Campos Superior Blend
Whoa! Australia has a good coffee and I didn’t know. I discovered that in a Facebook post, where I posted that I loved XUE Gran Reserva and some Australian friends commented that Austalia also has a good coffee.
This one was an Aussie gift from my friend Russ Sayers, and considering that the gift took 1 month after roasted to arrive at its destination (Brazil - São Paulo), the taste is still delicious! I had only 1 cup and can’t wait to have another one in a few minutes.
I’m doing it on the Aeropress using the inverted method, medium-fine grinding with water starting at 80 degrees Celsius (yes, we speak Celsius, g’day mate!) 30 seconds on turbulence, 1-minute dissolving and 30 seconds pumping slowly directly into the cup with a 1:10 ratio. These beans deliver me a very pleasant sweetness with a strong body, toffee and fruity notes with a solemn aftertaste. The sweetness, body and acidity on the cup are something very consistent and has unyielding characteristics.
We can read the following, according to the technical specifications on this coffee’s page on Campos website:
The award winning flagship blend of Campos Coffee. We have served this in our stores from day 1 and it has been the secret to our success. A True Specialty Coffee Blend-toffee base with slight fruity highlights. Rich body with a sweet butterscotch finish. Fantastic dimension. Just won Gold in 2013 Royal Tasmanian Agricultural Show for Plunger Category, and Silver for Espresso. Our flagship blend, the Campos Superior, is not simply a blend. It is a project.
Here is a little about the ongoing Superior project..
We at Campos Coffee pride ourselves on our dedication to ethical business practices and giving credit where credit is due. Three years ago, we felt that credit was well overdue to the farmers who work so hard to produce this award winning coffee we enjoy every day. We also felt it was time we confirmed the background of our coffees. Though most of our coffees do have certification – be it Rainforest Alliance, Organic, UTZ or Certified Fair Trade, we decided to visit every producer to confirm the coffee is being produced ethically and sustainably.
We soon found this was not going to be a one-off trip, but an on going presence at origin which would see us form solid relationships and friendships we aim to keep for generations.
The farms we select for the Superior are the leaders in the Specialty Coffee world for their regions. Most are exclusive to Campos Coffee in Australia and the line-up we have is the envy of roasters around the globe- from the United States, to Europe, to Japan. What most roasters have as a “special, one-off” coffee, we use as the standard ingredients within our flagship blend. That is what Specialty Coffee is all about and we will never relent in maintaining these standards.
Ethics in farming is essential and we will always remain diligent on this. Suffice to say, the Superior project hasn’t come without it’s upsets. Some farms we did use in the past had to be cut from the list upon visiting their operations to find unethical practices being used. We have zero tolerance for child labour, inhumane working conditions, or unsustainable farming practices. On the upside, for those whose ideology matches ours, we aim to give back not just in premium payments for coffee, but also by supporting social projects and providing benefits to the communities behind the farms.
Producer:
Various producers, depending on the season. See Our Producers page for more info.
Varietal:
Bourbon, Caturra, Typica, Ethiopian Heirloom
Altitude:
1100 - 2400m
Harvest:
Seasonal Blend
Certifications:
Varied certifications, UTZ, Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade Organic among them Cupping Notes: Very consistent blend. Solid Body, sweet butterscotch and toffee, lingering mouthfeel, fruity highlights, quality
The price is OK for the quality it provides, in this case it was a gift but I would certainly pay 15 AUD for 250g of these valuable and brilliant beans who are responsible for providing me the immense sensation of life in the morning. Thanks again, Russ!
You can buy it at Campos Website.
