Two bronze medals from Denver
Two bronze medals from Denver (and a very happy head roaster)
At the end of September we put our head roaster, Clayton Anderson, on a plane to Denver for Golden Bean The Americas 2026. It ran from 30 September to 3 October at The ART Hotel, and Clayton was there from day one.
Three days at the table
Clayton went as a taster, which is about as fun and as tiring as it sounds: cup after cup, roaster after roaster, all of it tasted and noted. Hundreds of coffees, all up. He met plenty of people who care about coffee as much as he does, and he paid close attention to the coffees that took out the top spots. Those notes have come back to the roastery with him, and you'll taste the benefit down the track.
Two coffees, two bronze medals
We entered two coffees in Category #02, Milk Based (Latte). That's the category for coffees built to sit beautifully under milk, which, let's be honest, is how most of you drink yours. Both of them came home with a bronze medal:
Ethiopia Guji G4: from the Guji zone of Ethiopia, grown at 2,100–2,200 metres, natural process, medium roast. As an espresso it's smooth and complex, with notes of hazelnut and cocoa powder. Some of you might recognise it: it's the same coffee that made us a GCA 2026 Finalist.
Ethiopia Sidama G4 Natural 2026: from the Sidama Zone of Ethiopia, grown at 2,100–2,200 metres, natural process, medium roast. Think ripe strawberry and dark chocolate.
The official results list both as "The Aussie Grind Roastery – Clayton Anderson", and we'll admit we read that line more than once. The judges' notes were lovely to read too: they called the Guji "nice smooth, super approachable" with "light milk chocolate" and "buttery" notes, and picked up chocolate, caramel and a little green apple in the Sidama.
How Clayton roasts
In Clayton's words, he chooses coffees "by evaluating their cupping notes and looking for green lots that show strong flavor potential in the initial tasting data." If the foundation isn't there, no roast will save it.
Once the green coffee lands, it's experiment time. Small sample batches show how the beans respond to temperature changes, and each test batch changes just one roast variable at a time. As Clayton puts it, "This systematic approach makes it much easier to target a brighter fruit note or a deeper chocolate undertone." It takes longer, but he reckons it's "the best way to find the sweet spot for every batch." We tend to agree.
A good year so far
Two bronze medals at Golden Bean, after being named a GCA 2026 Finalist. We're still a small team that's just getting going, so we're genuinely grateful, and a little bit proud.
Try them for yourself
Both award-winning coffees, the Ethiopia Guji and the Ethiopia Sidama, are available now as retail bags. Pop in and grab one, brew it at home, and try it with milk. We'd love to hear what you reckon.
