People go to great lengths for a good cup of coffee: percolator, French press, espresso, pour over, vacuum pot, automatic brew the list goes on. But could the secret to great consistent coffee, be as simple as freezing it?
We sit down with Executive Barista of ONA Coffee Angus Mackie while he takes us through the opening list of High Road’s new frozen range of coffee.
The opening list of Reserve Coffees features many different styles. There is something for those looking for elegant and refined notes, creamy in texture and even high intensity and a little wild. Frankly, we didn’t know what we wanted. But we were told that when the coffee is ‘put to sleep’ we get to experience it at its best expression – so we knew we wanted to try all of them.
With the experience of trying frozen coffee comes the gift of a flavour profile card. We found this a great way to connect the consumer to the farm and really get you thinking about where your coffee came from.
We were sent on a trip to Colombia, we sipped on a filter coffee – La Providencia which has notes of orange and nectarine, butterscotch and red apple. The El Mirador espresso however showed orange and apricot with a little spice.
From Ethiopia, Jasper 0818 got our attention when served as a milk-based coffee. Purple grape, rum raisin and milk chocolate made for aromatic heaven. The Diamond 1318 espresso is referred to as the ‘shining star’ with orange, peach, passionfruit and blossom florals – this baby was used by the first ever female, Agnieszka Rojewska, to win the World Barista championship earlier this year.
4 takeaways on the coolest new trend in coffee:
- Is it a frappe?
Not quite. The process of freezing coffee involves capturing a coffee beans flavour at its peak, this is usually 12-16 days after it’s been roasted and placing it in a vacuum sealed bag for freezing at around -19°C.
Not only are beans snapped frozen at their prime but colder beans produce smaller, more consistently sized particles when ground, yielding more flavor and a repeatable and predictable experience.
- A global phenomenon
Freezing coffee has been embraced globally in the specialty coffee world for several years, with majority of finalists in the 2017 World Barista Championships incorporating frozen coffee into their performances.
Freezing beans has been rolled out on a commercial scale in several cafes, including Australia, the US and Canada.
- E.C.O friendly
Frozen coffee is a game changer for the sector offering a range of benefits at the macro level. Controlling the aging process of beans has the potential to completely stop wastage and help farmers facing climate change.
Supply and demand of coffee varieties can be managed from season to season and the period to sell beans can be extended, meaning stale beans will be a thing of the past.
- Variety is the spice of life
With the luxury of control comes the added benefit of variety in deliver cultivars even when they’re not in season. Feel like a vintage 2013 Panama Geisha or are you more in the mood for Sasa Sestic’s 2015 variety? No, I’m not talking about wine, this is the future of coffee and the opportunity that frozen coffee has to offer. Removing the unpredictably in coffee will also allow cafés to deliver experiences to a variety of price points.
