"The Piper" has been our Head of Coffee for 4 years already. Anthony does not only do the magic on the roaster, but also he is in touch with farmers, importers and producers and finds all the amazing varietals and beans, you will find in the coffee bags.
Are you a filter or espresso kinda guy?
Filter, but a unicorn espresso can be mind-altering.
Where are you from?
Perth, Western Australia
Did you go to University/ Higher Education? If so, what did you study?
JA, Economics @Murdoch University
When and why did you start working in Coffee?
2012 in London I saw an interesting scene emerging and wanted to be a part of it.
You brewed your own beer - what’s the story behind this?
I’ve always worked in Brewery bars and have a large interest in fermentation and flavour, so it seemed like a fun project. Beer brewing though is about 90% cleaning and I don’t have the patience for the long fermentation periods to taste my results.
You are the Head Roaster at 19grams - how does a day for you look like?
Dream day: Arrive brew a couple of filter brews in prep for my brewers cup routine. Sample roast some fresh crop samples, cup and score a bunch of fresh crop samples and send a few emails to our long term partners letting them know what coffees we are going to purchase this harvest.
Jump on the roaster in the afternoon and do some profile roasting of some new fancy Single origin coffee.
Reality: Arrive and box up and ship out the days online shop orders, sticker retail bags. Sweep the beans up I split on the floor and answer endless queries and questions my colleagues from marketing/wholesale/online/shops might have about coffee/machines/water filtration/crazy new ideas etc etc etc...
Chase up logistics companies searching for lost samples stuck in customs.
Sweep up the beans I split on the floor. Jump on the roaster in the afternoon and roast 15 batches of Italo Disco and finally sweep up the beans I split bean.
What’s the favourite part of your job?
Seeing how different things affect and change flavour and constantly trying to improve and become a better roaster/brewer is what drives me and I enjoy the most. I really enjoy also being part of a worldwide coffee community.
You are also participating in this year’s Cup of Excellence Cupping as an Observer. How did you become part of this?
Sascha has been a long time partner of the COE, and we were planning to go to the COE at Origin this year because of Covid-19 we couldn’t. There was a chance though that the COE came to us, so I reached out to see if we might be able to Judge. We were one of the lucky few to get the chance in the whole of Europe to judge these amazing coffees.
What’s your personal Espresso/ Aeropress recipe?
Patented aerodrip recipe
19g medium coarse grind
60g bloom and swirl
Fill to the top of the aeropress(320g) and let gravity do the rest
Did you discover any brewing method that everybody should know about?
See above
How do you brew a Chemex without Chemex filters?
Put flowers in it and use a v60. 185 Kalita papers work nicely in a Chemex also, or you can fit a plastic V60 on top.
What was your favourite cup of coffee that you’ve ever drunk?
https://cafegranjalaesperanza.com/sudan-natural/ brewed by myself for the Brewers cup.
What is your favourite brewing method?
Fellow Stagg X
What’s been your biggest revelation about the coffee industry since you started working in it?
That no one really knew what they were talking about :) But also how amazing the global coffee community is.
Where did you get your skills from? Did you teach yourself everything?
Pestering people I admired in the industry. People tend to be quite open these days which is nice and then also reading the few noteworthy coffee books that are worth reading
Do you have a preferred coffee origin? Is there one country that you drink a lot of coffees from?
Ethiopia. All the other origins are great, but the best coffees from also everywhere in the world these days are just trying to taste like a good Ethiopian coffee.
I also really love African varietals planted in other parts of the world. Gesha/SudanRume/SL28 as you will probably see from our coffee list.
Do you prefer a certain processing method and / or varietal? If so, which one?
Funk is fun if done right, but I’m more into the interesting washed profiles that can be achieved these days. Washed coffees are also easier and safer for a coffee farmer, so that’s an important factor.
On average, how many cups of coffee do you drink in a day?
50 sips
Which is your favourite 19grams coffee at the moment?
Sonora SL28
Have you ever been to Origin? If so, what was your favourite country?
Ja, Brazil and Thailand. Such contrasting experiences but Brazil for the coffee experience for sure and Thailand to see the completely more wild and untouched coffee growing region.
If not, where would be first on your list?
Can’t wait to go hang out on the Beach in Costa Rica with Rob, and I’ve heard amazing things about Colombia and I really want to go to Mexico as it’s one of the few places in the world where wine and coffee grow side by side.