The first slayer coffee machine in Perth can be found at Pony express O, a unique coffee outlet hidden down a laneway in West Perth in a hundred-year-old stable. “Pony express O is experiential coffee where the customer actually stands in the barista’s space while their coffee is being made,” explains owner, Garrett Walsh. Two machines sit back to back in the shop. The first is a Wega Vela Vintage, with its own blend from local roaster crema. The Wega is used to make all the traditional types of coffee.
The second machine is the eye- catching slayer, which recently made headlines as Pony express O is the first café to bring a slayer machine to Western australia. The move, Garrett notes, is a growing sign that it may be time to pay attention to what’s happening out West. “We’re trying to get Perth in touch with the east coast,” Garrett says about why he purchased the machine.
Garrett comes from a cooking background, and says that with the slayer he gets a better chance to “play around”with coffee like he could with food in the kitchen. The $30,000 machines are handmade in seattle, Washington and custom ordered.“All I do is coffee, and this is just an amazing way to do that.”
He says that while Perth is catching up to Australia’s leading coffee cities, many people still drink a lot of milk in their coffee. To encourage them not to, Garrett will only serve single origin beans from the slayer machine, and only as short or long macs, and short or long blacks.
“We are trying to get customers to drink their coffee with less milk and be involved in watching their coffee being made, which is a beautiful process with the slayer, “ says Garrett. “It is a testament to the slayer that people are being easily converted in their coffee habits, which makes it money well spent.”
As a coffee focused café, Pony espress O does not serve any food, however customers are welcome to bring their food in. Photos courtesy Dave Hutson, www.flickr.com/photos/dapperado
