glory with some happy snaps. 20 minutes later we enjoyed the downhill run back to Flight. Everyone was basking in the post-run endorphins with brews, bites, tunes and more all flowing into the evening. We can't wait to do it all again. RUN4 x Flight Coffee. What a team. Find out more about RUN4 via their IG page here.

    • Our 1kg bags get turned into fence posts
      • Flight Coffee is excited to announce to the world our own recycling system. We've partnered with Future Post, a grass-roots recycling company founded in the Kiwiest of spirits, up there with No. 8 wire. Future Post takes soft plastics from around the country and transforms them into fence posts. Not only does this create a solution for soft plastics, but it also avoids trees being cut down to make fences with. Future Post stood out to us for a number of reasons, apart from being an awesome sustainable company that supports industries from orchards to dairy and sheep farming. It’s a great product – it doesn’t split, rot or crack. The fence posts don’t leech contaminants into the soil (certified for use on organic farms), they're UV stable, have a 50+ year life expectancy, and a particular favourite – they are 100% recyclable. If need be, they can take an old post, and turn it into a new post! More importantly, all research pointed to one thing. If any plastic is to be recycled, the most responsible method is for the plastic to have a long second incarnation, and not be used to create anything with a high likelihood of winding up in landfill, like clothing, or other packaging. Instead – we should be looking for options like resurfacing roads, park benches, or in this case – fence posts with a lifespan of more than 50 years.We have done comprehensive research over the last 6 months around quality-driven, sustainable wholesale packaging, and we’re immensely proud of this outcome. The bags are completely aluminium-free and are a thicker polypropylene to ensure freshness for longer, which was step one. The next step was making sure these bags weren’t just going to wind up in landfill – which is where we need your help.We chose not to be a part of other recycling schemes because we want to know exactly where the bags are going. By owning this system, we can have a better understanding of the impact of our business - and the best way to offset this. “Future Post takes soft plastics from around the country, and transforms them into fence posts. Not only does this create a solution for soft plastics, but also avoids trees being cut down for this reason.”

    • Reserve - Wush Wush
      • We're chuffed to introduce you to our first Reserve coffee for 2022, Wush Wush. An insanely rare and high-quality variety of coffee known for its floral and fruity cup qualities - In the words of our production team, "it's a real banger". This is the 4th time we've released a Wush Wush and if you were lucky enough to get your hands on some before, we're sure you'll be nodding along and agreeing that this coffee variety is definitely something special and something different. Tastes like: HONEYSUCKLE |  LEMONGRASS  |  RED CURRANT  |  MAPLE SYRUP   Producer: Agemiro HernandesRegion: Tolima, ColombiaMASL: 1800Process: WashedVariety: Wush WushRoasting Profile: Filter, Pour Over, Aeropress, French Press    This Wush Wush was produced by Argemiro Hernandez, on his farm La Esperanza, located in the Conbeima Canyon, in the department of Tolima, Colombia. This micro-lot was prepared using a unique processing method; it was fermented as whole cherries in Grain Pro bags for 24 hours.  Following this, the cherry pulp was removed, and the coffee was submerged in it's fruit mucilage for an additional 48 hours of fermentation. This has created a hybrid processing method, adding some characteristics of natural processed coffee, with the clean refreshing qualities you get from a washed process.  Argemiro dried the coffee for 8-12 hours each day in Grain Pro bags. This technique allowed him to prolong the drying process to last 25 days, this lengthened drying time helps to create clarity in the cup, and a long-lasting sweetness. Originally from Ethiopia, Wush Wush is a low-yield, rare variety that has become popular in specialty coffee. Wushwush is a smaller area in southwest Ethiopia, known for its fertile highlands, vibrant tea production, and natural coffee forests. Following the path of Geisha, another famed coffee variety, also hailing from Ethiopia, Wush Wush arrived in South America around 30 years ago. Today, it can be found in Colombia where the altitude and fertile growing conditions support the delicate, and floral cup profiles that come from these rarer, highly sought-after varieties.

    • Rwanda & Burundi
      • Rwanda and Burundi, neighbouring East African countries, land locked between the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west, Tanzania and to the east and Uganda to the north, are perhaps two lesser-known coffee producing countries of Africa.   We have been using a Rwandan component in all our blends since 2017 and as of December this year, we will supplement the Rwandan components seasonally with coffee from Raw Material projects in Burundi. Though they are neighbouring countries, the timing of their respective harvests allows us to have fresh coffee cycle biannually in our blends while also extending the reach of our buying.   Coffee is an integral sector for the economies of both countries and Raw Material has been supporting projects in both since 2016.   Rwanda  Known infamously for the horrific genocide of 1994 which claimed the lives of over 800,000 people, coffee continues to play a crucial role in the development of the country. With over 400,000 families relying on coffee for their primary source of income, coffee is vital for the monetization of the rural economy.   The country has experienced incredible growth and development since 1994, with a strong tourism sector, energy and hospitality are also important income earners for the country. Despite this, Rwanda is ranked the 21st poorest country in terms of GDP per capita by the International Monetary Fund. It is heavily dependent on agricultural exports, with coffee making up the leading agri-export, it is ranked 30th on the index of coffee producing countries by volume.  Raw Material has been working with Muraho Training Company (MTCo) since 2016. MTCo, one of Rwanda’s first fully dedicated specialty coffee producers and exporters, has blazed trails in the Rwandan coffee sector. In 2016 they were the first company in Rwanda to legally produce and export natural and honey processed coffee, developing all new flavour profiles for the country and setting new quality standards. Raw Material has shared learnings from Colombia and helped provide market access for MTCo’s coffee throughout New Zealand, Australia, the UK, UAE, Europe and Asia.   MTCo support over 3000 coffee farming families throughout the Nyamasheke, Gakenke and Nyabihu districts. As well as providing seasonal employment for hundreds of people across these areas, MTCo have developed a payment model specific to the Rwandan coffee value chain that ensures producers are paid above market rate and premiums for their higher-grade coffee. MTCo pay above minimum wage for their season workforce and provide insurance and social security benefits. In addition to this they support producers through the distribution of coffee seedlings in the off season as well as providing best practice agronomic support.  Together with Raw Material, MTCo and the local government supported the Nyabihu communities who experienced devastation in May 2020 when mudslides ripped through the hills around Shyira and Vunga, destroying homes, lives and crops. Over $170,000 was raised, 25 new homes built and thousands of coffee and other sustenance crops were planted and replaced. You can watch the incredible results of the international fundraising efforts can be viewed here. Phase 3 funding for building resilience programmes is still underway.  As well as operating 5 of their own washing stations, they are the export partner for the Vunga Cooperative, a female lead, 260-member cooperative. Since partnering in 2017, MTCo have worked with members of Vunga on quality initiatives and as a result have received the highest and most consistent price for their coffee since its founding in 2009.   In addition to the export price per kilo, Raw Material have contributed to Vunga’s washing station regeneration fund. Prior to their partnership with MTCo, the cooperative received insufficient funds from the sale of their coffee and had very little means to invest in the upkeep of their station. As a result, the facilities became dilapidated. Vunga have since completely rebuilt their washing station, extended their warehousing capacity and increased the number of drying beds, this has increased their capacity and provided important quality control elements for their production. You can buy a bag of Vunga from our webstore here.  Flight Coffee has been using MTCo coffee since their very first season in 2016. With the first ever harvest from the stunning Kilimbi Coffee Washing Station, we have featured coffee from the Nyamasheke washing stations every year since as well as featured micro lots from other stations.   Burundi  The histories of Rwanda and Burundi are inextricably linked. Both nations suffered dire consequences of European colonialization in the late 19th centry, both have endured catastrophic civil unrest and genocide, both share ethnic ties and history, however, where Rwanda has managed to find relative success in nation building efforts post 1994, Burundi has been much less fortunate.  The number of people living below the poverty line is steadily increasing; from 72% in 2013 to 82% in 2019, it is expected to reach 85% in 2022. (Soruce: The World Bank 2011, PPP adjusted, the international poverty line is $1.90 USD/capita/day). The International Monetary Fund lists Burundi as the poorest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita.  94% of the population live in rural areas and over 800,000 families rely on coffee for their primary source of income. Coffee is the highest agricultural export earner for the country and when including tea exports accounts for about 80% of foreign currency earnings. One of the major many issues facing the long-term viability of the Burundian coffee sector is the year-on-year decline of production, of the many issues facing country, this is one of the most urgent.  Burundi has some of the most ideal conditions for growing high quality coffee yet while the global demand for specialty coffee is expected to reach $84 billion by 2025, up from $36 billion in 2018, producers are unable to capture any of the value in the growth of this demand. The reasons for this are varied and complex; this is one of the main issues Raw Material is working to solve.  In 2019 Raw Material established its first coffee washing station in the Kayanza region of northern Burundi. Izuba (The word for “Sun” in the local language Kirundi), purchases coffee from small holder producers guaranteeing prices paid to producers are above market and reflective of quality. In the similar manner to Timor Leste, Raw Material manages processing to maximise the quality and production of coffee.  It is early days with this project; however, Raw Material expect that the profitability per kilo will double in the immediate term through channelling the production through the specialty coffee market. The medium-term plan is to address the urgent issue of declining production. By directing profits through pruning, fertilization and other agronomic programmes, Raw Material project an eventual increase in yields 3-4x that of current production, which should result in 5-6x increase in household income when sold through Raw Material supply chains.   Following the 2019 season, some important lessons were learned, Raw Material discovered the first and highest-value investment was to provide full health insurance to all households who delivered coffee to Izuba. As the future seasons occur, more initiatives such as this will be rolled out.     We have committed to purchase our first full container from Izuba in December this year, it will replace the Rwandan component when this stock runs down and further our buying to communities who need access to the specialty coffee market.    

