You oughta know #41

In this issue: Brewers Cup coming back to NZ(??); $150US AeroPress; Coffee is expensive.

Nau mai hoki mai - welcome back to You Oughta Know, your regular coffee news hit to the veins.

In this issue: Brewers Cup coming back to NZ(??); $150US AeroPress; Coffee is expensive.

NZSCA seeking sponsors for 2025/2026 Brewers Cup

Now this is exciting news.

There appears to be a bit of a groundswell in the soft brewing competition space. This on the back of a resurgence in interest thanks to the likes of Allbrews and the V60 throwdowns.

NZSCA is seeking sponsors to support a national Brewer’s Cup event in 2025 or 2026. Brewer’s Cup is the soft brew equivalent of the Barista/Latte Art/Cup Tasters champs - with winners usually heading off to represent Aotearoa on the world stage.

It’s not a done deal, with plenty of coffee to go under the bridge, but it’s an exciting possibility.

It’s certainly piqued my interest.

Expect to see the local throw downs get even more popular and even more competitive. Though I hope they don’t lose the heart that makes them really fun (I’ve got something particularly cooked for the next Allbrews).

Check out the 2025 World Brewers Cup rules and regulations if you want to start getting your prep on now. It’s 41 pages long…

Here’s the 2024 World Brewer’s Cup winner, doing his thing

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$150US AeroPress? In THIS economy?!

The AeroPress is a personal favourite of mine. I love how easy it is to make great coffee, how versatile it is with a range of coffees, and the whole culture around it.

I own three myself.

So, when I heard about the Premium AeroPress, I got excited. And then I saw the price!

For $150USD you get a handmade glass AeroPress, with an aluminum plunger and a stainless steel cap.

Will it make a better cup compared to the standard AP? Unlikely. Will it make you feel like a doosh-canoe? Absolutely.

Nothing screams “I have more money than coffee taste” than this thing. If you really want to get rid of all that money weighing you do, get a standard AP and invest in a decent grinder.

Jesus wept.

Stuff: Why is a flat white getting so expensive?

While the headline should actually read “why a coffee is priced like it is” without the value judgement, this is broadly a good explanation of what goes into the pricing of your daily coffee.

And broadly, it’s because everything costs more. Labour, rent, power, and of course, coffee.

“The International Coffee Organization (ICO) also reported in July that the ICO Composite Indicator Price, a reference price for the global coffee industry, had hit a 13-year high.”

This isn’t just a New Zealand problem. Italy, famously home to the 1 euro espresso, is looking to hike their prices too. As reported by the Telegrass in the UK:

“A range of factors is making a €1 espresso increasingly untenable for businesses to offer. Coffee bean prices have surged 48pc over the past year and almost trebled since their lows in 2018, with climate change rendering the conditions for their growth increasingly hostile.”

Go be kind to your barista.