Disclaimer: I was sent the coffee to try.

Once upon a time I drank a lot of coffee. In my previous job, a group of us had a share in our own plunger and ground coffee round and, until very recently, my current employer provided us with a lovely barista grade coffee machine*. Almost 4 years ago, I decided 6 long blacks a day was probably a bad thing and went cold turkey for a while. Now, I have one (very infrequently two) cup of coffee a day. So I like it to be good.

Sadly, coffee is one of those products that is often brought to us by people who aren’t treated very well by the corporate chain in which they find themselves. Personally, I think it’s important to look for Fairtrade products, because in theory the farmers will have received a fair price (and fair treatment) for their raw commodity.

I’m pretty sure we all know that I also think it’s important to try to buy Australian. So while a small amount of coffee is actually grown in Australia (mostly in the Atherton Tablelands in Far North Queensland) it is less than commonplace. Actually, even finding Australian owned, local coffee roasters is pretty tricky but one of these is Griffiths.

Griffiths’ new product is Just Fair, an Australian Certified Organic, Fairtrade coffee that is roasted (and ground) in Melbourne. I was sent the espresso beans to try.

The beans come in a tin, rather than a bag, which is very handy for storage (I don’t usually grind a whole tin/bag at once). They are, obviously, 100% Arabica. All well and good, providing the resultant coffee hits the mark taste wise.

Now, I confess we don’t have a proper coffee grinder at home (I am one of those bad people who uses a spice grinder) and often we find that lighter roast beans will end up producing a rather insipid cup of coffee. I’m pleased that this isn’t the case with the Just Fair coffee. It’s a good strong roast, with richness of flavour and a healthy kick of bitterness. I was very happy and I would recommend this for anyone who likes a strong coffee. In fact, this is definitely a coffee that I’d consider as an alternative to our usual brand.

Just Fair retails for around $12 for a 250g tin. You can buy beans or ground and there’s a decaf option too. For a bit of novelty, you can trace your beans’ journey on the Just Fair website.

* For the record, that machine has been replaced by an awful pod machine.  Productivity has, naturally, decreased!