Café Culture 2010
Cafe Culture Magazine Profile on Vladimir our Master Roaster & Founder
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Text Excerpt from Magazine article:
“The Secret is our relentless pursuit of the perfect coffee blend. Everyone says their coffee is the best on the market; I don’t make these claims. We let the nine medals our four blends have won speak for themselves.”
Last year Coffee Secrets entered the CSR Golden Bean Roaster Competition and pulled off an amazing result of second place in the overall point score. Headed up by Vladimir Kazionov, Coffee Secrets have been concentrating on other markets outside of Australia.
Now it seems, they are ready to focus on home soil and the Australian coffee consumer. Café Culture caught up with Vlad to find out just what the Coffee Secret is.
> Vlad, what’s the history behind such an exotic name – Vladimir Kazionov?
My father is White Russian and my mother is half Russian, half Chinese, so that’s the reason for my Russian name. I was born in China in a freezing cold area that is right on the Russian border. In my early years I lived with my Russian grandparents, so I didn’t really learn Chinese until I had to go to school, but I am very fortunate to have been able to grow up multi-lingual.
> What did you do before getting into the café and coffee scene?
I am actually an Architect by trade. I used to work for the French SAE group as the lead Architect of the Doctor’s of Architecture Alliance. They were a group of elite Architects, Engineers and Designers that the SAE group used to send all over the world to consult and create proposals for major architecture works. I even got to work on the English Channel tunnel project. All of my world travels have allowed me to be exposed to the exciting and vibrant espresso scenes of Europe and the street coffee roasting of the Middle East. This began a lifelong passion for coffee and my eventual change of profession to Coffee Roaster.
> To put us in the picture, can you give us an overview and some background on your company?
We began our journey into coffee as boutique café owners. Our café concept was based around having a coffee blend to suit all customers’ taste preferences; this saw us develop many coffee blends that we roasted in-store on our 2 kg gas fired roaster. After much encouragement from our customers, we de- cided to put our coffee blends out into a wider arena to gain valuable feedback on how we could improve. We started entering every roasting competition we could and were astounded at our success. We were taking medals from the big boys from our small shop in suburban Brisbane, with our baby roaster. Spurred along by our medal winning success and the high number of wholesale enquiries we were fielding on a daily basis, we decided that we had better get serious about this coffee business, as we were definitely onto something. We have been exclusively focusing on the boutique Asian coffee market for the last few years, expand- ing our brand by partnering with high end five star hotel chains across the region. We have now reached a point that we are ready to bring “the Secret” to Australian customers.
> What was your first roaster, and what do you use now?
Many years ago I started out on a 2 kg gas fired drum roaster that became my partner in crime in developing blends, roasting techniques and my roast- ing skills. Since then I have had the pleasure to work on all different types of roasting systems and ma- chines, but the old traditional gas fired drum roaster is still where it’s at for me. The roasting experience is an intimate hands on affair; it’s just you, all of your senses and the beans.
> On average, how many kilos do you roast per week?
Because we have been largely focused on the ex port market, our coffee orders and roasting schedule fluctuates. In September we will be installing a state of the art nitrogen packaging system that will ensure all of our coffee arrives at its final destina- tion just as fresh as the day it was roasted – even several months later. This freshness technology will allow us to settle into a more routine roasting schedule.
> How many blends do you sell?
We currently have four blends on our list, but we have many more that are in development. I won’t release a blend to the market until it has won at least two medals. I want the Coffee Secrets name to be synonymous with excellence.
> How are you managing the recent increase in the cost of green beans?
To be honest, pricing has never been an issue for us. We have always chosen to buy the best quality green beans we can get our hands on, and premi- um green beans always come at a premium price. In our market, quality is king – saving a few cents a kilo but sacrificing coffee quality is not something we are willing to do.
> Do you travel to origin to research and buy coffee?
In the past I spent a great deal of time travelling, on the ground and getting my hands dirty at vari- ous plantations and immersing myself in all facets of coffee production. But in the last few years with our rate of expansion, I have had to hand this job over to others. I hope to be able to make a few plantation trips this year, but time will tell.
> Who were your mentors; who did you go to to find out about all the facets of green bean procurement and roasting?
I am very lucky that I have mentors in both the roasting and green bean cultivation sectors. I can always rely on the advice and assistance of my dear friend Alessandro Monici, who as a third genera- tion coffee roaster is a great source of inspiration to me. I am also fortunate to know coffee planta- tion expert Lou Tripp, who has traversed the world setting up coffee plantations for the UN and World Bank in co-operation with local communities. His knowledge on the varieties, species and the way the cultivation of the coffee trees affects the result- ant green beans has been invaluable to me.
> What’s missing now for roasters; what information would you like to have at hand to help?
As a seasoned roaster I have honed my craft, but I know that new roasters struggle with a lack of information. There are too many people out there training the new guys that roasting is like baking a cake … all you need is a recipe, then toss it in the oven for so long and out comes a cake. Those of us who have been in the industry for many years know this is simply not the case.
> Favourite bean right now?
I am really enjoying a great estate grown Rain Forest Alliance, Certified Organic Peruvian coffee.
> What is it that makes you different from the rest?
Our approach to business. As ex-café owners we are in-touch with the wants and needs of cafés and
have designed our entire offer to ensure we deliver exactly what our customers need. We do so much more than just sell coffee beans; we partner with our customers to create an entire coffee solution for their business.
> What do you enjoy about the industry?
I love that I get to work each day with so many motivated business owners and help them to realise their businesses’ full coffee potential. To hear my customers talk about how many kilos their coffee sales have increased by since they partnered with us keeps me smiling all day long.
> So what’s the Secret?
The Secret is our relentless pursuit of the perfect coffee blend. Everyone says their coffee is the best on the market; I don’t make these claims. We let the nine medals our four blends have won speak for themselves. We only sell award winning cof- fee; to make it onto our list a blend must have been awarded at least two medals across multiple categories – that is the minimum requirement. The Secret is we demand perfection; I won’t settle for anything less.
> What are your plans for the next twelve months?
We are gearing up to share “the Secret” with cafés, restaurants and hotels across Australia. We have just completed work on our new state of the art Roasting and Training facility on the Gold Coast, so we’re now ready to begin sharing our coffee passion with Australia. The sky is the limit …
> Thanks Vlad. We appreciate your time in talking with us.