Raised in a hospitality household, Gemma Boxsell knew she would end up in the café industry eventually.
“My dad is a pastry chef who owned a bakery. My brother became a pastry chef as well, so I’ve always been surrounded by coffee and food,” she says.
While baking remained close to her heart, Gemma realised her real passion laid in coffee. After trying various positions in the hospitality industry, she opened her first café, Hidden Gem, in 2015. Its name was inspired its location, tucked away in the backstreets near the highways of Tugun, and the shortened version of her name.
“As a business owner, you have to be an all-rounder, so while I love making coffee, I still help out in the kitchen with the baked goods,” she says.
The café has become a platform for Gemma to share her coffee knowledge with the local community through a series of masterclasses, which she hosts in collaboration with Paradox Coffee Roasters.
“It’s been so much fun bringing the best coffee to our community,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to do education-based coffee events so I could share what I’ve learnt.”
One of Hidden Gem’s recent classes taught customers how to get the best extractions at home by walking them through the basics of coffee equipment and preparation.
“Many of the students brought their own Hario V60s in and it went really well,” she says.
These classes are just one of the ways Paradox has helped the business since they started working together in 2020.
“They’re a great group of professionals who know what they’re doing,” says Gemma. “They come in on a weekly basis to check in on us and to help train our staff, which has been a big help lately.”
Hidden Gem uses Paradox’s Penny Lane as its house blend, while also experimenting with its range of filter coffees which are part of a rotational menu.
“I’ll sometimes offer customers the filter coffee for free because I really want to see them try it and see how good it is,” says Gemma.
Hidden Gem
3/28 Station Street, Tugun, Queensland, 4224
Open daily 5am to 1.45pm
This article appears in the June 2024 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
