Knockrow Natural Green Coffee Beans

The dry processed arabica coffee grown on the hills above Byron Bay is available online now.

The beans have survived the year without fertiliser their size is testament to that. Without the use of pesticides we have been able to produce a crop that is as close to organic as our budget allows. Certification is a distant dream for the Knockrow plantation.

With a lot of support from the subtropical coffee association we were able to harvest and process our magnificent crop without mishap. Ron and his mighty machine made short work of the 15, 000 trees. The low yield on each tree meant the harvester was able to move through the rows at nearly 8 km/h.
The beans were then processed two ways. Wet and Dry. The wet processed beans were the product of Jos' water separator and pulping setup. Without the amazing effort Jos, Craig and Rob made on the day made on the day no harvest would have been had at all.


After sundrying on the shade cloth terraces for about two weeks the beans were ready for the huller. Corinne graciously allowed us to take over her state of the art hulling set up for the day and then plied us with ice treats that left us exhausted but satisfied.

The kids of course were wonderful throughout the long season, patiently waiting as I tried to fix the bloody tractor, talked coffee with other farmers or nipped out to do"just a couple of hours" slashing.

Many lessons have been learn with this years harvest, many of which will inform our work patterns for the coming year. The 2010 harvest is begining to look healthy already after an abundance of rain over the Christmas period.

You've got to have......friends

Being part of a community means big rewards. The community of coffee growers here on the North Coast of NSW are blessed with fertile soil, reasonable elevation and abundant rainfall, conditions nearly perfectly matched to the demands of the Arabica bean that is produced in this Subtropical region.

At harvest time, all hands are needed on deck. Balancing the budget is difficult through the year and at harvest time it is easy to become overwhelmed and drop your bundle, calling in extra casual staff when they are not really needed. An oversight can add many dollars to the bottom line and when margins are tight the last thing you need is a blowout.

During the second part of our harvest at Knockrow(the machine pick)
I resisted the temptation to call extra workers, knowing that the team that had begun the hand pick were competent and familiar with the process. I was confident the ten of us could get the job done without fuss.

Come the morning of the machine harvest there were no orange shirts to be seen anywhere amongst the rows. My gut sank and a few phone calls confirmed my suspicions: I had lost my workers.

Too hard, too long and not enough pay was my first guess.

I looked at the beautiful Corvan sitting majestically in the drive and wondered what was going to happen to all the coffee.

Then my phone rang. A member of the Subtropical Coffee Association called to see how the pick was progressing and to see if I needed help. Two calls later I had enough experience and manpower to get the job done.

Relationships like these can’t be bought or traded.

Thanks to Rob, Craig and Jos the job at Knockrow has been done.

Now to even the balance sheet I’m off to Hogarth Range to help with Craig's Harvest.

Mountain Top Bundja Now available online

We were lucky enough to get a bag of Andrew Fords finest.

For a limited time you can taste the bean that was judged by the worlds best.

Here are MTC's own tasting notes:

Bundja Single Origin Coffee was sourced by MTC from several small boutique Estates in the NSW Northern Rivers Region. The coffees were processed using MTC’s exclusive new “Double Pass” process … this is where late ripened and raisin fruit are passed through an innovative new washing process developed by MTC to wash & clean the cherry.
The crop Bundja Coffee has 30 batches of coffee in the product; each batch is a separate dryer load of coffee and was selected as a result of cupping the individual batches on 3 separate occasions and scoring an average cup score of 84/100 or better.