    • Timor-Leste
      • Established in 2002 Timor Leste was the first new nation state of the new millennium, located at the Eastern end of the Indonesian Archipelago, it ranks 37th on the index of coffee producing countries by volume.   Cherries being laid out to dry on Raised African Drying Beds Timor Leste endured a 25 yearlong conflict which claimed the lives of 200,000 people and left all infrastructure in ruins. Oil has been the nation's biggest export earner since 2002, making up 95% of its income, and has played a vital role in funding recovery and nation building efforts. However, with oil production winding down in the next two years and the petroleum fund running out in 10-14 years, there’s an urgent need for Timor Leste to diversify its income.   Coffee is the county’s second highest export earner after oil and 37% of households rely on it for their primary source of income. Developing the coffee sector is a natural and obvious choice for development but despite having somewhat of an established sector, it faces many challenges. Productivity is extremely low, about 1/5 that of Colombia, and profitability is low and volatile, as almost all coffee is sold in the commodity market at a discount NY ‘C’ price.   Ameta (Photo Credit to the one and only Jeff Hann) There is very little incentive for coffee producers to increase the inputs that would render a higher quality product and enable them to receive a higher price. In many instances it is more appropriate to consider coffee producers ‘coffee gatherers’, collecting whatever cherry they can at whatever stage of ripeness in order to sell something to receive some form of income.   Given the volatility of the commodity market and the traditionally low prices associated with it, the situation in Timor is fairly unique and one that needs immediate attention. This is one of the core issues that Raw Material are working to solve.   Cherries being inspected during the day while out to dry on the raised beds Through several innovative and engaging ways, Raw Material, working with the Asian Development Bank and the Market Development Facility, have made significant headway in increasing the quality of coffee to record breaking levels.   As well as carrying out on the ground training with stakeholders and producers, in conjunction with Jeff Hann (the film maker of The Coffee Man film), Raw Material produced a custom 11-part video guide that was translated to Portuguese and Tetun (the local language). There are no data charges when using Facebook and WhatsApp (in fact, Facebook has become synonymous with the term ‘internet’ as used elsewhere when referencing the internet in Timor Leste) and as such is accessible to anyone with a smart phone, resulting in widespread dissemination of best practice processing techniques.   Ameta overseeing cherry sorting after a harvest In addition to this Raw Material helped facilitate the production of a Coffee Game Show. Airing on the local TV network baristas and coffee producers traded places in their respective roles within the coffee industry, vying for points against competing teams. The show was designed to make high-quality practices common knowledge and accessible throughout rural households.   During the off season in 2019, Ameta travelled to New Zealand and spent four months with us here at Flight Coffee. He practiced English, roasting, cupping, spent time on the bar at The Hangar, and learnt about coffee quality from a roaster and barista point of view.   The Baboe Kriak wet mill from the sky In 2018 Raw Material established the Atsabe Community Wet Mill, a first of its kind for the country. It serves as a centralised processing centre for the communities in the Suco Baboe Kraik area, in the Ermera province. It employs about 50 seasonal workers and 4 full time staff and provides a buying point for over 1000 people. Since then, two additional community wet mills have been built, Malabe and Koileki, and construction is underway to establish a cupping and QC lab in Atsabe.   The investment in Community Wet Mills was designed, amongst other important reasons, to centralise processing in order to control the variables that ultimately affect the quality of coffee once produced. While these are straight forward in theory, unless there are appropriate facilities available, along with a market willing to pay a reflective price for quality, it is almost impossible for producers to break through this ceiling on their own.  Coffee cherries being sorted and checked after a harvest  The impact the Community Wet Mills have had on the production of quality coffee has been dramatic. In 2018 Ameta won 1st, 3rd and 6th place in the national annual coffee quality competition, breaking the record of the highest quality score ever attained in the country. In 2019 Ameta placed 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 8th in the competition and in both years set records for the highest prices received at export of 2-3x the national average. The 2020 season saw the team take out 1st, 3rd, 7th and 8th place. We had the 3rd place Parami Natural on our espresso offering during the first part of this year.   Raw Material was the only buyer raising the price of cherry post Covid-19, while all others have dropped compared with the 2019 season, Raw Material paid a price that resulted in about 10x the income for producers once costs of production are taken into account.  Various different lots laid out for drying 2021 represents a watershed moment for us at Flight Coffee. By replacing a non-Raw Material component in our Bomber and B2 blends with washed coffee from the Atsabe Community Wet Mill, 2 of our 3 espresso blends are 100% sourced through Raw Material. This alone provided market access for over 120 new families. Identified by the Raw Material 100% Logo on the labels, you can rest assured that the coffee in these blends are sourced through maximum impact channels.      

