"Welcome to Five Senses Coffee"

The roasting business involves a lot of cupping — not only to make sure that we’re roasting your blend just right, but also in the selection of green beans.

It’s certainly an advantage having Ben Bicknell, Australian Cupping Champion, on our team. Ben’s quest for excellence is not easily satisfied. Even after taking out the Australian title, he was keen for more so six months ago, Ben and Jen headed off to Coffee Lab International in Vermont to sit the rigorous Q Graders Exam, in order to become Coffee Quality Institute certified Q Graders.

As you would be only too aware, there are plenty of variables when it comes to coffee. This rings especially true with cupping. Without the Q Grading Program, cupping is a very subjective exercise. What one person rates as an outstanding coffee may be rated very poorly by another cupper. The Q Grader Program is the first professional accreditation for cuppers and coffee graders to be recognised worldwide. Basically, it introduces a common language and a recognised scale for cuppers around the world. Instead of subjective measures, Q Graders rate coffee on a numerical scale of 1 to 100. If a Q Grader in Brazil rates a coffee a 94, Jen or Ben in Australia immediately understands what quality she or he can expect that particular coffee to be.

Not surprisingly, licenced Q Graders are the cream of the coffee industry crop. There are only 697 licenced Q Graders worldwide, and only one (so far!) in Australia. Jen and Ben have been anxiously biting their fingernails for a long six months to find out if they have officially passed all of their exams. The unofficial results have come through, and it seems that they’ve passed, and they’re now just waiting for their beautiful certificate to frame.

The exams are no easy feat. Aspiring Q Graders sweat through three intense days of exams covering 22 subjects, including sensory triangulation where they pick the odd coffee out, acid identification, green bean grading, roasted bean grading, aroma identification and pairing, and, of course, lots of cupping.

All of this can only be good news for you guys out there behind the espresso bar. Not only do you reap the benefits of their accreditation (without having to stress about exams!), but Jen (in WA) and Ben (on the East Coast) are our people out on the street, ready to jump in and answer any questions, help solve any problems, and generally inform and enthuse you about the wonderful world of coffee.