Good day February! We’re proud to announce one other standout Sydney-sider, Numero Uno Espresso Roasters. A female-led roastery that is as devoted as it’s daring, with coffees that talk for themselves.
Gina Di Brita, proprietor and director of Numero Uno, shared the story behind this distinctive roastery, and it shortly turned clear why it’s a journey price sharing. Over twenty years in the past Gina awoke one morning and made a decisive name: let’s begin our personal espresso firm. Whereas she introduced years of expertise in each espresso advertising and marketing and agricultural manufacturing, she had by no means constructed a roastery from the bottom up, nor knew of many ladies who had paved this path earlier than her.
Guided by her robust Italian heritage and the assist of her three daughters, Gina solid forward to create a spot the place nice espresso brings individuals collectively. Her humble beginnings and braveness to problem norms, led her to being recognised because the Australian Espresso Lady of the Yr in 2019. But for Gina, success has at all times been outlined by the relationships she’s constructed alongside the way in which.
This philosophy lives on the coronary heart of Numero Uno in the present day. The roastery equally values high quality espresso and the individuals behind it — guaranteeing success is shared from the farmers in Papua New Guinea to the rising café proprietor to mentoring the subsequent wave of girls in espresso. Numero Uno is dedicated to planting the seeds of alternative so specialty espresso can elevate everybody concerned.
THE INTERVIEW
We sat down with Numero Uno founder Gina Di Brita to debate what sparked her profession shift from advertising and marketing grasp to espresso entrepreneur, the story behind the roastery’s one-of-a-kind title, and the care that goes into sourcing every bean.
“My story is certainly one of beginning over, leaving the whole lot behind and constructing one thing significant from scratch. The values I realized in my Calabrese household kitchen, that good issues take time, that relationships matter, that meals brings individuals collectively, are the identical values that drive Numero Uno Espresso in the present day.”
What’s your espresso background?
My journey in espresso started over twenty years in the past, fully by likelihood. I answered a job advert in The Age for a “advertising and marketing guru,” which turned out to be a espresso firm. I began as a nationwide espresso salesperson, and moved to Sydney to assist develop the model, whereas proudly owning and working a number of espresso bars. But it surely wasn’t till I began my very own roasting firm that I actually noticed the business from a brand new vantage level.
This is the truth: as one of many few feminine roasters on the scene, I confronted boundaries unrelated to espresso. Males refused to shake my hand for concern of being seen doing enterprise with a girl. I used to be instructed, ladies like me ought to solely be seen “from the neck down, not from the neck up”.
Schooling and assist have been restricted, so I joined the Australian Specialty Espresso Affiliation, volunteered broadly, and jumped at each studying alternative. My three daughters have been my fixed assist and most trusted confidants.
Now years later, I’ve served as an accredited choose for the Australian Nationwide Espresso Championships, been Secretary of ASCA, co-founded the Australian chapter of the Worldwide Girls’s Espresso Alliance, and was named 2019 Australian Espresso Lady of the Yr. Most just lately, our St Peters espresso bar received the Internal West Excellent Café Award.
How do you supply your espresso beans?
Once I journey to origin, these aren’t simply shopping for journeys, they’re relationship-building journeys. I stroll the farms, meet the households, cup espresso with the producers, and speak concerning the course of. It is about understanding the land, the challenges, and the individuals behind each farm.
What do I search for in a bean? High quality first — at all times. Clear, vibrant flavours. I additionally need the story: the nation, the precise farm, the farmer who nurtured these bushes, how the espresso was harvested and processed. We pay above C-market costs as a result of nice espresso requires nice care, and the individuals doing that work should be paid correctly. That premium goes immediately again to farmers and their communities.
I significantly champion women-led producers, actively searching for out coffees from ladies farmers and cooperatives. Girls contribute many of the labour in espresso manufacturing worldwide, but they’re usually the final to learn.
In the end, sourcing is about relationships – they take time, respect, and nurturing. That is how we strategy this enterprise and it is why our coffees style the way in which they do.
How would you describe your espresso to somebody who’s by no means tasted it earlier than?
Our espresso is the intersection of traditional Italian custom and trendy specialty craft. We roast for steadiness and complexity, by no means too gentle, by no means too darkish, as a result of we wish each cup to be accessible but memorable.
Whether or not you are a seasoned specialty espresso fanatic or somebody who simply needs a genuinely scrumptious cup, you may discover one thing right here. Our blends are designed to work superbly with milk (together with plant-based) whereas nonetheless shining as black espresso. Our single origins showcase the distinctive terroir and processing strategies of unbelievable producers around the globe.
What do you contemplate your most notable espresso achievements?
By my espresso journey, I’ve met and labored with ladies from all corners of the world who use espresso to enhance not simply their way of life, however their high quality of life. One in all my most vital achievements has been to assist convey the worldwide ladies’s espresso alliance which we registered as an integrated affiliation in NSW in 2017 after which lastly legalised in 2018.
I went on to be named Australian Espresso Lady of the Yr in 2019 for the Eleonora Genovese Award. For me, it could not have come at a greater time. It was humbling past phrases. I am not one for acknowledgment. I might fairly simply be doing the vital issues that have to be executed to maintain taking part in my small half in a thriving business, but it surely was a fantastic second of realising not solely how far I’ve come, however how far this unbelievable business has developed.
