Disciple Roasters – Introduction

Disciple is a very recent discovery for us, however it is likely to become a place we visit on every one of our frequent trips to Melbourne.

You will find Disciple Roasters in a back street in Brunswick and it is only a short drive from two of our favourite food and wine venues in Melbourne namely Public Wine Shop (9 minutes) and Old Palm Liquor (5 minutes).

If you are driving we will let you in on a little secret. There is a free car park on the corner of Black Street and Barkly Street which is literally a few steps from the industrial building occupied by Disciple Roasters. Simply turn into Barkly St from Sydney Road and you are there!

Disciple Roasters is the brainchild of long term player on the Melbourne coffee scene, Marwin Shaw, who originally set up the very popular Monk Bodhi Dharma in Balaclava as well as others.

His new venture is quite small with only a few seats just inside the entrance and his coffee roaster at the other end. But once you walk in you will immediately be struck with just how serious this place is!

First you will notice the array of coffee beans on sale. There are beans from Rwanda to Ethiopia to Brazil to Colombia all of which have been roasted on the premises. When we perused the available choices we were also impressed by the range of processing styles available, not just the washed and natural but a whole range of natural styles.

We also were warned as we sat down that it is a “black only” venue and there are no take away cups available – you have to bring your own. No problem from our point of view!

The first thing you will notice when you enter is the striking art work on the wall. It is a drum designed by artist Blaze Warrender. You will find a detailed description on the Disciple Roasters Instagram site here.

You will also find the following explanation of the purpose of the art:

We are committed to showcasing artwork that boldly communicates truths beyond the confines and restrictions of language.

Now a word about the equipment which is the very best that money can buy. The espresso machine, the hand grinder, the V60 filter and the roasting equipment are all the best as you can see in the photos below.

Once we had finished admiring the quality of the equipment our attention turned to the available coffee beans of which there are many.

There are beans available that have been processed using the washed process or one of the many natural processes, which tend to be our preference. We also like the fact that Marwin uses the term Variety rather than the incorrect Varietal when describing the coffee beans being used.

We have only been here twice so we will not comment on which varieties are available. We will wait until we have a more comprehensive understanding of the selection, which is quite large.

You can find details of some of the coffees and the producers on their Instagram page which you will find here.

You can read a detailed story about coffee including the history of coffee, the different varieties of coffee and what we think about them, some coffee producers and much more here.