Campos Coffee, Newtown, Sydney

Campos Coffee began when Will Young opened the first Campos café in Newtown in 2002, and its green cup has since been served in local cafés across Australia. Its mission is to help everyone love great coffee as much as it does. The signature blend, Superior, has been served in its cafés since day one; it combines coffees from partners in Colombia, East Africa and Brazil, roasted medium-dark for caramel, butterscotch and milk chocolate, with red fruit and apricot when served black.

Sourcing is the heart of the business. Campos aims to buy all of its coffee directly from origin, sets prices by quality and prefers contracts that run beyond the current harvest. It donates data to the Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide, commissioned an independent impact study of its direct trade model with its sourcing partner Caravela Coffee, and is the biggest supporter of the Cup of Excellence programme in Australia, where its Q graders judge. Its relationships include Luis Linarco Rodriguez Ospina in Huila, whose coffee placed second at the 2019 Cup of Excellence, and Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama. Every batch roasted is cupped.

The Newtown flagship is one of two Campos cafés, the other being in South Yarra, Melbourne, and the partner cafés that serve its coffee are listed in a café finder. The online range splits into espresso blends, Superior, Dark City, Roma and an Organic blend among them, the lighter Blade Runner roasted for both filter and espresso, a sugarcane-process decaf, a seasonal Bourbon Street blend and single origins sold in 250 g bags. Pre-ground coffee is now limited to 250 g bags of Superior. The current retail range is listed below with the roaster’s own tasting notes.