Table of contents for 41 in BeanScene

What’s dark, sleek, mysterious and talk of the machine town at the moment? The Mavam under-counter espresso machine, that’s what. For this reason, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to feature the Mavam on the October edition of BeanScene. When we got the call to say the huge wooden crate carrying the Mavam from Seattle had touched down in Melbourne, we locked in our covershoot just in time. The machine has an impressive calendar of commitments. It was about to be whisked away to feature at The Coffee Experience in Sydney. “The technology, research, and thought gone into development of this temperature stable machine from Michael Myers and Terry Z is truly remarkable. It’s for this reason that we want to highlight the future possibilities of the espresso machine on our…

The O’Kelly Group Director of Sales Nathan O’Kelly paces through rows of packaged paper cup boxes like a tour guide pointing out intricate details of a historic landmark. “Over here is Patricia’s new order of cups, look there’s Axil Coffee’s – very clean and simple design, Auction Rooms over there, and The Boy Who Cried Wolf, which I personally like a lot,” Nathan says. Unlike a roaster’s warehouse that’s typically full of hessian bags with green beans, The O’Kelly Group’s 16,000 square-metre warehouse is filled with packaged food service goods, ready to be transported to hospitality venues across the country. “It’s been referred to as the Ikea of packaging products,” Nathan says. “But it’s more than just a warehouse, this place is like my second home. I married my wife…

There’s no break between customers at House of Cards café at Melbourne University. In fact, Co-Owner Guy Neil-Baker says a constant stream of students, teachers and faculty members makes for a busy day’s work – all day, every day. “Ace of hearts, cappuccino,” the barista behind the counter yells. “Nine of clubs, latte. Queen of diamonds, piccolo.” One by one students carrying backpacks and satchels collect their coffee. They hand over the respective playing card that doubles as an order docket and nomination card. House of Cards donates to four organisations each month, while the customer vote determines how much is distributed to each. Perhaps it’s the café’s social ethos that has helped it gain a loyal following, but for a large part Guy says it’s down to the coffee.…

Craig Thomas often has good ideas. His high school friend Peter Gutbrod attests to this. But while watching The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Good Friday Appeal coverage back in 2013, Craig had “one of his better ones”. “I was watching these children undergoing cancer treatment at the RCH and seeing their families being put through hell. As a new parent at time, I thought that there would be no more worthy cause then supporting sick children with cancer,” says Craig of EFM Logistics. Immediately he rang his friend Peter of Aberdeen Paper and shared his thoughts about starting a charity initiative. “I still remember exactly where I was when I got the call from Craig. I knew within five minutes of him explaining his idea that it was one I…

At 9am on 16 August 2015, it’s a warm start to a winter’s day. The hangar-like structure of The Blacksmith’s Workshop, Carriageworks, echoes with the sounds of Sydney Tea Festival stallholders putting the finishing touches on their stands, adjusting stock and starting up their kettles. Just half an hour later, the space is loosely filled with tea lovers vying for a taste of the various steepings on offer. By 10am, it’s crowded. According to event organisers Corinne Smith of The Rabbit Hole Organic Tea Bar and Renee Creer of Perfect South, more than 10,000 people walked through the space on the day. These figures doubled the attendance of the inaugural 2014 festival. “The number of people who came down was a surprise,” Renee says. “We expected to increase visitor numbers…

Over two jam-packed days at The Coffee Experience in Sydney from 3 to 4 September, the Australian Specialty Coffee Association kicked-off its 2016 Regional Coffee Championships. Stakes were high, nerves were a plenty, and judges took to their positions with game faces on and clipboards held close to their chests. Late in the afternoon on the second day, Hugh Kelly of Ona Coffee was named the Australian Capital Territory/New South Wales Central Regional Barista Champion. Hugh won first place with a score of 635.50 points. Not far behind in second place was Alex Stathis of Sensory Lab on 566 points, and Andy Liu of Bean Drinking was third on 527.50 points. Hugh won the ACT Barista Championship four years ago and has worked hard to reclaim the title. For his…

Like so many foreign chefs who come to Australian shores, Three Blue Ducks Chef Darren Robertson says one little taste of our coffee culture, and he was hooked. “Coffee appreciation for me didn’t really happen until I arrived in Australia 16 years ago. Two Aussie mates and I would go to Clovelly in Sydney for a coffee. I got to know this Kiwi barista called Mark who made brilliant coffee, and it’s when I first saw coffee-making as a craft,” he says. “Growing up, the United Kingdom coffee scene was non-existent. My memories are simply drinking instant coffee – and as a treat I’d add milk.” When Darren describes his preferred coffee order, he warns that it might sound a little “soft”. “I like flat whites. No more than three…

