The Coffee Blog

Buy Fairtrade Coffee & Celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight at Witham's Coffee

Tue, 15 May 2012 03:58:00 GMT

Fair Trade Fortnight runs from 5^th May – 20^th May, 2012.

This Fair Trade Fortnight, Fair Trade Australia & New Zealand are asking communities to come together on World Fair Trade Day – Saturday 12 May 2012 – by joining the World’s Biggest Fair Trade Breakfast. Hold a brekkie and use as many Fairtrade products as you can!

Witham’s Coffee will be serving Fair Trade coffee at their Espresso Bar every day during Fair Trade Fortnight. There is also a selection of freshly roasted-on-site Fair Trade coffee beans to purchase, perhaps to contribute to your Fair Trade Breakfast!

Buy Indian Monsoon Malabar Coffee

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 01:26:00 GMT

Fans of the velvety body and spicy flavours of the unique Indian Monsoon Malabar will be excited to hear that we now have these highly sought after beans in stock! A fresh batch has just been roasted and ready for drinking.

The history behind Monsoon Malabar originated when the British began shipping coffee from India to Europe. The coffee was packed into the hulls of wooden ships and exposed to a 6mth journey, during which the conditions were invariably humid. The trip mellowed the coffee and took away the acidity in the bean.

These days monsooned coffees are prepared in open-sided curing warehouses situated on the West Coast.To ensure the quality of monsooned coffee only “A” grade Arabica cherries are selected. The monsooning process is from June to September when the southwest monsoon is very intense on the West Coast.

The coffee is packed loose in cloth bags and stacked in piles with sufficient space between the rows for the monsoon air to circulate freely around the bags.The cherry absorbs moisture from the humid monsoon atmosphere and the beans swell up to nearly double their size. The colour of the bean changes from green to a pale yellow.The coffee is repacked or poured from one bag to another at frequent intervals to prevent mould growth and to ensure uniform monsooning. The process is completed in 12 to 16 weeks.

At the end of monsooning, the coffee is polished and graded, based on the size of the beans.

Tasting Notes:

The maturing process through the humid monsoon season develops a unique syrupy, velvety body. Exhibits wild flavours of Indian spice with warm notes of cinnamon and cedar.

Buy Colombia Supremo ‘Popayan’ Coffee Online

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 01:24:00 GMT

Colombian Supremo ‘Popayan’ grows in the acclaimed Cauca (market name Popayan) region. The coffee producing areas of the Cauca are lush with rainfall, cloud cover and soil conditions, ideal for coffee cultivation. Dense clouds form from the Pacific and release heavy rainfall over the Cauca valley that averages 80 inches yearly. A cool mountainous climate prolongs the development of the Popayan’s coffee cherry which deepens the berry flavour absorbed by its seed, or coffee bean. This flavour is accentuated during the fermentation stage when the defruited bean is processed.

Third behind Brazil and Vietnam in coffee production, Colombian coffee owns the world’s most familiar coffee origin due to the enormously successful promotional campaign the country mounted years ago. Coffee grows throughout Colombia at altitudes ranging from 4000 to over 6000 feet.

Colombia harvests the world’s largest quantity of specialty grade coffees which are typically high-grown, hand-sorted and wet processed. It is the only South American coffee producer with both Atlantic and Pacific ports affording the country a distinct shopping advantage. Coffee is so central to its economy that cars seeking to enter the country must first be sprayed for harmful bacteria.

This specialty grade Colombian is classified Supremo for its large bean size. A medium bodied coffee with fruity undertones, it has good acidity and a well balanced cup. It is a delicious rich coffee with character and hearty aroma. This coffee is a shining example of the brilliant coffee Colombia has to offer.

The drip method or a syphon pot will display the Popayan’s flavour and acidity best.

To buy, Colombia Supremo ‘Popayan’ Coffee

Buy Nicaraguan Maragogype Coffee Online

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 01:05:00 GMT

Nicaraguan Maragogype (also spelt maragogipe, marogajipe, marogojype, or marogagype). This coffee comes from the region around Matagalpa in central Nicaraguan.

Maragogype is a mutant variety from the Bourbon coffee plant, which was first found in Brazil. This plant has huge leaves, large cherries and huge long shaped beans with a double cut centre. It is also known as the “Elephant Bean” due to its large size. The bean size does not impact the cup quality, but the argument for Maragogype is that the tree produces fewer cherries and flavour is more concentrated.