    • Stable prices for coffee producers
      • In 2014 we established a green coffee social enterprise, Raw Material. Lead by Flight Coffee co-founder Matt Graylee and our good friend Miguel Fajardo, Raw Material is a dedicated coffee development export and import enterprise where 100% of the profits generated work to provide economic freedom for coffee producers.  Ameta - The face of Raw Material in Timor Leste  Founded on the principles of Effective Altruism, Raw Material chooses to operate in parts of the world by assessing the importance, neglectedness and solvability of issues facing small holder producers.   60% of global coffee production is produced by about 12.5 million small holder families. Coffee is a commodity and as such is traded in a way where income from coffee is dictated by external factors and not in any way that is tied to the cost of production. This provides little income certainty or stability for producers and in some cases forces them to sell their coffee below the cost of production.  Washed coffee being turned on the drying beds in Timor Leste. These issues are pervasive and perpetuate cycles of poverty for some of the most venerable coffee growing communities. 44% of the world's small holder coffee farmers live below the poverty line (by World Bank standards), and 22% live in extremely impoverished conditions.  The first major project started in Colombia in 2016 with the successful Kickstarter campaign which raised over $200,000 for the construction of a community wet mill, El Fenix, in Quindio, Colombia. Since then, Raw Material has established operations and partnerships in Rwanda, Burundi, Timor Leste and Mexico.  Ameta and Matt. Since 2014, it has been our goal to direct as much of our demand through Raw Material supply chains as possible. Through these channels we guarantee we’re maximising the impact our buying has for the communities who supply us. Last week we took an important step toward achieving this with the introduction of Timor Leste from Raw Material Timor Leste into our Bomber and B2 blends.   Washed coffee almost ready for milling and then shipping. Complementing the Colombian Risaralda Regional Blend and Rwandan Rugali, Timor Leste now makes up equal thirds of Bomber and B2. Two of our three blends are exclusively sourced through Raw Material meaning 90% of our green coffee buying is directed through maximum impact procurement channels.   Over the next month we will provide more detail on each of the origins that make up Bomber and B2 and the projects that Raw Material is working on at each origin.   Key an eye out for the RM 100% - it means 100% of this coffee is sourced directly via Raw Material.

    • Luise Metelka - 2021 NZ Barista Champion
      • We're beyond proud to announce that Luise (Lu) has taken out the title and is the newly crowned 2021 Meadow Fresh NZ Barista Champion. We've had a lot of people reach out and asking various questions about Lu's performance and the competition in general so we thought it best that we ask Lu a few and let her answer. Your 2021 Champion.   You’ve just won the NZBC - Congratulations!! Tell us about the comp for those that may not know about it.  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!   A competitor has to make 4x espressos, 4x milk beverages and 4x Signature drinks for 4x judges within 15min, while talking about the coffee and explaining the methods. We like to say it’s MasterChef while giving a TED talk! :)   Lu serving her milk beverages to the judges. Photo: Andrew Turner - @atphotonz   How did you come up with your concept?  My favourite part about the champs is that you can tell a story through your coffee. I wanted to talk about positive impact, because this is what drives me the most in this industry. I thought a funny and more interesting way of doing so was by telling the story of superheroes, who use their powers to create a better world. My routine is built on the concept of the “hero’s journey” and leads the audience from the beginning -  When I was a child and I thought, I needed superpowers to change the world - To me as an adult / coffee professional, who learnt that everyone can be a hero. We all can have a positive impact at origin by working with powerful coffee and educating our customers.   Lu's judges table setup. Photo: Andrew Turner - @atphotonz   Can you tell us about your coffee?  I used a blend of a Natural Tabi and Natural Gesha from our farm El Fénix in Colombia. The trees are only 3 years old, so I had the honour to represent this coffee on competition stage for the first time.   El Fénix and my concept work so well together, because the farm was built on the foundations of doing good. It works as a community wet mill where local producers can process their coffee more effectively than they might be able to on their own facilities, which results into a higher quality coffee and therefore higher wages.   Geshas are known to be high quality, very expensive coffees, which not every farmer is able to produce because they are relatively low yielding and hard to grow. In the case of my Gesha though, its reputation of excellence helped to fund El Fénix. Coffee professionals around the world bought it through a kickstarter campaign, so without the Gesha, they have not been enough interest to fund the wet mill!  The Tabi on the other hand was the solution by the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia to save Arabica (specialty coffee’s species) from issues aggravated by climate change. It is high yielding, fast growing, disease resistant, accessible to farmers and is also super tasty! What a hero!  They are both great coffees on their own, but they are working together like the Justice League ;)   Gesha is an excellent coffee, but as an espresso is mostly has a dry aftertaste and a light body. In the combination with the Tabi though, the whole experience was lifted to a juicy and silky mouthfeel and refreshing fruity aftertaste.   Lu at El Fénix harvesting ripe cherries Tell us about how you prepared the espresso, what recipe, and tasting notes?  I screened the Gesha pre roast to remove smaller beans, because I found out that the larger beans enhance the most fruity and floral flavours.   I blended the largest beans of the Gesha and the Tabi post roast.   My recipe for the espresso course is: 18.5g in, 40g out to create flavours of pink grapefruit, red cherry and hibiscus.   For my milk beverage I use: 19.5g in, 35g out to create flavours of banana, strawberry yoghurt and caramel  Lu preparing her round of espresso. Photo: Andrew Turner - @atphotonz   Walk us through your sig drink?  A signature drink is basically a drink creation, that should predominantly taste like espresso, while forming new flavours. The ingredients that a competitor uses need to be synergistic with the performance and the coffee. For my drink I wanted to tell the story how El Fénix does good:  I brewed a tea with cocoa husk and casacara. The cocoa represents the shade trees that Miguel planted at the farm to protect the coffee trees in the longer lasting dry season as a solution against climate change. He planted cocoa trees. The Cascara represents the pulp of the cherries that he composts to feed the coffee tree with to create a sustainable and affordable plant food.  I replicated the simple fermentation process on stage that was created by Miguel, so it can be copied by other producers in the region. I made a Elderflower-cherry-fermentation   I used Panela, which is a South American Cane sugar, because belongs into every Colombian dish!     Lu starting her sig drink preparation. Photo: Andrew Turner - @atphotonz   How does a champ drink coffee at home?  I have a Wilfa filter machine at home. Most days I go out for coffee though ;)     The dream team. Richard, Nick, Lu, Alan, & Steve. Photo: Andrew Turner - @atphotonz The Flight Coffee Family. Photo: Andrew Turner - @atphotonz   From Lu: Especially right after my trip to Colombia, I didn’t feel like the hero that I wanted to be as a kid. I questioned my own position in the supply chain and the impact that I have. But it was this journey which made me discover my own power. We, as coffee professionals can choose to work with coffee that has an impact. We have the power to educate customers face to face, so they learn where their coffee comes from. And we have the power to learn and to grow, to compete and to voice issues to a crowd.   We don’t need this one superhero doing everything, but many heroes doing something.   

    • Stay Tray
      • A conversation with our mate Kate Steward, Managing Director and Founder of Stay Tray. We're well stoked to be stocking Stay Tray, a reusable tray made from recycled materials designed to improve our on-the-run coffee experiences while being kind to the planet.    So, Kate, what’s your elevator pitch, what is Stay Tray?Stay tray is all about reducing single use, all through the humble beverage tray…whilst rehoming some of the world’s waste. How did you come up with the idea for Stay Tray?I’d had an idea for a little while and realised there was an obvious gap in the market.  It felt counterintuitive that everyone was shifting their behaviour from single-use coffee cups to reusable, yet, still ended up with a disposable cardboard tray!? That’s how Stay Tray was born.   Walk us through how Stay Tray is made?Stay Tray is made using 100% locally sourced recycled material. It is made in Melbourne Australia from 100% recycled polypropylene, items such as bread crates, ice cream containers etc. Tell us how you’ve been seeing Stay Tray used by consumers in the market place. Stay Tray has proved to be far more versatile than I ever anticipated. The uses are practical, sustainable, often inspire and amuse me. Stay Tray is obviously used for the coffee run every day, but people are using it in cars where they don’t have drink holders, drive through McDonald's, at the local football, they’re taking it camping, fishing, down the beach, caravanning, on boats or on the golf course.  I’ve even had people use it to carry paint samples from their local hardware store. The best part is, Stay Tray is being embraced by super sustainable savvy businesses, as a way to reduce waste in their workspace, whilst adding their logo to a truly innovative product that is 100% Australian made and made from 100% recycled material. Great way to get them brand reach! What’s coming up next for Stay Tray? We've just launched our much-anticipated Stay tray 2 cup solution. The 2 cup is all about convenience and ease. Super lightweight and really stylish! It’s an absolute must-have!     Have you got any hot tips for helping to reduce waste and to reuse products around hospitality?  There are so many really innovative and cool ways we can contribute to recycling in the hospitality space. There’s a great company called Closed Loop who run a cup collection clean scheme called Simply cups. They essentially take disposable coffee cups and rehome them into a variety of different items, everything from a Stay tray, to a reusable coffee cup, new road surfaces, and asphalt, the list goes on. There’s also a number of charities who are able to take the milk bottle lids and make prosthesis for children. It’s truly inspiring and so incredibly intelligent.    Thanks for your time. Make sure you lock in your Stay Tray today!     

