Founded almost thirty years ago, Coffee Supreme has grown to become a favoured roaster, serving small business and home users across Australia and New Zealand. When catching up with the roaster’s Production Manager, Matt Lynch, we learned about the company’s roundabout rise to success across Australia and New Zealand, while also learning about the day-to-day grind involved with working for a small roastery.
First opening for trade as a small café in Wellington, New Zealand, Coffee Supreme looked a bit different to the notable brand it is today and was known by a different name, Reds. Managed by Coffee Supreme founders, Chris Dillon and Maggie Wells, Reds quickly built a beloved community of regulars and was trading to a successful start.
While Chris and Maggie never intended to set up a coffee roasting business, it wasn’t long after opening Reds that they were presented with an opportunity to acquire one. In the years to come, Coffee Supreme was born with Maggie managing the roasting site and Chris hitting the streets as the main salesman.
At the turn of Millennium, Coffee Supreme had established itself across New Zealand, leaping from strength to strength, an opportunity arose to expand the business across the ditch and create a second home in Melbourne. Led by enthusiastic Coffee Supreme employees, Justin Emerson and Marsha Partington, the pair moved to Melbourne to expand the brand, taking a small 12kg Probat coffee roaster with them.
Since expanding to Australia, Matt shares that while a lot has changed for Coffee Supreme, much is the same. Having upgraded their roasting equipment to meet the demand of cafes and home customers, the team at Coffee Supreme take pride in being independently owned and roasting delicious coffee daily for cafes and homes across Australia.
“We think it’s pretty special that Supreme’s life started in a cafe, and now, two-and-a-bit decades on, our core business is supporting them.”
Based out of their roastery in the Melbourne suburb of Abbotsford, Matt thoroughly enjoys the home which Coffee Supreme has made for itself, surrounded by breweries, fellow roasters and the off mix of car shops and Vietnamese bakeries.
In a city where customers have a very good understanding of what constitutes a good coffee, Matt shares that there’s always great interactions to be had between customers and suppliers. With the standards of hospitality standing strong across Melbourne and the number of independent venues continuing to increase, the team at Coffee Supreme are proud to call Melbourne their second home and work to support small and local businesses.
As Production Manager, Matt begins his mornings at the roastery at 6am. In charge of starting up the machinery and preparing the factory for the busy day ahead, Matt enjoys the morning tradition of preparing a coffee to enjoy with his workmates as they arrive. Each day is fast paced as Matt oversees the roasting, packing, delivering and most importantly, the tasting of new batches of coffee.
Sourcing their coffee from producers which they have been working alongside for the last 10 years, the team at Coffee Supreme take pride in the positive and close friendships they have developed locally and overseas. Standing true to their purpose of ‘better coffee for all’, the team work tirelessly to ensure their coffee is consistent, delicious and bringing joy to their community. Offering a range of dynamic, seasonal and accessible coffees, their range of roasted coffee includes blends, micro lots selected for espresso and filter roasts as well as decaf and seasonal blends options. When roasting micro-lots on site, the team aim to roast the beans in a way that brings out a sweetness and clarity of each coffee. Ensuring ‘better coffee for all’, each batch is roasted in a way to ensure the customer’s cup is accessible and enjoyable, no matter how the customer prepares it.
“We aim to cover a wide range of espresso drinkers by acknowledging everyone has different tastes.”
Enthusiastic by seeing the joy coffee brings to the broader community and the way it contributes to making the world function in its own way, Matt is also passionate about celebrating the farmers and producers who make this possible. At a time where farmers and producers are often not paid a lot in the grand scheme of things, Matt shares the great joy in his role is to work closely with people who support better outcomes for farmers and producers by rewarding them for their hard work.,
Currently celebrating the brand’s introduction of paper recyclable coffee bags as an improvement for their packaging and further, the environment, the team at Coffee Supreme are wrapping up another successful year of bringing better coffee for all. Looking ahead to 2022, the team are looking forward to another year of excellent coffee and exciting projects in the pipeline, including celebrating 20 years of roasting in Australia.
To learn more about Coffee Supreme visit their website or follow them on Instagram.
