Before you buy, see our guide to brewing coffee at home to learn how to get the best from your beans.
My Kingdom For A Horse
The doors may be closed, the chairs stacked and the kitchen quiet at this CBD cafe, but its heart is still beating. Co-owner Emily Raven cranks up her roaster a couple times a week to ensure customers have fresh beans to brew with at home. Sign up for a subscription to have filter or espresso beans dropped at your house every two or four weeks.
Monastery Coffee
Monastery offers a coffee subscription to suit all tastes. The Roaster’s Choice (recommended for filter coffee) is where owner Adam Marley shares whatever he’s enjoying at the moment – usually a single origin or specially selected micro-lot. For espresso drinkers, there’s the Seasonal Blend – “a little more developed (darker) than our individual single origins, making it easier to use for espresso brewing and imparting it with less acidity,” says Marley. The blend is tweaked throughout the year, to reflect what’s fresh, and it’s available in compostable, Nespresso-compatible pods.
Hark Coffee
Sam McKay is relatively new to the Adelaide roasting scene, and offers something a little different. At Hark, there’s a change in the air ¬– literally. McKay uses a fluid-bed air roaster – as opposed to a traditional drum roaster – which he believes produces more even results. His profiles sit on the darker end of the roast spectrum, offering notes of tobacco, dark chocolate and caramel. His decaf blend is one of the best going around. Set up a recurring delivery for your favourite coffee, or choose the roast of the week option. Subscribers save 10 per cent. Hark’s Humdinger blend is also available in 100 per cent plant-based, Nespresso-compatible pods.
Dawn Patrol
Dom Ossa and Nick Suggitt run Dawn Patrol Coffee Roasters from a timber and iron shed in Kangarilla, 30 kilometres south of Adelaide. But it’s no backyard operation. They’re meticulous when it comes to sourcing and roasting their beans, promoting absolute transparency and traceability on all their products. Buy a single bag or choose from weekly, fortnightly or monthly deliveries featuring the current crop of single origins and blended coffees. Dawn Patrol is priced at the dearer end at $28 for 400 grams (that’s $65 per kilo), but this is indicative of the lengths the duo goes to for exceptional quality.
Elementary
Elementary is one of the few independent coffee shops trading through this isolation period. Owner Brad Nixon is still at the Young Street location, serving takeaway and keeping the roaster ticking over. Online you’ll find single origins, blends and pods (seasonal blend only). If you’re in the market for a subscription, Elementary’s website first asks you a series of handy questions about how you drink coffee.
Patio Coffee Roasters
South Road’s Patio Coffee Roasters offers a couple of subscription options. For the adventurous, there’s an ever-changing roster of single-origin varieties, roasted for espresso or filter. Those who prefer reliability can choose a favourite blend and set up a regular delivery period.
Soul City
Ben Cosford is a missionary-turned-coffee-roaster who launched Soul City Roasters to support Adelaide’s refugee community and people struggling with long-term unemployment. His Sommerton Park cafe-roastery is staffed by people with backgrounds as diverse as the coffees he trades in. Cosford sources raw beans exclusively from Melbourne Coffee Merchants and roasts a relatively focused selection, including subscriptions.
Two Fish
Ryan Battye is another Adelaide roaster delivering a delicious product, while making sure everyone gets their fair cut along the way. He believes “the best and most outstanding coffees are obtained by working directly, sustainably and ethically with the producers themselves”. Two Fish has three and six-month subscriptions available, consisting of blends, single origins or a mix of both. It also offers three one-kilogram “tasting packs” (four 250-gram bags) if you want to stock up in one go.
Monday’s Coffee
Make any day taste like Monday’s – this cafe and roaster sells a seasonal blend and a selection of single origins, both available online. The company puts a lot of emphasis on the stories behind the beans, delving deep into the histories of specific farms and coffee co-ops. Recommended for filter.
Blk Mrkt Coffee and Mischief Brew
Operating out of Underdale’s Squatters Collective, Blk Mrkt Coffee roasters and master cold-brewers Mischief Brew are two of a number of food businesses that have pivoted to takeaway and/or delivery recently. Two coffee blends are available, and as well as nitro cold brew, snap-chilled filter coffee and coconut cold brew by the bottle (500 millilitres or one litre) or 1.89-litre reusable growler. Delivery is a flat $10, or free for orders over $80.
Caffiend
Like Blk Mrkt and Mischief Brew, Caffiend only began delivering recently, following coronavirus restrictions. Text 0429 503 342 or Facebook DM your order any time and it’ll be added to the next roast. For those in the Adelaide metro area and surrounds, or the Adelaide Hills, a flat $5 delivery fee applies. Delivery is free for orders upwards of $40.
De Groot Coffee Co
Trevor De Groot has been keeping Adelaide cafes (and households) stocked with beans for more than 20 years. His online store lists coffees from Colombia and Costa Rica, but get in touch to see what else he might have on hand.
The Coffee Barun
A small selection of the beans roasted by Mark Barun at his Sefton Park cafe-roastery is available online. Under each bean or blend is Barun’s personal recommendation for how to brew it: espresso, Aeropress, stovetop, etc.
