Patricia Coffee Brewers is owned and run by Bowen Holden and Pip Heath, “best mates”, and takes its name from their grandmothers. It opened in 2011 at the rear of a building in the CBD, and the aim since then has been “an amazing hospitality experience to every single customer”. It opened when few cafés served coffee from several roasters and showcased Melbourne roasters including Seven Seeds, Market Lane, Small Batch, Proud Mary and Everyday.

In 2016 Patricia began roasting its own coffee at the shared Bureaux Collective, now Fieldwork, and since April 2024 it has roasted everything at its own roastery in Coburg North on a Loring S15 Falcon. The roastery is not open to the public. In May 2026 a second shop, also called Patricia Coffee Brewers, opened in the CBD, designed by former team member Samuel with Hecker Guthrie and built by Westmark Building Group.

The menu is deliberately short: White, Black and Filter, so that the ordering does not turn on how frothy the milk is or what vessel it comes in. A White is a double shot with milk steamed to between 57 and 60 degrees, with full cream, skim, oat, soy or almond; a Black is a single or double espresso or a long black. The espresso machine is a La Marzocco Strada, pouring a seasonal House espresso and a smaller Guest lot that changes every few months. The original shop batch-brews one or two filters; the second shop adds a dedicated pour-over room with every current offering. Everything is also served over ice, and the iced filter is one of the most popular warm-weather drinks. Pastries come from a long list of local bakeries, including Wild Life, Mörk, Sucette, Little Bertha, Wakéwaké, The Flour and Mietta by Rosemary.

The current retail range is listed below with the roaster’s own tasting notes.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: Patricia Coffee Brewers