Check out what Hudsons Coffee's new blend boasts of
It features a dark roast and earthy flavours.
Hudsons Coffee introduced the new Barista’s Choice blend, which boasts a darker roast made up with three specialty Arabica beans from Ethiopia and Brazil, and specialty Kaapi Royale Robusta bean from India.
According to the brand, it is their ‘boldest’ blend yet. Lisa Feeley, Hudsons Coffee’s resident coffee expert, shared, ““We want to offer our customers choice and quality when it comes to our coffee, the Barista’s Choice Blend is intensely flavoured and naturally sweet, from first sip to last.”
Below is a Q&A with Lisa Feeley, Resident Coffee Expert at Hudsons Coffee.
QSR Media: You talk about the “changing landscape of coffee” in Australia, in what way has it changed in your opinion?
Feeley: We’ve been listening closely to our customers who have told us that their tastes have changed. They wanted a return to the more traditional consumption of coffee; smaller but more intense in flavour to suit their changing lifestyles.
The new Barista’s Choice blend was created in response and is intense in taste with earthy flavours and caramel undertones.
The inclusion of the Kaapi Royale Robusta bean, gives the blend its earthy flavour as well as an intense, traditional coffee taste.
QSR Media: Tell us more about your coffee sales, and will the new blend be also available in the take home range?
Feeley: We have a small retail sector for customers in Hudsons Coffee stores, but the majority of our coffee sales are for made-in-store beverages.
The Barista’s Choice Blend is available by the cup at nearly 70 conveniently located Hudsons Coffee stores around Australia, or in take home form:
- 50g pre-ground bags, RRP $2.90
- 1kg whole beans, which can be ground on request, RRP $46.00
QSR Media: Can you give our readers an idea about the research and timeframe it takes to develop a new blend?
Feeley: The new blend was more than nine months in the making.
We began by talking to coffee consumers to find out what it was exactly that they wanted from their coffee. From that research we then constructed a brief and submitted it to our roasting company who began developments.
It took months of roasting then cupping, roasting then cupping to narrow down the flavour profile.
Once we had a shortlist of potential blends, we took it back to Australia’s coffee drinkers and asked them what they thought in various focus groups. The result was the Barista’s Choice blend, a bold cup of coffee with big, intense flavour!
QSR Media: What were the top 3 considerations when this new blend was developed?
Feeley: We actually had two overarching considerations, which all factors had to reflect:
1. Is this what consumers are asking for?
2. Does it meet our objectives for coffee quality?
QSR Media: How has the reaction been to the new blend?
Feeley: We have had a great response to the new blend and are finding that many of our existing customers are really enjoying having the option between blends to reflect their mood and time of day that they’re coming in.
The quality and variety is bringing customers back in time and again.
These are my top tips on how customers can make their own perfect cup of coffee at home using Hudsons Coffee’s take home beans:
- Knowing what you like is important – do you enjoy the natural sweetness of a latte, or the foam of a cappuccino for example?
- Buy small portions of coffee as you would fruit and vegetables. Although people often forget, coffee is a fresh product and does have a short shelf life
- Store your coffee in a cool place and in an airtight container away from other strong smelling foods
- For milk coffees it’s important not to have the temperature too hot. Aim instead for around 60 – 65ºC
- Use the right quantity of coffee to water in your brewing, regardless of whether you enjoy your coffee weak or strong. To make coffee stronger, add less milk, or to make it weaker, add more milk.
- Lastly, make time to enjoy your coffee experience and savour the moment!
