Seeing people’s faces when they taste a delicious cup of coffee.
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That’s what drives Dubbo’s Derek Sykes to roast award-winning beans at The Coffee Bean Roasting House in West Dubbo.
Mr Sykes has been roasting coffee for seven years, and last month his Director’s Choice, Inca and Sofia blends all took out medals at the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW’s 2018 Fine Food Awards.
Director’s Choice was awarded silver in the Espresso class, while Inca and Sofia both snagged bronze in the Piccolo class.
They’re by no means the first awards for The Coffee Bean Roasting House, which has been operating in Tamworth for more than 20 years, and in Dubbo for seven.
They are even kicking goals overseas, claiming bronze at the North American Golden Bean awards in 2017.
Mr Sykes said the awards just reinforced the fact that all of the Roasting House’s hard work led to a quality product.
He said the chance to network at different award events was “priceless”.
“The awards we’ve won over the years just proves we are consistently monitoring the trends in the market, people’s tastes and keeping current with those trends while still keeping our high quality there,’ Mr Sykes said.
“Awards mean that we are where the market trends need to be and the quality of the product we’re supplying in a bag is where it needs to be, and our processes and procedures and our passion for coffee are in the right spots.”
The Roasting House supplies to coffee houses all throughout regional NSW, but with just a handful of retailers in Dubbo.
Mudgee, Gilgandra and Narromine cafes all use Roasting House beans, and Mr Sykes said they were always looking to deliver their coffee to more people.
They produce 14 different blends as well as coffee pods (a 14 gram shot inside rice paper and sealed for freshness), which Mr Sykes said helped ensure a more consistent product.
One Central West roadhouse had seen coffee sales rise 20 per cent since switching to the pods, he said.
Innovation was important, Mr Sykes said, and The Coffee Bean Roasting House wasn’t the only regional roaster winning awards.
“Just because a roaster comes from Sydney or Melbourne doesn’t mean they’re the best,” he said.
“People in regional NSW can be just as up to speed anyone else.
“While we might be ‘out back’, we’re not our of touch.”
In the end, though, he said coffee was all about people.
“I was watching people walk up and down the street with trays of coffee and I thought ‘we’ve got to be a part of that’,” Mr Sykes said.
“The real enjoyment I get out of coffee is seeing the look on someone’s face when they taste a good cup of coffee.”
