September 01, 2024
Welcome to September! This month Thieves is teaming up with industry trailblazers, Stitch Coffee. Stitch holds a special place in our hearts. They’re an extraordinary group of specialty coffee experts who are always experimenting and creating exciting new coffee products for their eager fans.
Stitch Coffee was founded on the belief that coffee is like a tapestry — a rich weaving of origins and flavours to create a harmonious and delicious cup. The journey began almost a decade ago, with Nawar Adra, the owner and founder, who started his career as a barista in the renowned Sydney coffee scene. It was there that Nawar’s passion for roasting emerged. Driven by his innovative vision, he opened the roastery in 2015 and Stitch Coffee quickly became known in the industry as a coffee roaster that is bold, fun and quality focused.
Today, Stitch Coffee is an invigorating coffee business that spans across wholesale, ecommerce, retail and manufacturing with one common thread: pushing boundaries. Enjoy sipping on Stitch Coffee every morning this month! They’re showcasing two extra special coffees – we can’t wait for you to try them.
The Interview
We caught up with Stitch Coffee Founder and Head Roaster, Nawa Adra, to talk about his journey to launching his coffee business, where he thinks the industry is headed and what's in store for the rest of the year.
How did Stitch Coffee get started?
Our owner and founder Nawar Adra discovered early on in his career that merging of coffee origins created a cup with distinct complexity, structure, and balance. The concept gave birth to Stitch Coffee. We first opened the doors to our roastery in 2015 and haven’t looked back. In fact, we continue to grow upwards and outwards!
We opened our flagship cafe in 2021 (Stitch Coffee Broadway) and our second cafe (Stitch Coffee QVB) more recently in 2023. These new ventures have redefined our business model, with Stitch Coffee growing from being a wholesale roastery back in 2015 to taking up real estate in the retail, hospitality, and e-commerce coffee sectors. Diversifying in this way has bolstered our team and gifted us longevity in an otherwise competitive industry.
On the flip side, COVID-19 was understandably one major challenge that stands out in memory, as it was for the whole industry, but the silver lining was how it informed our perspectives for the better. It allowed us to gain a better understanding of what our customers wanted, and we shifted our offerings to suit their desire for a sustainable and diversity-focused coffee company. Our packaging is purposefully colourful and functional (i.e. following a reduce, reuse, recycle model) so that we’re adding vibrancy to each customer’s coffee ritual and refreshing the approach to specialty coffee.
How do you source your coffee beans and what do you look for in the beans you use?
We work with several trusted green bean suppliers to ethically source coffee from across the globe, focusing on traceability to ensure that our consumers have transparency around their coffee’s entire journey from bean to cup. All Stitch Coffee is imported green and roasted in Sydney at our Alexandria roastery.
Specifically, our Storytime blend combines natural beans from Brazil and washed beans from Papua New Guinea to create a rich and chocolatey cup. Our second espresso roast is Colombia, Popayán Decaf, which is processed in the Popayán region before being transported to Caldas where it undergoes decaffeination. Our first filter option is Papua New Guinea, Okapa Blue: washed beans from the Eastern Highlands. Our second filter option is Bolivia, Finca La Asunta: a washed geisha from Bolivia.
In terms of what we look for, we first and foremost select coffee based on seasonality and quality. Quality is judged based on the cup’s uniformity and physical analysis, and we use a special score system. We will do these cuppings 2-3 months before the coffee is avail- able at shore. We also tend to gravitate towards sweet and clean natural and washed coffees. But we also don’t hold back when it comes to trying out new progressive coffee processing methods!
Tell us about what’s in store for the rest of the year?
We’re excited about our Specialty Coffee Concentrate, which we’ve developed to be double the strength of a typical Stitch Coffee espresso. The bottle is 100% reusable/recyclable, and we’ve also crafted a formula to suit a whole host of coffee recipes. You can find them on our website; for most coffee drinks, one capful (approx. 12ml) is all you need. With this product, we want to change people’s perception that the only way to enjoy specialty coffee is to grind it fresh. Thanks to new technology and recipe development, you can now enjoy specialty coffee in a concentrated form.
Another exciting adaptation we hope to release soon (ETA October 2024) is the Lollipop Box 2.0. The first iteration of drip coffee bags bursting with fruit maceration coffee from Colombia was a hit when first released last year and we can’t wait to bring it back in spiffy new packaging soon. Hopefully just in time for Halloween!
In the cafes, we are developing a lot of signature drinks, the latest one being a hot White Rabbit filter coffee for winter! It’s Higgs Field filter coffee at the base, hazelnut syrup, creamy foam, and shavings of nutmeg and lemon zest on top. As for spring, you’ll have to stay tuned to our Instagram.
The Coffee
STORYTIME BLEND
ESPRESSO COFFEE
Storytime Blend sports a medium-to-dark roast that’s beloved by all, making it ideal for the everyday coffee drinker. Enjoyable as espresso or white with your milk of choice, the natural Brazilian and washed Papua New Guinea whole beans that comprise its base lend the cup a layered berry profile. Expect the strength and bold notes of dark chocolate, paired with a delightfully dense buttery texture and a kick of the sweet stuff. Stitch gave the blend the name ‘Storytime’ because it’s a character of a blend. With storied layers of chocolate and dark berry flavour, it’s a true winner!
Coffee Origin:
Papua New Guinea
Tasting Notes:
Notes of toasted hazelnut, caramel, and dark chocolate.
Process:
Washed Process
Recipe:
Contact Time: 27-31 seconds
Dose: 19-23g
Brew Ratio: 1:1.8
Temperature: 94°C
Extraction: 35-43g
PAPUA NEW GUINEA, OKAPA BLUE BLEND
FILTER COFFEE
Papua New Guinea, Okapa Blue was made possible by the joint effort of multiple small producers from Okapa District – located in PNG’s Eastern Highlands. This single origin coffee contains washed Typica and Bourbon beans grown 1,400-1,700 MASL. Stitch’s Head of Coffee put the beans through a light-to-medium roast to enhance its tasting notes of fig, dried fruit, and white sugar. Also, expect in the cup a mild acidity and relatively high sweetness.
Coffee Origin:
Papua New Guinea
Tasting Notes:
Notes of fig, dried fruits, and white sugar.
Process:
Washed Process
Recipe (V60):
Dose: 15g
Bloom: 30g (40 seconds)
Pour Time: 1:30
Brew Ratio: 1:16
Draw Time: 2:30
Temperature: 95°C
Pours: 2 (including bloom): 30g, 210g Water: 240g