ST. ALi started in 2005 in a South Melbourne laneway and was among the first to define specialty coffee in Melbourne. The company is wholly owned by its employees, with shareholders from senior management to green buying, delivery driving and training, and remaining independent is a core value. Direct relationships with farmers, in-house roasting and coffee brewing are the things it has worked on since 2005, with a food offering “best in category”, and collaborations with Mercedes Benz, Mr Black, Archie Rose and Koko Black.

All the coffee is roasted at the company’s own facility in Port Melbourne, the heart of the business, where it roasts, quality-checks and ships to its cafés, wholesale customers and online buyers worldwide. The green buyer selects from each new crop, and ST. ALi visits its producing partners regularly to bring their stories home. The range rests on a core group of blends refined since 2005, including the original house blend, alongside seasonal single origins sold in separate espresso and filter roasts, a decaf, capsules, drip bags and cold brew.

The South Melbourne café is the original home, an all-day room for breakfast, coffee and lunch with table bookings and a General Store selling beans and provisions. Beyond it, ST. ALi runs cafés at Melbourne Airport’s domestic and international terminals and at Sydney Airport, one in Morningside in Brisbane serving espresso, filter and toasties, two in Bali at Pererenan and Jimbaran, and two in Manila, where the Bonifacio Global City venue is a flagship built for coworking that stays open into the evening for cocktails. The current retail range is listed below with the roaster’s own tasting notes.

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: ST. ALi