    • We bought a new roaster.
      •   It’s often said that coffee roasting is part art, part science. This is true now more than ever with recent advances in technology allowing roasters access to more empirical data about each roast than ever before.   Where a traditional coffee roaster would look at, and smell beans, and listen for distinctive ‘pops’ during a roast, we are now able to track temperature changes in real-time and calculate Rate of Rise and development time percentage on the fly. Don’t worry if you don’t know what that means – what’s important is they are better indicators of roast quality than just feeling it out.   We’ve just upgraded our roaster to what is fast becoming the industry standard for consistency and repeatability – Loring.   Our old roaster, Betty (a Probat UG-22), has served us well over the last 6 years and has pumped out almost 25,000 batches of coffee during her tenure. Sadly, time has caught up with her, and it’s time for her to go and live on a farm where we can’t visit her.   Happily, this means that our new roaster, a Loring S70 Peregrine (name TBC), has the space to move in. We didn’t take the decision to replace Betty lightly and we’d like to share with you our decision making.   The first advantage of the Loring is its size. It’s considerably bigger that Betty – a 70kg capacity vs a 22kg capacity. We’re now able to roast around 3 times as much coffee. This means we can meet our weekly quota of roasted coffee with less manpower.   The second advantage is control and repeatability of roast. As great as Betty was, her gas controls were imprecise and difficult to manage – two valves controlling gas flow to three banks of burners, one valve leading to one bank, the other to two. The Loring gives us the ability to make precise adjustments to burner percentage through a computer and repeat them consistently - roast after roast. There’s even the option to go fully automatic once you’ve decided on your approach.   The other big improvement that this upgrade makes is the Loring is much more environmentally friendly. Its unique design means that it consumes approximately 25% of the gas of a traditional drum roaster. In addition to this, we’re now able to burn off more smoke, producing less emissions than before.   Of course, all of this would be for nothing if it didn’t also improve the flavour of the coffee. We’ve already found roasts to be cleaner and sweeter across the board. We’re excited to be working on the Loring moving forward as it gives us the ability to truly highlight each coffee’s unique characteristics better than ever before.  

    • Flight Coffee Infographic
      • Coffee’s journey from farm to cup is complex, varied and crucial to quality. We’ve released an infographic to help show how this journey works and how we do things differently. If you want a little more detail, then read on.GrowingCoffea Arabica is a scrupulous plant. It will only grow where the conditions are right. The conditions are only right in a select few places, between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, in an area around the equator known as ‘The Bean Belt’. No, really. That’s what it’s called.Having evolved in the Ethiopian Highlands, coffee has adapted to thrive in specific conditions. It generally grows best at altitudes of between 800 – 2000 metres above sea level.The coffee plant prefers warm temperatures with periods of high rainfall. Central and South America, North East Africa, and South East Asia Pacific all provide these conditions. These regions also offer the volcanic soil that the coffee plant prefers.Coffee plants take 3-5 years to reach maturity. At the end of the rainy season, small white flowers will begin to appear. These will eventually give way to little green buds, which slowly grow into cherries. The seeds of these cherries are your coffee beans.HarvestingSpecialty grade coffee is hand-picked. This might seem labour intensive, but it's one of the best ways to ensure quality. The ripest fruit produces the best tasting cup of coffee. The coffee cherries ripen at different speeds, so the same tree may have fruit that is flowering, green, ripe and overripe, all maturing at the same time. Hand picking means the cherries are picked at the optimum stage, and less undesirable coffee goes on to processing. It also leads to larger potential yields.Many coffee producers will then have the cherries sorted again, to remove any unwelcome fruit that may have slipped through.Less quality focused farms may employ strip-picking (hand stripping the branches) or machine picking strategies. These can result in lower quality coffee as more defective cherries can be harvested.ProcessingProcessing is essentially what happens to the coffee cherries after picking to separate the green beans from the rest of the fruit. This is a crucial stage of production, and has a huge influence over the final cup quality. During processing, coffee is fermented, either with or without water. This, coupled with other factors like the duration and temperature of the fermentation, has a pronounced effect on the flavours in the cup.Washed/wet processWashed coffees are pulped and left to soak in tanks of water. The water breaks down and the fruit flesh as it ferments. The fermented beans (still covered in a protective layer known as parchment) are laid out to dry. Typically this will give a clean cup profile, with distinct, refined flavours.Natural/dry process.During this method the cherries are cleaned and laid out to dry in their picked form. Fermentation occurs during the drying process. You might expect a complex cup, with pronounced tropical fruits and berries, heavy body and lots of sweetness.Honey/semi-dry/semi-washedLess common than the other two methods, but no less delicious. Honey processed coffees are pulped before drying, removing the skin and exposing the fruit flesh, which becomes golden and sticky (like honey) as it ferments and dries. The cup profile of Honeys can sit anywhere between a washed and a natural, depending on how much flesh is left on for how long.DryingDrying normally takes place outside with parchment coffee or cherries lying out in the sun. They will be spread out on patios or on raised netted tables (for extra airflow). Over a period of up to four weeks, the beans will be raked or turned to ensure even drying. Once they reach their target moisture content of 10-12% the parchment coffee will be stored until ready for export. In some cases, the drying may be done mechanically. This can have an impact on quality and is usually only done if the weather doesn’t allow for sun drying.Before the coffee is exported the parchment is removed by milling, leaving just the green bean. The resulting beans will be sorted to remove undersized or defective beans, as well as any foreign matter. This process will often be performed by hand. This is an important stage, as these defects directly affect the quality and taste of the coffee, often resulting in a lower price being paid to the farmer.GradingSamples of the coffee will be roasted and ‘cupped’ by green coffee buyers like our old mates at Raw Material. The coffee is roasted in small batches of 100g on a sample roaster 12 to 24 hours before they are cupped. Cupping is a standardised method of tasting and evaluating a coffee’s qualities. The coffee is brewed to exact specifications so as to be a consistent system of testing.The coffee is then tasted and scored on a scale of 1-10 on categories like Fragrance/Aroma, Flavour, Aftertaste, Acidity, Body, Sweetness, Uniformity, and whether or not there are any defects present. There are a total of 100 points available. A score of 80 points or higher means that the coffee is considered ‘Specialty Grade’. This score is linked to the potential price for the coffee.PricingSo, this is where we do things differently. Traditional models of coffee trading have not always been great for coffee farmers.  One of the key issues that farmers face is the Coffee Futures Market. The price of most coffee is dictated by some Wolf of Wall Street types snorting cocaine off each others’ Ferraris. Okay, so that’s not strictly true, but the price does change according to what the market dictates – but the market assumes that all coffee is of the same (pretty low) quality.Essentially, this means that the price that a producer can expect to be paid fluctuates wildly. We’re all pretty much agreed that isn’t fair on farmers, since often this means the ‘value’ of their coffee is less than it cost them to produce. Some organisations, such as Fair Trade seek to redress this by paying a premium on top of the market price. This is pretty good, as it means the producer stands to make a little more (or lose a little less) money. The downside is that the actual amount they will receive is still an unknown. The price still fluctuates with the market.Our fixed price model means that no matter what the market is doing, the crop is worth the same. We work closely with farmers to ensure that their crop sits in the Specialty market and even pay bonuses if the quality is particularly high. This model means farmers are better able to plan for improvements to their farm systems, which may increase quality or yield.RoastingOnce that sweet green coffee finally makes it to our HQ, we roast it up a treat in either Betty, our Probat UG-22, or Dee-Dee, our Diedrich IR3. We then go through more cupping to ensure that the quality of the coffee is still high. We’ll also try a few different roasts to ‘dial in’ our preferred roast profile for that coffee.Roasting exposes green coffee to heat to encourage a series of chemical reactions within the bean. The process allows much of the material in the coffee to become more soluble, making it possible for the coffee to dissolve in water.Roasting is responsible for the development of much of the flavour in coffee. An ideal roast allows the natural flavours of the coffee to come through, without any ‘roasty’ tastes developing. It’s also important to allow enough development of the roast to ensure there are no green, grassy flavours left hanging around.You can think of it like cooking a steak. You can’t cook great flavour into a low quality piece of meat. But it’s just as true that no matter how good the meat, if you undercook or overcook it, then it’s not going to live up to its potential. But you if you take great ingredients and cook them to perfection, the results can be spectacular.Quality ControlThe following morning, before any coffee is sent out, we’ll cup samples from each roast to make sure that we’re happy with how every coffee tastes. Once we’re all in agreement, our dispatch team get all the coffee bagged up, boxed up, and shipped out, making sure it arrives fresh to your front door or your favourite café.BrewingNow it’s over to your local barista to make sure that hard work is worthwhile. Specialty baristas will follow strict recipes to bring out the best from the beans again and again.  They’ll be controlling grind size, brew time, and coffee-to-water ratio. Alternatively, if you’re brewing at home, that responsibility lies with you. If that sounds a little daunting, don’t worry we’ve got you covered there’ll be some posts to come with the tricks of the trade that we use to get great tasting coffee every time.

