Sydney’s coffee scene is booming, that’s what the locals tell us. Outside of Australia, Melbourne is widely know for its coffee culture, but here we learn that the capital of NSW is catching up big time!

Today’s morning urge for a cup of coffee takes me to Mecca Espresso on Alfred Street/George Street, which is one of their four shops in Sydney. Located in the outside atrium of an office tower, the spot is covered by a glass roof but open on the sides. A great location to hangout and enjoy the bustling city and watch locals going about their business. There is a constant stream of office folk to the counter, nicely spreading throughout the morning so that its busy all the time but never crowded. Starting in the morning when people arrive at work and get their take-away cup, to when they return between 9:30 to 11:00 for their break and re-caffeiniation.

When ordering coffee in different countries coffee types might be prepared a little differently. I watched one barista preparing coffee with milk and foam in a small glass and though it was a corto but it turned out to be a Cafe Latte, which is served in smaller glasses here than what we would see in Europe. Good option for me to start with and to start writing this post while getting to know the place a bit better.

One of the guys explains to me that the coffee supply and bean selection is very seasonal for Mecca Espresso, as the harvesting seasons differ around the globe. Therefore, when looking at which coffee they are promoting and also the retail bags of freshly roasted coffee on the shelf, the beans currently come from Kenya and Ethiopia as this is the time of the year for Africa to supply their produce. More precisely their Ethiopian coffee comes from the Yirgacheffe region in the south, where 246 small bean farmers contribute to the Dumerso cooperative. The Kenyan coffee on offer originates from the Gatundu region, where 620 members participate in the Gitare cooperative. I’d like to suggest this read on “terroir” and its impact on coffee flavour in general and the characteristic of the Yirgacheffe region in particular: COFFEES AROUND THE WORLD. Self-evident I had to try an espresso of one of the two, and as Gitare was filled in the grinder, that was the one: fruity, acidy and even a bit lemony I would say… definitely a pleasant espresso! I am glad to see yet another case that fairly and ethically traded coffee benefits everyone in the value chain, in this case from the farmer in Africa to the consumer in Sydney.

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