Eureka Coffee sponsors PWF ‘subscriber drive’

Subscribe & go in the draw! We really do want to get grassroots Oz talking….

• about supporting small business & sustainable community advancement
• about how communities like Maleny ‘do it’
• about more efficient ways of allocating funds to community/small business projects

……and Australian-grown Eureka Coffee is right behind us!

Click here to go to the ‘Win a Year’s Supply of Australian-grown Coffee Competition’ page.

Did you know less than 1% of all coffee beans consumed here are grown here?

Eureka Coffee is a family concern. Ten years ago Barry and Wendy Edmonds moved from Melbourne to an 80 hectare property in the Byron Bay hinterland, then, after some careful research, began growing high quality Arabica beans. Four years later they harvested their first crop.

Daughter Sam and partner Mark Ryan met through work in Melbourne at Parks Victoria where Sam was an Environmental Planner and Mark was Chief Ranger for the Yarra Valley. Mark was involved with many of Melbourne’s big events such as the Grand Prix, the Food and Wine Festival, the International Arts Festival, Moomba etc.

Sam and Mark had worked and travelled and were looking for new opportunities, so they in turn did their own research, looking at becoming the distribution arm of the business. They launched Eureka Coffee in 2001 at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and have created a link between coffee-loving Melbourne and the relaxed beach lifestyle environment of Byron Bay through what has become a multi-faceted business based in North Fitzroy.

Mark says “Eureka is an archetypal Aussie name, associated with democracy, and is also the name of the town just near where the coffee is grown.”

A BIG learning curve for two coffee novices

It seems despite being in competition with each other, the local Melbourne coffee industry is keen to share its knowledge and skills. The pair first learnt how to roast beans – with Gigante in Cheltenham and then with Justin Metcalf, chairman of the World Barista Championship Committee – and then landed a deal to roast their own coffee at the Daily Roast Company in Dandenong. Mark has become a specialty roaster with the Australasian Specialty Coffee Association (ASCAA)

Eureka Coffee is now a premium, boutique coffee roaster. It is the only coffee company that grows the coffee it sells and serves to customers. The family business prides itself on its premium products and dedicated services to their customers.

Two different roasts

• Premium Espresso Roast – ‘full bodied with a smooth finish and elegant flavour with subtle chocolate characteristics;
• Premium Medium Roast – a milder roast more suited for any slower brewing method.

Marketing

With Australian coffee more expensive than imported coffee, Mark and Sam operate at the top end of the market. The margins are not there to supply supermarkets, so they target boutique food stores.

The marketing strategy has been to immerse the company in the coffee world. Initially they took mobile coffee carts to Farmers’ Markets and festivals, getting foodies to taste the product. Eureka Coffee also:

• operates regularly at Melbourne’s Victoria Market;
• attends the monthly Farmers’ Markets at the Collingwood Children’s Farm and in Hawthorn;
• supplies beans wholesale to small cafes, boutique stores, Bed ‘n’ Breakfasts ‘anywhere coffee is sold’;
• runs its own retail outlet ‘Growers’ Espresso’ cnr St Georges Rd & Holden St, North Fitzroy, where customers can try blends;
• sells coffee machines and back-up services;
• runs a website www.eurekacoffee.com.au providing info on Australian coffee, stockists, products and services;
• runs an Espresso Group Reward Club which offers prizes, discounts etc for registered members;
• runs accommodation at the Byron Bay property;
• runs catering services for private and public functions with branded or unbranded carts.

A contribution to sustainable living

Eureka Coffee, PWF believes, is an excellent example of a small family business contributing to the community and to sustainable living. They grow, pick, roast and serve their own coffee that is naturally grown using organic methods. They make use of recycled or recyclable packaging wherever possible and are currently investigating opportunities to reduce waste at every stage of production. They distribute local info/brochures at their cafe and are involved with community-based organisations such as:

• The Australian Farmers’ Markets Association who provide guidelines for best-practice and allow operators to exchange information, coordinate policy, and promote grower-centric farmers’ markets across Australia, while providing communities with fresh, quality produce at reasonable prices;
• the Slow Food movement;
• skills training for both the industry and the home/office enthusiast in association with Justin Metcalf, Director, Café Learning, a qualified Workplace Trainer and Assessor and Victorian rep. of the ASCAA.
• the Roasters’ Guild in the AASCA where there is a regular exchange of information and “cupping” sessions where they taste and test a variety of speciality coffees.

Recently, at the inaugural Equal Golden Bean Roasters Awards, out of 200 coffee roasters from around Australia, bronze medals were won by Eureka Coffee Premium Espresso and Eureka Coffee Premium Medium Roasts in the categories of Espresso and Filter Coffee. Campos Coffee in Sydney was awarded the overall winner in the competition.

PWF is proud to have Eureka Coffee as a sponsor. You can buy online – why not check out the website?