A CONCENTRATION of cafes has converted Bendigo into coffee central as businesses say there’s been a surge in demand for quality brews. From Castlemaine to Kyneton, drinking coffee is as popular as ever.
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The rising number of cafes dotted across the city have focused on more than the black and white varieties, with elaborate roasting techniques and a broader range of blends on offer for latte lovers.
One of the latest ventures to tap in to the burgeoning cafe culture is Brewhouse Coffee Roaster.
The business has supplied its own roasted blend to 30 cafes and has outgrown its Golden Square warehouse, moving to one of the city’s biggest cafes in Hargreaves Street.
Owner Corey Scoble said the demand for high quality coffee had changed the local cafe landscape, with customers more discerning than ever about the type of blend they wanted.
“People are fiercely loyal when it comes to coffee,” he said. “They’re willing to travel across town because they don’t want to get their coffee anywhere else.”
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T’hooft manager Jesse Gollan said the emergence of new cafes and coffee roasters reflected the higher emphasis on quality.
Serving coffees from a fitted out caravan inside the Lyttleton Terrace cafe, Mr Gollan said there had been a broader change in attitudes toward coffee.
“Everyone’s a coffee snob these days,” he said.
“People know what they like. You have to be really committed to providing the highest quality product.”
At the other end of Lyttleton Terrace, Old Green Bean owner Zoe Waddington said the availability of locally roasted coffee was the key to the expanding market.
She said when she finished university in Bendigo in 2006, she remembered there was a lack of diversity in cafes.
But she said that had changed dramatically in recent years, with the last 12 months highlighting the growing interest in coffee.
“To see more cafes opening and doing their own roasting, it’s exciting,” she said. “It is quite a saturated market but the fact that so many cafes are doing so well shows there is that demand there.”
For cafe owner Paul Moran, the growth of the coffee market is something he has watched more closely than most.
Through 20 years in the industry, Mr Moran has made large investments in local cafes, as owner of The Green Olive, Bath Lane Cafe, Cafe au Lait and Bath Lane Bakery.
He is about to unveil a 1960s-style roaster in his new business, Bath Lane Coffee Roasters – operating from inside Bath Lane Bakery.
“There is a big market for that sort of thing now,” he said. “Ten years ago it may not have been sustainable. But coffee consumption has grown enormously, and really spiked here in Bendigo in the past two years.”
Mr Moran likened the rise in coffee appreciation to the wine industry.
“It’s following a path not too disimilar to wine. People are wanting to know the origin and the providence of the coffee.
“It’s all consumer-driven demand and it’s growing because people are interested in learning about different types of blends.”
The demand has extended beyond the city centre, with a number of boutique cafes opening up around Bendigo’s suburbs.
At the top of Hargreaves Street, corner store cafe Percy & Percy has generated a strong following since it opened at the start of the year.
Owner Elisha Jeffrey (above) said she saw the chance to try something a bit different.
“We found the building and thought Bendigo was ready for another corner cafe,” she said. “We started really basic and it’s grown ever since. We’ve just been overwhelmed.”
Mr Moran said he couldn’t see demand for quality coffee drying up any time soon.
He said Cafe Au Lait was set to undergo more renovations, while plans for a new roasted blend made in Bendigo were already under way.
With so many options for connoisseurs to get their caffeine fix, he said it was building the city’s reputation as a place for people to come and expect great coffee.
“It’s a really exciting time, I think there’s a real energy about Bendigo now.”
Coffee's never been so popular - by Kristen Alebakis
Coffee maker Merinda Kuckhahn from Tog’s Place Cafe in Castlemaine.
CAFÉ owners and baristas say a sophisticated coffee culture is brewing across central Victoria.
Castlemaine’s Tog’s Place has been serving coffee to locals for nearly 25 years.
Owner Jason Wilsher said he and his wife have owned and run the popular coffee spot for 15 years.
He says people are drinking a lot more coffee now, then ever before.
Mr Wilsher said he has noticed Castlemaine is fast becoming a place known for coffee.
“I think the coffee culture has developed possibly because of the tree changers that have come from Melbourne,” he said.
“A lot of people who are coming up from Melbourne to live in Castlemaine expect to have good coffee and people in the region are now adapting to that.”
Mr Wilsher said he was a tree changer and had brought a particular type of coffee to Castlemaine from Melbourne.
He said coffee drinkers were now offered a range of different coffee types and flavours.
“There is a lot of choice,” Mr Wilsher said.
“You can get soy, decaf and put a flavour in your coffee.
“It is the Starbucks influence.”
Castlemaine’s Café Re Public and Eating Depot is housed in the old Castlemaine Fire Station.
Manager Marcus Maloney says the café stocks coffee from Bendigo’s Brewhouse Coffee.
He said nowadays coffee drinkers were more particular about what they wanted to drink.
“We offer a variety of different coffees,” he said.
“A coffee culture is definitely growing here, especially of the people who are moving up to Castlemaine to live.”
Kyneton’s café precinct is also seeing an influx of people wanting to buy coffee.
Pie’ce De Resistance manager Annemarie Day said there had been a boom in coffee sales of late.
She said people were becoming more knowledgeable about what type of coffee they wanted to drink.
“People are fussy,” Ms Day said. “They are definitely more knowledgeable about coffee.”
