At the 2014 Royal Hobart Fine Food Awards Coffee Competition local coffee growers/roasters gained not only two gold medals, but also eight bronze medals for their coffee. The coffee competition did attract this year over 200 entries of some of the world’s best coffees and is one of Australia’s longest-standing coffee judging events.
Jenni and Tony Rogers of High Trees Estate at Dalwood gained a GOLD medal in the Plunger single origin class for their Premium Single Estate roast and two bronze medals in the Espresso short black single origin and Cappuccino classes. This is an outstanding achievement in their first year at High Trees and augurs well for their future.
Jos and Wendy Webber of Kahawa Estate near Tintenbar were thrilled to get their first GOLD medal for their Magma roast in the Espresso short black single origin class. They also scored two bronze medals in the Plunger single origin and Cappuccino classes.
Richard and Beryl Gibson of Three Valleys Coffee at Teven achieved three bronze medals – two in the Plunger single origin class and one in the Cappuccino class for their Espresso Roast. To round it off, Zeta Grealy of Zeta’s Coffee at Carool achieved a bronze medal in the Plunger single origin class.
Hundreds of coffees (mostly imported beans) from roasters all over Australia were entered in five different classes. The offerings from the different roasters are judged to internationally set criteria by a panel of judges who are experienced in coffee roasting, blending and cupping. The judges see only entry numbers and are not allowed anywhere near the store room or area from where the coffee beans are dispensed.
Coffees that score 95 or above are awarded a gold medal, those scoring from 90 to 94, a silver and a score of 85 to 89 gets a bronze medal. Out of a total of 216 entrants, 9 coffees were awarded a gold medal, with local coffees scoring the highest in two of the five classes.
Australian Subtropical Coffee Association President, Jan Fadelli, said “the awards were an indication that great tasting coffee is now being consistently produced by local growers/roasters and that our locally grown coffee competes with the best international coffees from large commercial roasters. Our Association, which represents most of those involved in the local coffee industry, has been focussing on developing the distinctive flavour qualities of our locally grown subtropical coffee. Our success in this year’s Royal Hobart Fine Food Awards is very pleasing”.