MTC Group was started by Andrew Ford who was originally involved in Mountain Top Estate, the Australian coffee grower. MTC have been around for a while and typically supply specialty grade. Yes, their coffees are nice, as are many brokers. We do buy coffees from them and have done for more than 6 years. They typically have a larger presence in Sydney, but there are roasters all around Australia and to a lesser extent NZ that use them. Andrew moved to Asia to develop that market for MTC and the local Australian team has been working quite well, although the segment is still small compared to the broader market. Around 10 months ago MTC was sold to Sucafina who is a global trader, say tier 2. It’s a really good fit and Andrew deserves to be applauded as Sucafina has strong depth in Europe and some parts of Asia, along with excellent sourcing from Africa, which is really a strength for Sucafina. It’s almost a perfect fit. All the MTC Australian team inherit a larger portfolio and broader source channel and Sucafina gets exposure to the somewhat influential Aussie roasting market and some greater emphasis on specialty. There are also other really good brokers in Australia that have exceptional coffees, often these are not published or hyped. Let me tell you the game of coffee is really tough....when I find a nice coffee I buy the lot to prevent anyone else getting hold of it......and plenty do the same trick.
