Lexi Webster
Coffee beans are grown in Australia, though many are unaware of this. Coffee has been grown in Australia since 1832, when a small coffee planting was established in Brisbane. Today, coffee is grown in Australia's tropical areas, such as the Atherton Tablelands, northern New South Wales, and Queensland. The Australian coffee industry is small compared to giants like Brazil and Vietnam, with only about 50 growers in the country. However, Australian-grown coffee has been found to be of high quality, scoring similarly to coffee from Brazil, Colombia, and Ethiopia. Australia's moderate climate, ample land, and rich soil make it an ideal place to grow coffee, and the industry is aiming to expand further.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Coffee consumption in Australia | 6 billion cups per year |
| Percentage of Australian-grown coffee consumed | Less than 1% |
| Number of coffee growers in Australia | 50 |
| Coffee-growing regions in Australia | Northern NSW, QLD, tropical north QLD, Atherton Tableland, Sydney, Melbourne |
| Varietals grown in Australia | Arabica (Typica, Catuai, Mundo Novo, Kenyan K7 and SL6), Kenyan, First Fleet, Kamerunga Dwarf |
| Australian coffee characteristics | High quality, sweet, nutty, fruity, chocolatey |
| Challenges to growing coffee in Australia | High labour and land costs, unsuitable climate in some regions |
| Benefits of growing coffee in Australia | Pest and disease-free, clean product, ample land, moderate climate, rich soil |
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What You'll Learn
Australia's coffee-growing history
Coffee production in Australia dates back to the early 1880s. Arabica beans grown on the far north coast of New South Wales won awards in Paris and Rome in the mid-1880s. However, Australia's remoteness from Europe, delays in transport, rising labour costs, and the absence of people to pick the beans led the industry to decline.
In the 1870s, coffee became popular in Australia due to the rise of Parisian coffee shops and the lobbying of the Temperance Movement, a group of Christian women who protested against drunken behaviour. Australia was a predominantly tea-drinking society, but coffee began to be consumed more widely. In 1952, the first espresso machines began to appear in Australia, and many fine Italian coffee houses emerged in Melbourne and Sydney. Pellegrini's Espresso Bar and Legend Café in Melbourne often claim to be the city's first "real" espresso bars, opening in 1954 and 1956, respectively. This decade also saw the establishment of Vittoria, one of Australia's most iconic coffee brands, which remains the country's largest coffee maker and distributor.
In the 1980s, the coffee industry in Australia was reborn with the introduction of mechanical harvesters and higher production machinery. The coffee tree chosen for commercial distribution was a Kenyan varietal called K7, which suited the Australian climate and produced quality beans. However, the K7 trees grew too tall, causing issues with harvesting machinery and increased costs for farmers. Today, there are efforts to boost the Australian coffee industry and make it more competitive on a global scale. Researchers have been trialling different coffee trees, and there is a focus on finding the unique "terroir" of Australian-grown coffee.
Despite Australia's small output compared to coffee-producing giants like Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia, the country's coffee industry has the potential to meet national demand. Australia's ample accessible land, moderate climate, and rich soil make it an ideal place to grow coffee, and the country is known for producing high-quality Arabica coffee. Coffee is grown mainly in northern New South Wales and Queensland due to their subtropical climates. Australian coffee is also unique in that it is one of the most naturally produced in the world, as the absence of serious pests and diseases means no harmful pesticides are required.
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Where coffee is grown in Australia
Coffee beans are grown in Australia, but the industry is small, with only about 50 growers in the country. The main areas where coffee is grown in Australia are northern New South Wales and Queensland, with some coffee farms also located in tropical north Queensland and southeast Queensland. The subtropical climate of these regions is well-suited to coffee growing, providing a longer ripening season that brings out sweet and fruity notes and a chocolatey flavour during roasting.
Within New South Wales, Byron Bay is a notable coffee-growing region, with around 170 farms located in the hinterland of this area. The high cost of land in this region has been cited as a challenge for the coffee industry. Other coffee-growing areas in New South Wales include the Atherton Tablelands, home to the Jack Murat Coffee Farm, and the Whitsundays.
In Queensland, coffee is grown in the Glass House Mountains on the Sunshine Coast, as well as in the Whitsundays, Mt Tamborine, and the Atherton Tablelands. The state's subtropical climate and ample rainfall contribute to the success of coffee cultivation.
While Australia's coffee industry is relatively small compared to global giants like Brazil and Vietnam, there are efforts to boost its presence in the multi-billion-dollar coffee industry. This includes the introduction of new coffee tree varieties that are smaller and easier to farm, addressing the issues presented by the predominant K7 variety, which often grows too tall for easy harvesting.
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The process of growing coffee beans
Coffee plants are classified as small trees, growing between two and eight metres tall. They are evergreen, usually with shiny leaves, and produce fragrant, sweet-smelling white flowers. The seeds of the red fruits, known as cherries, are what are harvested to be roasted as coffee beans. Coffee trees do not grow in all climates. The ideal climate and conditions for coffee cultivation are found in the Coffee Belt, the coffee-growing region bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. This region has the climatic conditions to support the cultivation of the vast majority of the world's coffee plants.
