Residing in Melbourne Australia can sometimes feel like we are disconnected from the coffee producing regions that are located on the opposite side of the globe. The distance between us means we face completely different day to day challenges but amazingly so, we are connected through sharing experiences in the coffee we grow, sell/buy and consume at each end of the supply chain. 

Every so often we hear a story of epic proportions from one of our importing partners in a producing country that speaks volumes about who the people really are that grow some of the specialty lots that we buy for MAKER. This is David & Goliath, the resistance & the empire, or a modern take on the classic tale of tension between building a sustainable world for the future and the resource hungry corporations who only live in the here and now.

The town of Cajamarca coordinated efforts to stand against the national mining conglomerates that were looking to muscle their way into agricultural land in search of gold and natural resources. The Cajamarca community recognised that concentrating on agriculture is more environmentally and socially sustainable for their region long term, giving everyone involved a purpose led strength to fight back in protest against Big Mining. 

All whilst future proofing their agricultural heritage, the 5 local coffee producers who contributed to this lot have delivered an incredibly high quality coffee that is as remarkable as the story behind it. This coffee was selectively hand harvested then pulped using a small manual or electric pulper. Fermentation happens in tanks for 48 hours and finally the coffee is washed clean using water from nearby rivers and streams. 

It was then carefully dried for approx 14 days on parabolic beds which are constructed a bit like a greenhouse to protect the coffee from the rain and prevent condensation from dripping onto itself. The greenhouse is built of plastic sheets and has adjustable walls to help with airflow to ensure the coffee can dry slowly and evenly.

There is an element of depth and structure to this wonderfully crafted lot of coffee that we find so moreish. The sense of place present in each brewed cup is entirely captivating and the unmistakable sweetness in this coffee is reminiscent of a classic french dessert known as Tarte Tatin. Think beautifully caramelised apple and butter pastry, with hints of almond and a long, lingering palate. 

Maybe you can have your cake and eat it too ;)

The La Serrania Decaf is a combination of small holder lots from 20 independent producers located in the mountain range along the central Andes of Colombia.

Careful hand sorting and processing at each individual farm allows this coffee to shine in the cup even before it is delivered to the Descafecol plant in Manizales, where the Natural Ethyl Acetate Decaffeination process takes place.

This version of the EA process relies on 100% natural sugarcane mixed with mountain water that removes 99.7% of the caffeine content present. With the majority of the original flavour and aroma intact from variety characteristics, this unique method allows us to taste through the decaf process to see the underlying high quality of green coffee, which is extremely rare to find in decaffeinated coffees. 

Without a doubt this is an exciting look into the future of quality decaffeinated coffee and how delicious it can be. Our thanks to Caravela for bringing this high quality decaf to our attention and handling the exporting logistics. Late afternoon coffee never looked so drinkable!

We're seeing this new Decaf coffee present with amazing sweetness reminiscent of banoffie pie and vanilla with a delightfully syrupy structure. We will be roasting this lot for both Filter and Espresso preparation methods, so be sure to stop by your favourite Maker location to secure the bag for all your home brewing needs. 

The Serra da Canastra is a significant mountain range in southeastern Brazil. Nestled within the Brazilian Highlands, it is known for its striking landscapes, rich biodiversity, and economic resources. The range is also the birthplace of the São Francisco River, one of Brazil's most essential watercourses.

Edson Luiz Ignacio’s farm is nestled in the renowned Serra da Canastra, a biodiversity sanctuary teeming with an impressive variety of flora and fauna. The natural habitats of this region range from imposing rocky fields to lush gallery forests, encouraging a rich tapestry of wildlife throughout. 

The soil of the Serra da Canastra is rich in nutrients, the result of the decomposition of rocks and minerals over time. These soil characteristics provide coffee plants with the nutrients needed for healthy growth and good fruit quality, as well as allowing for adequate water retention. The preservation of the local ecosystem guarantees a high quality of soil fertility and is responsible for a coffee with sensory notes that reflect the richness of the environment.

