Who would have thought a trip to a café in Albany would ignite a passion for coffee that would lead someone who has spent their whole working life as an engineer to start a coffee roasting business? Since that fateful day, we have been to every coffee shop we have passed to find that elusive cup of delight which can make or break your day.
Our pursuit of quality coffee led to our attendance at the first ever International Coffee Expo in Australia, which was held in Melbourne 2012, where we talked with all the roasting suppliers and bought an espresso machine. This was soon followed by a grinder and our first roasting machine, a table-top roaster. And so began our steps towards our commercial coffee roastery, which was commissioned in January 2014.
We have spent many a late night and weekend playing around with temperatures and times, listening for the first and second crack of the coffee beans and watching them turn from avocado green to honey coloured caramel to toasty chocolate brown.
We have sampled and cupped beans from all over the world, had the privilege of seeing coffee being grown and harvested, and helped with pulping and drying the coffee cherries when visiting the remote villages of the Oro Province, Papua New Guinea.
This journey we have undertaken has not just been about the coffee but about the amazing friendships we have built and the extraordinary people we have met. The coffee culture is driven by wonderful and helpful people who are passionate about the ‘bean from heaven’. Our business is about people and about enriching lives and relationships, both for you our customers and for ourselves – hence our catch phrase “Beautiful coffee, best shared”. What could be more important?
Redmile Coffee is named after an ancestral home built by Elijah Redmile in 1853 on the banks of the Avon River in York, Western Australia and purchased by my great grandfather in 1904. The property, now known as Redmile House, is one of the oldest surviving brick houses in the town and remained in the family until around 1954.
The ties between the family and the business include integrity, hard work, striving for perfection, honesty, generosity and fairness. This home is a link to our ‘origin’ in the same way that we roast our coffee to be true to its origin, ensuring the unique flavours of each different source are developed for your enjoyment.
Coffee is a fresh food. Once roasted its flavour continues to develop and peaks in 7-10 days. After that it starts to age. If you want fresh coffee don’t buy more than you can use in four weeks. For freshness, our coffees are shipped in special air tight coffee bags with a one-way pressure relief valve. The bag always displays the Roast Date since this is the important date for fresh coffee. Don’t be fooled by “Best By” or “Use By” dates – they are useless if you want fresh coffee. You can freeze unopened coffee if you bring it to room temperature before opening. Once opened, always seal the bag afterwards and don’t refreeze it.
