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Sampling Australian-grown coffee

Matt Holden

Despite being a nation of coffee-drinkers, Australia grows only a small amount of coffee.
Despite being a nation of coffee-drinkers, Australia grows only a small amount of coffee. Christopher Pearce

Australians drink a fair bit of coffee – about nine cups a week each, according to research by Roy Morgan, or just over three kilograms a year – but we don't grow very much. The climate mostly isn't suitable, and the volume we export, measured in the hundreds of tonnes, is so small it doesn't even register on the International Coffee Organisation's league table.

About 80 per cent of Australia's crop is grown in the Atherton tablelands, west of Cairns, which is home to one of Australia's oldest commercial coffee farms, Skybury, established in the 1970s.

Skybury has about 48.5 hectares planted with three arabica varieties: red and yellow catuai and bourbon, says Marion MacLaughlin, who bought Skybury in 1987 with her husband, Ian.

The plantation sits at 550 metres above sea level near Mareeba, low by specialty coffee standards but high enough to produce. "It's frost-free but not too hot, and the soil is a mix of volcanic and sandy granitic," MacLaughlin says.

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Most of the crop is sold into the specialty market in Europe via a broker in Hamburg, she says.

But some is finding its way into cups down south, roasted and branded by former World Barista Championship judge Justin Metcalf in Melbourne and sold by Aussie Farmers Direct.

Metcalf, who has been roasting for 16 years, says he is buying two tonnes a month. It's sold as whole beans, ground coffee and Nespresso-compatible capsules.

Metcalf gives the whole beans a fairly dark roast, suitable for traditional espresso brewing. A short black has a sweet, nutty aroma, rich, dark flavours, some light citrus acidity and a lingering bitter chocolate finish.

In a milk coffee, the chocolatey flavours come to the fore, and there's a nice hint of sweet citrus acidity; the coffee has obviously been roasted to shine in milk.

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A Nespresso shot has a nutty caramel aroma and a big head of crema. There's the typical light, almost watery mouthfeel of capsule coffee, and the flavour is a bit flatter than in the whole-bean brew, as you'd expect.

An Aeropress of the ground coffee has a creamy mouth-feel and bold, earthy flavours – this would be more suitable for a traditional plunger or a stovetop brew.

Beans and ground coffee cost $10 for 250 grams, Nespresso-compatible capsules are $8 for 10. See shop.aussiefarmers.com.au

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