GREAT TASTE AWARDS 2023
06 August 2023
February and Coffee of the Month
20 February 2022 
Wild weather lately!
The little illustration above is by one of my neighbours, Evgenia Golubeva and I think it sums this month up perfectly!
Here we are romping through February at full steam ahead.
Although we haven't had a terrible winter this year (I know it's not over yet) I am really looking forward to spring. Lot's of daffs and tulips and snowdrops and promise of good things to come!
Here at Monsoon things are moving along nicely.
Our lovely Ailie will be back from maternity leave in about a month. Little Darcey has visited us a few times and is the most beautiful baby, just like her mum. Looking forward to her return.
Will has just about mastered the new roaster, I have to say I need some lessons on that one!
Jo and Clare are keeping the internet orders flowing with some lovely notes going out and I know some of you send beautiful replies to those so a big thank you! I always pass your comments on.
Kasia has been a brick and has been helping in the commercial side of things as well as doing the markets for us. She will soon be involved in the training side of coffee again when we reopen our academy at the beginning of March.
Lovely help from Theresa, Rossana, Trudi and Ben help keep the cogs turning here.
On the coffee side of things we continue to work with our regular importers, always looking for some exceptional coffees.
COFFEE OF THE MONTH
Papua New Guinea Sigri is back after almost a 6 month absence. This coffee is really beautiful. Fragrant, slightly spicy and full of caramels. I think it's one of the best harvests we've had.
It's grown in the western highlands of PNG and sold by Carpenters via our importer based in the Netherlands.
W.R. Carpenters Group was started in 1914 in Sydney, Australia. The company traded cocoa initially and then eventually expanded into other commodities including coffee. Sigri Estate was established in 1950. The social side of WRC is to run a school as well as a link to an HIV/Aids project run with the Asian Development Bank. The Company also provides various welfare and social services to employees. The plantations are located in the Waghi Valley, Western Highlands Province at approximately 1600 m. where they enjoy a cool climate with bountiful rainfall which is perfect for the exclusively planted Typica, being the best suited variety to Papua New Guinea.
The Sigri bean stock is said to have been taken from Jamaica Blue Mountain.
PNG Sigri was one of the best coffees we ever had when we started roasting back in 2010. Of course we have had some blow away coffees since then but this one never disappoints.
Try some Sigri if you haven't already. It suits all brew methods and makes the most beautiful espresso and great with milk too.
Others coming soon from El Salvador. Kenya, Ethiopia, Zambia, Colombia and Costa Rica.
We often try out our new coffees on 'Roasters Choice Medium' and our 'Coffee Selection' before adding them to our regular web shop offerings.
Hope to see some of you soon and keep the feedback coming, it's invaluable.
Keep well and happy brewing
Anne and the gang!
Happy New Year
20 February 2022Here's to a great 2022, full of good health and happiness and of course, some decent coffee!
It's been a strange couple of years and most of us will have had highs and lows (like any year) with perhaps more uncertainty.I don't know if we're over the worst of this pandemic but I do feel quite optimistic about the future and hope you are too.
As we enter January we will NOT be doing any barista training here at the roastery until the Covid situation becomes clearer. We will update the website when more information is available.
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As we were nearing the end of 2021 we had the sobering realisation that the massively rising price of green coffee was more than just a blip. If you follow the markets you will know that coffee is a traded commodity and prices rise and fall all the time. Unfortunately prices are going through the roof with the base price of commodity coffee rising around 100%.
As you know we don't put our prices up very often but with this news and also everything else across the board going up (packaging, fuel, transport etc) we unfortunately have no choice.
Most of you know we forward contract for most of our coffees so in the short term, we will be able to absorb some of these increases but obviously not all.
We're in discussions with our importers every few days at the moment and will keep you posted.
We are looking to increase our prices from 14th January ( don't worry, it won't be anywhere near 100% probably more like 50p on a bag).
Not all gloom and doom, we will be looking to update our website soon and also have some amazing new coffees to add from Ethiopia, El Salvador, Kenya, Colombia, Costa Rica and Zambia.
We're still looking at environmentally friendly coffee bags and will be trying them out soon. We will also be trialling some different bags with different external packaging (letterbox friendly) for x1 bag at a time customers at a reduced postage rate.
Hope that those of you who have had time off are well rested and raring to go. Those of you who have worked all through the holiday period let's hope you get time off soon.
Looking forward, all the best!
Anne, Chris and Will
Great Taste Awards 2021
22 September 2021Once again we were breaking open the champagne after another succesful year at the Great Taste Awards. Three stars for our Rocko Mountain and Sumatra Mandheling Decaf as well as two stars for Monte Cristo, Sumatra Mandheling and Granja La Esperanza Tres Dragones plus a single star for the Rwandan Kinini and Thai Doi Chaang.
It's reassuring to know that we're maintaining the quality of out coffee roasting from year to year. Thanks to everyone who's got in touch to congratulate us.
Great Taste Awards 2020
27 September 2020We're delighted to receive Great Taste awards again for some of our coffees. We don't enter all of our coffees, we like to try a few different ones each year and only repeat coffees that we think are really special.
This year we had 2 Gold Stars for our PNG Sigri, Vernal Vibe, Ethiopian Deri Kocha, Shakisso and Kenyan Jungle Estate. 1 star for our Ethiopian Kochere. I hope you enjoy some of these as we add to our online list.