Cuban Star

This month we revisit an old friend – Cuba. (Or at least Mez and Wells are, again not jealous at all.)

Home to famous cigars, and some of the world’s finest Arabica beans.

Cuba is an island that assaults the senses. The visitor is greeted with strains of exotic rhythms such as salsa and rumba emanating from every corner, and an aquamarine sea laps the white, palm-fringed beaches all around the island. Cuba’s sensual and contagious rhythms have influenced musicians the world over, its cigars are legendary and the exotic cocktails are to die for.

Cuba seems to be lost in time, somewhere in the 1950’s. It’s not just the old American cars in the streets or the exquisite colonial architecture with peeling paint in Old Havana.

Instead, it’s a sense that the world of modern tourism has somehow largely bypassed the Caribbean’s largest island. This mixture makes Cuba an undeniably enticing destination.

Cuba, with its mix of Spanish and African roots, is the largest, least commercialized, and most exciting island in the Caribbean. It is also one of the world's last bastions of communism with a fascinating modern history. Cuba's relative political isolation has prevented it from being overrun by tourists, and locals are sincerely friendly to those who do venture in.

The coffee plantations are located mainly in three regions.

The most important are in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Granma (on the slopes and valleys, in the mountains of eastern Cuba); the Escambray Mountains near the centre of the island; and, to a lesser extent, the Sierra del Rosario, close to the western tip of Cuba in the province of Pinar Del Rio.

These locations provide a comfort for the Arabica coffee bean, with 55 to 70 inches of rain and moisture evenly distributed during the year, deep and rich soils, and temperatures ranging from 21 degrees Celsius in the winter and up to 25 degrees Celsius in the summer.

It is from the central mountain region where we have managed to obtain some of the most important beans which are from Crystal Mountain.

COW……………..Cuba Altura Lavado a.k.a

Cuban Star

Cuban Star…..one of our all-time favourites, coming from a place with perfect growing conditions,

we get this well balanced cocoa toned coffee with the aroma of dry tobacco leaves.

Enjoy it kids! Christmas came early this year.

From Cherry to Cup

High Quality Arabica coffee is the product of rich soils, a cool & wet climate and high altitude. The combination of these Origin characteristics is similar to what fine wine connoisseurs call 'teroir'. These unique terroir influences produce an amazing range of tastes and aromas.

Coffee Begins as a red cherry, growing on trees in the Tropics, that can reach heights of up to 12 metres. The flowers of the coffee tree grow in small clusters that are white and display a jasmine like perfume.

The coffee cherry or fruit contains two seeds, these are the coffee beans. Producing Arabica coffee requires a huge amount of care and hard work. 

A coffee tree requires five years before it yields its first crop & Each tree produces only enough cherries to make half a kilogram of roasted beans per year.

Around 8,500 beans are required to make up a kilogram of roasted coffee!

Introducing Jasper Coffee on Facebook & Twitter!

If you have twitter you can follow us for the latest updates and special offers! Also it is a quick and simple way to get in touch. 

Download Jasper Retail Product List:  Page 1 (info)  Page 2 (list)

Wholesale Caffeine Solutions for Cafes, Retailers & Offices, click here.

We have a Guest very special guest From Honduras in Town!

Fairtrade Fortnight was a Blast!

We saw Wilson off at the Airport on Sunday morning at around 6am, after having a big night at the footy the night before, and an extremely busy week full excitement and new adventures! 

We thank Wilson so very much for his amazing effort over the past week, and wish him all the best in is long trip home! We are looking forward to Visiting Honduras in the near future! 

- Shout your Coffee grower a Latte! -

You are still able to Shout the Coffee Growers a latte by donating $3.50 in Any of the Jasper Coffee Stores! All funds Raised will go directly Honduras Fairtrade Co-operative that Wilson is part of, which helps them to develop Sustainable Projects as a community!

- Try some Freshly Roasted Honduras Today! -

We Suggest you try out the Honduras Coffee from our Webstore this week! I guarantee you will be hooked!

The coffee is a delicious smooth and sweet Single origin, that comes from a very small crop in the highlands of Honduras, and By Purchasing the Coffee that This Co-operative produces, you are helping them grow through Fairtrade!

