News Articles by Dean Gallagher
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Brewed coffee — revolution or retro evolution
I know that the words ‘revolution’ and ‘retro evolution’ might sound a tad melodramatic, but over the course of 2009, after a few years of a bit of a spluttering start (think 1970’s engine), coffee brewed in ways other than through an espresso machine has really taken hold amongst those in the specialty coffee community.
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Ben hits the world stage
It isn’t every day that someone from within your ranks rises to the top of their field and gets to represent Australian at an international championship. Whatever the result, it was always going to be a proud moment for all of us at Five Senses.
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World's best cafés
One of the things my role at 5 Senses and in the coffee industry brings is lots of travel. I travel a lot.
I travel to visit coffee growers and coffee exporters, I travel to meet with equipment suppliers, I travel to World Barista Competitions and Specialty Coffee Association conferences around the world, I travel to learn more about coffee and the industry, and I travel to make sure that we are doing things as well as, or better than, others around the world.
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Bali Gold — Part 2
In last month’s newsletter, I started a truly gripping tale (for at least for a few of you!) of our five day journey into the mountains of Bali, in search of a coffee that would lift us to new and sublime heavenly heights. My last story diarised the first two days of the trip; here I describe our last few days and, hopefully, whet your appetite for our new, highly anticipated coffee, which will reach our shores in the next couple of months.
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Bali Gold - Part 1
This week our journey has taken us up into the mountains of Bali in the Kintamani region. Those who’ve been following what we’ve been up to over the last couple of years will know that we have been trying to identify a grower group in Bali that 5 Senses can support and ultimately work with in the long term. Our hope is that as a result of our involvement and willingness to pay a better price, the grower group will have a real incentive to improve their quality.
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A Fair Grow for All
Last month I had a rant about some of the fairness and equity issues relating to the global trade of coffee. I raved on about how small growers were getting screwed over by huge coffee buyers and how this was impacting the growers’ ability to invest in infrastructure which would, in turn, lead to a better quality product, which would then allow them to pitch and sell their coffee to more discerning buyers who would be willing to pay more — thereby changing the course of their lives, potentially forever.
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Coffee with Conscience
Consider this statement: A good tradesman is never cheap, a cheap tradesman is never good. Or what about this one: A good second hand car is never cheap, a cheap second hand car is never good.
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Coffee in a can
We all know the feeling. You’re desperate for a cold drink and you have to get one now. But you’re not near a shop. What do you do? Find a cold drinks machine, slot in your money, listen to the satisfying ‘ker plunk’ as it hits the base of the machine and thankfully gulp the cooling liquid.
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Have tamper, will travel
The Australian barista world is buzzing in the lead up to the Australian Barista Championship which will see winners from each of the State competitions battle it out for the crown of Australian Barista Champion and an opportunity to represent Australia at the World Barista Championship in Copenhagen in June.
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Dean turns his hobby into a profession
Many of you would know that I moved into coffee professionally in 2000. Prior to that I was a hobbyist home roaster who was lucky enough to live in an amazing coffee growing region (Simbu Province in Papua New Guinea) and to make friends with lots of people in the coffee industry. When I arrived back in Australia (thinking I was the fount of all coffee knowledge) and decided to start a little coffee roasting operation I had absolutely no idea how little I actually knew about coffee.
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It started as a journey
One of the things you learn as you make your way through life is that not every place you visit will serve up a decent brew. Most of you who read this article probably realise that I’m quite addicted to coffee. I hardly ever think about it. I drink coffee for a living, so I rarely start craving good coffee before I’ve actually had my first cup.
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It's not a myth!
Over the last few years, probably starting in about 2003, much has been written and spoken about a coffee that costs up to (I heard it mentioned) US$3000 a kilo. It is the coffee known as Kopi Luwak and now famous because of the fact that it is subjected to the digestive process of a species of civet cat endemic to Java.
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Getting closer to the source
The long awaited sequel to the first story I wrote about Bali has finally arrived. Many of you might remember the first installment where I waxed lyrical about my Balinese experiences in the past and how we were now on a mission to explore in greater depths, the coffee coming out of Bali.
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Village Friendly cups arrive
Yes yes yes — they are finally here!!!
I know it seemed like it would never happen but our “Village Friendly” ristretto cups have finally arrived.
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Hazel runs a master class
For those who follow the world of international coffee competition, the name Hazel de los Reyes is probably very familiar.
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2007 World Barista Championship results — Tokyo.
Breaking News :: James Hoffman, UK Barista Champion, has been crowned the 2007 World Barista Champion.
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Back to basics
Life is funny sometimes. We live in a world characterised by the accumulation of things or experiences in the pursuit of happiness. Every experience and every toy we collect along life’s journey is measured against the last. Our measure of contentment and satisfaction often becomes inextricably linked to the notion of each thing or experience becoming more complex, bigger, faster, shinier or more intense … and then you go camping.
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More to Bali than just tourism
It’s the middle of winter (well not exactly the middle) and given the weather over the last week or so it’s probably no surprise that Bali has been on my mind.
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Hmmm! That tastes like ... ?
I’ve just been away to a friend’s place in the country for the long weekend where I was forced to completely switch off from all things coffee.
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In the beginning
In 2000, I landed my first shipment of coffee from PNG into Freo. I was so excited. I remember it well. I’d got Jerry (my friend who owns the mill in Chuave) to ship me nine 60kg bags of the coffee that I’d especially arranged to buy from him before I left PNG and moved back to Australia. This coffee was going to be part of the genesis of my new life outside of education — the rest is history.
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Rwandan in fine form
I’ve been out of the office for what feels like most of March. Much of my time away was spent with suppliers of some of our equipment — many of whom are situated in places that have been synonymous with great coffee.
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Coffees out of Africa
In October last year I spent four weeks exploring Central Southern Africa. Better, more stable economic and political times in many of the countries previously dogged by war and dictatorship have lead to the emergence of healthier investment into industries such as coffee — and wow, the results have been amazing.
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Intro to Village Friendly
In my recent visit to Africa I was confronted yet again with the huge gap in wealth that exists between we Australians and the average other citizen that makes up about 90% of the worlds population.
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