Australia Coffee Overview

It is said that coffee was first planted in 1832 in AustraliaAustralian coffee bears resemblance in the cup to the soft “Island Coffee” flavor profile. Coffee cultivation began in Australia in 1880 and continued through 1926, but was found…! When coffee cultivation was re-started in the 1980s, initial plantings were based on the local cultivarCultivar is a term used interchangeably with Varietal in the coffee trade to indicate plant material, although there are distinctions.: The naming of a cultivar should conform to… Kairi Typica, as well as Bourbon, ArushaThe name of a cultivar from Tanzania, as well as a general trade name for Tanzania coffees from Mount Meru area. Arusha is also planted on estates in…, CaturraCatimor is a broad group of cultivars derived from a Hibrido de Timor (HdT) and Caturra cross, highly productive, sometimes with inferior cup flavor. The main issue is… and Blue Mountain imported from PNG. Yields were disappointing though, and unfortunately the farmers were putting yield above cup quality. 

Some newer cultivars have now been evaluated by QDPI and NSW Agriculture. The recommended cultivars for northern Queensland include CatuaiCatuai is a high-yield Arabica cultivar resulting from a cross of Mundo Novo and yellow Caturra. The tree is short, with lateral branches forming close angles to the… Rojo, K7, SL6, Mundo NovoA coffee cultivar; a cross between Typica and Bourbon, originally grown in Brazil: Mundo Novo is a commercial coffee cultivar; a natural hybrid between “Sumatra” and Red Bourbon,…, Catuai Amarillo and Kieperson. For the cooler subtropical areas of northern NSW and southern Queensland, K7 and SL14 are preferred for warmer sites, and a local selection CRB is suitable for cooler locations. Hopefully, we will see small farms specialize in traditional cultivars in the near future.

An Australian magazine, Bean Scene, wrote about the earlier origins of Australia’s coffee farms: “Many believe, however, that coffee in Australia was first found planted on the shores of Kangaroo Point in Brisbane in 1832 – admittedly not the greatest area to grow, but according to Coffee Works in Mareeba and the Australian Government’s Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, the first. It wasn’t until the 1880s that it started to spread along the east coast and down to the fertile plateau of northern New South Wales, marking the beginning of commercial plantations in Australia.

It was around this time Australian crops started winning medals all around Europe and a reputation for vibrant growing conditions in the country began to emerge. The market took somewhat of a financial nose-dive soon after, due to rising production costs and a lack of “coffee slaves” available to pick the beans. Australian coffee fell off the radar and the growing business lay dormant for nearly 100 years until increasing global interest started to breathe life into this industry once left for dead.”

Australian Coffees are Mild in General …

How do you classify Australian coffee by it’s flavor? Well, it bears resemblance in the cup to the soft, lower-grown “Island Coffee” flavor profileFlavor Profile implies a graphical impression of a particular coffee, whether it be an artistic portrait or data graph of the perception of flavor compounds. In the case…, so I have stretched the description a bit out of whack. Coffee cultivation began in Australia in 1880 in earnest and continued through 1926, but was found to be generally unprofitable, and the quality of the coffee was poor. It was re-established in the early 1980’s in much the same areas as the original plantations on the Eastern coast in New South Wales up to Queensland.

While there are quite a few backyard farms, the exported coffees are from larger operations. But the capacity to export is 100 tons, and Australia imports more than 50,000+ tons. So Australia production versus consumption is minimal.

Does it make sense to produce coffee?

Overall, I waffle on the prospects of Australian coffee that breaks any barriers in terms of cup character. Mountain Top has certainly been my pick in blind cuppingCupping is a method of tasting coffee by steeping grounds in separate cups for discrete amounts of ground coffee, to reveal good flavors and defects to their fullest…. versus the northern coast coffees. Have we seen the potential of Aussie coffee, or is there more this originIn coffee talk, it refers to a coffee-producing region or country; such as, “I was just at origin.” Of course “Origin” for most product we use is not… can offer? The jury is still out. We have not had this origin for many years now. Vacuum packing seems to have greatly improved the quality of the cup since the long transit time from Australia can effect cup quality.

But given the cup quality, the rather low-grown taste, and the high price, it’s difficult to see the value of bringing Australia coffee to the United States. And the big question is whether it makes any economic sense to grow coffee in Australia at all. What does the per Lb or Kg price have to be to the consumer to make it work for the farmer? Likely, more than consumers are generally willing to bear.