Down Under coffee

Australia might not be the first place you think about when looking for a single origin coffee, but coffee is harvested in this country (/continent/island) and there actually are some coffees from the land down under that are worth trying out. However, most people when thinking about Aussie coffee will think about a flat white, a short or long black, or a long macchiato.

Flat white - Katherine Lim - https://www.flickr.com/photos/ultrakml/

When going to Australia you will notice that a regular drip coffee is hard to find. You will encounter mostly espresso-based coffees with a lighter roast than people from Europe or the USA are used to. The most famous drink would be a flat white, a kind of cappuccino that is not as strong as a normal espresso and not as milky as a latte, being basically an espresso with steamed milk poured straight into it (no layers, no cream). Instead of drip coffee you’ll have to do with a short black (a shot of espresso) or long black (a shot of espresso with hot water, which is basically the same as café Americano).

But back to coffee growing. Coffee production in Australia starts around 1880. Because of the beans being of a low quality and thus cheap, and the labor costs being high, it never got favored among farmers.

Coffee production in Australia has never big and in 2012 only just over 2 million pounds were produced and only about 50% is exported, Most of the coffee is toasted locally and only about 12% is exported as green beans.

From https://www.agrifutures.com.au):

“Coffee production in Australia is a developing industry, which began (in its modern form) in the 1980s and 90s. Industry experts estimate there are around 50 commercial coffee growers in Australia, producing coffee on a total of 300–350 hectares. In north Queensland, there are about seven growers producing coffee on 175 hectares; and in north east New South Wales and south east Queensland, there are about 40 growers producing coffee on 150 hectares. Many more landholders may grow very small plots of coffee for their own purpose, which may account for conflicting reports on numbers of coffee growers in Australia.”

Map of potential and current growing regions, source www.agrifutures.com.au

This new interest of farmers in coffee after 1980 is closely related to the growing coffee market and the introduction of mechanical coffee harvesters. Most Australian farms are located at altitudes from 200 to 400 meters above sea level, with some farms at about 900 mts. Due to mechanization, farms are at low, flat lands with slopes of maximum 15 to 20%, and without trees (not shade grown). Because of the climate, only Arabica coffee can be held. The red cutai variety accounts for 95% of the plantations.

So coffee can be found in New South Wales, subtropical, and Queensland, on the northeastern side with tropical regions. Names to remember: Skybury Estate coffee from the Atherton Tablelands of Queensland, and Mountain Top Coffee Company from the volcanic soils in the mountains of New South Wales.

You might wonder about those volcanic soils (as I did), because of Australia being in the middle of a tectonic plate where we normally would not expect much volcanic activity. I looked it up and there really are some volcanoes and there was volcanic activity as recently as some 5,000 years ago.

We have seen that the best coffees come from tropical climates, high altitudes, mostly shade grown, handpicked and wet-processed and from volcanic soils. All of this can be found in Australia, but there are very little farms that comply with all these parameters, so mostly we will have to do without a few of them.

So there is a real challenge for Australian coffee here and if only for that it is worth a try. That said, we also have to acknowledge that some Australian coffees have been given honorable mentions and that barristas won several prices using this coffee!

As to tastes and flavors, Australian coffees normally do not have an intense profile and are low in caffeine. This mild flavour (chocolate, nutty, coal, tobacco are mentioned) are combined with a medium body, some sweetness and low bitterness.

For further reading, I suggest www.agrifutures.com.au

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