    • Rwanda Pt. 2
      • Hey, gang!As promised this is the second instalment of my experience in Rwanda. In this post, we take a closer look at the processing of coffee cherries at the stations and how we select the lots.CuppingCupping is how we taste coffees to determine the overall quality. Once we taste it, the coffee is graded out of 100, with everything above 80 points being considered “specialty”. In the short space of time we were in Rwanda we tasted close to four hundred different lots, which accounted for the year's harvest. Each one of those lots gets roasted, tasted and graded, so we had a busy first week for sure!Cupping at origin, I quickly saw how different it was to production cupping back at the roastery. Because there were so many samples to get through in a single day, the pace was a lot faster than what I am used to. Every lot needed to be scored fairly as well, making efficiency key.Another key difference was the coffees we tasted were all Rwandan. After the first few tables, the subtle differences between stations became clearer. By the end of the week, we were even throwing out guesses for what stations the different samples were coming from. It was definitely a unique opportunity being able to taste so many coffees in such a short space of time. An opportunity that is hard to experience outside of origin.After cupping, we traveled across the stunning Rwandan countryside with Muraho Trading Company. At the stations, we were introduced to the workers and walked through the different processes.Coffee Growing in RwandaTypically in Africa, one station will buy coffee cherries from many small-holder farmers. The farmers grow other cash crops as well to subsidise their incomes throughout the year. Farmers deliver their cherry to a central washing station and get paid based on weight. Hundreds of individual farmers often contribute to a single station’s yearly production.When we were at Shyira washing station we were introduced to some local farmers. We "helped out" picking cherries and needless to say the farmers schooled us all on how to pick. Next up we headed down to the stations to see how processing happens.Processing Selective picking and best growing practices are essential for a quality end product. Another key to quality is how the stations process the cherries. Gaudam and Emmanuel from Muraho walked us through the various steps of coffee processing. I definitely had a lot of light bulb moments seeing firsthand how everything comes together.After the farmers bring in the cherries they lay them on tables and pick out any obvious defects. The cherries are then floated in tanks of water, where the “floaters” are removed. Floaters are the cherries that are the lowest density and usually the lowest quality.The cherries then pass through a de-pulper, which removes the skin and most of the flesh from the beans. This process leaves sticky mucilage covered beans, which then go to fermentation tanks.This is where the hard work starts. When the sugars start to ferment the mucilage get’s broken down enough that it can be washed off. To help speed up the fermentation process a team of really fit guys get into the tank to stomp the beans. This process is to help speed up fermentation and help the sugars break down. They stomp the coffee for around 20 minutes or five rounds of the song “Hobe, Hobe, Hobe”. “Hobe” roughly translates to a warm embrace or welcome, which is a word you hear a lot at the stations. After the end of a couple of rounds of “Hobe”, I was shattered!The coffee goes through the grading and washing channels after fermenting. Workers wash off the sticky mucilage from the coffee. The channels also separate the coffee into different density grades. Different gates of increasing height separate the channels. As the coffee travels down the channels the lower densities float over the top of the gates. This system is very effective at separating the different densities and plays a big role in the final score the lots receive.Once the coffee is washed and separated it is laid on raised beds to dry, which can take around a month. The coffee is constantly turned throughout. It is also hand sorted for any defects that snuck through the previous stages of quality control. The coffee then gets bagged up and taken to a central dry mill in Kigali. It get's milled to remove the parchment that surrounds the bean. Finally, the coffee is ready for grading and export.Honey and NaturalsThe first legally produced honey and natural processed coffees from Rwanda came from Muraho last year. The change in legislation is a massive and very exciting step forward for the Rwandan coffee industry and Muraho has been smashing it with the quality of both.Natural processed coffees skip the pulping, fermenting and washing stages and go straight on to the tables. The sun dries the cherry around the bean like a raisin and the cherry ferments around the beans inside. This procedure takes on average 40 – 45 days. After being fully dried they get milled. Typically naturals have lots of funky fruity flavours and high sweetness.A honey is a somewhere in between a washed and natural. The cherry is pulped and put out to dry with the mucilage left on, skipping the washing and separating stage. The drying process takes on average 35 days. This process also produces some unique and complex flavours.One of the things that struck me the most when visiting the stations was how extensive all the different levels of quality control are. A lot of work goes in to producing these coffees and it translates to the final product.This trip was truly eye opening for me. There is some very exciting stuff coming out of these stations. Full credit goes to Muraho and the teams at the stations who work hard to produce some incredible coffees. Make sure you watch this space as the fresh harvest is almost here and we’ll be releasing the new coffees soon!If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading and we’ll keep you updated with more origin trips in the future. Both to Rwanda and other coffee producing countries.Nic Rapp  

