Cnr58 Head Barista Nathan Dobbs grew up on coffee. At the age of 14 his father bought a coffee machine from eBay and Nathan fell in love with the “concept of making coffee”.
Then a few years later he fell in love with the drink itself. “I wanted to know how far I could take coffee as a career. I love the style of work, how creative it is, and that it’s relationship-driven rather than a nine to five desk job,” Nathan says.
Father and son team Daniel and Chris Kim are Co-Owners of Cnr58. The venue opened in November 2015, and Nathan has been there since the space was nothing more than a construction site.
Cnr58 offer a variety of coffee options and diverse flavours to suit a range of different palates.
“We have a great range of rotating coffees and brew methods available to expand people’s views and understanding of coffee,” Nathan says. “We use Zest Specialty Coffee. Their coffees are amazing. They offer a phenomenal taste in the cup – that was the first thing we got right when setting up the café.”
Zest Specialty Roaster James Craig is responsible for providing the team with seasonal micro lots, which Nathan puts through filter options such as V60, cold drip and AeroPress. Favourites at time of print included Indonesian beans from Sumatra and the Sulawesi Island. “The Indonesian through filter gives great mandarin, citrus tones and almost brown sugar sweetness and a caramel finish,” Nathan says.
Two Mythos grinders, a Mahlkönig Ek43, and a La Marzocco FB80 take pride of place on the counter bench. For milk based coffees Cnr58 serves Zest’s Supremo Bold, and for black coffee the Bahia blend is a treat. Single origins are also available and rotated weekly.
Cnr58 serves a breakfast and lunch menu. It takes a fine-dining approach to its modern Australian menu, with classic dishes such as Caesar salad “up-scaled’ to include cured eggs grated over the top of different lettuce varietals.
When it comes to latte art, Nathan is an old pro. He was pouring hearts at the age of 14. Nathan’s had mentoring from some of the industry’s best, including Tyler Walsh, Jibbi Little, and a two-time barista champion from The Netherlands. These days, however, Nathan is proud to be working alongside Craig to learn the secrets to brewing and roasting.
“People tell me that when I’m excited I get a certain look in my eye. I must be excited then all the time because I’m working with coffee, which I love.”
