Sample Coffee

🪣

[0/6] This winter 2025, photographer, keen rider, homebrewer, and friend @phillipsage shot a few images for us, so we can make our online bits look nicer. (Fun fact: it’s the first time since starting in 2011 that we’ve hired a professional photographer; DIY culture goes a long way in Sample Coffee…😅) If you want to get a sense of how he sees us through his lens (the answer is: too good to be true), check out our posts grid at @samplecoffee And, if you’re one of those who still read (!?), wander around the captions at your own pace to (re)acquaint yourself with us. We’ve tried to sum up our story and ethos in 6 posts. Difficult, but not impossible. Let’s go.

[1/6] It’s been a while since we first posted on Instagram back in 2012 (2nd slide, B&W filter, pour over, aye!) We think we’ve never really introduced ourselves ‘properly’ in here; we’ve always assumed people already know something about us from the cafes, the industry, or our online shop… So, let us take a moment to do it (alongside some brand-new shots by @phillipsage ). The first face you see here is Reuben, founder of Sample and general coffee boss. He started it in 2011, opening our still living Surry Hills espresso bar after years working as a barista and roaster for the OGs @single_o and @meccacoffee . Then, you have Si (3rd pic, right), design, coding, and coffee connoisseur and cofounder of our online subscription service. He built the whole service from scratch in the early 2010s, when there wasn’t any online coffee subscription in Australia… ancient times! Noa (3, left) is yours truly—the one behind creative and communications stuff, events, and other random things that this small business may need support with. 4x4. (If you ever reach out via email, chances are you’re speaking with Si or her!)  John and Ro (4 & 5) are in charge of coffee roasting and warehouse logistics for wholesale and retail. Everything coffee beans, before brewing. Alvin and Fern (6 & 7) are here representing our barista and front-of-house crew, past (too many to name) and present (Sophie, Jon, Leyla, Abbey, and in the kitchen, Ky, Sebas). We’d like to credit them all for being the actual face and brewing hands of Sample. Solid people. That’s it! We’re actually quite a tiny team, which comes with its tricky moments but mostly allows us to be nimble and efficient. A truly small and independent business. 🤙

Even moody days have a bit of colour here at Surry. 🫶🌲💙

Let’s meet at @worldofcoffeeasia 🤝 UPDATE: brewing today Friday 8 at the @eversyshq booth from 10 to 11.30 AM. A bit of a last minute thing – so much so that we’re finalising collabs and making this post right in the sky, in a plane full of coffee people ✈️ ☕️ Find us in the @cofi_net stand for some VS brewing, plus a wind down ‘after party’ on Sunday at @kaizencoffeetogo where we can drink delicious coffee and have a nice chat. Also, our beans will be kindly shared at @diggydooscoffee booth alongside many Aussie favourites in their daily Australian cupping sessions. All details are in the slides, check this caption for other additions and updates. (Hit us up if we can get on board something else. Keen.) See you there?! Kop kun ká 🙏

Lately in the Sample Coffee universe... 🤯 We’ve been quieter than normal around here, and the only reason for that is that there’s A LOT going on. Year of the fire horse, no kidding. If you haven’t missed the snippets we’ve shared on our stories and IRL, here’s the roundup: 𝙎𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙃𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙗𝙖𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙥 The renovations are not fully complete yet (new joinery, splashback, and menu board still missing), but the star of the show is already in: a new bar (built by @defy_design ) that we’ve literally and physically raised to fit a second fridge (for cold tap drinks), more underbench storage space (so it all looks nice and clean), and two brand new machines: a Swiss @eversyshq for most our milk drinks, and a @lamarzoccoau Leva for the VS espressos. And maybe more... 𝙉𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙪 𝙖𝙩 𝙎𝙩 𝙋𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 The redevelopment of @precinct75 is reclaiming our kitchen and roastery space, but not the cafe itself. This means that our Sample Coffee Pro Shop will keep serving coffee, tea, other drinks, and pastries during our usual opening hours. 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥 That’s right, and we’ll be happy to tell you more about it when we’re ready for it. But, if you have eagle eyes and live in the Inner West, you may already know something... 𝙒𝙚𝙗𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙪𝙥𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙨 We’ve been working on them for a little while now. Do you have any feedback, wishes, or requests that we can add before we softly launch sometime soon? Let us know, we’re (always) all ears. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙚 Heaps of changes indeed, but we’re still the same team striving for the same product and service. Proudly independent, intentionally small, transparency and quality-driven. Coffee heads, really. 🐎 🔥 Don’t run, gallop!

