April 2015 covershoot

For the April 2015 cover of BeanScene, we were spoilt for choice at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE). Not only did we get to photograph one of the most innovative new machines on the market, the new Rancilio Classe 11 Xcelsius, but we got inspired by some talented artists too.

Roots Coffee Roasters

Roots Coffee Roasters is a passion-fuelled micro roastery and coffee bar in the serene end of Bangkok’s Soi Ekamai district.

Open to the public on weekends, this roastery was founded in early 2013 by Varatt “Tae” Vichit Vadakan (2014 Thailand Barista Champion), Korn Sanguenkeaw, and Somdej “Ake” Luengtaviboon. Together, their goal was to introduce great coffees to the emerging specialty coffee market in Thailand. “We hope to make specialty coffee easy, accessible, and fun for general consumers,” says Tae.

Roots Coffee Roasters was designed from the ground up as a dedicated space to roast, taste, and develop coffees for its own coffee bar and retail customers. “On weekends, our little roastery is open for people to come experience our freshly roasted coffees, pastries, and bakery products,” says Head Roaster Korn.

Roots Coffee Roasters’ flagship Bruna espresso blend is sweet, balanced, and a little lively at the end. It’s a favourite among espresso lovers. It also offers seasonal single origin espressos that change every two to three weeks. With filter coffees, customers are given three unique sensory adventures with coffees from different origins with distinct characteristics. Lastly, Roots Coffee Roasters has ready-to-drink cold brew that is most suitable under the hot tropical climate.

Tae began roasting coffees four years ago, and founded the highly popular, award-winning Roasts Coffee & Eatery. Roots Coffee Roasters is a natural extension. With the new roastery, Tae and his humble team hope to bring consumers closer to nature by expressing the best flavours in the coffees and through the interior design of his roastery.

“Our philosophy for roasting is to create coffee that is sweet and balanced, while at the same time keeping the inherent characteristics of the different origins. For our filter coffees, we try to avoid toasted flavours, but at the same time we push the roast to the most developed stage. Most people will find our coffee very balanced and easy to drink, with slight acidity to keep things fresh and lively,” Tae says.

Contrary to the latest trend in Thailand, which places the highest priority in creating the most unique and beautiful environment, customers at Roots Coffee Roasters will feel the authenticity in their quality-driven approach. “We focus on sourcing, roasting, and making the most delicious cup of coffee, everything else comes secondary,” Tae says.

Roots Coffee Roasters invites its customers to engage with the baristas while they work at the four-metre-long bar. A talented craftsman is responsible for the beautifully reclaimed wood finish. “We want the consumer-barista barrier to disappear and invite people into our world of specialty coffee,” says Tae.

Roots Coffee Roasterse is equipped with a modest 1999 two-group La Marzocco Linea, two Compak conical grinders, Mahlkoenig Tanzania and EK 43 grinders, and a Giesen W6 roaster. Tae, however, believes that it is important to show his customers that the most important tool in brewing great coffee is “understanding and knowledge, and not just equipment”.

Roots Coffee Roasters is a great place to learn about the latest coffee trends in Thailand. It also works very closely with many farmers and producers in northern Thailand and will be featuring a lot of micro lot coffees from many interesting Thai farms in 2015.

Flight Coffee Hangar

In the heart of Wellington is a café in full flight. Run by 2013 New Zealand Barista Champion Nick Clark, World Barista Champion Judge Richard Corney, and Matt Graylee, Flight Coffee Hangar is giving local residents of Wellington plenty of reasons to navigate its coffee and food menu.

Flight Coffee Roasters was launched in 2009 in New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay. When the time came to reinvent the brand in 2012, Nick says Wellington seemed the perfect space to establish an in-house roastery and coffee bar.

“At the time specialty coffee was still quite fresh in New Zealand, but we wanted to lead from the front and build our dream café,” says Nick. “We learnt early on that people are the key to everything. We’ve created a real family environment and people who walk into our hangar can feel that.”

The Hangar was constructed out of an old car park, with the yellow lines of the parking bays still visible on the floor. The design features raw, wooden materials with lots of natural light. A long coffee bar stretches along the café’s sidewall to help the baristas present different brew methods, and engage with customers as they prepare their brew.

“We aim to make the decision-making process simple for customers. We provide tasting trays, simple menus and try to reduce any intimidation in selecting coffee,” says Nick.

Flight Coffee’s signature coffee is its Bomber blend. “It’s made of Brazil and Colombia beans with tasting notes of cocoa, malt, and chocolate. People really relate to this coffee whether it’s served white or black,” says Nick.

The Belle blend contains fully-washed Ethiopia and Colombian beans. Nick describes this espresso blend as having flavours of jasmine, peach, and cane sugar.

For those keen to try something new, Flight Coffee’s coffee-loving staff serve a range of alternate brew options including batch brew through a Fetco, Aeropress, and a Gino Dripper. “There’s lots more people enjoying filter coffee and the black coffee drinkers in particular are keen to experiment. We’re just trying to make these brew methods more accessible,” says Nick.

To accompany the vast coffee selection, a creative menu provides breakfast and lunch options, all made on-site. “We developed our menu with Head Chef Lisa Craig. We looked at what we do and don’t enjoy when we dine at other cafés,” says Nick.
He developed a menu with an extensive list of sweet and savoury options. Must-have items include the Hangar’s homemade crumpets, eggs Benedict with black pudding, ham hock and smashed peas, but the most popular item is their “build-it yourself breakfast”, where everyone can create something to their preference.

