June 15, 2018
Colombia Ubaque (Espresso)
Colombia Rosa Elena (Filter)
Here at 3000 Thieves, we don’t like to play favourites. But if we were to dub one roaster as our all time BFF, there’s no doubt that Rumble Coffee Roasters would take the cake. Located around the corner from our head office, the Kensington-based roasters have been our friends in many times of caffeinated need (like realising your last bag of beans is empty before the weekend! Gasp!)
Headed by Matt Hampton (Head Roaster / Green Buyer), Joe Molloy (Director / Roaster), Stan Bicknell (Head of Dispatch / Training) and Alex Cole (Roaster / QC), the NZ-turned-Melbourne lads have made a big impact both in the Melbourne and international coffee scenes, constantly raising the bar of exceptional coffee.
And now that bar is proudly being raised in an all new area. Dubbed the Transparency Project, Rumble have created a new model of buying coffee which discloses what they pay for it.
“Terms like ‘Specialty Coffee’ and ‘Direct Trade’ have been co-opted and abused and no longer carry much meaning,” explains Matt. “If the market price for coffee is below the cost of production, farmers will grow other crops that don’t lose money. Cheap coffee doesn’t help anybody. Our goal is to encourage a conversation about coffee pricing, and motivate people to pay more for great coffee.”
Rumble’s Transparency Project model has four key pillars:
- Quality (buying coffee based on deliciousness)
- Sustainability (farmers must be committed to environmental and sustainable practices, like Rainforest Alliance, UTZ, 4C or organic)
- Communication (a clear line of communication must be established with the farmer or co-op, including the opportunity to visit them at origin)
- And financial transparency (requiring transparency of finances from trade partners, including prices paid to the farmer or co-op. This must be at least 25% higher than “Fair Trade”)
Under the model, Rumble will disclose prices paid for their coffee via marketing material, social media and their website, plus they’ll release a Transparency Report at the end of each financial year.
It’s no surprise that Rumble’s coffee is also utterly delicious. For this month’s espresso lovers, we have the Colombia Ubaque. With notes of toffee apple, milk chocolate and coffee blossom, it’s a stunner in the cup that will keep you going back for seconds.
If brewed on a commercial espresso machine, the boys recommend:
- 22g in to 42g out, over 32 seconds
For this month’s filter fans we have the Colombia Rosa Elena, which features a mouth-watering palate of nectarine, cherry and red grape.
If brewed on an AeroPress, the Rumble team recommend using:
- 15g to 250ml, with a 1:30 brew time.
With more incredible coffees being rolled out under the Transparency Project as the year goes on, we can’t wait to see what our BFF’s at Rumble come up with next...
KEEP IN TOUCH!
Visit Rumble
For public cuppings every Friday at 3pm (excludes public holidays):
8 Thompson Street, Kensington VIC 3031
Instagram: @rumblecoffee
www.rumblecoffee.com.au
