Could Australia Become A Coffee-Producing Nation? – CoffeeTalk

Australia is considering becoming a coffee-growing nation, with the aim of producing more than half of all the coffee we drink. The country grows less than half a percent of all the coffee we drink, and the coffee industry is working to find new varieties that are better suited for the environment and mechanized conditions of coffee farming in Australia.

At Southern Cross University in Lismore, Professor Tobias Kretzschmar is part of a larger project with the World Coffee Research, which is interested in trialling 20 to 30 coffee varieties worldwide. They aim to find new trees that are better suited for the Australian environment and mechanized conditions of coffee farming. Most Australian coffee grows in Queensland or northern New South Wales, where farmers face climate challenges.

The next stage would be to take two to three varieties that they think will out-compete the current varieties and trial them at scale. Globally, coffee exports spiked recently after a run of falls, and prices remained volatile due to trade tensions and fears of economic slowdown. Paul Joules, a research analyst with Rabobank, believes that Australia could compete with Brazil or Colombia by covering around half a percent of what the Australian consumer is drinking at the moment.

To find a coffee style with broad appeal, scientists have turned to a unique taste wheel that helps analyze the makeup of a particular taste. Dr. Ben Liu is behind the taste wheel, which collects 100 single-origin coffee around Australian farmers and uses words as diverse as ‘yoghurty’, ‘apple like’, and even dirty.

Australian grown coffee has some common characteristics, such as being sweet, fruity, nutty, and roasty. Kim Towner, the owner of the Happy Frog café in Coffs Harbour, believes that using locally grown coffee is simple because it tastes good, is super fresh, and everyone is getting paid fairly for it.

In conclusion, Australia has the potential to become a coffee-growing nation if it can produce more coffee varieties that are better suited for the environment and mechanized conditions of coffee farming. By sourcing from local areas and using as much of the coffee as possible, Australia can make a significant difference in how we look after the planet.

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