Ask the Roaster - Anne from Monsoon Estates
How was the Roastery founded, what was the inspiration?
We developed our love of good coffee whilst living in Europe and later Australia. On our return to the UK we struggled to find a good cup. We started roasting our own coffee beans for our own use. It was strange how we first started the business. Our dear friend Shelley asked us if we would attend a charity sale she was organising and bring some of our coffee. We had such an enthusiastic reception that we thought maybe we could do this as a business. We started with a small Toper roaster from Turkey that we set up in our kitchen. What started out as a genuine quest to find a good cup of coffee lead us to where we are now; roasting and selling our own coffee.
Monsoon Estates was born!
What's your favourite part about working at the Roastery?
We are lucky that our roastery is in a beautiful location on the Alscot Estate. It’s such a lovely environment to work from and we really enjoy the social aspect of our customers dropping in to see us. We all get great pleasure in discovering new coffees from areas that we have not tried before.
What's your proudest accomplishment?
Since our first Great Taste Award back in 2012 we have managed to pick up at least one award in each year since. In 2016 we received our first 3 Star award for our own Espresso Blend. It also won Top Fifty UK product and took the Golden Fork award for our region (Midlands Estate Anglia). Will picked up 2 Stars for his Winter Blend on his first attempt. Winning awards regularly means that we can now use the coveted Great Taste Producer stamp of approval. It's great to know that we have been able to maintain our standards whilst increasing the quantity of beans that we roast.
2012 - Nicaraguan Maragogype 2 star 2017 - Vernal Vibe Blend 1 Star
2013 - Ethiopian Yirgacheffe 1 star 2018 - Ethiopian Shalaitu 3 star
2014 - Vernal Vibe Blend 1 star 2018 - Ethiopian Sidamo Shakisso 2 star
2014 - Ethiopian Yirgacheffe 2 star 2018 - Ethiopian Hama 2 star
2014 – Monsoon Espresso Blend 2 star 2018 - Guatemalan San Guayaba 2 star
2014 - Papua New Guinea Blend 1 star 2018 - Monsoon Espresso Blend 2 star
2015 - Organic Ethiopian Yirgacheffe 1 star 2018 - Swiss Water Decaf Espresso Blend 2 star
2015 - Papua New Guinea Blend 1 star
2015 - Daterra Bourbon Collection 1 star
2015 - Daterra Sweet Collection 1 star
2016 - Monsoon Espresso Blend 3 star
2016 - Will’s Winter Blend 2 star
2017 - Colombian Honey Process 2 star
2017 - Swiss Water Decaf Brazil 1 Star
2017 - Ethiopian Dumerso 1 Star
What three words best describe your Roastery?
Fun - Tasty - Social
What’s your favourite place to enjoy a coffee, and what coffee would that be?
Being nostalgic it would have to be a double espresso at 1 in the morning from Joe at the original Café Sport in Northbridge Perth WA, where we used to live. An authentic Italian café, with Mamas home cooking, the best Tiramisu ever, old men playing Italian cards in the back room. The atmosphere was intoxicating, it was a moment in another world.
Finally, what Dog & Hat combination would you choose?
A whippet in a baseball cap.
