April 2013

Nineteen hundred and five

In the heart of Northbridge, Perth, is a new social enterprise café changing lives one coffee at a time.

Operating out of the refurbished Schruth’s heritage-listed building, 1905 provides employment and hospitality training for employees with a mental illness or disability. The staff work as baristas, kitchen hands and cooks.

Established by Workpower, 1905 combines commercial activity with a social purpose. “We hope that by providing people with employment opportunities in our café, we can equip them with the skills, confidence and experience that will further their careers in the hospitality industry,” says Julie Burnett, 1905 Café Manager.

Future training being planned includes a Certificate I Hospitality course. This will include an offsite training component and onsite industry exposure model.

1905 will act as a pilot model for potential expansion to two other cafés over the next three years.

The café’s espresso bar serves Fiori Coffee’s house blend, that Julie describes as “quite rich with a nice chocolate flavour and aroma”.

In addition to their coffee offerings, 1905 serves breakfast and light lunches with a variety ranging from gourmet baguettes, BLTs, quiches, burgers and a popular corn frittata.

Julie says the café has adopted a modern feel in its interior. It features vibrant colours against the rich dark floors, funky furniture, exposed brick, timber features and a courtyard for customers to enjoy.

“We have a great dedicated team working hard to make this business a success,” says Julie. “I hope this café can continue to offer more jobs for those who need it and make a difference to people’s lives.”

Aroma’s Café

Image credit: Rob Burnett Images

History runs deep in the Tsakirellis family. Aroma’s café owners Mary and George Tsakirellis have been fueling Launceston coffee lovers for the past 13 years in the same building Mary’s father owned since she was 12 years old.
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Dramanti Artisan Roasters

Some of coffee’s best-kept secrets are those of the beaten track. Take Dramanti Artisan Roasters in the Brisbane suburb of Wynnum for instance – nestled deep in the corner of Queensland’s industrial backstreets, surrounded by factories, barb wire fences and train lines. However, as Owner and Head Roaster Dragan Sestic attests, location is no barrier.

“This is a really geeky and strange place but I love it,” says Dragan. “If I roast quality coffee then people will come, simple as that. Hundreds of people told me this was the wrong place to set up, but since the day we opened we’ve seen lots of people walk through the doors.”

After roasting for 12 years, Dragan recently decided to share his talents with the public when he opened Dramanti Artisan Roasters. “I thought if it’s what I loved to do, then why not,” he says.

Dragan migrated from Serbia to Australia in 1998. He pursed a career as a profession athlete, in which he competed in the 2000 Olympics in European handball, before trying his hand at coffee. Eventually Dragan joined his brother Sasa Sestic at Ona Coffee and has been struck with a love for roasting ever since.

“I’m self taught so in the beginning my roasting was all about trial and error, until I kept developing something that I was happy with,” Dragan says.

Dramanti Artisan Roasters embraces a community feel with recycled furnishings in its décor. Customers are often treated to the music delights of local bands as they sip a latte. Local artists also display their talent on the café walls.

The warehouse features a 6-kilogram Giesen roaster from the Netherlands and a La Marzocco Strada in the espresso bar. Customers can participate in regular cupping appreciation sessions and learn about Dragan’s passion for direct trade.

The house blend is 19/20/20, which Dragan says continuously “evolves” depending on the season. Named after Indy band, The Greats, Dragan says much like the rockers, this blend is “short, sweet, lovely and makes you jump”.

A range of single origin coffees are available, as well as a other brewing methods including areopress, cold press and the occasional V60.

“It’s all about the experience we can create together,” says Dragan. “When customers walk out of here they feel happier and a bit more excited about coffee.”

Hummingbird Central

 

In the heart of Christchurch is a café that resembles a Lego set more so than a café. But that’s the unique part of Hummingbird Central in Re:Start. It’s a life-size, pull-apart café.

Hummingbird Central was established in October 2011. It was built as part of a community initiative called Re:Start, to rebuild the culture of Christchurch’s CBD after the 2011 earthquake. “It’s been a very successful project and great for the city to get its atmosphere back,” says Nick Cowper, General Manager of New Zealand’s Hummingbird Coffee Roasters.

The temporary café is made out of 12-metre long shipping containers, overlapping each other in an eye-catching urban structure. “We only had eight weeks to convert the shipping containers into a café space. The pressure was immense,” says Nick. “I personally didn’t think it would get off the ground, but it’s been a great learning curve.”

Hummingbird Central was constructed as a temporary site, however, the café has increased its lease in Christchurch until 9 January 2014. “The best part about the concept is that its portable – all it takes is 48 hours to pick up and move somewhere else. We can pull it apart and put it back together again,” says Nick.

On a busy day the café serves about 700 to 800 coffees. They use a two-group La Scala coffee machine in the upstairs container and a three-group machine downstairs.

Hummingbird Central is the sister café to Oddfellow’s, also established by Hummingbird Coffee Roasters. Nick says it is the first company to import Fair Trade coffee into New Zealand.