The yield from the true Maragogype is very low, about 5-10 bags per hectare. Due to this, farmers are subsidising their crop with higher yielding varieties of coffee trees.

Tasting Notes:

In the cup it is beautifully smooth with a full, clean flavour; medium body and a well balanced acidity. The coffee finishes with a soothing hint of caramel praline and honeyed sweetness. Well suited to plunger and drip filter.

Purchase Nicaraguan Coffee now

Buy Sumatra Mandheling Coffee Online

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 01:15:00 GMT

Mandheling is the traditional market name for coffee grown in the region around Lake Toba and the northern end of Sumatra.

Sumatra coffee is wet processed using an unusual technique a prolonged three–step drying. The skins are removed using home-made pulping machines immediately after the cherries are picked. They are then left to ferment overnight in woven plastic bags. The fruit pulp is washed off in the morning and placed out on drying sheets or sometimes directly on clay.

The parched skin is then removed by machines at the middle-man’s warehouse and allowed to dry further .

It is then transported to the port city of Medan where it is dried a third time in the exporters facility.

It is not clear how much of the unique character of Mandheling style coffee derives from the soil and climate and how much from the unusual processing techniques to give this coffee deep body and low–toned richness.

Tasting Notes:

Sumatran coffee is very full bodied with aromas of fresh earth and butter. In the cup it displays fruit notes with low acidity. The pungent tones smooth out in a sweetly rich finish.

It has a sweetness that is desirable in espresso blends or as a single origin espresso.

To purchase, Sumatra Mandheling Coffee

Buy Vanuatu Coffee Online – Tanna Island – Organic

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 01:08:00 GMT

Tanna Island lies within the archipelago of Vanuatu. More than 80 islands make up Vanuatu and are a direct result of Pacific Rim tectonic plate upheaval, this upheaval is also the reason for the active volcano Mt Yasur and her two dormant sisters on Tanna Island. Tanna Island is on a similar latitude to Townsville and Fiji and is placed in the southern latitude of the Vanuatu Islands.

Unlike most coffee farmers around the world, the farmers of Tanna Island share in the dried green bean sale price. Normally farmers sell their parchment coffee [unprocessed coffee] to a local buyer where it's processed into a naked bean, (Dried Green Bean). INIK Co-op collects the dry parchment before JV partner, Tanna Coffee Plantations, processes the coffee into the naked bean. They then hold and sell the dried green bean for the best price possible.

The INIK co-op and Tanna Coffee Plantations meet regularly and decide how any profit will be spent. Whether it be bonuses for the growers, training programs, new coffee plants, loans, or new machinery. This means that Tanna Island Coffee supersedes fairtrade guidelines with ease.

Although the plateau of Tanna Island is only 3-400 meters above sea level the South East trades and cool nights allow the Coffee and other plants to bathe every night, in warm, moist conditions. The warm, South East air is what makes these coffee plants so similar to their high altitude counterparts. Being further away from the equatorial influence balances out the altitude difference, so that this coffee may rate as one of the best in the world. Being so close to Australia and New Zealand (only a two and a half to three hour flight), one may even consider calling this coffee, their ‘local coffee’.

Once the sweet cherry ripens to a wonderful crimson red they are handpicked, put through a hand pulper within 6 hours of harvest and fermented for approximately 24 hours. This is done either in one of the Co-op processing stations or in the farmer’s home or village.

This totally organic coffee typifies the symbiotic relationship between a subsistence grower and the cash crop needs of the wonderful Kustom people. The soils are volcanic ash, free draining and high in pot ash, thus allowing the coffee grown on Tanna Island to exhibit beautiful smooth, full bodied, nutty chocolate flavours without a bitter after taste.

To purchase, Vanuatu Coffee

Coffee Books Available Now from Witham's Coffee

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:21:00 GMT

Witham's Coffee now stocks a selection of coffee books. Some of the titles include the essential resource for all barista's, Barista Techniques by John Doyle valued at $49.50, The Professional Barista's Handbook by Scott Rao valued at $70.00 which is an extremely informative text on preparing espresso coffee and the coffee book collectors must-have, Coffee Floats Tea Sinks, by Ian Bersten.

Order on-line or visit our store to purchase! (Some titles may require 5-7 days delivery)

We now have wi-fi in our Café/Showroom!

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:54:00 GMT

Customers can obtain daily password when they purchase a coffee.

Green Coffee is coffee that is as yet, unroasted.

