It's $100 a jar but no grounds for complaint

Some customers have called the price outrageous, but to Campos Coffee, selling a 150-gram jar of Ironman Geisha roasted coffee beans for $100 is fair and square.

With its strong aroma of roses and jasmine, and clean stone fruit and chocolate flavours, the bidders from Campos knew it was theirs to win at an international coffee auction. They beat bidders from Japan and Taiwan, buying 68 kilograms of beans at $378 a kilogram.

Campos coffee buyer Benjamin d'Emden said they wouldn't make a single cent in profit. ''Instead it's about providing a great coffee experience for Australians. Some people have said it was outrageous, but mostly the reaction has been great,'' he said. ''We're roasting some once a week and expect it to be gone by the end of November.''

He wouldn't have dared bid an amount that high for beans at last year's auction as Australian drinkers ''weren't ready for it'', he said. But after observing growing interest in cupping classes and seeing Australia play host to the World Barista Competition this year, Mr d'Emden thought it was time.

Once the preserve of green coffee buyers, cupping is now a weekend activity provided by cafes such as Campos, Single Origin Coffee and the Grounds of Alexandria for the ordinary coffee fan.

Cuppers assess the aroma of the dry grounds and the aroma of the coffee when hot water is added. The idea is to assess qualities including sweetness and balance, and to detect different flavour notes.

The geisha-variety coffee, named Ironman, from Auromar Estate in Panama's Volcan region, scored an average of 91.7 out of 100 in the prestigious Best of Panama 2013. It is one of the most sought-after specialty coffees in the world.