Coffee Journeys: The Ends Justify the Beans

When it comes to coffee roasters, Melbourne is particularly spoilt. While many of Melbourne’s most popular caffeine watering holes have traditionally plied their trade in high density areas, roasters are sprawled across greater Melbourne, finding hospitable conditions among the city’s many hubs of warehouses.

Coffee roasteries are fabulous places to visit, but the experience can definitely be hit and miss. For coffee lovers, they can be pilgrimage destinations to the middle of nowhere; traversing treacherous — and as-of-yet-uncaffeinated — conditions to arrive at a Mecca of a perfectly dialed brew. When the stars align, however, the experience and the brew make the journey oh so worthwhile.

If a [Melbournian] coffee pilgrim was willing to travel a little further to find their Mecca — as most pilgrims are, their commitment would be rewarded upon the discovery of Silva Coffee Roasters in the Yarra Valley. For this pilgrim and his obliging partner, Anna, this was over an hour of driving from Melbourne, so for us it was certainly second coffee-territory. But wow, what a coffee.

Silva stocks an incredible range of single origin coffees from all around the world, as well as their own crafted blends. They have 3 espresso roast singles ‘on tap’, ready to dial in at any time, displaying a range of regions and flavour profiles to choose from. Anna chose well — if not safely, ordering a milk based coffee with the Brazilian Bom Jesus boasting flavours of hazelnut and caramel.

Cleo, co-founder of Silva, encouraged me to try the Guatemalan El Boqueron, which had a profile featuring Jammy Pineapple, Toffee, Cherry Liqueur. Warmed by this stranger’s enthusiasm, I jumped in, ordering a strong flat white. Anna’s coffee arrived first, and we both thought the Brazilian was really solid and flavourful.

Then came the El Boqueron. And yep, that was the best coffee either of us had ever had. A milk based coffee, exploding with cherry and amaretto liqueur, sweet jamminess and the idea of a fruit cream, if such a thing exists. It was good, really good. And Cleo was sure to check in, as she moved around the room, managing each customer’s experiences like a fine art.

In keeping with Cleo’s hospitality, Silva offers flights of coffee tastings. Cleo, by this point your coffee Shaman, guides you through all of the coffees on tap. It’s beautiful to see her talk through the coffees characteristics, origins, sustainability and suppliers. The way she weaves the natural product with the humans involved is as well balanced as her El Boqueron.

Silva also has a filter roast coffee on offer for those who would like a V60 filter brew, as well as 2 very different styles of cold brew on offer. After sampling both, we discussed recipes and ratios like mad, passionate scientists. In the end we left with two small bags of coffee — one of which was the El Boqueron, and they have been amazing.

Ultimately, the whole experience was surreal. The view out the window of Silva is green and full of trees, which is a far cry from the warehouse hubs of Melbourne. Cleo’s passion for coffee and for people made her hospitality feel as organic as her beans. So much so that it is hard to put a finger on the hero of the whole experience. In any case, our trip to Silva made for two very happy pilgrims.