Once the coffee cherries begin to turn red, they are ready to be harvested. There is usually one major harvesting period between October and December. As not all coffee beans mature at the same time, selective picking ensures that only the red cherries are harvested, and any unripe fruit is left to further develop. This method is more labour-intensive and costly but is preferred for the finer Arabica variety.
After harvesting, the cherries must be quickly processed to prevent oxidation, which can impair the flavour. The wet processing method involves pulping the cherries to remove the skin, the papery hull, and the pulped fruit that surrounds the beans before they are milled to remove the rest of the surrounding layers. The beans are then immersed and soaked in water, causing the unripe fruit, cherry skin and pulp to float, while the beans sink to the bottom. This method provides more aroma but less body to the final coffee. Alternatively, the dry method, also known as unwashed or natural coffee, is an old method often used in countries with scarce rainfall. This stage does not require the pulp to be removed before drying. The harvested cherries are laid in the sun or dried by machine to a moisture content of 10-12%. After drying, the outer layers of the bean are discarded through hulling.
The beans are then fermented between eight to 36 hours. Finally, the beans are roasted, causing chemical reactions inside the beans. The starches turn to sugar, the acidity weakens, and the beans become oily, developing an aromatic flavour. The beans are then ground into various levels of fineness before being brewed with hot water to make coffee.
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The impact of climate on coffee growth
Coffee is typically grown in tropical high-altitude areas, and while Australia does not have the high altitudes of coffee-producing giants like Ethiopia, it does have a moderate climate, ample easily accessible land, and rich soil, making it an ideal place to grow coffee. Coffee is grown in two main areas in Australia: northern New South Wales and Queensland, due to the subtropical climate of these regions. The Atherton Tablelands, in particular, is one of these important coffee-growing areas.
Australia's subtropical climate provides a longer ripening season, resulting in distinctive sweet and fruity notes and a chocolatey flavour during roasting. The high altitude of Far North Queensland produces delicious nutty and biscuity notes. The lower average winter temperatures of high-latitude South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales prolong coffee cherry maturation, resulting in a more nutritionally dense coffee bean with great flavour.
Australia's coffee industry is relatively small compared to other countries, with less than 1% of the 6 billion cups of coffee consumed in the country annually being homegrown. This is partly due to the high labour and land costs associated with growing coffee, as well as the decline of the industry in the early 1900s due to rising labour costs and the absence of cheap labour for picking. Additionally, the variety of coffee tree chosen for commercial distribution, the K7, grew too tall for harvesting machines, increasing costs for farmers.
However, there are efforts to boost the Australian coffee industry. Researchers have been trialling different coffee trees in Australia's climate and have narrowed it down to three varietals found in Central and South America that are semi-dwarves, staying at a size that can be machine-harvested. Australia is also considered a safe haven for growing coffee due to its lack of pests and diseases, allowing for a clean, pesticide-free product.
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Australia's coffee industry
Coffee beans do grow in Australia, although many Australians are unaware of this. Coffee has been grown in Australia since 1832, when a small coffee planting was established in Brisbane. The industry took off in the 1980s, with the introduction of mechanical harvesters and higher production machinery. Today, Australia grows and sells about 600 tons of green beans from about 850,000 trees every year. However, compared to coffee-producing giants like Brazil and Colombia, Australia's output is relatively small, with less than 1% of the beans used in the 6 billion cups of coffee consumed annually in Australia being homegrown.
Coffee is grown in two main areas in Australia: northern New South Wales and Queensland, due to their subtropical climate. The Atherton Tablelands in Queensland is a particularly important coffee-growing region. Australia's cooler subtropical latitudes provide a long ripening season, resulting in distinctive sweet and fruity notes and a chocolatey flavour in the coffee beans. The high altitude of Far North Queensland produces nutty and biscuity notes.
Australia has established itself as a world leader in specialty coffee roasting. Australian-grown coffees have scored highly, similarly to, or above, other international coffees. Australian coffee is considered to be of high quality, as the country is largely free of the pests and diseases that afflict coffee crops in other parts of the world, earning it a "'clean green' image. The most commonly grown coffee varietal in Australia is Arabica, which accounts for around 75% of all coffee consumed worldwide. Among the most commonly grown Arabica varietals in Australia are Typica, Catuai, and Mundo Novo.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, coffee beans grow in Australia. Coffee has been grown in Australia since 1832 when a small coffee planting was established in Brisbane. Today, coffee is grown in northern NSW and QLD, due to the subtropical climate of these regions.
Arabica coffee, specifically the Typica, Catuai, and Mundo Novo (hybrid of bourbon and Typica) varieties, are grown in Australia. Some Kenyan varieties, such as K7 and SL6, are also grown as they are more suited to the Australian climate.
Australian-grown coffee is described as having sweet and fruity notes, with a chocolatey flavour. It is sweeter, nuttier, and fruitier in flavour compared to other international coffees.
Australia's coffee farms use water systems to initiate coffee flowering, causing all cherries to grow and ripen simultaneously. During harvest, the cherries are stripped from the trees and processed through mechanical dryers and colour sorters. Australia is also relatively free of pests and diseases, allowing for a "clean green" image and reducing the need for pesticides.
