News

Exploring close to home...
Exploring close to home...
When you meet a guy like Eko Purnomowidi from Klasik Cooperative you stop and listen. Not just because he is so engaging but he is also incredibly knowledgeable. Eko is... Read more...
Costa Rica – Its all about the process.
COSTA RICA PROCESSING.   Costa Rica is home to some of the most revered coffee in Central America. Well known for  their exceptional processing methods, Costa Rican coffee is typically very bright and very clean, two factors we absolutely love in Melbourne. One thing Costa Rica does exceptionally well is honey processing, or ‘miel’ as it is know locally. This is a phrase that they coined to describe their take on the pulp natural process I described in the Brazil blog post. I absolutely love honey process and the amazing... Read more...
WHAT MAKES A GOOD COFFEE GREAT?
The Making of a Brazilian Coffee I have been mulling over this question for a while; what really makes a cup of coffee stand out from the rest? How do you determine its defining factor of quality? There are so many things at play in what we have come to understand as quality, but I really think we are still somewhat unsure of what it actually is. At many points in a coffee cherry’s life, events occur that can produce (or take away from) quality. The actual processing of the... Read more...
Seasonality and Sensory Lab
Our buying philosophy and seasonality The shape of the coffee list at any good roasting company is the hallmark of a green buyer. It is their major contribution to the company and their legacy for the future. As some of you know I have been on staff for a few months now, slowly making my mark on Sensory Lab and the coffee we buy. My buying philosophies push Sensory Lab deeper into the realm of relationship coffee and into the never-ending pursuit of freshness. A big part of this philosophy... Read more...
International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWC)
  A couple of weeks ago I was invited up to Byron Bay to attend the founding meeting of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) Australia chapter. Looking for any excuse to head to Byron for a weekend, I jumped on a plane and travelled up the coast with little idea of what to expect from the trip.  A mad woman on another coffee tour. Australia is an interesting place to set up an IWCA chapter, not only are we a country full of consumers of delicious coffee beverages, but... Read more...
A BRAZILIAN LOVE AFFAIR
When I first started travelling for my work, buying coffee across the globe, Brazil was the first origin I got to visit. When it was proposed I hop on a plane and head across the South Pacific to the tropical countryside of Brazil, it sounded a little like a clip from a 1950s movie. Maybe I would find myself in a bungalow with an in the depths of the jungle like the stories my mother tells of growing up in the plantations of Ceylon, long before civilization and progress changed... Read more...
COLOMBIA TRIP PART 2
Colombian coffee is typically harvested twice a year, the main crop and a smaller crop called the mitaka (or fly crop). We are currently in the middle of mitaka in the Huila region on the southern end of Colombia. In Colombia, and Pitalito in particular, production yields are much lower than they should be. It is a sobering fact that some farmers, though their quality is top notch, still can’t produce enough volume to really make a difference to their bottom line. Cost of production for 1kg of exportable coffee... Read more...
COLOMBIA TRIP PART 1
Lucy ward is the Procurement Strategist for Sensory Lab. She travels the globe searching for the best green coffee available.     Read more...