AUTHOR: Hayley Ralph
Scentible Consumable Sensory Kit by Barista Supplies has won the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE) 2024 Product Innovation Awards in both the Judge’s Choice and People’s Choice categories, which recognise the best innovations by MICE2024 exhibitors.
“We’re so proud of what we’ve achieved. We’ve worked really hard on this product for the coffee industry, and we believe it’s truly an innovative product that will improve training, as well as the way we buy green beans and look for defects,” says Alec Maroush, Director of Barista Supplies and Co-Founder and Director of Scentible.
Scentible is a consumable aroma kit designed for coffee professionals and enthusiasts to perfect their aroma training and palate development. It aims to elevate the coffee journey with the aromas of fruity, floral, vegetal, grains, sweets, nuts, spices, and herbs. The kit is ideal for coffee palate training, cupping, and flavour identification.
“It’s amazing to see that not just the judges but the general public are so accepting of this product as a solution for sensory training,” Alec says.
Scentible describes itself as “the world’s first aroma spray” that is consumable, alcohol-free, vegan free, allergen free, and sustainable. It eliminates food wastage during coffee palate training, and the spray bottles can be refilled and reused. It also solves current problems in coffee palate training including the ability to taste hints of strawberry in coffee thanks to its strawberry aroma spray, and access to fruits any time of year, regardless of harvest season or location of the user.
Alec says the sensory kit’s point of difference lies in its consumable properties.
“This is where all of the research and development and hard work took place. The fact that the sensory kit is consumable means you can simply spray it into a cupping bowl and go about your normal cupping protocol,” he says.
The Scentible Consumable Sensory Kit is currently available as an essentials and defect kit.
“We’re hoping our defect kit will also address coffee quality control. This will help green bean buyers identify defects in coffee and communicate that to the farmer,” says Alec.
“We want to level the playing field and make aroma and palate training really simple.”
Alec adds that the product development was a lengthy process, but one that involved several key industry experts.
“I was very fortunate to have two business partners involved in the manufacturing of this product, Justin Metcalf and Duncan Jamieson. Justin has been a part of the coffee industry for more than 30 years, and Duncan is a food scientist who have also been in the industry for just as long,” he says.
“We all saw a gap in the market for the way coffee training is presented and hope this product eliminates the wastage involved in cupping and tasting. We’ve seen a lot of people trying to source fruits to improve their knowledge of specific flavour notes, but with this sensory kit, this is no longer necessary.”
The Scentible Consumable Sensory Kit is currently available for pre-order and is due to be shipped worldwide by end of May 2024.
“I’d like to thank everyone for their patience, especially my family, who have supported me while I’ve been away developing this product. I’d also like to thank everyone who took the time to try the product. We’re really grateful for everyone who gave us the time to explain what this can achieve in the specialty coffee industry.”
Hario Australia’s V60 Dripper Suiren placed second. This product embodies Hario’s iconic ‘spiral ribs’ of the V60 Coffee Dripper. Featuring 12 removable ribs, the V60 Dripper Suiren offers a customisable experience. Every part of the dripper can be effortlessly separated and personalised, with a vibrant array of six colours to choose from to suit user’s style and personality. The distinctive spiral ribs are designed to enhance the extraction process, ensuring a flavourful cup of coffee. The dripper’s modular design makes it easy to disassemble for cleaning and customisation.
What sets the Suiren apart, Hario says, is its seamless integration of the V60’s high-quality functionality with an eye-catching, and distinctive design.
Roastar Coffee Packaging’s BeanShield Vent placed third.At only 0.026 grams compared to the traditional button valve weighing in at 1.06 grams, this label vent saves up to 98.5 per cent plastic, or up to one tonne of plastic for every one million coffee bags.
It can customise this vent to the CO2 release, taking into account unique roast profile, flavours, bag volume and headspace. The BeanShield Vent locks out oxygen and locks in the volatile compounds that create unique flavour profiles.
Roastar says this is the first degassing vent that can be pre-applied to rolls, and is ideal for VFFS, eliminating the need for in-line valving. It can be applied to any coffee bag material, and is entirely external – removing the risk of plastic contamination or machinery damage.
With no moving parts, no oil and no filter, Roastar says this vent promises to revolutionise coffee packaging in the same way the screw cap did for wine
For more information, visit the MICE website.