For decades, the mantra “fresh is best” has been championed when it comes to buying and consuming coffee. Support local! Grind to order! And never store beans in the freezer.
Now that thinking is being put on ice. A handful of Australian businesses are experimenting with snap-freezing coffee as a means of preserving it. Prospect cafe Whyld Coffee is the latest to explore the trend, unveiling a subzero treasure chest packed with hundreds of vials of high-end coffees, amassed over the past 18 months.
“We have roughly 200 tubes all dosed-up and ready to brew [and] we add roughly another 50 each week.” says co-owner Jordan Harris. “Currently what we’ve got is a monthly reserve list [with] two milk options, our two or three espresso options, and our four filter options,” he says. Roasters from across the world feature, and prices range from $5 up to $19 a cup. “We didn’t want it to be pretentious, we wanted it to be approachable,” Harris says.
Freezing eliminates oxidisation (which makes coffee stale), suspending it at the perfect age – which differs from bean to bean, and roast to roast. It’s inexpensive and, some baristas say, actually improves consistency. It’s why Whyld has chosen to partner with Canberra roaster Ona, which already serves frozen coffee at sites in Sydney and Melbourne. “Their research into frozen coffee is phenomenal,” Harris says.
These special offerings complement the multi-roaster format that’s established the tiny cafe as a destination for Adelaide coffeephiles. “We’re still going to keep our guest roaster program,” Harris says. “What we love we will freeze down so it’s available for future months.”
Harris launched Whyld with brother Tim back in June of 2020 during a flurry of activity in the inner north. Frankly Bagels and Neighbourhood Coffee – which practically face off across Churchill Road just a kilometre away – both opened within weeks of Whyld, and all three are embedded in the bases of new apartment blocks.
At a time when many hospitality businesses were already struggling under crippling Covid restrictions, the brothers saw the pandemic as a call to action. They’d talked about opening a shop for years, but something was always in the way. “[Covid] made us have the realisation that anything can happen at any time. So we thought, ‘why not now?’,” says Harris.
He admits their enthusiasm was somewhat tempered by seeing friends in the industry doing it tough. “We almost felt guilty for starting something and being so excited,” he says.
Ironically, their timing couldn’t have been better. The concept of a friendly neighbourhood coffeeshop has been one of Covid’s unpredicted beneficiaries. With people working from home and rediscovering their own surrounds, many suburban businesses – at least those that were able to trade through lockdowns – have emerged stronger and busier than ever.
It’s been a combination of luck and smart thinking that’s allowed the brand to develop at a steady pace, and within capacity; choices like keeping the food menu small (just two hot items are available, alongside a selection of pastries from Port Adelaide’s Prove Patisserie) and quickly switching to takeaway only service during lockdowns when dine-in capacity was capped at a measly four people. But it’s also been about attitude. “Operating as a space – and with a team – that’s positive and wants to invite people in helped us get through a lot,” he says. “All we know is to treat people well and make good coffee.”
A decade ago, Please Say Please, Bar 9, Coffee Branch, Paddy’s Lantern and a few other small, owner-operator cafes introduced patrons to exciting things happening in coffee in out-of-the-way corners of the city, but these days it’s rare to find a coffee dealer that doesn’t rely on another hook. Whyld is a coffeeshop in the truest sense. It’s a shop that serves coffee, and not much else. And it proves there’s still a place in our suburbs (and our hearts) for a couple of savvy coffee geeks to bring something valuable to their community.
“At the end of the day, we’re just two brothers who love making coffee and love people,” Harris says. “We’re learning more and more every day.”
Keep an eye out for after-hours tastings and other community events starting soon.
Whyld Coffee
77 Gloucester St, Prospect SA 5082
Hours
Mon to Sat 7am to 2pm
