A pioneer of single-origin coffee in Australia, David Kennedy is one of the industry’s under-the-radar innovators. As Bun Coffee celebrates two decades in business, the roaster reveals what inspired him to follow flavour, not dollars.
For David Kennedy, seeking out rare and interesting single origins is more than just a part of his role as Co-Founder and Master Roaster at Bun Coffee – it’s an obsession that’s blossomed over four decades.
This fervour for flavour has seen him collaborate with farmers in all corners of the coffee-growing world, from the heights of the Himalayas and the lush landscapes of Hawaii to the wild jungles of Madagascar and the tropical north of the country he calls home. And over the past 20 years he – and wife Jenny, who has also been instrumental in Bun Coffee’s journey – has been sharing his finds with the people of Byron Bay and beyond.
Since relocating from Sydney to northern New South Wales in 2005, David and Jenny have built not just a coffee roastery but also a community of coffee lovers. The road hasn’t always been easy – the original plan to open a café with a roastery had to pivot to a wholesale roastery when council roadblocks ground proceedings to a halt – but they’ve stayed true to their ambition to tell to story of coffee from crop to cup.
Today, with about 60 single origins available at any time from its website, two espresso bars in Ballina and Byron Bay, and a recently expanded roasting site, Bun Coffee is celebrating its momentous milestone.
“I call David an artist because his work with coffee is an art form,” says Jenny.
“Roasting such a wide range of coffees, he gets up at 4.30am most mornings and heads straight to his roaster. His knowledge of the nuances of each bean is like nothing I’ve seen before.”
Witnessing the rise of specialty coffee and the explosion of the Australian café scene, in the past two decades David has seen an avalanche of industry change – from consumer-driven trends to an acceptance and expectance of quality coffee.
“Looking back, the 1980s were the days of the cappuccino. But now, people want great coffee everywhere they go and expect to see batch brew, V60, cold drip, and immersion cold brew on the menu. Customers are much fussier now, and so they should be. It keeps everyone on their toes,” says David.
“They also want to know the origin of their coffee. There’s an increased interest in single origins and people want to meet the grower, know which hillside it was grown on, and the varietal type.”
For someone who has championed single origins for so long – and before they became popular through the specialty movement – this increased interest is music to David’s ears. From the beginning of Bun Coffee, sharing the stories of the farmers and ensuring the beans were sourced fairly and ethically was a priority.
“When we started the roastery we knew we were going to focus on organic, Fairtrade, and sustainable producers,” he says.
“Since the mid 1990s when I was selling coffee in a market in Sydney, I also knew I wanted to roast Australian-grown coffees. Customers were always surprised when I told them we grow coffee here, so I wanted to get the word out about our beans.”
From there, the natural progression of recognising Australian farmers extended to international farmers.
“Why wouldn’t you push for fair pay for the farmers and products that are better for the planet? If you can, you should. We have always pushed for what is honest and true,” he says.
Sourcing from so many origins, David admits the logistics and communication barriers when coordinating with coffee farmers have at some points been an “awkward” but also a “fun” endeavour.
“Sourcing is something I enjoy doing but it has its challenges. If you don’t have certain documentation, your coffee will not be allowed into Australia, and rules change from time to time,” he says.
“Being patient is key. For example, getting certified Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee out of Jamaica can take months with all the processing. The coffee must be submitted to the board and then approved, and then it has to be shipped to Australia. But I enjoy the process and working with the people.”
Another key part of David and Jenny’s agenda was gaining full organic certification for the roastery, which they achieved in 2007.
“This was something we wanted from the get-go: to offer a range of coffees that were not just organic in name but organic in reality,” he says.
“With the stringent regulations of the certification process governed by the ACO in Australia, we strongly believe we are supporting people’s health and the farming practices to support long-term growth in the industry.”
This conscious mindset has also flowed into the roaster’s retail packaging, which David is extremely passionate about. Bun Coffee strives to be a leader in the recycling and compostable packaging field.
“This too has been a journey” he says. “When we first trialled compostable packaging the bags started to compost before the customer had opened their delivery.
“So, we went back to the drawing board and now have a range of retail bags that are fully recyclable as well as a fully home-compostable pod range. We also partner with BioPak to offer home compostable cups for all our café partners.”
Bun Coffee’s seven signature blends stand out on the shelf thanks to the rainbow-coloured recyclable packaging.
“The bright coloured retail bags make it so easy for our customers to remember their favourite blend,” David says.
“Often they will say ‘can I get a red and a yellow bag of beans?’. They don’t know the blend name just the colour of the type of coffee that they enjoy.”
Despite nearly four decades in the industry, David still has the desire to learn more about coffee. In 2024, he completed the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Coffee Excellence from the Coffee Excellence Centre at Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
The course required an 18-month online component, as well as face-to-face modules at the Zurich campus.
“It was fascinating,” he says. “It covered everything from the history and origins of coffee right through to the supply chain, sensory evaluation, and fault findings.”
Completing the program helped further David’s coffee knowledge and his methods of communicating with both his staff and customers.
“It has really opened my mind. When people come to me with a problem, I’m now able to delve a bit deeper into it and find ways to overcome the issue,” he says.
“The course was for my personal benefit, but I’m sure there are ways it has helped me that I haven’t even realised yet.”
With a new qualification under his belt and a two-decade anniversary to celebrate, David’s energy for the industry shows no sign of wavering. Currently, he’s closely following global varietal trials and climate-adaptive planting research.
“I’m very interested in the potential of new coffee species that could help to safeguard the future of global production against the increasing impacts of climate events,” he says.
Industry accolades and coffee know-how aside, for David and Jenny it’s the small things – a good cup, a loyal customer, a connection to growers – that matter most.
For more information, visit buncoffee.com.au
This article appears in the August 2025 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