    • Rwanda Pt. 1
      • Hey, guys! It's Nic Rapp here, Head Roaster for Flight Coffee.I’m just checking in to fill you in on my recent trip to Rwanda and my first ever origin experience! I’ll start off by saying, if you have the opportunity, whether it’s coffee related or not, you should definitely visit this truly stunning country! Hopefully, by the end of this post you’ll believe me.Being my first trip to a coffee producing country I really only had a handful of stories and photos from others who had been to Rwanda to go on. I expected a lot of cupping (industry standard method of tasting coffees) and driving off road to various coffee washing stations, which we definitely did. I also had in my head probably the same thing most people think about when they hear you’re going to Rwanda, which was the horrific genocide against the Tutsi minority that started in April 1994, which claimed the lives of an estimated 800,000 Rwandans.While this horrific series of events was just over twenty years ago, my first impression when arriving in the capital city, Kigali, was not of a broken society reeling from past hardships but of a society that is excelling and getting on with life. In the city, it is clear to see that the past has definitely not been forgotten, with memorials and banners preaching forgiveness all over the city. On the other hand to contrast the tokens of remembrance, I saw a huge amount of investment in infrastructure and growth, with buildings and roads being built throughout the city. From an outside and limited view, it looks like Rwanda is seriously kicking some ass.When Richard from Raw Material NZ and Sam from Raw Material UK arrived, who were to be joined by other buyers later, we headed over to the Starbucks cupping lab to cup samples from five different washing stations. The stations are all owned and operated by our hosts the guys at Muraho Trading Company (MTCo.), with the exception of Vunga Cooperative, who they are partnered with.Muraho was set up and run by brothers Gaudam and Karthick Anbalagan, as well as business partner / friend / brother / all-round great guy Emmanuel Rusatira. The first harvest of the first two stations, Rugali and Kilimbi in Nyamasheke was just last year and they have already added to these two by building stations in the regions of Gakenke and Nyabihu, whose first harvests we tasted this trip. Muraho is a young company and is doing a lot for the communities around the washing stations and working to improve quality with innovative processing methods; the first ever legally produced Natural and Honey processed coffees produced in Rwanda come from Kilimbi and Rugali. We are stoked to be working with these guys, as their commitment to quality and sustainable producing practices align with our own values. These guys are also super fun as well, which helps.Cupping with the guys at the Starbucks lab in Kigali was a great first introduction to cupping at origin. We had a stunning panorama of the hills around Kigali (just about everywhere we went had a stunning view) and the lab itself was kitted out with everything we needed. Tasting so many lots from the same washing stations was a unique opportunity.After spending eight days of solid sample roasting and cupping, we came across some great coffees and some truly surprising, some of which you’ll be able to taste very soon! Something that struck me when roasting the coffees was just how clean and free from defects they were, particularly the higher grades. This really highlighted for me the amount of effort the Muraho stations have gone to sorting and QCing their lots.After all the cupping was done, we had a tour through the Kigali Genocide Museum. This was both a very somber and eye opening experience, where we learned about the events leading up to and during the genocide as well as post-genocide Rwanda. Unsurprisingly it emphasised just how much Rwanda has been through, as well as how impressive it was to experience such a sense of unity and forgiveness in the community.The next day we headed to RWACOF’s dry mill where Muraho has all their coffee going through the final milling stage to get ready for export. We had a quick cupping of some early harvest Burundi samples, that GreenCo General Manager Maxime hand-delivered from Ngozi, Burundi especially. After tasting the early harvest samples it was time to see the stations.For eight days we had been roasting and cupping in the lab in Kigali, so we were getting anxious to get out in the field. The road to these stations was insane. Around every corner, there were stunning vistas of hills stretched out beneath us. Everything was either bright green or a rich orange, with many shades in between. Trying to describe it seems ridiculous. Gadz frequently said that the drive to these stations is marketing enough and he was bang on!Bumbogo is one of the new stations whose first harvest is this year, along with Shyira and Vunga. After a relatively quick drive from Kigali of stunning scenery, I was definitely not expecting what came next. We were greeted with the whole station (108 people) singing and dancing with the most incredible energy I’ve ever experienced; it was electric! When we left the station we had an even more ecstatic farewell dance party or “rave” (as quoted by Steve). The energy of the dancing and singing, along with all the dust being kicked up by hundreds of feet left us feeling all pretty emotional.Having the opportunity to be shown through the different processes was pretty eye opening for me and had more than a few moments when things started to click in my mind. Stomping on the pulped beans to remove remaining mucilage was probably the most fun and exhausting part of the processing. It became clear how the quality of the coffees we tasted was so high with all the different levels of sorting and quality management we were taken through, which I will go into more detail in the next blog, so keep an eye out for more.Over the next few days, we visited Vunga and Shyira in the Nyabihu district then drove over to Nyamasheke to see Rugali and Kilimbi. I couldn’t believe it, but we had a similar reception at all the washing stations we went to, each station with its own uniqueness and energy. The way we were all greeted and embraced by the communities I feel speaks massively to how the guys at Muraho have contributed to the local communities, matched by the amount of respect and love that was shown towards them by the workers at the stations. It was incredible to see. Other highlights of being in the field included but not limited to: stopping for meat skewers (Traditional East African style meat skewers called – Nyama Choma) and charcoal grilled potatoes for lunch, smashing over potholed roads in a Toyota Hilux trying to get to Lake Kivu in Kibuye in time for the sunset (we made it and it was mind blowing), and eating fish caught from Lake Kivu while sitting next to it, looking over to Congo across the lake.Hopefully, this blog has helped to give some insight into what it’s like tasting coffee and visiting stations in Rwanda. However, I hardly think words are adequate to fully describe the beauty of this country and its people. This was only a brief account of my two weeks in Rwanda, but I could talk about it for hours. I’ll be writing a second blog to briefly go over what I experienced of the more technical side of growing, processing and cupping coffee in Rwanda, so stay tuned, keep an ear to the ground and keep an eye out for more!I’ll also take this opportunity to thank Muraho Trading Company for being incredible hosts and showing us their stunning country. I’ve never seen or experienced anything like it. Also, thanks to Flight Coffee for getting me there! If you want to see more from the Muraho stations check out their Instagram: @murahotradingco. In the words of Muraho Trading Company and everyone from the stations, Hobe, Hobe, Hobe! See you next time and Murakoze Cyane (Thank you very much)!Nic Rapp

