Analysis, relationships and negotiations...
A great cup of coffee isn’t just about roasting and brewing. While those steps are important, everything begins with sourcing the right coffee beans. And that’s often more challenging than it seems. Finding coffees of the quality and flavour profiles that we need here at Fish River is a time-consuming process - one that can take up to a year from the moment we begin searching to the day that coffee finally makes it into your cup.
Step 1. How much coffee do we need?
We forward contract for coffee around 6 months to 12 months ahead of the time we intend to roast it. This gives us certainty over supply and quality.
Our blends use coffee from all over the world. Each blend has a recipe and we need to secure coffee from each origin to go into the recipe for each blend.
We need coffee from places like Colombia, Ethiopia, Brazil, Indonesia, Kenya, Costa Rica, Honduras, PNG and East Timor.
Step 2. What do we need it to taste like?
We know what we need each coffee in the blend to do, so we start by talking to our coffee brokers. These are people we have worked with, in some cases for more than a decade, who work with growers to bring coffee into Australia.
We will give them an outline of what we need the coffee to taste like and the quality scores we need. We use specialty-grade coffees which score 80 points or above on the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) assessment. Most of our coffees here at Fish River typically score 82 and above.
For example, we need our Colombian to taste big and bold.
We would say to the brokers, "We would like a Colombian coffee that has dark berry, brown sugar and cocoa flavour notes with a point score of 81 and above."
The brokers will then send us samples of coffees that they think might suit. The relationship side of this becomes important as the brokers we have worked with for a while will have a good idea of what flavours we need in advance.
Once the samples arrive, the real work begins.
Step 3. Evaluation of samples - "Cupping"
There is a standardised protocol for tasting, or “cupping”, coffee that is used within the coffee industry the world over.
This specifies roast levels, grind sizes, water temperatures, water volume and coffee weight so that buyers and sellers of coffee taste coffee the same way.
The sample coffee is coarsely ground and weighed at 8.25 grams into a porcelain cup. Aroma is assessed, and then 150ml of water is added at 93 degrees Celsius.
Then a standardised score sheet is used to evaluate flavour, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, clean cup, uniformity, sweetness, fragrance and overall.
Individual scores are added up and coffees are given a quality score.
There is a qualification for this standard called a Q grading certificate. This certifies that you have passed all the knowledge and tasting calibration tests. Michael, our head roaster at FRR, has this qualification. One of less than 100 people in Australia to do so.
Step 4. The short list
The cupping process can throw some curveballs. Sometimes, a little-known coffee from a lesser-known origin will show fantastic flavour notes. At other times, coffee with a great reputation might not do so well. An example of this would be an Ethiopian coffee with a processing fault.
Once we have analysed all of the sample coffees, we will have a shortlist of the two or three that we think meet the standards we need, then we get back to the brokers and start talking.
Step 5. The negotiation
Once we have made our coffee selection, we start the dance of negotiation for the price that we would like to pay.
Two factors can affect this:
- The world coffee price that day. Most of the world's coffee is traded through the commodity markets in New York. The coffee contracts we sign are all based on that price as a foundation.
- Australian dollar versus the US dollar. All coffee contracts are in USD, so the real price in AUD can vary significantly, depending on exchange rates.
Sometimes buying the coffee we want at the right price is a case of being patient and waiting for these two markets to reach just the right trading ranges and be ready to say yes on the day they do. That is where all the work of cupping dozens of options and analysing samples pays off in getting a great cup to you!
The Final Pour
When you break it down, it takes up to a year of forecasting, tasting, grading, and negotiating before a single bean even enters our roaster. It is a long, highly technical, and sometimes exhaustive process.
But why do we go to all this effort? Because whether you are brewing a cup in your kitchen at 6:00am, or running a bustling cafe serving hundreds of locals a day, you deserve a coffee that is consistently exceptional. We do the heavy lifting in the cupping room and at the negotiating table so that all you have to do is enjoy the final result.
The next time you sip your favourite Fish River blend, take a moment to taste the dark berries, the brown sugar, or the cocoa. A lot of relationships, miles, and patience went into getting those exact flavours into your mug.
Ready to taste the difference for yourself? Shop our Most Popular Blends here.
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