CLOSED 4 THE EASTER BREAK 🥚 That’s all the way from Friday 3 through to Monday 6 April. Make sure you’re all stocked with beans and gear (if you’re going away or if your usual cafe is also enjoying some days off to recharge). We certainly will. 🏠 ⛺️ ☕️ 🏄‍♀️ 🚴‍♂️ 🌊 🌲 🙂

Surry Hills closes at 12 PM today. That’s because we’re making room for some new stuff. 😎

It’s time. Come taste this week’s coffee lineup. 👅 Those who come to Saturday’s session at the Pro Shop will also find these goodies on our VS menu: Panama Elida natural Catuai milk brew Pepe Jijón washed Gesha filter brewed by the cup on the TONE - limited serves (These are not part of our FREE tasting though! 🫠) See you maybe?

MILK 🥛☕️ BREW A delicious (and not frothy/foamy/hectic) drink inspired by our latest trip to @scajconference / Tokyo. Differently to a classic cold brew or ice latte, the coffee grounds steep directly in the milk for several hours, making a super creamy, fruity, and complex brew. We use a natural process coffee from our Very Special shelf, which really lifts up the fruity profile aspect. It’s perfect for hot muggy days like today. 🥃 We only serve it on Saturdays at the Pro Shop. Tomorrow’s milk brew is made with *Panama Elida - natural anaerobic slow dry process Catuai*, steeped in rich @sungoldmilk Jersey cow. It tastes like strawberries and cream, caramel, and Baileys. Limited serves, you’ve been warned! See you tomorrow maybe. 🐗

NEW IN: 1-on-1 sessions to help you optimise/dial your very own homebrewing equipment. 🛠️ Our baristas get asked quite often for homebrewing tips: espresso flavour troubleshooting, specific grinding sizes, recommended ratios... If it’s not rush hour and they’re getting pumped, they’ll do their best to share their knowledge and experience. But even then, it’s hard to know the specifics of each piece of gear, the steps that are being followed, the nature of the water, etc. They can only give general advice. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it’s not enough. The same goes for online enquiries. We always reply with as much detail as we can, and take the time to create brew guides that help people brew their best at home. But words can only go so far… 👩🏻‍🔧 That’s why we created this new workshop/event. We’ll spend 1 hour ONLY with you and your homebrewing gear, getting hands-on, tinkering, and finding—together—the best possible settings so you can brew the most delicious Sample Coffee at home. Every single day. 📍 At our Pro Shop 💾 BYO equipment (machine, grinder, drippers, even your usual water if you can) 🤝 Fee includes a welcome batchie while we set up + 500g of aged beans (and 1L m*lk, if needed) to be used during the session + our time, space, and full attention to you and your brewing needs! Learn more and book your slot via: LINK IN BIO or samplecoffee.com.au/events or eventbrite.com.au (search for Sample Coffee) 🤙

🆚 & RARE ANNOUNCEMENT: [TL;DR: join our VS subscription before the end of next Tuesday to secure your bag of Ecuador Pepe Jijón. It’s honestly a small batch - 25kg of green wave washed Gesha.] * We normally keep our subscription deliveries ‘a surprise’, but this time it’s worth letting you know beforehand—it’s actually Very, Very Special and very, very limited. The next Brew Crew VS delivery (due 25 Feb) will feature a ‘wave’ washed Gesha by Pepe Jijón from @fincasoledadintag (Ecuador) This is a direct purchase, loaded with personal connection: Reuben met him back in 2015, travelling together through Colombia with Caravela Coffee. Pepe, who previously achieved fame as a mountain climber, was there to learn about coffee farming practices (he just started his own); Reuben was there to meet some dear producers (i.e. MFR) and secure some yum coffees. Life went on, each doing their own thing. ⏳ A few weeks ago, a staff member brought in a few bags from other roasters to taste. One of them—which was delicious—listed Pepe Jijón as the producer. It took a minute to realise that it was the Pepe that Reuben met! They reconnected and caught up. Pepe said that his ride during the last decade has not been without hurdles. But now, he’s in a good spot: his coffee is being used in brewing competitions, as well as shared by some reputable roasters like Sey, Poma, Hydrangea... His story has even been featured by The Guardian. Now, back to our point: We have airfreighted 25kg of his celebrated coffee to our warehouse, which will barely make ~200 x 100g bags to be distributed, first, among our VS subscribers next week. If you want some, sign up to Brew Crew VS before the end of Tuesday 26 February. Anything left will go for wholesale and retail, but will there be any? Up to you. Here’s to delicious coffee, rekindling, and friendship. And to catching some waves together in the future. 🤙