ALBURY coffee roaster Harry Valentine Perry is heading to the source of his coffee this week – Colombia.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Perry, who operates BBB and White Owl Coffee Roasters in Albury, will spend two weeks touring coffee farms in the famous Colombian coffee triangle in the Paisa region north-west of Bogota.
“I've been roasting now for nearly 18 months and, speaking to people in the industry, everyone says if you want to be the best at what you do you've really got to take a trip to the origin,” Mr Perry said.
"So that's what I'm really wanting to do. To learn as much as possible about the actual processing methods, the growing methods over there. Just seeing how it all works.”
Mr Perry and his father Ross fly out on Thursday and will attend international coffee fair ExpoEspeciales before trekking to some of the remote farms which produce some of the best arabica beans in the world.
"I want to build relationships,” Harry Perry said.
“I'd love to be able to source them direct and deal with growers because once you start getting a relationship with these growers you can specify the things you want, such as how it's processed.”
Winemaker Ross Perry, who operates the boutique Olive Hills Estate vineyard near Rutherglen, believed the characteristics and tasting notes of coffee were similar to wine.
He hoped the trip would not only prove educational but also help his son’s coffee roasting develop new blends.
“Finding some regional characteristics of coffee beans and sourcing some unusual beans from some small growers should help find a bit of individuality in the product that Harry's making,” he said.