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:59:00 GMT

Green coffee is coffee that is as yet, unroasted. The ripe cherries from the coffee tree are picked and then processed using either the wet or dry method and then milled. Inside the cherry are two coffee beans. The beans are not roasted at that stage because that process is usually left to the local coffee roaster or end consumer. The coffee beans stay fresher much longer in an unroasted state and, therefore, this is the way that coffee is traded and transported across the globe. Once coffee has been roasted, the coffee will begin to stale very quickly. The roasting process releases the precious coffee oils from the bean, which is what gives coffee its flavour and aroma.

Those coffee connoisseurs who are interested in having the freshest coffee possible may be inclined to choose green coffee. Once a consumer receives green coffee, they must then choose a way to roast the beans in order to make it suitable for creating the beverage. However, if you are lucky enough to have a coffee roaster close by that roasts regularly it is perhaps better to purchase coffee from the professionals in small quantities.

Witham’s has a large range of green coffees. Check out our range

Shade Grown Coffee - With habitat destruction ravaging equatorial rainforests ...

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:59:00 GMT

With habitat destruction ravaging equatorial rainforests, intelligent coffee producers are now planning for a sustainable future by planting coffee trees under an indigenous forest canopy cover. This provides natural habitat and food for local wildlife, as well as a vital haven for migratory birds.

These sustainable shade grown coffee crops encourage a bio-diverse environment and are often the sole source of cash income for the indigenous populations that produce them.

Organic Certified - Organic coffee is grown without the use of synthetic chemicals or pesticides

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:58:00 GMT

Organic coffee is grown without the use of synthetic chemicals or pesticides. Coffee labelled as organic must be certified in the country or origin and, effective 2002, roasters selling organic coffee must also be certified under the USDA National Organic Program, which has strict processing and labelling guidelines.

Production must be actively organic, including organic composting and environmental protection of watersheds and soils. Natural products and improved crop husbandry are actively encouraged. Production must be actively organic and independently audited for at least two years before certification is granted. Many different certifying agencies exist to process certification at origin and in the US.

Why not try Witham’s Colombian Organic or Honduras Organic.

Fairtrade Certified - Fair Trade coffees have been certified by TransFair USA

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:58:00 GMT

Fair Trade coffees have been certified by TransFair USA in the US and by the Fairtrade Labelling Organization International (FLO) at origin. TransFair's rigorous audit system tracks products from farm to market, verifying industry and farmer compliance with Fair Trade Criteria.

The purpose of fair trade is to promote healthier working conditions and greater economic incentive for producers. Coffee farmers producing fair trade certified coffee are required to be part of a co-op with other local growers. The co-ops determine how the premiums from fair trade coffee will be spent. Growers are guaranteed a minimum price for the coffee, and if market prices exceed the minimum, they receive a per pound premium.

Participating co-ops are guaranteed a minimum price $1.31/lb for non-organic and $1.51/lb for certified organic coffee - or $.10 above 'C' market price for conventional coffees with an addition $.20 Certified organic premium. Growers are free to organize democratically. Co-op members elect co-op management and decide how the FT $.10 premium is used.

Farmers minimize chemical use and avoid the most harmful pesticidesaltogether. International Labour Organization standards, covering child and forced labour, freedom of association, collective bargaining, and anti discrimination must be met.

Why not try Witham’s Fairtrade Brazil Santos or Ethiopian Limu click here

Now that the warmer months are ahead of us why not try a refreshing Iced Coffee

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:48:00 GMT

Take ¼ cup of Witham’s freshly brewed coffee, let it cool, add sugar, and cold milk then throw some ice cubes on top for a freshing drink. Or for a special treat, use a large spoonful of vanilla ice-cream on top.

Witham's Christmas Closure

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 02:55:00 GMT

To All Witham's Coffee Addicts,

Witham's Coffee will be closing over the Christmas and New Year holiday period. Our last day open will be Friday the 23rd of December. Due to this being a very busy time of year for both us and our couriers, get your orders in early in the week to make sure you receive your coffee before 2012.

Witham's Coffee will resume normal trading hours next year on Tuesday the 3rd of January. Any orders placed between these two dates will be filled and shipped out on the 3rd of January.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

from the Witham's Coffee team.

Grab a Coffee at Little A's

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 01:20:00 GMT

Visit Luke at "Little Athletics" every Saturday at Foxglove Oval, Mt Colah for your hit of freshly roasted Witham's Coffee. Luke will be serving coffee to all of those dedicated Little A's parents for the whole of the season. Enjoy!!