Keep checking in here For updates on Wilson along with videos photos and notes.

Stay up to date with the activities of the week by following us on Twitter and checking in our Facebook Page!

It is sure to be an extremely busy and exciting week for Wilson and For us!

Does Certified Organic coffee get sprayed coming into Australia ?

During our investigations into how our supply chain is managed, we were advised of how Certified Organic Coffee enters Australia, further to this H.A. Bennett and Sons are the only Certified Organic Importers of Green Coffee in Australia.

Spraying on entry into Australia would automatically negate the organic status of the green coffee however the organic green bean is subject to the exact same entry requirements as conventionally grown bean.

For each country of origin that HAB purchases coffee from we must have an Import Permit which states the documentary regulations that we must fulfil in order to gain entry of the coffee into Australia - these requirements are fairly generic across all origins however they must be fulfilled in their entirety otherwise the coffee will not be processed for entry.

As well all imports of green coffee are subject to a Quarantine inspection by their Field Officers to verify that the beans meet the listed permit conditions & most importantly that the beans are free from contamination by live insects or other quarantine risk material.

At this inspection process if AQIS officers detect any contamination by soil, plant, insects or animal residues then the physical evidence will be taken away for further investigation at AGAL (i.e. Australian Government Analytical Laboratories). If the analysis determines that the larvae / residues pose an unacceptable risk then the contents will be directed to a Quarantine Approved Premise for further treatment.

In the case of Organic green coffee the only treatment process that protects the Organic integrity of the green bean is to place the entire stock lot in cold storage @ minus (-) 18 degrees Celsius for seven (7) days thereby eliminating the Quarantine risk but importantly maintaining the organic status of the stock lot.


Brett Simpson
H.A. Bennett & Sons Pty. Ltd.,
Unit 2 / 2 Walton Street, Kew 3101, Australia.
www.hab.com.au

Is life better with a coffee machine ?

To bean, or not to bean: that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous freeze-dried or powder,

Or to take arms and fire up the coffee machine.

(Apologies to The Bard )

With all of our fabulous café experiences these days, should we be afraid to make a coffee for ourself, or friends, with anything other than the technology? If so, is life really better with a coffee machine? Having worked in coffee for a few years now, this question has occurred to me regularly and it may be now an opportune time to explore it.

I’ll be the first to admit that there is something reassuring about reading the newspaper on a Sunday morning at home on a sunny balcony or in the convivial ambience of a busy café. As the aroma of that long mac drifts up to the nostrils, one can scour the pages for meaningful content, in some sort of trance blocking any form of distraction. Life seems complete.

Yet, do we pass on the coffee at someone’s place when we see the paper filters come out? They seem to enjoy it. ‘Who are these people in the time warp?’ It all sounds very euro. Are they the same people at the beach who never made it to board shorts and seem so comfortable in their lemon coloured ‘Speedos’?

For some, it is about the physical act of leaving home and getting in the car to go and watch someone make a coffee on something, which, perhaps, they cannot afford to buy? All the while using the pleasures of the caffeine, to avoid thinking about the load of dirty washing that has to be machined later in the morning?

Is it because all these other coffee makers are for those people that seem to know so much more than many of us about the processes? If we join their ranks will we just be pretending to know what it is all about ?

Lastly, the ‘me generation’ says ‘I want it because it is new and it’s shiny and that’s what it’s all about.’ Or, perhaps, I want to feel like I’m the artist – ‘I want my coffee machine because I’m so sick of being disappointed when I’m out. I’ll do it myself and it will always be how it should be, and no skinny and no soy thanks’.

In all these instances what seems to come out is that we all simply like or love to drink coffee. It’s simply horses for courses when it comes to the means or reasons! Perhaps what’s more important than the myriad of ways we can drink it, is the coffee bean itself. Where did it come from? Who picked it? Is that a hint of cinnamon notes in the background (ha! ha!) - but that is for another episode.

Whatever, whoever and whenever, life isn’t just better because of coffee machines, life is better because of coffee.

Ross Quail

Copyright 2007-02-25

If any all, or all parts of this work are to be reproduced, permission must be obtained first by the author.