EXPAT.Roasters came about after many trips to Bali and naturally while I was there, I was always searching for the best coffee. I noticed along the way there was a huge thirst for knowledge and the baristas in the Indonesian coffee community were wanting more and more. I found there were some great coffee professionals around, but with the amount of baristas in Indonesia there definitely was an opportunity to bring a little piece of the Australian culture and education.
After spending the last 17 years working in the Australian coffee industry and being heavily involved in the industry for a lot of that time, I took for granted the amount of knowledge that is shared throughout the passionate community.
Australia has been one of the leaders, if not the leader, in the third wave movement, and the community has worked together to create this. Knowledge has been openly shared and competitions are running at the highest standards.
So while I was travelling back and forward to Bali in 2015, I was asking questions to baristas about the local coffee industry, competitions, education around everything from farming and processing techniques right through to brewing and latte art, and the overwhelming response was that there hasn’t been a lot in the past, but there’s a huge desire to learn and grow as coffee professionals.
It was then EXPAT.Roasters was born. We have a goal to offer an exceptional brew with great service, without having the pretentious attitude that sometimes comes with this sort of quality.
My business partner and I have a desire to open our doors to the industry and collaborate with roasters and baristas all around the country. As residents of “the island”, we work closely and respectfully with local Indonesian farmers and producers to source the finest quality local product to complement our nomadic collection of beans from around the globe, all in order to wholesale our coffee across the Indonesian café market.
A big part of my plan with EXPAT is to immerse myself in the excitement and growth the Indonesian coffee market is undertaking. I believe the passion showed by the baristas will drive the Indonesian coffee market to be one of the best in the world.
A great examples of this was just recently, one of my baristas, Yanti, had the opportunity to compete in a local smackdown that was run by one of the world’s best latte artists, Ben Morrow. She was so excited to meet him and compete with all the best baristas from Bali. (Yanti then won the competition). I asked her how she felt about the win and with a tear in her eye she said, “I just want to do my best every day; winning in front of a legend like Ben Morrow just shows to everyone how hard we work at EXPAT and how we are trying to make history (by producing amazing coffee in every cup). This win is more for my team; I am so lucky to work alongside great baristas every day.”
It is these moments that make me realise I am definitely on the right track. With all of this happening and the excitement in the air, the future is looking exciting for EXPAT.Roasters, Bali baristas and the Indonesian coffee community.
EXPAT.Roasters is part of the 8 Degree Projects Group, specialising in world class, memorable establishments throughout Asia.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shae Macnamara – 2016 Australian Coffee in Good Spirits Champion, 2016 World Coffee in Good Spirits 4th place, two time Head Judge Golden Bean Roasting Competition, 2015/16 ASCA National Board member and Founder/ Head Barista EXPAT. Roasters Indonesian
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