Cup o’ Joe. Morning Brown. Jitter Juice. Java. Caffeine Infusion. Call it what you will, but we can all agree that most of us aren’t putting our best foot forward without a morning cup of coffee.
When it comes to the hot beverage, Australians are of discerning taste — which is a nice way of saying we’re a bunch of coffee snobs — so we’re always on the lookout for the perfect bean.
The search is over. Aldi Australia has taken home the Coffee Judges’ vote for Overall Large Chain Champion in the world’s largest coffee roasting competition, The Golden Bean.
In news set further to inflame the caffeine wars and fuel state-based rivalry, the large franchise trophy went to Victorian-based Black Bag Roasters – who roast “Lazzio Coffee” for Aldi.
Aldi’s Lazzio brand triumphed over more than 800 entrants from across Australasia to take home the coveted award.
More than 100 coffee aficionados sipped their way through copious cups to pick the winner.
On top of the big win, Aldi’s Lazzio also scored four other Golden Bean medals in the ‘super-automatic’, ‘filter’, ‘chain-store espresso’ and ‘chain-store milk-based’ categories.
In response to winning the award, Aldi Australia buying director Varun Raheja said the supermarket was dedicated to bringing Australian coffee lovers quality at the lowest price possible.
“Roasted in Melbourne, we developed the Lazzio Coffee range to bring customers a café experience at home, without the high price tag,” he said.
“Our aim is to always exceed our customers’ expectations, and we couldn’t be more excited and proud to see the Lazzio range recognised again in these awards.”
Black Bag Roasters director of sales Lance Brown said: “Lazzio beans have consistently maintained their uncompromised quality standards from our farmers all the way to the cups of consumers.
“This acknowledgement at the World’s Largest Roasting Competition caps off an already incredible 2022 for Aldi ‘Lazzio Coffee’ and Black Bag Roasters after also winning the Canstar Blue Award for Best Coffee for a second year in a row. We can’t wait to see where our eighth year of partnership with Aldi will take us.”
It’s a savvy move to offer the cafe experience at home because, according to market and consumer data company Statista, the COVID pandemic changed our drinking habits, with 37 per cent more of the beverage consumed at home.
Nearly two-thirds of Australians have a coffee machine of some sort at home, with half of the population owning a pod machine.
Yep, we’re well and truly hooked. According to market and consumer data company Statista, Australians consume an average of 1.91 kilograms of coffee per person each year.
Consumption of beans bounced by 49 per cent.
Although drinking habits have changed, Australians overwhelmingly like their coffee on the go. Around 23 per cent of all orders are takeaway, ranking Australia fourth behind Japan, the United States and Canada in terms of takeaway.
The most popular brew sold in cafés is the latte, followed by the flat white and the cappuccino.
Coffee is a big money earner — the industry generates $8.6 billion in revenue annually.
