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Zest Specialty Coffee Roasters, heart on their sleeves and coffee on their mind.

Posted By admin, January 05,2016, in Featured roaster

Featured roaster – January 2016

Setting the bar high for 2016 is Zest Specialty Coffee Roasters, founded on a shared affection for impeccable coffee by brothers Rod and Anton Greenfield in 2009 when Melbourne’s specialty coffee movement was still in its infancy.

The “Z” team as they’re affectionately known, is made up of young, creative and innovative personalities, all with an endless passion for specialty coffee. Wanting something to capture the spirit of the company and coffee, “Zest” naturally came to mind as a word which embodies great energy, enthusiasm and excitement, and is also commonly used to describe exciting flavours – and so this name came to be.

The team view coffee as an experience – beyond just a daily morning ritual, where being diverse and invested in exceptional coffee experiences of every coffee drinker is a cornerstone of their philosophy. When sourcing coffee, the team extensively scour the globe for extraordinary coffee producing microlots. The added bonus of getting to know the farms and workers on a personal level is to them a wonderful and humbling experience, and sharing the coffee and stories from these experiences with their customers is as equally rewarding.

The family-led team roast out of their aptly-named “Green Room” (Greenfield, green beans… geddit?!) in Melbourne’s outer south east. This inviting space is open to those intrigued to learn about and get involved in coffee cupping, tasting and extraction – practicing their mantra that ‘education brews appreciation’ with the team letting us in on their secrets on how to extract the best from every bean. And you only have to speak to the team to realise that they are all heart about their craft. Something which is evident through their commitment to education – openly sharing their coffee knowledge which, can be witnessed over at their blog which documents their coffee journey and experience and exudes unparalleled gusto for the bean.

This enthusiasm and dedication has recently seen their expansion aspirations come to fruition, where their mission to spread their craft has spawned a second Green Room in Sydney’s Marrickville – as yet another platform to grow awareness and appreciation of their art.

And as if this expansion wasn’t achievement enough, did we mention they’re also an award-winning roaster? Recently taking home silver and bronze accolades at the 2015 Australian International Coffee Awards, and achieving overall runner up position at the 2015 National Golden Bean Awards (complete with a six medal haul)! And as it happens, our members will get to experience some of these award-winning flavours for themselves this month, as the Zest team want to give you a chance to try the best of the best!…

Espresso drinkers

Experience the charm of their flagship ‘Composition VII’ blend, an exclusive edition from Zest’s ‘Expressist’ series. This series highlights a metaphorical similarity between listening to a piece of music which has a certain feel, energy and mood with tasting a particular coffee which has a particular flavour experience. This award-winning ‘Composition VII’ blend takes this concept but uses a piece of visual art as a metaphorical reference. They reckon this blend is the most significant they have imagined to date – so much so that they insist this to be free from any ascribed tasting notes, believing this coffee deserves to be enjoyed without preconceptions – but rather be judged by one’s own experience of the taste itself. Like art, it is to be interpreted for what the drinker tastes, allowing them to draw their own flavour interpretations… So we do as we are told, as it is after all a silver and a bronze medal winner, so the experts can’t be wrong(!)

Explorers, take hold of another silver medalist in the Konga Keble microlot of Yirgacheffe Ethiopia. Possessing optimal climatic conditions and coveted heirloom varietals, this region is widely celebrated as the perfect region for growing coffee – yielding coffee with a distinctive floral and citric fruity profile.
Processed via the natural method affording it a bold and dark sweetness – the flavours of the Konga Keble are reminiscent of sparkling grape juice and white nectarines, carrying hints of sage and thyme complemented by immense molasses and malt sweetness.

Filter drinkers

There will be no fomo here – you’ll too have the chance to experience the charm of the award-winning Konga Keble microlot of Yirgacheffe Ethiopia. Taste the same toothsome flavours of sparkling grape juice and white nectarine enjoyed by Espresso drinkers, however with a more delicate body and a greater acidic profile emphasised by this lighter roast.

Explorers, delight your senses with the Santa Clara Carocolito microlot from in Antigua, Guatemala. Farm owner Ricardo Zelaya was the first to notice the unique flavour complexities of his Bourboncito (Dwarf Bourbon) varietal which, with common Bourbon and Caturra varietals, make up the ‘Caracolito’ micro-lot. Bourboncito produces unusually small bean sizes which contribute to a unique and delicious cup profile with both fruit-like and tea-like characteristics.
This Guatemalan is glorious with vast and vibrant fruit resemblances and delicate tea-like quality. Notes of mulled wine, red grape, blackcurrant, bergamot oil and soft tropical fruit surface punctuated by hints of cola, cocoa nibs and spice.

 

How do you rate Zest’s coffee this month?

 

Stay caffeinated in the New Year!
Ash + Team No-BS.

Zest Coffee Z

Zest Coffee team

Zest Coffee espresso machine

Zest Coffee milk jug pour

Zest Coffee takeaway

Zest Coffee tasting

Zest_Coffee_pourover_bronze

Zest Coffee packaging bags

(Photos courtesy of zestcoffee.com.au)

Find out more about this month’s roaster at www.zestcoffee.com.au

 

Fine establishments serving Zest Specialty Coffee near you:

VIC

Hash Specialty Coffee, Melbourne | facebook.com/hashcoffeeroasters

Fordham’s Milk Bar, Camberwell | facebook.com/pages/Fordhams-Milk-Bar/253836438022642

Percy’s Aeroplane, Kew | percysaeroplane.com.au

North & Eight, Essendon | dimmi.com.au/restaurant/north-and-eight

Black Squirrel, Sandringham | blacksquirrel.com.au

The Odd Room, Cheltenham | facebook.com/theoddroom.melbourne

 

See zestcoffee.com.au/cafes for a full list, or head on over to their webshop to get more Zest action.

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