SYDNEY, Australia – Founded in 2009, Sydney coffee roaster Beancraft Coffee has been steadily accruing a small but passionate following for its specialty-grade coffee blends and single origins. Its excellence in roasting earned recognition at the 2012 and 2020 Golden Bean Awards, the largest roasters’ competition in the world. Recently it has branched out with an offering of specialty teas and a curated collection of coffee brewing tools. But even pared down, Beancraft Coffee is built on solid foundations: a love for excellent coffee and the technical expertise to produce it.
To the uninitiated, coffee’s place in our society has ebbed and flowed in history, much like the tides. The first wave of coffee hit our shores in the middle of the 20th century: coffee became commonplace, mass-produced, and was mainly of the drip brew and instant variety. It was a mere vehicle for caffeine, the chemical that allows many people to become functional in the morning.
The second wave gave rise to large cafe chains in the 70s; think Starbucks and Costa Coffee. Coffee was no longer just a commodity, coffee shops became social places. Espresso based drinks like the frappuccino became popular but there still wasn’t much distinction in quality or flavour. In the third wave, which we are currently experiencing, coffee is an artisanal product; there is a focus on micro-roasting and culinary appreciation.
Beancraft’s founder, Anee Sampath does not believe in underestimating the average Australian consumer, a mistake he says is common. ‘Lots of roasters like to inundate customers with jargon to seem intellectual. They focus more on branding and less on how good their coffee is. But Australian coffee culture is highly sophisticated and we trust consumers to see through the fluff.’
Beancraft is proud to be a small family business — a team which collectively possesses backgrounds in marketing, risk management, and finance. Its members, self-proclaimed ‘coffee nerds,’ are united by a passion for the beverage. Anee says, ‘There’s infinite possibilities within coffee roasting, because it’s at the intersection of art and science. You need a philosophy, but you have to apply science to realise it.’
Anee’s fascination with coffee began at a young age, when his family took him to visit the coffee farms they owned in South India at the time. Even so, he didn’t fall in love with enjoying the beverage itself until his university days. Despite finding success in a risk management career, Anee felt a growing pull towards the coffee industry. ‘Roasting gives me the chance to create something I can touch and feel. I can see firsthand how our work brings joy to people. It’s incredibly satisfying.’ He says this is how he came to christen his coffee; in his own words, he went ‘from bean counting to bean crafting.’
So what’s next for Beancraft? Anee says he plans to open a retail outlet and move to a larger premises, and as always, discover and master new frontiers in coffee roasting.