Fortunately for Edson the farm naturally repels pests and plant diseases due to the micro climate and altitude in this specific geographical position, reducing the need for pesticides and chemicals. 

Edson’s focus on regenerative agricultural practices and the use of organic fertilizers gives this natural Catucai an aromatic lift that we cannot get enough of. We’re finding a pure expression of place in each cup, filled with charming notes of pineapple, white grape and toffee-like sweetness.

Thank you to Southland who handled the logistics of getting this coffee to our shores and into our warehouse. We're thrilled to be serving this delightful lot at all Maker cafes.

This year at MAKER we’ve taken it upon ourselves to dig a little deeper in sourcing coffees that not only exemplify the quality we love to drink every day, but also tell the story of human connection in where it was grown and who is farming the land it was grown on. 

There is something to be said for the magic in truly exceptional coffee arriving to our shores here in Australia. It starts in the hands of the grower then passes through multitudes of quality check points before moving into the logistics phase which is where a high portion of the risk is posed from a wide range of factors that can affect quality. Sometimes it can be extreme fluctuating temperatures during shipping and often it can be lengthy customs or port delays interrupting a smooth transit time. It is almost as if the stars need to align at every stage of a coffees journey so that we can experience this beautiful agricultural product at its peak performance. 

Ruminating on this, we’d like to take this opportunity to personally thank Aida, Ariel, Carmen, Claudia, Flavio, Leonel, Luis, Maruja, Omar, Sandra, Segundo, Wilmar, Wilson, Yasmin, Yilmar for coming together and creating this beautiful expression of Caturra and Colombia varieties, from the town of Aponte, and Melbourne Coffee Merchants for finding and delivering this absolute gem from the Nariño region to us here at Maker. 

Contributing coffee producer Ariel Ordoñez from Aponte.

Contributing coffee producer Aida Chasoy from Aponte.

Contributing coffee producer Omar Sampayo from Aponte.

This is a coffee steeped in history and grounded in incredible quality at every stage of its journey. This small group of 15 producers are known best as the regional experts in the ‘honey’ processing method, as well as being the cultural descendants of the original Inca indigenous people from Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. The town of Aponte’s unique micro-climate of warm winds and year-round cool temperatures have benefited this producer group for many years in reaching ultra high quality coffee production. Located at upwards of 2100 meters above sea level, this is some of the highest altitude cultivated land in all of Colombia, if not the world over. 

Bringing together these unique geographical and production elements has created a beautifully expressive cup profile from this group of Aponte producers. The lush aromatics, plentiful tropical notes, and refined sugary sweetness are all underpinned by the wonderful sense of place present in the brewed coffee. This is old world heritage and new world coffee production combined with a little splash of magic to be found in every cup. 

Available now at all Maker locations and online. 

Abedo Abamecha Ahmed’s coffee is from arguably the cultural and botanical home of coffee in the world, in a relatively small town by the name of Jimma in Ethiopia. It comes to us from a washing station owned by Abedo which he first established in 2017. From humble beginnings of only a few coffee beds and a tiny coffee processing machine in 2021, Abedo has since expanded the processing and drying infrastructure significantly, finding success in producing and processing some of the highest quality coffee in the famed ‘birthplace of all coffee’ region.

Abedo’s station now has the ability to process over 220 tonnes of coffee each year with 70 temporary and 6 permanent employees. His future plan is “to grow our coffee farm, bring on additional coffee farmers and growers, boost exports, and establish a sustainable business”.

Abedo’s naturally processed coffee starts with the selection of the finest and ripest cherry. They take 20-25 days to dry on average and Abedo says “We harvested this coffee from 30 hectares of our own land where we collaborated with 200 grower farmers - 30 from the Meti village and 170 from Bedeyi village”. Each batch of coffee is tracked by a tagging system from the farm to the final product, ensuring traceability and stored according to their specific lots.

