11 Jul 2022
SHIFT your perceptions
As a coffee roaster, we love to explore, experiment and at times challenge the industry norms. Whether it be a unique processing method, a maligned varietal or an underdog producer, SHIFT is about changing people’s perceptions; taking a preconceived notion of what is standard, normal or even taboo and challenging that.
You’re Only Great Always is a new solo project by Reuben Styles (one half of ARIA award-winning duo, Peking Duk). With a focus on music, art and #MentalHealthStories, Y.O.G.A.’s mission is to create a space where people can come together to talk about mental health and support one another. It’s about working through the bad and celebrating the good.
With Reuben’s beginnings in coffee as a barista whilst he grew his music career, also lies his escape or mental health outlet. Delighting in brewing coffee for his friends along with a good old-fashioned chin wag.
Toby’s Estate and Y.O.G.A are big-time excited to partner on this latest series of SHIFT. A coffee produced in an incredibly unique way, with long-term Brazilian coffee partner Daterra. Made for sharing with a pal. Because is a coffee not shared, really a coffee?
SHIFT: Our Plot - Daterra
Toby’s Estate has had the privilege of working closely with Daterra over the years. So, when the opportunity arose for us to partner with them and to help guide the processing of this incredibly unique coffee we could not have been more excited.
Daterra Sustainable Coffee has long set industry standards in Brazil, and worldwide, for their sustainability efforts, as well as their innovative processing techniques and cutting-edge genetics research.
Daterra’s mission is to produce high-quality coffees with high levels of social and environmental responsibility. Daterra was born from the dream to reinvent coffee farming, with quality and processes of sustainable agriculture. That is how they challenge themselves and their lands to produce coffees that go beyond the norm.
The way they are mapping and tracing every single group of trees from every part of the farm is impressive. Daterra is divided into 220 mini farms (approximately five to fifteen hectares each), and they are recording all information about each mini farm daily.
This record-keeping provides a full understanding of the maturation of each plot that will be harvested. This is determined by cupping the coffee of every small plot separately before harvesting until it reaches the best ripening spot.
Daterra has designed, developed, and built their own wet mill in partnership with Pinalhense, as part of a 10-year research and development project. They have also built a very complex sorting process (screen size and density separation, of course), with 5 electronic sorters each with a specific focus. These sorters work with different light-sorting systems (such as UV and infrared), narrowing defects down to the lowest levels.
The Process
The processing of SHIFT: Our Plot - Daterra was quite unique. Here is how we went about it:
1) A starter culture is created utilising the must (fermented juice) of another coffee (Yellow Catuai), passionfruit pulp, molasses, and cinnamon. This culture undergoes a 190-hour anaerobic fermentation.
2) This starter is then mixed with the ripe cherries of the variety we selected (Arara: a natural hybrid between varietals Obata and Yellow Catuai) which undergoes a further 150 hours of anaerobic fermentation. The Arara cherries ferment inside a tank equipped with a valve system that prevents any gas from entering the tank. As the cherries ferment, they release CO2 and, because carbon dioxide is denser than oxygen, it pushes the lighter gas out through the valve. After a few hours, the tank environment becomes completely anaerobic, allowing the perfect conditions for microorganisms to perform enzymatic reactions.
3) The coffee is then placed on raised beds for drying.
Shop SHIFT
Toby's Estate will donate a portion of all SHIFT coffee and SHIFT merchandise sales to Black Dog Institute, to help us learn more about mental illness and ensure everyone has access to the tools, resources and support.
Watch the Series
An important part of SHIFT is our partnership with Reuben Styles and Y.O.G.A. (You're Only Great Always). Y.O.G.A. is a music project but also a project dedicated to shifting perceptions around mental health.
Join us at Cafe Styles as Rueben makes a cup of morning brown for his friends and finds out what it is they do to keep themselves in a healthy mental place.
First guest, Madi, a local Sydney musician who featured on Y.O.G.A.'s recent track 'Wolfer & the Dove'.
Next up, John, the owner of The Marrickville Hotel.
In episode 3, Reuben sits down with Dan, a friend of Toby's.
Last up, Toby's Head of Coffee, Nich.