Espresso has taken me around the globe, judging competitions, visiting farms, mentoring rising producers. However what I am proudest of is the neighborhood we have constructed.
What do you assume is most fun in your native espresso scene proper now?
The Internal West has an vitality that is arduous to match. We have established roasters and newcomers all pushing one another to be higher. The neighborhood helps native companies. Our Internal West Excellent Cafe Award is proof of that.
What excites me is seeing the subsequent era of espresso entrepreneurs’ roasters and café house owners who genuinely care about ethics and sustainability. That wasn’t the dialog once I began. Now it is anticipated. That shift provides me hope for the place this business is heading.
Plus, Sydney’s multicultural meals scene means espresso has unbelievable selection, from conventional Italian-style espresso to essentially the most experimental filter roasts. There’s room for everybody to seek out their factor.
What are your passions exterior of espresso? The place can we anticipate finding you on a Saturday night?
Household is the whole lot. My three daughters and now my 4 grandsons have been my “why” by each chapter of this journey. A Saturday night may discover me cooking, recreating my mom’s recipes, with the kitchen filled with the aromas that made sense of my childhood even when issues have been chaotic.
I am additionally deeply obsessed with mentoring, significantly ladies in enterprise and occasional. That work does not swap off on weekends, but it surely energises me greater than it drains me.
Once I must reset, I stroll. Sydney Park or the seashore is my considering area. There’s one thing about motion and open sky that helps me course of and plan.
THE COFFEE
Espresso Espresso:
Picasso Mix
Meet the ‘Picasso Mix’ — the very first espresso developed by Numero Uno founder Gina, and a long-standing favorite ever since. Very similar to its namesake, this mix brings numerous components collectively in good concord. By its evolution, it has maintained a flexible medium-dark profile, suited to a variety of palates and occasional types.
Espresso Origin:
Brazil, Costa Rica & PNG
Tasting Notes:
Notes of Caramel, milk chocolate, cardamom and creamy panna cotta.
Instructed Recipe for Espresso:
Dose: 18g
Yield: 36g
Temp: 93.5
Time: 25–32 seconds
Ratio: 1:2
Filter Espresso:
Colombia, Popayan Reserve (washed)
Sourced from Colombia’s Cauca area, this month’s filter espresso provides a balanced cup with pure sweetness and shiny acidity. Grown above 1,700 metres within the Meseta de Popayán, the beans profit from a singular microclimate. Hand-picked and washed by 65 farmers throughout the Popayán Reserve program, the main target is on high quality — together with higher sources and the uncommon alternative for farmers to style the fruits of their labour.
Espresso Origins:
Colombia
Tasting Notes:
Notes of inexperienced apple, milk chocolate and hazelnut with a balanced profile that includes floral and caramel
Instructed Recipe for Filter:
Dose: 15g
Bloom: 50g for 40 seconds
Water: 250g
Temp: 94°C
Time: 2:30–3:00 minutes
Ratio: 1:16
Espresso Darkish Roast:
Black Mamba
Black Mamba is our tribute to conventional espresso with a Southern Hemisphere focus. This mix was developed for individuals who admire the traditional espresso expertise – daring, wealthy, and unapologetic.
We supply parts from established rising areas that ship constant high quality and the deep, intense flavour profile this mix calls for. The title captures the mix’s character: modern, highly effective, and memorable.
Espresso Origin:
Brazil, Colombia and PNG
Tasting Notes:
Notes of Low to medium acidity with darkish chocolate aromas. Intense bakers’ chocolate, treacle, and caramel. Daring and full-bodied.
Instructed Recipe for Espresso:
Dose: 18g (in line with your basket measurement)
Yield: 36g
Temp: 93.5°C
Time: 25–32 seconds
Ratio: 1:2
Premium Filter:
El Salvador – El Paraíso Pure
Claudia is a 4th era feminine espresso producer. Finca El Paraiso has been owned by her household for the reason that 1800s. The farm is positioned on the slopes of the Santa Ana volcano, the place the volcanic soils are exceptionally fertile.
Claudia spoke fondly of working the land — there was no huge payday on this for her, it was extra some extent of familial pleasure. A carrying of the torch and tilling of the soil within the title of her household. A love for people who got here earlier than her and people who would admire the fruits of this land in a cup of espresso.
Social accountability: Each three months a health care provider involves the farm and provides medical help and drugs without charge to employees. The farm hosts a Christmas occasion for employees’ kids and the encircling neighborhood.
This espresso is a part of the Aida Batlle Choice (ABS) program that works tirelessly to enhance the standard of coffees produced within the area. Aida’s rigorous requirements guarantee solely the ripest cherries are chosen, and fermentation protocols are adopted exactly. Aida, herself, is an esteemed fifth era producer and was the primary girl to win El Salvador’s Cup of Excellence (2003).
Espresso Origin:
El Salvador
Tasting Notes:
notes of cherry, purple grape, winey with a velvety mouthfeel.
Instructed Recipe for filter:
Dose: 15g
Bloom: 50g for 40 seconds
Water: 250g
Temp: 92°C
Time: 2:00-2:half-hour
Ratio: 1:16
