Award-winning beans

Your daily coffee habit may be a simple one, and so too is the philosophy at Darks Coffee Roasters – to simply roast a better coffee. Established by friends Adam and Trent who both have extensive backgrounds in the coffee and hospitality industries, Darks delivers a no-compromise, premium quality coffee for the wholesale and retail market.

Using only select, speciality coffees that are hand roasted in small batches to highlight the unique qualities and attributes to each coffee, the boys work closely with their green bean suppliers to ensure the consistency and sustainability of every coffee they use. They even personally sample, cup and critique each and every coffee they roast.

Darks have an ever growing, loyal retail and wholesale customer base. Not only do they supply take-home ground coffee packs, but their beans can be found at hip inner city cafes, fine dining ‘hatted’ restaurants, and gastro-pubs. From Brokenwood and Margan wineries in the Hunter Valley, to popular Newcastle cafes like Dark Horse Wickham, Mama-P and Barista Miss, Darks enjoys a strong reputation for great coffee with a focus on people and personalities.

Since 2015 they have won more than 35 awards at the Australian International Coffee Awards for their blended and single origin coffees.

If you’re looking for a down-to-earth coffee where what you see is what you get, make sure your next cup is a Darks.

Family-owned and run

There’s no doubt you’ve heard of Peaberrys, a local, family owned and operated specialist roaster and coffee supplier. The Peaberrys story began back in 2000 when owners Adrian and Debbie set up a market stall at the original Honeysuckle Growers Markets selling bags of coffee.

From there, their reputation for locally roasted, tasty coffee grew, and they started working with local cafes and espresso bars. The business has gone from strength to strength, and they now work with suppliers all over the country.

Peaberrys even have their own ‘coffee cellar door’ on Maitland Road in Islington. What looks like your standard café from the outside turns out to be so much more when you step inside.

The building, which dates back to the early 1900s and was originally a saddlery, is full of character and now acts as both café and roastery.

Taking inspiration from the wine industry, the ‘coffee cellar door’ is open plan, allowing you to see the roasting process. Sit back and enjoy your coffee while checking out the state-of-the-art roasting facility as the in-house roasting process takes place.

Read more about local coffee roaster in the Winter issue of Hunter & Coastal Lifestyle Magazine or subscribe here.

Story by Rebekah Prendergast, photos courtesy of coffee roasters