Visitors to the Hangar will see the Flight Coffee team in full swing: a happy and educated bunch who take pride in their coffee production.

“Whether you visit to drink or eat we want our customers to experience our quality products and to have a damn good time while they do it,” says Nick.

The Two Professors

In April 2014 café Co-Owners Rory Cremin and Lachlan McMurtrie brought their eclectic style and dedicated coffee passion to the residents of Rockhampton. The café had already been established for a few years under a different brand, but Rory and Lachlan were confident they could reignite the café into a popular coffee haunt.

“We wanted to add our own style. We saw a gap in the market in Rockhampton for specialty coffee, and we wanted to push the fact we knew a bit more then the average local about coffee,” says Rory. “The city didn’t have anyone pushing quality like Melbourne and Sydney does.”

Rory has spent the past eight years working in hospitality venues, while Lachlan is an engineer by trade and calls himself an “avid coffee drinker”. He still assists running a small business in town while juggling his newfound caffeine addiction.

The pair transformed the sterile white walls with splashes of colour and added ornaments to create style. “We wanted something that intrigued people, so we’ve gone with a style that’s a bit eclectic in terms of furnishings, with the theme of an new school library,” says Lachlan.

While the style is important to the boys, so too is their coffee focus. All their baristas are put through training, and even the locals are invited to attend a barista course once a month. “Coffee isn’t an afterthought here, it’s our menu focus,” says Rory. “We stand by our motto: Your Coffee. Our Science.”

The coffee is roasted from Duckinwilla Coffee Roasters in Maryborough. The house blend is Formula One, which Rory describes as “a bold coffee that stands out in milk with caramel and nut flavours, and acidity when served as an espresso”.

Six single origins are on display at any one time with favourites including lots from Costa Rica. A range of alternate brew methods are also available. “There’s always a lot of intrigued eyes once we light up the syphon,” says Rory.

Two Professors serves the only fresh-baked bagels in Rockhampton with their American-influenced menu. A must-try is the Reuben bagel with corned beef, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing and sauerkraut. “It’s an exciting time in Rockhampton. More people have an appreciate for quality coffee and are prepared to wait in line for a coffee,” says Lachlan.

The Firm

When five friends decided to set up a new café metres away from the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, arriving at a name for their new venture didn’t take too long.

“It was my brother’s idea to call it The Firm,” says Nando Folino, one of the partners. “There’s a movie called The Firm which we’re all fans of, and the name gets a smile out of our customers.”

The big open space in the middle of Melbourne’s CBD is well placed to serve the lawyers, barristers, and court officers who spend most of their working week in the area.

The bright, modern design offers plenty of space for regular visitors to drop in on their lunch hours. With ample seating both indoors and outside, Nando says it’s not uncommon for customers to bring in their laptops and stay for the day.

“The five of us have worked in the hospitality industry for most of our lives and at some point over the years we’ve all worked together,” says Nando. “When we opened up The Firm we wanted to offer something a bit different and bring a bit of variety to the area.”
With the intent of giving its customers more food choices than what had previously been available on Lonsdale Street, the partners brought in a huge glass display cabinet, which is filled each day with fresh new options. The cabinet sits up on the café counter besides a Wega Concept three-group espresso machine.

“I’m in here from 6am until about 5pm at night, and sometimes we barely get a chance to take a break,” says Nando. “I work a lot making coffees but we also have a full time barista who usually takes the lead.”

The Firm uses Map Coffee’s Caffé Fiore, which is a locally roasted blend, created especially for the Australian espresso coffee drinker.

“Caffé Fiore has a smooth, slightly chocolate flavour and is suited to both espresso and café lattes, which is what we find we make the most of,” says Nando. “We’ve recently switched to it as it’s got a bit of a stronger kick than what we were using previously.”
The Firm uses Vitasoy’s Café for Baristas soy milk. Nando says it gives the best balance between soy and coffee flavours, and performs consistently in the busy café environment. “We’ve been using Vitasoy’s [Café] for Baristas variety since we first opened and we’ve found it’s a great match with our coffee,” says Nando. “With this many years experience in Melbourne’s café scene we’ve learned that when you find a product that keeps your customers happy, you stick to it.”

Each morning the giant glass cabinet that takes up most of the counter is filled with fresh salads, roti wraps, pastries, cakes, focaccias, and more.

“All of our lunch options are made on the premises and made fresh each day,” says Nando. “We do catering for a number of the businesses in the area and by the end of the day the cabinet is often empty.”

Nando says one of their most popular lunch options is the chicken and avocado focaccia, a staple that can be eaten at the café or grabbed to take away.

“Providing simple, good food and really great coffee is what we do best and it seems to keep the regulars happy,” says Nando. “Because of where we are located we get to interact with people from all walks of life, which is what keeps the job interesting. As well as all those who work in the courts we see lots of people who are attending court for the day, so it’s a pretty mixed bag.”

Nando says that although he’s usually run off his feet, relaxing at the end of the day and seeing what they’ve achieved makes it all worth while.

“I love making coffee and I love getting to speak to so many people each day,” he says. “But to sit back with the team once everything is packed up – it’s a pretty good feeling.”