NSW regional coffee roaster from Young, takes out the prestigious Gold medal award at the 2016 Sydney Royal fine food awards.
Adrian Capra, coffee roaster and owner of Art of Espresso Coffee Company from the regional town of Young, NSW has roasted the city competition and taken out the champion of their class and Gold medal award at the Sydney Royal Fine Food awards. The 100% Australian single origin winning bean was from the Skybury plantation in Mareeba on the Atherton Tablelands in far north Queensland.
From a strong contingency of city based roasters and a record number of over 302 entries at this year’s awards, Adrian is honoured that a regionally based family business can take out the award using an Australian product. “It just makes the win so much sweeter” says Adrian who is a passionate believer and advocate for direct trade relationships with the growers he purchases the green coffee bean from.
“This coffee award is another great result of our direct trade philosophy, the McLaughlin family farm in Mareeba grows more than 90,000 coffee trees. I visited the plantation in late 2014 and used their bourbon coffee for the entry” comments Adrian. It is medium dark with a rich and bold persistent palate. It has a slight hint of fruitiness with consistent nutty overtones. Adrian loves working with this bean for its flavour profile and its ability to work as an espresso or with milk.
Adrian is no newcomer to the industry having spent the last 20 years involved with coffee in some way. “It’s in my blood, most people know the story of my Nonna pouring an espresso over my cereal when I was a baby, so it was just a natural progression that coffee became my addiction!” To be able to make a living from my addiction and passion is just unreal.
Adrian credits his rural lifestyle for keeping him grounded and balanced and not too affected by the trends that some follow in the larger cities. “I believe in keeping it real, and the casual down to earth approach is what makes the concept of Art of Espresso so endearing” says Adrian. “I am so fortunate to travel across this beautiful land of ours and build lifelong relationships with my clients – they are my real inspiration” Art of Espresso currently supplies roasted coffee to cafes and restaurants right across the state and most recently entered the Sydney market with a new cafe in the southern suburbs.
The Art of Espresso head office is located in Young, NSW where Adrian runs the business with his wife Gabrielle and three young children. The premises host an onsite roasting facility, barista training centre and a flagship espresso bar.
Contact : Adrian Capra, Ph: 0408617180
Email: adrian@artofespresso.com.au