    • RE:VERB TOKYO CHATS
      • Like farming of any kind at a small scale, growing and producing coffee is hard. Generally, coffee farmers are faced with various environmental and economic challenges: erratic weather patterns, volatile and low market prices, and less interest from the younger generation to inherit farming from their parents just to name a few. So what are some solutions to these challenges? What role do roasters play in value-chain equity? Philosophically, are there obligations to be met by individuals and companies trading coffee? Matt put these questions to the audience at Re:Verb Japan as the final speaker at Tokyo Big Site. He compared the issues most coffee farmers face to those his family encountered throughout his childhood, growing up on a 2-hectare asparagus farm (the same size as the average Colombian coffee farm) in his hometown of Napier, New Zealand. Without being able to predict the year’s income accurately, investment decisions needed to focus on hedging risk and lowering costs short-term. This situation is also what he sees playing out in the neighbourhood these days as a coffee farmer in Calarca, Colombia. Matt drew these parallels to emphasise that no matter what, where, or when you are farming at a small scale, price stability is essential when just about everything else is a variable. THE GOAL The specialty coffee market provides a potential solution for some producers and roasters to curb price volatility. Raw Material (RM) is by no means the first project to tackle these issues. Governments, NGO’s, and private companies and other groups have been studying and working to solve income distribution inequity for a very long time. The goal of RM is to ensure predictable income for the producers of high quality coffee, with much greater margins for those at the very beginning of the supply chain, in a way that is sustainable for the market purchasing it. As a coffee roaster and an importer, Flight and RM have the ability to scale. A roaster can buy and sell more coffee; a cafe can buy and sell more coffee; whereas a producer's income is limited by how much coffee they can grow with trees they have, and increasing farm size is a very high barrier to scaling. By ensuring as much money as possible gets upstream to producers in a smart, direct, and consistent way, this issue of limited scalability can be eased; producers can plan to invest in growing their farming businesses and improving quality. BUYING PHILOSOPHY As a possible solution to the price volatility of the coffee market is Raw Material’s (RM) buying philosophy.  This philosophy shares an understanding of producer costs that ensures a fair and relevant income for the production of high quality coffee and producer profitability. As a coffee roaster and an importer, Flight and RM have the ability to scale. A roaster can always sell more coffee; a cafe can always sell more coffee; where a producer's income is limited by how much coffee he/she can grow by the number of trees they have. By ensuring as much money as possible gets upstream to producers, RM attempts to solve this issue of limited scalability and help producers to reinvest in growing their businesses. Raw Material pays a fixed price above the commodity and premium markets for high quality coffee, so producers are able to easily predict their income in a model that incentivises the production of high quality coffee. This also means that we have access to a lot of interesting and unique coffees, some of which we have already had the pleasure of roasting and brewing. FIXED PRICES Raw Material pays fixed prices based on quality and the cost of production, completely divorced from the commodity market price. Producers are therefore able to predict their income with greater accuracy, in a model that incentivises the production of high quality coffee. Downstream, this means that we have continuous access to a lot of interesting and unique coffees, some of which we have already had the pleasure of roasting and brewing. This model is at the core of Raw Material’s philosophy and is currently being implemented in Colombia and Rwanda, with plans to extend to Burundi in the near future. So watch this space for some super exciting coffees coming your way! We will also be posting a link to Matt’s talk at Re:Verb when it is made available. This talk is well worth a watch. In classic Matt style, the first question for his Q&A was from himself: “Are these bananas just for show, or can we eat the set?”. And so the closing talk from Re:Verb Tokyo 2016 was with a “cheers/kampai” of bananas shared between Matt and host Kentaro Maruyama. Another thing to keep an eye out for is the upcoming blog on our farm, El Fenix located in Quindio, Colombia. Purchased to help us further understand the needs of farmers, El Fenix also provides us with a platform to try out some really cool stuff. I’ve said it once before, and I’ll say it again: Watch. This. Space!   Find out more about RM @rawmaterial.coffee on Instagram for informative posts and stunning photos. 

    • Hello! From the other side.
      • I have been a barista competition judge since 2011 and a WBC Certified Judge since 2013. I have been lucky enough to judge at every WBC since then and was fortunate enough to judge the WBC final in Dublin last year.  There is a lot of really great discussion about the format of the WBC and whether it and some rules are relevant today. Much of it has revolved around a lack of evolution over time and as such questions regarding its relevance and contention around particular rules have surfaced. These conversations aren’t new but seeing as how there’s a lot of talk at the moment I’d like to highlight some points that hopefully help balance and shape this conversation. I’d describe the experience I’ve gained as a judge over the last 7 years as one of the most important professional development programs of my coffee career. Much like a competition barista it has required time, commitment and investment and I am lucky that I have a business and partners that allow me to pursue this. THERE MAY ONLY BE ONE WINNER BUT WE ALL STAND TO GAIN. It’s a fact of any competition. There will be one winner with many disappointed people but crowning a champion every year also brings with it much personal success for many other people. I don’t compete because I’m not wired for it. Judging the WBC Final last year was a career highlight for me and something that I worked toward the day I first picked up the clipboard. I’ve been a head judge at a national level in New Zealand, Australia and Japan and I’ve seen and experienced some of the most satisfying moments of personal achievement from individuals who participate as judges. Judging is emotionally draining. You stand in front of your peers and are asked to read out your score, terrified that you’re out of calibration and frightened by the potential embarrassment of being called out by the head judge. I haven’t met a single judge that hasn’t had this experience.  Every year I head judge I see the penny drop with new or inexperienced judges. It might be a light bulb moment where they finally understand the sensory perception differences between aftertaste and body, and they accurately describe and score their experience appropriately, or it might be a moment where they no longer have a fear of embarrassment with being called out. Judging is as much professional development as it is personal. While I appreciate the discussion focuses entirely around rules that are convoluted or seemingly irrelevant, it’s important to remember that competition isn’t just about the winner or finding an ambassador. We should be open minded to the fact that the format to date has served as a platform for professional and personal development for many people and whatever shape it takes in the future, it will continue to do so. THE PRIZES AREN'T EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE CHAMPION. It is true that the winner will have all the glory and likely undergo a life changing experience, and so they should, but those who don’t win do get opportunities to be noticed and recognised. The opportunities may not be equal to that of the champion and this is understandable but the competition format does provide a stage for crafty, creative and curious individuals to get noticed. This is relevant for both national and world level. World Coffee Events have made great progress with encouraging community amongst competitors at WBC and have created opportunities for groups of competitors that would otherwise miss out if they didn’t win. Last year they introduced the Barista Team concept. Competitors are grouped together combining scores at the end of the competition where the winning team are hosted at an All Stars event sometime throughout the year. In this, if a national champion didn’t make the semi’s or finals, they are still included in the competition community and benefit beyond just winning their national event. The All-Star events also see past and present finalists invited to national body competitions hosting presentations or discussions raising awareness of the competition in different markets. Beyond this, some of the most important progression we’ve seen in recent years has come from competitors who haven’t won the WBC. Matt Perger flipped espresso grinding on its head in 2013 by using the EK-43 in the competition. In 2014, Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood furthered the conversation concerning water quality bringing it to the international stage in the form of competition. In 2015 and 2016, Ben Putt placed his espresso courses in a vacuum introducing an all new concept to espresso consumption.  These are just 3 examples of competitors who have received international notoriety and not won the WBC. This notoriety affording them commercial opportunities that they may have otherwise not had access to.  In my experience, the WBC has offered me many opportunities to progress, network, advance and learn. I know this to be true for many others, competitors and judges a like. Placing the spot light solely on the champion doesn’t reflect the true value that the WBC brings to our industry and individuals who participate in it and we should be mindful of this when discussing changes to the format. ABOUT GEISHA. Let’s take a look at the last four WBC champions and the coffee they competed with: 2016 – Burg Wu  -  Geisha (Panama)2015 – Sasa Sestic  -  Sudan Rume (Colombia)2014 – Hedinori Izaki  -  Caturra and Typica (Costa Rica)2013 – Pete Licata  -  Caturra (Colombia)     This tells us, at the highest level, enough time hasn’t passed in order to fully determine Geisha as a competition dominant variety (for WBC). While I appreciate it has made more of an appearance in national body competitions recently, and was, if I recall correctly, used in 3 out of the 6 WBC finalist performances last year, I don’t believe Geisha has earned the dominating status it seems to have been given in the WBC. History may prove me wrong but we should consider that Geisha, like many other varieties roasted and brewed well, fits within the definition of the rules that allow judges to give it a high score. Geisha is so divisive because it has such a distinct flavour profile but the rules do not specifically bias one generic profile against another.  I say this as I would hate for the first time or inexperienced competitors to be put off competing because they don’t think they can win due to not having a Geisha – this is simply not true. I think a measured and cautioned approach to this topic is required to ensure what we’re saying is accurate. Having a Geisha is no guarantee to success. THE SIGNATURE DRINK. Berg Wu’s signature drink was one of the tastiest beverages I’ve ever put in my mouth. Every sensory aspect of his signature drink fully highlighted, enhanced, complimented and made better his coffee. He created two simple infusions that seemed insignificant in volume, then adding jasmine and mandarin essential oils to a diffuser, infused everything with nitrogen. The result was an effervescent, bright and balanced beverage which was an absolute pleasure to drink. To this end Berg fulfilled the spirit of the rule completely. He showcased and highlighted his espresso, making the overall experience better than the sum of the individual parts. Very tasty beverages can be achieved despite what may seem like a conceptually basic method or a restrictive set of rules. In many regards we could argue that less is more and simple is best. How this then correlates to how well someone scores is entirely up to how well they deliver the information, execute their beverage and prepare their espresso. I don’t disagree that parts of this section could do with an overhaul and I think this section provides the most room for exciting future developments but as restrictive as some may feel certain aspects of the rules are, we still see and experience some very tasty beverages that I know a lot of everyday people would enjoy drinking. A COMPULSORY ROUND. After recently head judging the regional Japanese Brewers Cup compulsory round I can see a benefit of introducing this to the WBC. It is fair to expect a talented barista to spend time dialling in a coffee they know nothing about and giving it to judges for a blind evaluation. The one thing a compulsory round will highlight is the difference in skill set amongst baristas while limiting variables and I can see how this is a good thing. How effective this would be at a world level would remain to be seen and I think the national/regional level would benefit more from it than at a world level. Perhaps this is a silly assumption but my guess is at world level the standard deviation of scores between competitors for a compulsory round would be very small possibly rendering it useless. Perhaps not. There is one thing to keep in mind with all of this and it cannot be overlooked, however. Whatever major changes are introduced to the WBC Rules and Regulations need to be considered with the sponsors in mind. We wouldn’t have a WBC or national body events without sponsors and this, along with the consideration of some rules, needs to be remembered by all of us. For example, if we introduced a compulsory round, how would this affect the machine sponsors? Would they need to provide 3 or 4 more machines at world level? What about at national body level? Many national bodies scramble for sponsorship every year in order to raise enough money to host their event. I know from being involved with the national body in New Zealand the challenges our event organiser faces year after year with raising money. Perhaps this is why things are slow to change, it’s not unreasonable if so. We have no competition without sponsors.  THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM. I am a white English speaking male and the competition format is designed, quite by accident, for me and others like me to succeed. I think a pertinent and important conversation piece is addressing language and gender diversity in the competition.  English second language competitors are disadvantaged. That they’re allowed a translator shouldn’t be considered an equal opportunity to native English speakers and though we’ve had bi-lingual champions in the last 3 years, we need a discussion around how we can build the format to further assist competitors who don’t speak any English at all. This is second to the big question on everybody’s mind. When will we have a female champion?  At the final’s announcement last year, there was a palpable sense of excitement that Charlotte Malaval might be our first female World Barista Champion. It was not to be and the whispers of disappointment by many could be heard around the stage. I don’t even know how to begin this conversation. The rules certainly don’t have a bias against gender, Charlotte placed 5th because she was bested by 4 other competitors on the day who simply scored higher overall points. This doesn’t change the fact that women are disproportionately underrepresented in the WBC and the wider coffee industry and to date, there seems to be a very little conversation about this. I don’t have the answers for this and if I am honest the causality of the problem is still a little unclear in my mind. I can and do acknowledge my privilege as a white male and I’m well aware of how this advantages me, however, I can’t articulate the conversation well enough and given that it is a sensitive subject it would be easier to leave it alone. But this doesn’t help. With all the discussion about the competition format, rules and relevance, it would be great to see a mature and constructive conversation addressing gender equality in our competitions and our industry in general. THINGS ARE CHANGING, ALL BE IT SLOWLY. The WBC has become an institution and in my opinion is a force for good in our industry. We’ve seen technological innovation, processing innovation, competitor and judge advancement (both professional and personal), entire new communities formed, standards set and much more. There is also the human element to consider. The WBC is the one event in the world I visit where coffee transcends race, religion, and nationality. You only need to watch the 2015 Iranian Barista Champ’s performance in Seattle to realise the hope and pride that the WBC bought to the specialty coffee community of Iran. It’s inclusive and though it’s not perfect, it has had a major impact on how we brew espresso, talk about coffee to the general public and is a great source of inspiration to emerging consuming markets. Any change, when it comes, is made with a considered and expert opinion by many well respected and knowledgeable individuals. We’ve seen subtle yet significant changes over the last few years. Drastic changes require the need for competitors to adjust and judges to relearn protocols and these need to be applied at world level and national level and take the time to implement.  The announcement of this year’s changes present exciting and new opportunities for competitors to further challenge the traditional mindset of competing and I can’t wait to see what competitors come up with for the WBC 2017. A FINAL NOTE. My opinions represent those of my own and are not those of World Coffee Events. There is much more to discuss, however, I have addressed some key points I think need the most attention. Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope we continue having a progressive conversation. Richard Corney.

