Researchers helping Australian coffee growers improve crop quality – BeanScene

Dr Fawad Ali is developing a program to help Australian coffee growers in Queensland improve their cupping score to achieve specialty status.

The Research Fellow and agricultural scientist from Griffith University is working with growers from Tropical North Queensland’s Tablelands region to level up their coffee crop from commodity to specialty grade. Undertaken as a collaborative project with industry partners under the local Government’s Advance Queensland initiative, it aims to empower local coffee growers to command premium prices in the international market.

The three-year project has just passed the 12-month mark, but has already seen promising results. Achievements include developing 10 new hybrid varieties tailored to Queensland’s unique agro-climatic conditions, improving nutrient management using optimal nitrogen application to not only boost flavour profiles but also cut resource usage by 35 to 50 per cent, and increasing quality to broaden the market for Australian coffee.

“Only coffees scoring 80 points or above get the ‘specialty coffee’ badge of honour. Through our novel fermentation techniques and optimised nitrogen inputs, we have established laboratory-based factual evidence for achieving a cupping score of more than 80, up from just 73,” says Dr Ali.

“This project will create opportunities for the implementation of laboratory-based prototype models on a commercial scale through future funds.”

With climate change hampering harvests in other producing countries such as Vietnam and Brazil, Australia has an opportunity to make its mark on the international industry.

“Our coffee farmers are entering a new era to boost the area of production through increased plant numbers, where their product quality earns rightful recognition and premium returns,” he says.

“We’re no longer asking people to taste our coffee – they’re coming to us, which is a game-changing moment for Australian agriculture.”

Find out more about the project here.