By Derek Schlennstedt
Residents in the Dandenong Ranges won’t have to travel far to get award-winning coffee with Ferntree Gully L’unico coffee receiving four awards at the Australian International Coffee Awards.
Aptly named L’unico, Italian for ‘the only one’, the small specialist coffee roasting business won four medals in three different categories.
In the milk coffee category, L’unico received a silver for their “One Tree Hill” blend and their ‘1000 steps’ blend received two bronzes for the “espresso blend” and “cappuccino milk” blend – each blend being named after a popular destination in the Dandenong Ranges.
Owner and Master Roaster David Caronia has been working in the coffee industry for 20 years, and pays homage to the people who have taught and mentored him.
“I was taught the art of roasting by Master Roaster Giulio Superina under the instruction of Giancarlo Giusti former owner of Grinders Coffee; he taught me a lot of what I know now,” he said.
Chatting to the Mail about his success at the Australian International Coffee Awards, Mr Caronia said there was an art to blending and creating the perfect tasteful coffee.
“There’s a lot to it- it’s sourcing coffees from all around the world, using percentages of those coffees in a blend, understanding the best way to roast those coffees, be it light roast, dark roast – and then how to get the absolute best out of each of those coffees.”
Set up two years ago, the business has grown exponentially, and Mr Caronia said he now supplied around 35 cafes in the Dandenong Ranges and Ferntree Gully area.
The One Tree Hill blend, which fell into the milk coffee category, won silver at the awards, and Mr Caronia said the blend had been a work in progress for the last six years.
“The One Tree Hill blend is something I’ve been working on for six years, constantly tweaking and adjusting, to get it absolutely spot on, as far as balance, body and making sure the structure is 100 per cent.”
This attention to detail and patience in blending coffees is a passion that Mr Caronia has devoted his entire life to.
A morning coffee is a morning ritual for many people in helping them prepare for the day ahead, and when asked why he enjoys blending and supplying coffee to cafes, Mr Caronia said he loved seeing people enjoying his blends.
“One of my biggest joys is when I do go out to these cafes, and I see people enjoying the coffee … I know that’s the start to their day, so I put everything that I can into it, because I know people are reliant on that, their morning coffee,” he said.
There were 812 entries in the Australian International Coffee Awards, and Mr Caronia entered four of his blends into the competition – each winning an award.
Of the five different classes each class had different judging criteria, but mainly focused on the sensory aspects of coffee including, taste, flavour, aroma, body, and aftertaste.
Forty-two industry professionals judged the event and strict rules were adhered to on how each coffee had to be served.
You can find out more information about L’unico at https://www.facebook.com/lunicocoffee/ and owner David Caronia said he supplied coffee to everyone from home users and enthusiasts to all types of cafes.