It had the same suspense and nervous energy of a World Barista Championship announcement. The crowd stood in nervous wait, judges lined up in a row, and the emcee held everyone in suspense. Only the finalists weren’t competing as individuals or countries, they were competing as teams. “The 2015 DaVinci Australian Coffee Chain Champion is…Muffin Break,” bellowed Competition Manager James Harper. The scenes that followed mimicked that of an Olympic gold medal win: tears, hugs and disbelief between team members Helia Valenzuela, Mel Hall, Celine Kim and team captain Nina Cosgrove “We’re over the moon. The finals were so neck and neck. The more we watched the other competitors the more we thought we were out of winning contention It was gut-retching to watch. The standard of skill was extremely…

Ever wondered what happens to extracted coffee pucks left simmering in a café’s knockbox? Barista Hayden Thomson has. In fact, he’s given it much thought. Hayden has worked at cafés both in Australia and overseas, and says used coffee grounds remain a universal waste. “Well over 65,000 tonnes of coffee grounds are thrown out within the Australian coffee industry each year,” he says. “Once in a while a little old lady would come into our café and ask to take the leftover grounds to fertilise her rose garden – coffee grinds are high in nitrogen which is great for the plants in your garden – but with so many cafés wasting this valuable product I thought it was important to close the loop on one of our industry’s greatest waste…

The bright green powder looks like something that belongs in an art studio, ready to mix into a vivid paint. Instead, it is to be whisked into a froth and served to distinguished guests as part of chado, the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. For centuries, Japanese Zen Buddhists have used matcha as part of this ritual, but it is only now that this powdered tea is gaining traction in the West. However, matcha is not just green tea ground into a powder. To be considered true matcha, Renee Creer from Perfect South, an Australasian Specialty Tea Association (AASTA) member, says the tea needs to be shade-grown. “To compensate for the lack of light the plants increase their production of chlorophyll and amino acids, so the tea leaves end up rich…

ACT • Cosmorex Coffee 47 Kembla St, Fyshwick ACT 2609 02 6280 7511 www.cosmorexcoffee.com.au • Jindebah Hills Coffee Pty Ltd 30 Kemble Ct., Mitchell ACT 2911 02 6286 4053 www.jindebah.com • ONA Coffee 3/68 Wollongong St, Fyshwick ACT 2609 02 6162 3320 www.onacoffee.com.au • The Crafted Bean P.O. Box 628 Mitchell ACT 2911 0478 759 849 www.thecraftedbean.com NSW • 9 Bar Coffee 6/4 Hayes St, Balgowlah NSW 2093 02 9949 3275 www.9barcoffee.com • Adore Estate Coffee 86-88 Falconer St, Sydney NSW 2114 02 9807 1677 www.adorecoffee.com.au • Advanced Roasting Technology 38 Brisbane Water Dr, Koolewong NSW 2256 0402 460 078 www.advancedroasting.com.au • Allpress Espresso (AUS) 58 Epsom Rd, Zetland NSW 2017 02 9662 8288 www.allpressespresso.com.au • Altitude Coffee Roastery 14/108 Dangar St, Armidale NSW 2350 02 6772 3020 www.altitudecoffeeroastery.com.au • Amelia Franklin 44 Hyde St, Bellingen NSW 2454 1300 720…

September has been another busy month for ASCA. A few highlights that warrant a mention were the first regional coffee competitions kicking off for the year, the announcement of our 2015 Scholarship Program, and our Annual General Meeting (AGM) which took place at The Coffee Experience. Firstly, I’d like to thank everyone who made it to Sydney for the AGM. It was a bigger group than we had gathered in 2014 and it was nice to share some great news with the crowd. Before getting to that, I’d like to acknowledge that one of the reasons for the annual meeting was to announce the results of the ASCA Board elections. I am happy to report that I will continue in my position as President, and I would like to thank…

If you’re anything like me, you get envious of the inventors of technology or products you wish you’d thought of first: a bottle opener, pedometer, showerproof radio, even the Shazam App that reveals the name of a song and its artist by detecting beats and melody. While it’s easy to dream big and challenge the norm, it’s another thing to make that dream a reality. Thankfully, there are many people within the coffee industry who already consider the technology and products they use, and wonder what they could do better. Take the Mavam under-counter machine for instance. Co-founder Mike Gregory wasn’t satisfied with the temperature stability in the espresso machines sold in his father’s shop, so he decided to dig deep to the source of the problem. He built 20…

