The world of coffee machines

[LionsandBears]

Can I ask why some people are anti Nestlé products? Excuse my ignorance.

That's a whole other thread but a number of points:
* unconscionable marketing of artificial breast milk in 3rd world countries, where parents don't have access to clean water, resulting in deaths of infants
* use of what amounts to slave labour in cocoa & coffee farming

if you google it, you'll see a lot more information.

[jackrose]

I'm happy to supply some names of some roasters MelbourneMumma

Dh is currently in South America speaking with farmers and sourcing our green beans for the coming year and I can absolutely vouch for the quality of the coffee he produces You can find his coffee through his roastery SmallBatch. They run a subscription service via their website and are incredibly passionate about their product.

The other roasters I hold in high regard in Melbourne based on the quality of their green bean sourcing and the ethics behind their business are Seven Seeds and Proud Mary. I know the owners of these businesses and they are passionate, quality based producers.

Other roasters in Melb who can hold their own quality wise are Wide Open Road, Padre coffee, St Ali/Sensory Lab and Market Lane coffee. Some are bigger operations than others but all have an abiding passion for coffee.

There are some other roasters around of course, but these guys are the few that I know better and can vouch for.

[beansbeans!]

thanks Jackrose, I shall do some googling.

I do agree that manual machines and really coffee cannot be surpassed. I shall google those companies and go from there... You dont by chance know of any in the sydney area?

[jackrose]

I am afraid I am not familiar with the Sydney scene as closely as I am with the Melbourne scene so I can't recommend anyone personally. If I wanted to find a good roaster in Sydney, blind, I would start with the SMH good cafe guide. The awards for best cafe and roasters etc were only recently announced and if you check out those lists - and the coffee brands that supply to the winning cafes (and cafes awarded 3 beans) you should get a pretty good idea of who the best roasters around town are. I know that this approach works pretty well in Melbourne.

The other thing to look out for is roasters/cafes who offer COE coffees or "Cup Of Excellence" coffees. COE coffees are premium coffees from single origins (in some cases single farms) that are judged by independent coffee tasters to be superior coffees then are released to the world coffee market to be auctioned off. This means the buyer pays a higher price for the coffee as it is guaranteed to be good and the farmer gets a better price for the coffee rather than the $ going to a middle man. It is a good sign that the roasters is serious about their coffee, respects the farmer who grows it and is not looking for bargain basement product.

I think with these two approaches you should be able to find a good, reputable and ethical coffee supplier. It is amazing how far the coffee industry had come in recent years with small producers raising the bar of coffee in this country.