Meet Jessica: Quality Control Manager at Sucafina in Australia 

With over 15 years of experience in coffee and 5 years in green coffee quality control, Jessica Giacetti is a Quality Control Manager in Sucafina Australia. We sat down with her to talk about market dynamics in Australia, evolving flavor trends and why sensory evaluation remains the most rewarding part of her work. 

This Article at a glance: 

1. From Venice to London to Australia, Jessica’s global coffee journey took her from barista to green coffee specialist. 
2. Australia's market maintains high quality despite price volatility, with even commercial blends meeting high commercial quality. 
3. Jessica brews a washed V60 every morning and saves the bold, fermented microlots for her afternoon kick. 

What are your main roles as a Quality Manager? 

Jessica: Cuppings, which include the sensory evaluation of the samples we get, whether it’s an offer, a Pre-shipment sample (PSS), an arrival sample or a type sample. There’s also organization, preparing and dispatching samples to clients so they’re able to evaluate and purchase. We also send internal QC reports to the sales teams so they’re aware of what’s been cupped and the analysis results. That way, they are also involved and can pass it on to customers.  

I also judge heaps of coffee competitions here in Australia, at the national level, as well! Recently, I was part of the judging panel for the Australian Brewers Cup finals. 

How did you get into coffee? 
Oh, it was actually by coincidence because that was my first job after I finished school. I studied tourism and languages, which is completely different from hospitality and coffee. I started as a barista in a very small coffee shop / roastery in Venice, and we also used to sell coffee beans – I roasted them as well. Then I became a bar manager. 

After that, I moved to London when I got curious about specialty coffee. Back then, unfortunately, there wasn’t much in Italy, so I had to move abroad if I wanted to learn more. London was my first specialty coffee encounter. Then after London, I moved to Australia. It’s a bit of a journey. 

My first green coffee job was in Switzerland. During COVID we moved back to Europe, and I found this green coffee startup. That’s where I got my first job in green coffee QC. That was back in 2020. Before that, I was in between, barista, head barista, a bit of a trainer – different positions in different coffee shops. Eventually, we missed Australia so much, and so we decided to just come back! 

I joined Sucafina in September 2023, so I’ve been here for a little over two years now. 

What’s the biggest challenge and reward of your job? 
Jessica: The challenge is that the job can be a bit repetitive. Because at the end of the day, what you do, it’s always the same kind of task. What makes it interesting and exciting, however, is that coffee is such a big world. You start from the most common commercial [grades] to the best microlots that are so complex and interesting. So that’s the exciting part. And also definitely the cupping and the sensory evaluation – that's the most exciting part of my job, and it's something I would never leave. 

What type of coffee is in high demand in Australia? 
Jessica: It's interesting, because the Australian market is often seen by the rest of the world as a very high-quality market. And when I encountered it, I realized that the overall quality [expectation] is definitely higher than in other countries I’ve lived and worked in. 

But with the recent volatility in the market, people are looking for cheaper alternatives because the market pricing is increasing – we're seeing people more open and flexible due to the high prices, diversifying the blends and seeking alternatives. 

That said, I think generally the quality standard is [still] pretty high. Every roastery obviously has their blenders, but the quality of the blenders is already quite high – like how we call high commercial (or premium blender), for example. And there are a lot of small roasters that are buying really high-quality microlots, with full traceability and a lot of complexity in the cup. So, in general, I think that [high standard] is part of why Australians keep winning competitions. Even the current World Barista Champion [Milan 2025] is from Australia. 

What origin or processing trend are you most excited about right now? 
Jessica: I’m always curious to hear about new processing methods, especially linked to the fact that I judge competitions. That’s my way to stay excited about new trends, new processing, new things happening in the coffee industry and in origin countries, that are making coffee more complex, more exciting…or just different from what it used to be. 
 
What is your go to morning brew? 
Jessica: Definitely V60 every morning. I’m a bit of a routine person, you know, so every morning I come into the office, and I brew my filter coffee. I tend to switch it up daily though. This morning, I had a Colombia Sidra washed. I don’t usually go for something really funky in the morning. If I have a washed coffee, I’ll start with that.  I leave the funkier lots for the afternoon brew. For example, today in the afternoon I had a Colombia Geisha natural – highly processed, heavily fermented. You could already tell from the beans themselves. So I kept that one for a post-lunch kick.  

Interested in learning more about QC, exploring the world of coffee quality and discovering coffee alternatives across APAC in today’s volatile market?  for more on QC or talk to your trader today.