Hey there, my name is Brandon one of the co-founders of Melbourne Coffee Roasting Co. a family business that started out in 2009.

 

“Every cup of coffee has a story” this still rings true to me to this day and we all have a story about how coffee has been a part of our lives, so to kick it off here is mine.

 

Melbourne Coffee Roasting Co. or Ambrosia Coffee Roasters as it was known then started over dinner, I honestly can’t remember what we were eating (probably spaghetti bolognese as my family is Italian )  but I remember my dad said” We should start a coffee business!!”. My response was “Like Nescafe?!.... Why?!,we know nothing about coffee. My only experience at this time was instant coffee and coffee vacuum sealed from Italy that had been roasted 4-6 months ago which was gritty, stale and lifeless.

 

I honestly thought the subject was just my dad talking out loud and nothing would come of it, but before I knew it my dad purchased a little 3 kilo coffee roaster and my youngest brother started working as a barista at “Cottle on Coventry’ in South Melbourne.

I think it would be fair to say I was the last in the family to be interested in this new venture, but before I knew it, we were roasting in my Nonno Frank (Grandfather Frank) garage and working on Sunday Mornings at the Kingsbury Market in Greensborough. These times at the market helped us grow a loyal following and ignite a passion for high quality coffee and customer service. However, the business to me was a side hassle or a weekend job, I needed more convincing before I put my toe in the water.

 

At this time, I was working for the Laminex Group in sales and thought that we should test ourselves up against the bigger players in the coffee industry. It was 2015 and we entered the Sydney Fine Food Show and we won Bronze for Latte and Espresso and the next year we won Silver. At this point in time, I really started to question how a guy who was selling bench tops, handles and mdf board could do this.

 

Fast-forward to 2019 in January and an opportunity arrived to give me that final push, finally that leap of faith to dive in & to be honest I have never looked back. The business has given me so much, to building life long friendships, create award winning great coffee and connect with those who love it.

 

The wise man was right…. “Every cup of coffee has a story".... So over to you, what is yours?

​

​