    • El Fénix Wet-Mill Kickstarter
      • We have launched a Kickstarter campaign for the month of December to fund a community wet-mill at El Fénix, the farm we own and operate in Calarcá, Colombia. With best practices being used at the mill for processing the cherry, the high quality green beans produced will be able to be sold into the specialty market for prices that farmers otherwise could not have accessed easily. Trev visited the farm as a part of his first ever origin trip last month and was able to witness first hand the work that is taking place. Geisha and Pink Bourbon seedlings, among other rare and interesting varieties, are currently being cultivated. Don’t worry we will definitely let you know when they are in harvest! Trev also got to visit the planned site for the new wet-mill, and apparently the view is incredible. As one of the rewards for the Kickstarter you are able to stay on the farm and see it for yourself! El Fénix will also act as a testing ground for new methods of growing and processing coffee. These methods will be implemented at the new wet-mill and shared with neighbouring farmers who are selling their cherry to the mill, the aim being to help farmers up the quality of their cherry and receive higher premiums when the green coffee is sold. To find out a bit more about the way our quality premiums are structured and the background for the pricing model check out our blog about the Helena Project and Matt’s Re;Verb Tokyo chat and the Raw Material site. These blogs give some great insight in to Raw Material’s structure and philosophy so definitely worth checking out.             How Fixed Quality Premiums Help Farmers After selling their cherry to the wet-mill for a price already above what they would have received selling parchment into the commodity market, farmers will then receive a second payment based on the quality of the resulting green when it is exported. We saw incentives like this being very effective as part of the Helena Transformation Project and we definitely feel there is a lot of value to be added by adjusting the model to fit the community at Calarcá. Fixed prices will help farmers predict their year’s income and make that cost of production vs expected price equation work. Experienced professionals who staff the mill will process the cherry exclusively for the specialty market. Feedback loops from buyers will also be essential in the pursuit of tastier coffee. So, if you end up getting your hands on some of the green or roasted coffee as reward for contributing to the Kickstarter, we would love to hear from you what you think!  As well as having the means to process the cherry, the wet mill will be kitted out with sample roasting and brewing equipment. Farmers selling to the mill will be invited to come and learn about roasting and brewing, and in some cases will be tasting their coffee for the first time. Cupping their coffee next to others in the region will spark conversation about what everyone is doing differently, and illustrate how the stages of growing, picking, and processing influence the final flavour in the cup. Further understanding of how to attain a certain quality or flavour characteristic will ultimately result in higher premiums for farmers paid over and above the fixed first payment as they refine practices at a farm level. We’re super excited to get this Kickstarter underway and appreciate any support you can give. Rewards for contributions range from a coffee tree planted in your name (or for a friend for Xmas!) to a trip for two to visit the farm and see the surrounding area of Quindio. You can also just buy some roasted coffee, which we know you need anyway!  This is a great opportunity to be involved with a project that aims to make a meaningful difference to the surrounding community long term, as well as developing some insanely tasty coffees. The funding closes on the 31st of December so make sure you get in there. Here’s the link again just to be safe!

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