Vintage conditions - The NSW Northern Rivers Region has seen 7 years in a row with below average rainfall; however in 2008 conditions returned to some normality and the best rainfall patterns since 2003. The typical wet summer and autumn returned with strong rainfall in January, February and March resulting in large bean size. The winter period was typically cool and dry aiding in the long ripening period of 11 months.
Bundja Characteristics - This coffee was developed by selecting batches of late ripened and over-ripe fruit picked towards the end of the harvest season in late October & November. The overall lateness of the harvest and development of the fruit at the time of processing has benefited from the Double Pass process, resulting in an interesting blend of clean wash coffee characteristics with subtle orange like acidity with more robust cherry & berry style fruitiness and a creamy body.
Fragrance/aroma Bundja is an exceptionally well balanced coffee which starts with sweet, fruity aroma with hints of dark chocolate and spice!
Body/aftertaste - The Double Pass process has added depth of body to this coffee; not typical of coffees from the NSW Region. The coffee has a full, buttery body which carries nicely as an espresso.
Sweetness/acidity - Sweetness is the key to this coffee; well balanced against faint orange like acidity and creamy & smooth body. The coffee starts with a sharp fruity and tangy sweetness, with hints of spice which mellows as it cools to a distinct nutty flavour with slight floral notes. The coffee is clean from start to finish which enhances the sharpness of the acidity and sweetness.
Suitability - This coffee works nicely as a filter but is particularly good as an espresso coffee, the rich creamy body and fruity sweetness caries it exceptionally well and is a good candidate as a single estate
espresso.

Mt Jabara arrives

The new lot from PNG arrived yesterday. This is the first of two shipments of beans from the new crop in Mt Jabara.
We have roasted and cupped this lot and the results are very promising. Our first roast needs to sit for a few more days until we can put it through the espresso machine but our initial notes recall the intense berry, bright start and big bodied finish that has become the tradition for the PNG beans we source.

Check the online shop for availability.

Who roasts your beans?

So I was in the middle of a little chuckle…my inlaws had just ordered some beans from the online shop. We see them every other weekend; why not just wait until Sunday and they would get a bag of bulging PNG peaberries without paying postage!

I post a lot of beans each month. I’ve only met about a dozen of the people who buy Beans regularly from the online shop. This got me to thinking;

What are all the people I actually know drinking?

I know there is no benevolent dictator saying that this one is REALLY the one we had to have, the last one was just a practice. Kevin has done all the stimulating he can do given the tyranny of distance. The flood last weekend has taken its toll even though we were able to rescue the green bean from the inundation. Things are getting tight, not that I don’t mind pulling the buckles in further but it got me to thinking.

What is everyone I have ever met actually drinking?

I roast beans, I stick labels on bags and take them to the post office. If they are big orders I get a bloke with a trolley to pick them up, he takes them to the depot where the courier(Greg) takes them in his van.

The inlaws buy their beans from me online, Greg even buys his beans(ground for plunger) from me, they both save the postage because they come in contact with the roaster direct. This got me thinking;

What about you?

Where do your beans come from?


Coffeeprince.com of course!








So here it is:

Best Coffee in the world

Last month the best tasters in the USA of the best coffees in the WORLD assembled in California to award the best coffees of 2009. Australia made it into the top list! Well done Andrew from Mountain Top.



The 2009 United States Cup Tasting Champion award winners are:
1. Champion – Ben Kaminsky, Barismo Coffee
2. Second Place – Andy Sprenger, Caffe Pronto
3. Third Place – Geoff Watts, Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea
2009 Coffee of the Year results:

SCORE/COUNTRY/COMPANY/REGION
88.66-Colombia-C.I. Virmax Colombia S.A.-Los Naranjos (San Agustin, Huila)
87.69-Panama-Hacienda La Esmeralda-Boquete
87.03-Ethiopia Ninety Plus Coffee-Yigrachaffe
85.78-Colombia-C.I. Racafe & CIA S.C.A.-Huila
85.72-Kenya-Royal Coffee, NY-Aberdare Ranges
85.59-Guatemala-El Injerto, S.A.-Highland Huehue
85.08-Hawaii-Ka'u Farm and Ranch Company,LLC-District of Ka'u on the Big Island if Hawaii
85-Colombia-C.I. Virmax Colombia S.A.-La Piramide (inza Cauca)
84.89-El Salvador-Exportadora El Volcan S.A. de C.V.- Apaneca/Iiamatepec Mountain Range
84.86-Guatemala-San Diego Buena Vista-Acatenango
83.5-Taiwan-Genn Shang Ind. Co. Ltd.-Alishan Lot A
81.22-Austrailia-MTC Group-Northen N.S.W (Nimbin)

Fair Trade Fortnight!

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