Toby’s Estate reopened its flagship store in Chippendale on 9 March, following an extensive internal refurbishment.
The café’s new centrepiece is the coffee counter, which positions baristas and coffee machines facing away from customers sitting at the bar. Curved mirrors hung over the machines provide an overhead view of coffee being made.
“Customers can see exactly how their cup of coffee is made, and understand what baristas do,” says Toby’s Estate Chippendale Flagship Store Manager Jack Stapelfeldt.
“The layout is going to be unexpected for a lot of people, but it works because you can see the baristas’ focus and skill. You appreciate how hard people work to make a perfect cup every time.”
Customers will be encouraged to ask questions about the coffee-making process, the specialty coffees used, and the custom equipment.
The bar features a custom Slim Jim espresso machine, developed in partnership with Dutch manufacturer Kees van der Westen for the refurbishment, as well as four Mahlkönig grinders and a V60 brew bar.
Guests will be able to engage with star barista power, with regular bar appearances from Charlotte Malaval, a two-time World Barista Championship finalist from France and Toby’s Estate’s Green Bean Buyer; Simon Gautherin, 2021 Australian AeroPress Champion; and Carlos Escobar, 2021 fourth place World Brewers Cup Champion.
“We want people to feel like it’s absolutely fine to ask anything, because we really want to educate people about the whole process,” Jack says.
The reopening also launches a rotating reserve menu, curated by Charlotte and the coffee team.
The reserve menu will feature speciality, select and small-lot coffees. Most of the drinks on the menu range between $12 to $24.
“We buy beans from a lot of small producers in young regions,” says Charlotte. “For some of these coffees, this is the only place in Australia you could buy a cup.
For more information, visit the Toby’s Estate website.
