As of 4 October, Belaroma will trade under the business name Seven Miles Coffee Roasters.
Company CEO Tim Jones says due to the company’s evolution and new developments, the name change is a reflection of the broad portfolio of brands Seven Miles produces, and the company’s shift in direction on green bean sourcing.
“We’ve come a long way from the single brand roasting company that first launched in 1968. The coffee industry has changed dramatically in that time, more so in the last 10 years, and so have we,” Tim says. “Our move to Seven Miles signals how far we’ve come, but more importantly our commitment to continued development and to crafting consistently remarkable coffees. This transition will allow each of our brands the opportunity to step forward and develop its own story.”
Since the launch of Belaroma in 1968, the company relocated to Manly Vale, New South Wales in 1995, formed a partnership with Andy Simpkin in 2000 and saw the exit of Founder Ian Burston in 2005. It now sees the move to Seven Miles as the next step in its evolution.
Tim says selecting the name Seven Miles was a natural fit for the company, with its headquarters based in Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
“It’s ‘seven miles’ from the hustle and bustle of Sydney’s CBD and a stone’s throw from the sun, surf and sand of Manly Beach. In the 1940s, the Port Jackson and Manly Steamship Company coined the phrase ‘Seven Miles from Sydney, a thousand miles from care’ to promote the Northern Beaches’ down to earth, resort-style culture. We are proud of our hometown heritage, and proud to be part of our local community,” he says.
For customers serving Belaroma coffee, Tim says it’s important to highlight that as of October, only the name has change
“Belaroma has not be sold. It is still being run by the same team, the people are the same, the coffees will all be the same, we will just be trading under our new name of Seven Miles,” he says. “The same great quality and service you’ve come to expect from us won’t change – you’ll just see more of it.”
To coincide with the launch of Seven Miles, Tim say the company will unveil a new range of speciality grade, traceable single origin coffees and make origin information and industry developments more accessible to customers.
“Over the past 12 months we have been working with farming communities from the world’s most renowned growing regions to secure supply of some outstanding green beans. These beans are 100 per cent traceable, allowing complete transparency along our supply chain. This gives us even greater control over coffee quality and helps us close the gap between coffee growers and customers,” Tim says.
We have also increased our team of coffee specialists. Tim says each are passionate about exploring new ways to improve the coffee offered to café partners.
Also brewing behind the scenes is the new Seven Miles Roastery Door in Manly Vale, officially opening its door on 4 October. Tim says the espresso bar will be a space to test experimental blends that will become “incubators” for future Seven Miles blends. These will be produced in small batches only and won’t be available for wholesale café supply.
The Roastery Door will be the home of the new Specialty Coffee Associatin of America-standard cupping lab and training space that will be open to the industry for training and events.
“At Seven Miles, we continue to believe that as an industry, it is essential we continue to share knowledge and insights with each other to create a stronger collective. As a medium-sized player, we are able to provide resources to allow that to happen,” Tim says.
The changes don’t stop there. Seven Miles will also launch a new micro-roastery in Brisbane in early 2017 to enable better delivery to the needs of the local Queensland market. This move continues the local roasting strategy started with its Black Mountain Canberra Roastery in 2014.
“The changes we have been making are in response to our commitment to continually raise the bar on the coffee quality, the evolving consumer market and our desire to support the social and ethical standards of the coffee growing communities,” Tim says. “Doing our small part in improving the way the world drinks espresso based coffee is what we’re all about, and we are looking forward to doing that, even if it is only one cup at a time.”
For more information visit www.sevenmiles.com.au