On the second morning of The Coffee Experience in Sydney, the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) Australian Chapter Formation hosted a networking breakfast. The early start wasn’t a deterrent, as women – and men – gathered to discuss raising awareness of the needs of women in the coffee industry and the vision for IWCA Australia. Gina di Brita of Numero Uno Coffee Roasters welcomed guests and spoke about her own journey in the industry. “It has been a dream and a wish of mine for so long to see such a great attendance at the breakfast. It was both exciting and overwhelming,” she says. “Having the opportunity to speak in front of the audience to share my personal life experiences within the coffee industry was a pinnacle. The positive feedback…

CAFÉ BOUNCE Getting through the day without a coffee hit is practically unthinkable, but the choice of accompanying snacks – muffins, banana bread and friands – are rather threatening to our health and aren’t convenient to eat on-the-run. Bounce Natural Energy Balls, a market leader in nutritious snacks, has launched a café-exclusive range. Café Bounce is a collection of delectable snacks that partner perfectly with coffee at any time of the day. Crafted from the finest quality nuts, fruits and seeds (with no artificial anything) Café Bounce are a natural and delicious take-away option for health-conscious customers. Bounce Natural Energy Balls are available in three mouthwatering flavours: Coconut Cranberry, Cacao Orange, and Cashew Cinnamon. Each opening order will receive a free wooden POS tray and price tags. RRP $3.95 To…

Ask Rob McDonald how he went from being a barista with no coffee knowledge to Zest Specialty Coffee Roasters’ resident “coffee expert”, and the answer is quite remarkable. “It’s all thanks to music,” he says. After completing a music degree at the Victorian College of the Arts, Rob moved to Berlin, Germany, in 2012 to study at the prestigious Jazz Institute of Berlin under internationally renowned vibraphonist David Friedman. While fine-tuning his skills on the vibraphone (a percussion instrument), Rob applied for part-time work at third-wave mecca The Barn. Owner Ralf Rüller suggested he come for a cupping to assess his ability to understand different flavour profiles and origins. “I had no idea what that even meant,” Rob says. “I prepared for five days learning about those different things and…

RED CHERRIES COFFEE BAR Shop 14/15, 36 South Terrace, Fremantle, Western Australia Open Monday to Friday 7.30am – 3.30pm, weekends 8.30am – 5pm. Karim Decima has ticked off two of his dream coffee goals in the space of five months. In April this year he launched Atlas Coffee Roasters, and then came an offer that was too good to refuse. “Opening a coffee bar was a last minute project. My first priority was to start the roastery. I’m a roaster by trade and I wanted to have greater control over the product we served to customers. But a cute little site in Fremantle popped up and we decided to jump on the opportunity to open our own coffee bar. It was a natural progression of business and friendship to start…

Sydney has embraced The Coffee Experience expo for its second year, with visitors encouraged to explore their coffee horizons from 3 – 5 September. A total of 4821 people gathered in Sydney’s Royal Hall of Industries in Moore Park for the three-day event. Visitors were treated to education workshops, machine demonstrations, coffee tastings, and barista competitions. “We were proud to see the standard of exhibitors at this year’s event and thank the visitors who came to support Sydney’s coffee community,” The Coffee Experience Show Director Simon Coburn says. “While exhibitor numbers may have been slightly down on last year’s event, visitor numbers were up 24 per cent on last year’s inaugural show. The quality of exhibitors was impressive, and those who participated were able to gather leads and conduct good…

The cafe has been running since 2003 and has built up a loyal following. It a great destination for interstate visitors situated on Adelaide’s East terrace overlooking Rymil Park and an integral part of the Rundle street entertainment precinct. On weekends the cafe is jam packed, with its friendly staff creating a great atmosphere and serving up crowd pleasing favourites of, Hot Pot Chorizo and Rusty Eggs which is poached eggs, crispy prosciutto and hollandaise with a drizzle of napolitana sauce on beautiful bread straight from the wood fired oven, as well as a fresh juice bar to complement their coffee offer. The cafe has changed hands six months ago and new owners Sam Izzo and Joe Bueti have reinforced the quality and family friendly service the cafe has become…