Right, so picture this.
I'm halfway through my morning brew when a mate messages me a link. Half asleep, I'm squinting at what looks like some sort of graph with our name on it. Takes me a minute to work out what I'm actually looking at.
Then it hits me – The Guardian Australia just named us the best tasting coffee on Australian supermarket shelves.
Wait, what?
41 Coffees Later...
Poor Nicholas Jordan from The Guardian basically volunteered himself as tribute, taste-testing 41 different coffees with the experts from Condesa Co.lab. They put each one through its paces – black coffee, coffee with milk, the full works.
Now, we're talking serious competition here. Some of Australia's biggest coffee roasters with massive followings, and here's little old us from Melbourne going toe-to-toe with the giants.
But guess what took the crown? Our Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Fairtrade Organic single origin from the Hama Co-operative.
Nicholas reckoned it was "a reminder of what coffee can be: complex, bright and evocative of flavours not usually associated with coffee… as a black coffee it's easily the most interesting option in the market."
Pretty chuffed, to be honest.
Here are the top rankings by taste:
There's Actually a Lovely Story Here
This isn't just any old coffee for us – this one's got history.
Back in 2006 (feels like yesterday, honestly), World Vision knocked on our door for their very first commercial partnership. We spent nine months working together to help the Hama Co-operative get their Organic and Fairtrade certifications sorted.
The difference it made was incredible. Suddenly these growers could actually plan ahead, buy proper equipment, build new processing facilities, even put toilets in the local schools. Real, tangible stuff that matters.
Here's the bit that still gets me – when Wells (co founder of Jasper Coffee - my Dad) visited the co-op in 2010, there's this framed award hanging on the wall. First place at the East Africa Cupping Championships, won just two years after we started working together.
Talk about talent.
The Best Bit? It Actually Makes Sense
You know what this Guardian win really proves? That whole "you have to choose between quality and doing the right thing" argument is old and stale.
Our Ethiopian Yirgacheffe is organic, Fairtrade certified, helps support amazing growers, AND now it's officially Australia's best tasting supermarket coffee. How good is that?
None of this happens without our Melbourne crew who've spent years getting the roasting just right and making sure every bag that goes out the door is fresh. But really, it's those Ethiopian growers who've been absolutely nailing it for years now.
Sometimes the best recognition just comes from doing what you love with people you genuinely care about.
Pretty cool thing to happen, really.
You can find the coffee the Guardian says is the best tasting in supermarket's here from our online store: Here
Check out the full Guardian article here if you fancy a read.
