There are four Papercup Coffee cafés brightly dotting the Gold Coast in Carrara, Southport, Labrador and Tugen. Owner Fred Azzarella says that Papercup’s atmosphere is “so Gold Coast it’s not funny. We decided to create a light, beachy theme to make it reflective of the area.”
While each Papercup Coffee venue is slightly unique in colour and character, guests have come to expect the same high standard of coffee and service, regardless of the store location or time of day.
“The focus is to provide the best coffee we can, and get it delivered to the customers within five minutes.” Fred says. “Our core philosophy is to provide the same service, flavour and consistency every time.”
Frequent staff training and refined systems for service underpin Papercup Coffee’s commitment to efficiency and reliability. This approach is assisted by a close relationship with Veneziano Coffee Roasters. “Veneziano provide us not only with an amazingly consistent beans, but also with a lot of barista training and support,” he says.
Veneziano supports Papercup’s initiative to run small barista training sessions fortnightly, meaning that “each staff member is getting a training session every three months, so that making good coffee becomes second nature to them,” Fred says.
Using La Marzocco coffee machines and Mahlkonig EK grinders, baristas prepare Papercup’s most popular house blend, Elevate. Fred says this blend from Veneziano Coffee is sweet and spicy, chocolately and nutty, and a medium-bodied all-rounder.
To pair with the quality-made coffee, hungry visitors can also enjoy “a variety of café classics, like eggs on toast and brekky burritos,” Fred says, all of which “can be made available as takeaway for our many customers who are on-the-go.” Consistent with Papercup’s sunny location and focus on speedy service, Fred adds that “our most popular food item is definitely our yummy açai bowls, especially in summer.”
Emphasising the main inspiration behind Papercup Coffee, Fred says that he has “been a coffee-lover my whole life.” Expanding the Papercup Coffee brand has allowed Fred to share this love of coffee with others. “We focus on wonderful coffee as our main service, our main offering,” he says.
Papercup Coffee
1/16 Frank Street, Labrador, Queensland, 4215
Open Monday to Sunday 5am – 2pm
This article appears in the August 2022 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
