Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/123507
INDIE CITY continued from page 33 C O U R T E SY O F TO B Y ' S E S TAT E all this fantastic coffee and everyone just puts milk in it," says Toby Smith, owner of Sydneybased roaster Toby's Estate Coffee. "But without the milk and everyone drinking milk coffee, we wouldn't be in business." UNTETHERED AND SEEKING QUALITY Another notable characteristic of Australian coffee is independence, as chain coffeehouses don't have nearly the presence they do in the U.S. TOBY'S ESTATE COFFEE in Sydney's Woolloomooloo suburb. and other markets. Starbucks arrived in Australia in 2000 and opened 84 stores; in 2008, the company closed 61 of them. Gloria Jean's has the largest chain coffeehouse presence in Australia with more than 480 locations, but that's a sliver of a market that is dominated by mom-andpops—according to the 2013 Cafés and Coffee Shops report by Australian market research firm IBISWorld, there are 6,500 independently owned coffee shops currently operating in Australia. Grimard says the independent-heavy landscape has directly resulted in better quality. "Because you have all these independent cafés, you have roasters competing for their business that are offering better and better quality," she says. "They keep having to improve." That push for quality fits well into Australia's larger culture of high-end food and service. Hirte of Proud Mary says Melbourne is ground zero for "foodie" culture, both because top-quality produce grows nearby and because of the city's diversity. "We have an amazing food scene here," he says. "It's a big melting pot— Greek culture, Indian culture, Sudanese culture. And we have amazing produce locally, so it attracts some really good chefs." Hirte adds that Melbourne's food scene has also been able to thrive because service jobs are treated as careers—and coffeehouses are no exception, with baristas earning high wages and seeing growth opportunities. "Hospitality in Melbourne has always been career-focused and taken seriously," he says. "The people who work in the industry are not 15-year-olds. They've chosen to devote their lives to it." GOING IN WAVES As with any scene, it took some time for Australia's coffee culture to evolve. Andrew Ford, owner of importing company MTC Group, describes the first wave of specialty coffee in Australia as national and international chains such as Sara Lee. He says the second wave arrived around 2000 with Toby's Estate and other roasters, many of which differentiated themselves through training and quality. The third wave has only taken shape in the last five years, Ford says, continued on page 36 34 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com