Have you ever woken up, still tired from a late night out, and wondered, did last night really happen or did I dream it? Well, that’s pretty much where I am this morning.
Goodness knows how, but last night I was able to attend a presentation and cupping put on by Mercanta and melbourne coffee merchants at The Source. The presentation was to do with specialty v. commodity coffee, and was one of the most illuminating sessions on coffee I’ve ever attended. I’m sure some random thoughts will come later, I have a lot going on in my head right now and I need to do some more reading/researching before I expound on it all. For now I leave you with this … the green/red lines are to do with commodity coffee prices, the blue one is Fair Trade (grr … I will give my two cents on this later), and the purple one zig-zagging up up UP is Cup of Excellence.
After this, we were able to cup ten of some of the amazing coffees Mercanta are offering.
The ones that stood out for me where #6, #7, and #8, which, if I’m not mistaken, were: #6 Ethiopian Harrar Rayan Highlands; #7 Guatemala CoE #22 Finca La Perla; #8 Sumatran Takengon Aceh.
All photos courtesy of the lovely Emily Oak. View them all here. And check out The Source write-up. Oh, and Luca’s post on the Melb edition.
ooh yeah, seriously, did that happen?! Christmas definitely came early this year. Not only were there some beautiful coffees on hand, but the opportunity to cup alongside some of the “who’s who” on the Sydney coffee scene… what a blessing. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again - (Specialty)Coffee Industry people are the nicest people on earth. The willingness to share (and listen to) ideas/thoughts/comments/revelations is mindblowing. Stephen Hurst was on fire with his presentation. His vision for specialty coffee is truly contagious. Oh my, what a night…. and then to back it up watching the UKBC’s (congrats Gwil) in the live feed was a good night to wrap it up. Shout out to Russ for hosting the night.