Sometimes things are written in the stars. Like when you open a coffee roaster and cafe in Sydney and then learn your grandfather did the same thing in Fiji half a century ago.
“My grandpa won the lotto and bought a cafe,” says Irene Plesko, one half of the husband and wife team behind Wolfpack Coffee Roasters, a cafe with an on-site roaster that has reopened in Mortlake around the corner from its previous spot after outgrowing its old digs. “There were other cafes in Suva, but his was the first to have an espresso machine.”

Unlike in Fiji in her grandpa’s day, the cafe and coffee-roasting scene in Sydney is saturated – although Wolfpack is still a rarity in Mortlake, an industrial and residential suburb on Sydney Harbour between Concord and Breakfast Point in the inner west. Being rare means the cafe has a strong local following that survived a 12-month closure due to council issues with the new building the Pleskos were moving in to.

“Mortlake isn’t a drive-through suburb, so you don’t stumble upon us,” says Irene’s husband, Daniel. “Most of our customers are locals and we know them by name.”

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Wolfpack isn’t popular only because of scarcity; the coffee is good. In 2015 when it first opened, Daniel told Broadsheet Wolfpack roasts coffee according to the philosophy of a real wolf pack’s hierarchy. There are four varieties. At the top of the pecking order is Alpha, a dark, chocolatey fruit blend of beans from Ethiopia, Brazil and Kenya meant for milk-based coffees. Beta, a lighter roast, is for filter and pour-overs. Delta is decaf and Omega is a single-origin roast.

Two years of experimentation went into developing the current range. “When we bought the roaster we had no idea what we were doing,” says Daniel. “I did a lot of experimenting and tweaking until I said to Irene, ‘I think we’ve got a good product. Let’s launch it’. Now we have a lot more fun with things like flavour manipulation. Breweries use fermentation; when you’re roasting coffee, it’s all about adding and taking away heat and time.”

For a cafe without a kitchen, Wolfpack does a good job of turning out delicious food. There’s a rotating menu of gourmet toasties featuring condiments by Drunken Sailor Jam as well as regular cafe fare such as smashed avocado toast, yoghurt and fruit bowls.

The space is bright and at certain times of the day Daniel can be seen roasting coffee in a glass-walled room at the back. White subway tiles adorn the wall behind the coffee bar, and industrial elements like polished concrete, exposed pipes and ductwork mirror Mortlake’s industrial roots.

As more residential buildings are developed in the area, the community is shifting, with businesses like Wolfpack at the heart. “We’re really embedded with the locals,” says Irene.

“When we were closed we’d run into people and they’d ask us when we were going to reopen. In 12 months people never forgot about us; it’s like we’re a part of the furniture.”

Wolfpack Coffee Roasters
10 Edwin Street, Mortlake

Hours:
Mon to Fri 6.30am–3pm
Sat & Sun 7am–3pm

wolfpackcoffee.com.au