Nathaniel James is one of those baristas whose enthusiasm for the coffee bean is an infectious force. His many regulars at Frothers Espresso on Glebe Road in Merewether – previously known as Esther C – are not just treated every morning to meticulously prepared espressos, batch brews and pour over coffees, they are also invited by James to engage in a conversation about the origins of the coffee beans themselves.
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It is these invitations, to learn and to gather knowledge about the intricate flavour profiles specific to each coffee growing region, that have helped some of his customers develop, cup by cup, into connoisseurs of all things caffeinated.
At Frothers Espresso this Sunday, July 29, alongside James Conway and Luke Webster from local roasters Glitch, James will be extending an even more generous invitation to the espresso enthusiasts of Newcastle. Like master winemakers might host a tasting of a rare and expensive vintage, these boys will be offering samples of a prestigious coffee bean varietal known as the HR-61.
On special occasions when this bean has made available in Australia, iconic roasteries like Proud Mary in Melbourne have requested $100 for admission to a cupping session. In an online auction this year, the winning bid for a pound of organic HR-61 was $120, or $1854 for a single box.
If you find these prices for a bag of coffee beans slightly ridiculous, then you are not unlike the vast majority of everyday coffee drinkers. But a large part of what James and his roasting team at Glitch are aiming to achieve is demystifying what has been referred to as the cult of the coffee bean micro-lot.
What makes the HR-61 so special is that it originates not from a region or even a coffee growing estate within a region in Colombia. The annual yield of HR-61 beans, sometimes amounting to an incredibly tiny 22kg, is only ever grown in a micro-lot – a precious portion of soil within a specific coffee plantation. Like a vigneron might be able to trace a wine to a single sunny hillside in Bordeaux, so too does the flavour of this coffee depend on the unique terroir within which it is cultivated.
So what does the HR-61 actually taste like? Of course you will have to judge for yourselves. One thing I can say for certain is that James, true to character, will be uncommonly generous with his time and his expertise for anyone who wishes to learn more about the world’s third most expensive coffee bean.
Although there will be a cover charge to attend the tasting, James has no intention of charging any enthusiasts an exorbitant fee to simply enjoy a few sips of the pure Colombian HR-61. Conway and Webster from Glitch, who transported the vacuum sealed beans before painstakingly roasting them here in Newcastle, will also be on hand to share in this exclusive coffee experience.
The Launch of the HR-61, Frothers Espresso, 140 Glebe Road, Merewether, Tasting Sunday, July 29, from 3-5pm.
