Ona Coffee Manuka has gone back to their roots and reopened a café in Manuka, Canberra.
The site is the original café where Ona founder, Sasa Sestic, first found his passion for coffee six years ago. The roasting and wholesale business has come a long way since Sasa’s days of roasting coffee out of a storage container. With three other Ona cafés already established, the newly refurbished café in Manuka has opened its doors to the public once again.
Barista and Marketing Manager, Jack Scheeren, says the new café is a testament to where the company is at. “This [café] is what refuelled the roasting passion,” Jack says. “Coming back here was important because the Manuka community was the first to support us in the beginning.”
Owned by Aton Willie and Sasa, and run by Operations Manager, Caleb Evans, the new café has adopted a different look to its siblings – and features an espresso bar in a modern, industrial environment with a big exposed brick wall and timber benches.
The Ona signature blend remains the same from the day the business opened. Jack describes it as “black forest cake with some forest fruit berries, dark chocolate and a creamy texture”. The beans are roasted in Fyshwick, Canberra at the Ona Coffee House. Single origin beans are available and continually changing. Ona has recently sourced Panela sugar; a dried-organic sugarcane to match their coffee. Other brewing methods on offer include a cold drip tower, siphon and aeropress.
“We want customers to come and enjoy really good coffee and enjoy it in a relaxed, fun and unpretentious environment,” Jack says. “It’s all about educating people and sharing our passion for coffee.”
Ona Coffee Manuka is also working hard on providing good food to complement their coffee. Offering nice simple food, the Head Chef prepares the Barista Breakfast with poached eggs on sourdough bread and roasted tomatoes, grilled asparagus and a home-made chilli jam. The order is suitable for a breakfast that is not too big or heavy, but still tastes great.
Cold drinks are also available, including refreshing home made lemonade and raspberry coulis, ice teas and frappes – a popular treat for the summer season.