MAKER partnered with Shared Source for this gorgeous lot of natural heirloom Ethiopian coffee in the 2024 buying season. The Ethiopian government authorities set a ‘minimum coffee sale price’ by region, by coffee grade and by seller type. The minimum pricing stipulated by the authorities for the grades and type Shared Source bought fluctuated between $4.20 and $4.40 USD per pound (FOB Djibouti) for G1 washed and $4.30 - $4.45 USD per pound for naturals during this buying season. We’re thrilled that Ethiopia has commanded such a premium above the commodity coffee price which at the time of purchase in 2024 was around $1.80 - $1.90 USD per pound. 

Abedo’s natural heirloom coffee reminds us of summer stone fruits in the cup, incredibly moreish and refreshing at this time of year in Australian summer. Layered with complex tropical fruit character and the silkiest, creamiest texture, we can’t get enough of this beautifully pure Ethiopian coffee. 

In 2025 MAKER embarked on a new partnership with Shared Source Exports, who specialise in incredibly high quality and traceable lots from Colombia and Guatemala. 

Shared Source are farmgate purchasers who pay in-full directly to producers or their independent associations, upon delivery of parchment, in local currency. Their goal is to pay coffee prices that are socially impactful beyond just the transaction and the quality in the cup. 

We fell in love with Arlam Aguirre’s 2024 coffee that was blended from separately produced lots of caturra and bourbon. Shared Source paid Q1575 per quintal which was 25% above the market price at the time, in the local currency, which is about as “direct trade” as coffee purchasing can possibly be. 

Our coffee exporting pal Andrew (from Shared Source) first met Arlam in 2016 when he was working as a technician and agronomist for Anacafe which is Guatemala’s national coffee organisation. Attending several of the same trips unknowingly to meet small cooperatives and associations in Huehuetenango, Arlam and Andrew eventually connected and found a very close alignment in organic farming practices and high quality coffee from the Huehue region.

Arlam’s wife, Yoesmi, was the original connection point in this relationship, as the first few lots produced came from Yoesmi’s family farm. These days Yoesmi is not actively involved in coffee production but remains in touch with Arlam’s work and is a keen supporter of their shared success in quality.

As a diligent and focussed quality coffee producer, Arlam is a fairly serious guy with dreams of transitioning his plots of land to fully organic agriculture, but alas, those dreams have evolved into what's known as “production limpio” which translates to “clean production”. This term gives weight to supplementing small amounts of conventional fertilisers with organic products and no herbicides or fungicides used for soil health and fertility reasons. 

Additionally he filters his “agua miels” (polluted water from washing coffee) so that his total water consumption at the farm is less than the average local producer, meaning he can re use an amount of filtered water in future, helping to keep costs down and one foot in the door of further sustainability measures. 

Shared Source last visited Arlam in March 2023 after he had just installed new tanks and new channels to wash and sort cherry more thoroughly by density, not too dissimilar to the equipment practices used in Ethiopia.

The standard practice at the Aguirre processing station is to submerge all cherry fermentations, which is a practice most commonly found in Colombia these days. In wider Huehuetenango some hybrid form of fermentation is used where producers will partly submerge under water with water changed daily. We think a big part of the reason Arlam’s found such success in a crowded Guatemala coffee producing region is because of this attention to detail, looking further abroad for inspiration on different processing practices and investing in finding and sticking to methods that work best for quality reasons.

The locality of the Aguirre plots are in a township called "Agua Dulce” which is right on the Mexican border. The micro climate here is interestingly and weirdly cold and simultaneously humid. It’s a “corridor" as the locals describe it where hot air meets cold air so there’s lots of rain and a dense thick humidity that you can taste all year round. 

Arlam says his cherry more often than not will ‘Brix’ range between 19-25, which is the measurement of sugar content inside the ripe fruit, when it is ready to be picked from the tree. For reference, this is a high measurement of sugar content as far as Guatemala coffee production goes. 

We couldn't be more excited to share this gorgeous micro lot from Arlam Aguirre with you at Maker. You can find Arlam’s coffee available at all Maker locations and on our website, shipped straight to your door.