By: Samuel Janna, Sales Director Australia
This past year, I experienced one of the most transformative chapters of my life: living in Australia and representing Colombian coffee in one of the world’s most dynamic, demanding, and innovative coffee markets.
I listened as roasters, baristas, and consumers spoke about Colombia with admiration—but also with curiosity.
After returning home with my bag full of Tim Tams and exceptional coffees, I realized it would be challenging to reconnect with our partners and friends in Australia.
Walking once again through our mountains, nurseries, and drying patios—speaking with growers, mentors, and young people—I saw it clearly: The true power of coffee lies in its ability to change lives.
These past few months in Colombia have reminded me why we do what we do. I was moved by the warmth of our people, the diversity of our coffee regions, and—most of all—the motivation of our coffee producers, even when the market price is in their favor.
When coffee is trading at over COP 3,000,000 per carga (125 kg of parchment, approx. $730 USD), many producers could settle for “good enough.” Instead, they’re choosing to experiment with anaerobic washed processes, honeys, and new fermentations—constantly striving to offer something better. Why? Because they know specialty coffee roasters will reward that effort.
Still, while producers battle landslides, floods, and remote conditions just to bring in their harvest, our conversations with roasters often center around price. We understand. But there’s a bigger story at origin—one we’re proud to tell.
What I Learned in Australia
There’s a deep respect for effort. Even with long-standing supplier relationships, Australian coffee roasters are always open to discovering new coffees, new producers, and new stories. They’re masters of the blend, they know how to market a single origin—and they’re in a constant battle to win over cafés, where the machine and grinder often matter more than the origin or quality of the coffee.
But they listen. They care. And they’re willing to support what’s real.
Forest Coffee Buying Point in Manzanares, Caldas.
My Mission
In the coming weeks, I’ll be traveling across Colombia with Jorge Méndez, our Operations Director at Forest Coffee. We’ll be visiting our partners and cupping their new harvests—not just to buy coffees, but to listen, learn, and better understand what they’ll need in the coming years.
There’s something we want to make clear: The challenge we face as a coffee industry is collective. It’s not only the farmer’s burden—nor the importer’s, nor the roaster’s. The only way forward is together, helping the final consumer value every cup more deeply.
At Forest Coffee Australia, we’re focused on two things right now:
-
Identifying the profiles that work best for buying cherries and processing at El Vergel. We’re scaling and creating efficiencies to do what everyone wants: better coffees at competitive prices. Think Guava Banana, Natural Guamo, and Pink Borbon Punch.
-
Buying coffees from producers who are doing outstanding work—many of whom are already behind the coffees you know, like Rocket Flower, Honey Mountain, and Caturra Syrup.
These producers are not taking the easy path. They’ve chosen not to sell to the nearest cooperative. They travel long hours to deliver parchment to our mill in Huila because they believe in something bigger—in Forest, in what we’re building, and in what’s possible when we connect them with roasters who share the same philosophy.
Yes, someone else might offer a higher price someday. That’s always a risk. But if we build trust, share feedback, and commit long-term, we can inspire these producers to keep innovating—not just for profit, but for purpose.
Let’s keep growing this story, together.
Thank You for Being Part of This Journey
If you’d like to talk, collaborate, or learn more about what we’re doing at Forest, I’d love to connect.
With gratitude,
Samu
