News articles tagged with 'Bali'
-
Training in paradise
We added a new dimension to our annual harvest trip to Bali this year by doing some barista training in our base town of Ubud. A speculative email to the good people at Casa Luna got the process started. With a posse of Australia’s best baristas in the group, I thought it would be great to do some training between our trips out to Kintamani to work with the growers. It kills me that so many origin countries don’t use their own coffee, and import stale product from far off Mediterranean countries.
-
An Australian bean counter in Bali
When you are an accountant and you tell someone that you work for a coffee roaster, you are usually greeted with the same joke every time. “Oh, so you’re a BEAN counter”. Ha Ha. Not funny. Trust me, when you hear this joke for the 5,000th time, it’s incredibly unfunny.
-
Our Bali coffee is officially on the water!
We’re very excited about this Direct Trade shipment from Bali. After a three year ‘apprenticeship’ in understanding the region and the people, we think this year’s crop will be the big pay off! Special prize to anyone who can pick out the 250 grams of coffee that was picked by our Bean Counter (that joke just keeps getting funnier!), Jason Gray.
-
Bali baristas in town
It’s no secret to anyone who follows our stories and blogs that the people and culture of Bali hold a special place in our hearts. We first ventured up to Bali in 2007 and since then, we’ve taken many trips to build upon the direct trade relationship that we started with the farmers on that first visit.
-
Bali boys get the art cranking
You may remember that we enjoyed a visit from two of Bali’s best baristas earlier this year. They put in long hours at the Barista Academy, learning best industry practices, and got plenty of practice at Hush in Fremantle. We just received a video of Gede (pronounced g’day!) pouring some fantastic latte art and thought you might enjoy seeing what the boys can do!
-
Impressive latte art by the Balinese baristas
As part of our direct trade relationship with farmers in Bali, we enjoy training the local Ubud baristas. After our first training session, two of the baristas stood out. Their natural talent and enthusiasm were impressive, and we quickly decided to sponsor them to a week of intensive training with us in Perth.
-
Bali: Back to our roots
Direct trade is a well known term by now, branded on coffee blends to attract a consumer with high taste and ethical standards. But what does it mean to the farmers at the source? Or to the coffee companies they deal with? On my first trip to Bali, I was eager to find out.
-
What is ethical coffee?
How can you be sure that you’re buying a coffee that doesn’t exploit the people who grew it? The good news is that it’s actually easy to support the farmer who has laboured for many hours to grow and process your coffee.
-
Sea Circus Charm
My first contact with the Sea Circus crew was a quick email with the message “to ring Charlie about a cafe in Bali.” The mention of Bali quickly piqued my interest, and I jumped on the phone. Expecting a male voice on the end of the line, I was a little surprised when Charlie actually turned out to be Charlotte! Originally from the UK, Charlie (think a curly-haired Kate Winslet) found her way to Bali via Australia, where she developed a passion for coffee after spending some time with our friends Nolan Hirte and the Proud Mary crew. Along with her business partner Josh Herdman (Hugh Jackman crossed with Chesty Bonds), Charlie decided that the Seminyak scene had an opening for an intimate, fun venue and the long, testing gestation of Sea Circus began!
-
From Small Beginnings
I can still remember my first meeting with the farmers of Tri Karya quite vividly. We met them under the lean-to of a ramshackle little roadside shop a few miles past Bedugul. The rain was pouring down outside and I watched as Santosa made the customary small talk that precedes any “business meeting” in Bali. With some ceremony, they handed over a small plastic bag containing the most motley assortment of green beans I’ve ever seen. With my best poker face I said I would take it back to Australia for further assessment.
-
Do Good, Feel Good
Well, this was supposed to be a story about a little coffee nursery in the Highlands of Bali, but a few different events have conspired to convince me to take a slight left turn. Bear with me; it’s still a coffee story at heart, just one with a slightly philosophical detour!
Follow Five Senses ...
