How a Coffee Farm Tour Changed My Morning Order

I can’t remember the last time I drank black coffee, but when I get my hands on a cup of Jack Murat’s filter coffee, curiosity wins out.

The first sip took me by surprise.

Instead of bitterness, I get bright fruity notes, a subtle sweetness, and a distinct hint of caramel. It’s clean, balanced and surprisingly smooth.

As I finish my cup, I quietly decide that my morning coffee order may never be the same.

This is exactly the kind of discovery that Jack Murat Coffee hopes every visitor will experience.

Officially launched in March, coffee farm tours will take guests from cherry to cup, revealing every step of the process, from growing and harvesting to fermentation, drying, roasting and brewing.

“I didn’t even know they grew coffee in Australia,” is one of the comments that coffee chief Sergio Londono hears most often.

Originally from Colombia, Londono moved to Australia in 2024 and is committed to proving that Australian-grown coffee deserves its place among the world’s best.

“Australia produces just 1% of the coffee consumed here,” he tells me. “But we want to show that 1% is enough to change people’s perception of Australian coffee.”

Unlike many coffee brands, Jack Murat controls every stage of production.

“We control the entire chain of growing, harvesting, roasting and bottling coffee at our own North Bondi café,” says Londono. “You get your coffee directly from the farm, without middlemen and without the coffee traveling through warehouses and supply chains for months.”

For me, a tour is not only an introduction to coffee, but also an introduction to it.

I wander among rows of coffee trees laden with berries that change in color from green to golden yellow and finally to a brilliant crimson.

I pluck a ripe cherry straight from the branch, peel off the skin, and discover surprisingly sweet, lychee-like flesh. I rub the sticky, honey-like mucus between my fingers before tasting the raw beans hidden inside.

Each stop offers a new aroma, texture, or taste that allows for a much deeper appreciation of what’s in my morning cup.

The farm itself is impressive. Jack Murat produces between 25 and 30% of Australia’s coffee from 130,000 productive coffee trees spread over 95 hectares, with thousands more trees recently planted.

Situated about 600 meters above sea level on the Atherton Tablelands, the farm has fertile red volcanic soils, tropical sunshine and cool nights.

Londono says this latitude creates conditions similar to some parts of southern Colombia, which helps produce premium Arabica coffee despite the lower altitude.

The coffee here follows a carefully managed annual cycle. The trees flower in the spring after a period of controlled water stress, then slowly produce sugars over eight to nine months before harvest begins in June.

Technology also plays a surprisingly important role.

Mechanical harvesters harvest the cherries, and then artificial intelligence-powered color sorting machines separate ripe fruits from unripe and overripe ones with amazing accuracy. The beans are then fermented, dried, sorted several more times for size, density and color, and finally roasted using electricity generated by the farm’s extensive solar array.

Sustainability underpins much of our business. Londono says the farm does not use pesticides or fungicides and believes Australian-grown coffee has another important benefit.

“We are promoting Australian coffee as a more sustainable option,” he says. “You don’t need your coffee to travel thousands of miles before it reaches your cup.”

For coffee lovers, this tour offers much more than just an insight into where coffee is grown and roasted.

It immerses you in every step of the journey, inviting you to smell, taste, touch and truly understand the journey from cherry to cup.

The fact that the entire process takes place in one facility also highlights the surprisingly short supply chain of this Australian specialty coffee, with beans traveling from plantation to roaster in a matter of meters rather than thousands of kilometres.

I arrived hoping for a decent cup of coffee.

I left wondering why I hid good black coffee behind milk for so many years.

Details

The Jack Murat Coffee Farm Tour on the Atherton Tablelands in Queensland runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It takes one hour and costs $65 for adults and $10 for children.

The writer traveled thanks to Tourism Tropical North Queensland.