STOKA COFFEE CO. - JULY 2022: Coffee Selectors Home Brewers Award.

While roasting can be a tedious and monotonous labour of love that time-starves, we still try to keep you updated with a little bit of ‘happenings’ in and around our little shop and show the Coffs public what’s on offer at any given time. This month, our roasting team devised up an idea to throw a bag of popular beans into the 2022 Coffee Selectors Home Barista Awards and see how it went. Up against the big wigs from the cities, chances were always going to be slim, but to our surprise, we ended up bagging a third-place with our Seasonal Blend.

Talking to Co-owner and lead roaster, Karlee, we grabbed a toastie with her to talk about direction with our coffees and where it might lead to in the future of the business.

“Getting a third was a complete surprise for the team. Coffee Selectors are a Newcastle based company that offers a wide range of coffees around Australia. We just thought it would be a good idea to chuck our main product in the mix and see how it went. It wasn’t so much about competing at all. If anything, it was simply great to participate and see how we placed with a tested product that we’ve developed over a number of years”.

"The coffee from Honduras and Ethiopia are blended after an 8-step roasting process that sees temperatures sit at specific time periods".

“The beauty of the way we do things here is that we put total trust into the roaster on-site and encourage the use all our senses. Modern technology has enabled a more automatic culture in roasting, which I believe is running out of steam so to speak. Both Andy and I recognise patterns in each roast which needs to be upheld throughout the duration. We learn so much more that way. We’re not about pushing a button to do the thinking for you. We feel, touch, smell & see everything that goes in that iron drum, and make decisions on that process”.

“Our small business is evolving. The next few years will give us opportunities to concentrate on showcasing more variety in specialty coffees from around the world. The best part of STOKA is that it is never stagnant. It's constant and ever moving. A pre-requisite for all businesses these days.