“The two cafés are distinctly different, one has a lot of history and the other is developing its own history,” says Nick.

To coincide with the café opening, Hummingbird Coffee Roasters created a Fair Trade Organic blend called Re:Start, sold throughout New Zealand. The blend consists of six origins, which Nick describes as “gutsy, sweet with winey peaks”.

Thirty cents from each 200-gram pack of Re:Start blend sold is donated to the rebuilding of the Court Theatre in Christchurch, badly damaged by the earthquake.

A full commercial kitchen fits into the 57 square metres downstairs container. An outdoor seating area is also available for customers to take in the sun.

“The coffee industry is incredibly rewarding,” says Nick. “There’s always lot of challenges, but the biggest thing is getting the best product you can and seeing other people enjoy it. That gives me a great sense of pride.”

Café Shenkin

By Aimee Sics

There’s certainly no shortage of trendy cafés in Sydney’s inner west. Café Shenkin has been in the leafy neighbourhood of Erskineville for quite some time and has cemented itself as more than just a hip hangout.
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Curious Goose

Green beans and a pineapple plant sit idle on the table bench. Old posters of stamps hang on the walls and a wooden ladder rests on the bookshelf. Curious? It’s just what café Co-Owner Beau Field wants his customers to think.

“We want people to remember the little details about our café. People are curious by nature, so we want them to notice something and ask ‘What’s the story, where did they get that from?’” he says.

The café interior is comfortable and inviting. Together with Co-Owner and Chef Robin Neaves, the pair spent a lot of time planning the perfect décor, menu and coffee offerings for its opening in mid 2012.

“Curious Goose has really taken off in the short space of time it’s been open and we’ve tried to serve consistently good coffee. No matter where you are, you can’t get away with average coffee,” says Beau.

Thanks to local roasters Industry Beans, Curious Goose serves The Ducks Nuts blend, which Beau describes as the perfect foundation for milk and black coffee, with plenty of body and brightness from the Costa Rican beans.

“It offers chocolate and hazelnut flavours that cuts through the milk, but most importantly it maintains consistency,” he says. “Our guarantee is to make coffee the way our customers like, regardless of whether it’s a soy, skinny or decaf coffee. If the customer leaves happy, then we’ve done our job.”

Two ‘coffees of the day’ rotate weekly. Crowd favourites include a Panama from Carmen Estate and a Yirgacheffe from Ethiopia, both of which Beau says are “clean coffees” and perfect for cold drip.
“We were one of the first places to offer single origins in the area,” he says. “More and more people are learning about what it is and we’re happy to educate our customers if they want it.”

A bookshelf in the corner displays a collection that forms the cafe’s book swap service. Each book is stamped with the Curious Goose trademark stamp and customers are invited to take a book and replace one in return.

“People waste so much in society, so why not swap books?” says Beau.

A 1920 Japanese cake cabinet displays a collection of pastries and cupcakes. Rob serves a range of food with a hint of Mexican. This includes a Mexican tuna cobb salad, burgers, focaccas, roasted pumpkin salad, and salt and pepper squid, using fresh quality ingredients and herbs.

Breakfast is served from 8am to 4pm to give weary local residents time to enjoy breakfast for most of the day. The café is famous for their big brekkies with an open omelette, goats cheese and sweet corn.

From age 15 Beau has been involved in hospitality. He worked as a waitor at restaurants and bars in the United Kingdom and then partnering with Rob to start Curious Goose last year.

The pair have really thought about their customer’s needs and practicalities, such as generous tables with enough space to spread a newspaper and put a pram.

“We want people to take time out and relax. No one should be rushed when they go to a café,” Beau says.

When Curious Goose closes for the day, customers can venture into adjoining pizza bar Hava Gander where Beau insists more “fabulous coffee” is served.

Beau’s passion for coffee and quality customer service shines through the café and invites ‘the curious’ to stop by and enjoy the coffee he loves to make. “I love not knowing what the day will bring,” he says. “That’s what I love about this job.”

Degani Café Rathdowne St.

As Boudy Yaacoub greets customers by name, makes room for their prams, and personally brings out their dishes, the community feeling of what has made this Degani café so popular is evident.
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Café De Cuba

Café De Cuba is a home away from home. In the community hub of Elwood in Victoria, this café has cemented its name as a coffee haven after 10 years in the suburban beachside area.
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Race Café – The Studio

Image: Paul Gordon

What do you get when you integrate a café and recording studio? Ambient café bliss, that’s what.

Race Café – The Studio is unlike anything Queensland, maybe even the Australian café scene, has witnessed. 
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Dose Café

Text by Aimee Sics. Image: Sam Gabrielian

Dose café is bringing a refreshing change of pace to the quiet, leafy suburb of Willoughby on Sydney’s North Shore. It’s the first café attached to Sam Gabrielian’s roasting company, Gabriel coffee, which he started in 2006 and now supplies to over 100 cafés.
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