They’re again and higher than ever. The beloved Sew Espresso is taking 2026 by storm, rolling out new flavours and opening cafés worldwide. The Sydney-born roaster has lengthy established itself as a trailblazer within the business with its distinctive blends, daring methods, and globally impressed flavours. Now the crew is taking issues to the subsequent stage.
Curiosity and connection have at all times been on the coronary heart of Sew Espresso. It’s what pulled founder Nawar Adra into the espresso world within the first place and what continues to information the crew as they’ve grown from a small native roastery into an internationally recognised model. With somewhat over ten years below their belt, Sew has surpassed its early ambitions — crafting an ever-expanding product vary, supporting roasters and café house owners by schooling, and constructing significant, moral relationships alongside the best way.
Because the espresso scene shifts and extra folks embrace brewing at residence, Sew sees solely alternative. Their creativity continues to attract folks in — from Japanese-inspired drinks to collaborations with musicians. With a powerful concentrate on making specialty espresso each accessible and a supply of group, Sew is moving into 2026 with recent power and a imaginative and prescient that’s solely getting stronger.
THE INTERVIEW
We eagerly caught up with Sew Espresso founder Nawar Adra to speak in regards to the thrilling issues they’ve deliberate for the yr forward, their suggestion for the right Sew morning second, and the brand new traits shaping the espresso scene proper now
It’s been a minute! What’s been occurring since we final featured you?
Sew Espresso has had a whirlwind yr! We’ve gone world with not one however two café openings in China, 4 extra in Sydney, and shifting our warehouse into a brand new roastery-café house.
On the product facet, we launched new developments just like the Bonbon Drip Espresso Baggage Field (processed utilizing the wildest methods out of Colombia), launched Specialty Prompt Espresso, and added India as a brand new nation of origin to our ever-changing singles rotation. This previous yr additionally strengthened our ties with the Sydney group. We started highlighting our wholesale cafés by our Sew Brew Tales sequence on Instagram/TikTok and partnered with an unbelievable DJ duo to kickstart their RnB café idea, Mix Concept, at Sew Espresso Broadway. The 2 occasions acquired an unbelievable response from Sydney’s creatives and occasional lovers.
One other spotlight is giving again to the group by our Weave Donation Days on the second Thursday of each month. We donate $1 from each café espresso and on-line espresso bag bought to a Sydney charity on these days. We additionally launched 100% house-made bagels and Shokupan sandwiches throughout our café menus (as a result of specialty espresso wants specialty eats to match)!
Your crew’s grown quite a bit — who’re a few of the new legends behind the bar or roaster?
We lately purchased on a Retail Supervisor who’s our native legend, Tony Sleiman! He has a improbable eye for element having been within the specialty espresso business for so long as our founder Nawar (in truth, they each got here up on the similar time by Circa in Western Sydney), and he is aware of all of the finer particulars about hospitality, having owned a restaurant himself. With 4 new places all opening inside the span of some months, it’s secure to say he’ll have his palms full putting in SOPs and coaching our new baristas. But when anybody can do it, Tony can! 😀
If somebody’s visiting Sydney for the primary time, the place ought to they go for that basic Sew morning second?
Sew Espresso QVB straight on opening at 7am (or 8am on weekends) is unquestionably a particular expertise; the normally busy Queen Victoria Constructing is tremendous quiet previous to the commuter rush and earlier than the retail shops open, so it’s a good time to come back in for a calming capp forward of a busy day.
Or for those who’re after a feed to go along with your espresso, we love a bagel second at Sew Espresso Broadway in Ultimo. Sew Espresso is residence to our resident ‘bagel man’, Chef Shane, who works with our Head Chef, Kenny, to make in-house recent bagels (each all the pieces and plain) to please prospects within the mornings.
Does roasting or consuming espresso change for you within the hotter months?
We positively see elevated demand from espresso heads between October–March for iced signature drinks like Yuzu Chilly Brew, Iced White Rabbit, Iced Matcha, Honey Fizz Glowing, and the uber refreshing Bolivian Moose (made on a cáscara tea base).
Because of this, our Head of Espresso Nameru normally sources inexperienced espresso for this era that has a definite summer time vibe: assume beans with numerous stone fruit or tropical notes that make for improbable chilly brews, and varieties that pair properly with milk to quench the zeal for iced latte-friendly roasts.
And when the solar’s up, so are we! Sure partially because of daylight financial savings, but additionally as a result of Sydneysiders love getting up early to train or go about their errands earlier than it will get too sizzling…all with a espresso in hand.
What do you assume is most enjoyable in your native espresso scene proper now?
Actually, I’m actually enthusiastic about this new wave of micro-roasters popping up in all places. There’s this recent concentrate on tradition, branding, and the general expertise, not simply the technical facet of espresso. It’s reshaping how shoppers take into consideration what espresso could be.
Signature drinks are additionally turning into a giant factor right here, and I feel they’re going to be an actual sport changer. Individuals are getting extra experimental, extra open-minded, and it’s pushing the entire business in a very artistic path.
One other factor I like? Increasingly persons are making espresso at residence.
It’s truly top-of-the-line issues occurring proper now, as a result of it forces cafés and roasters to stage up. If folks can already make a very good flat white at residence, then we’ve got to assume: what can we provide that they will’t get at residence?
For us, which means bringing new experiences into our cafés, new flavours, new service types, and new methods to share the story behind the cup. You’re seeing extra brew bars, extra omakase-style Japanese service, and extra cafés turning into little expertise hubs quite than simply “seize your takeaway and go.”
It feels just like the business is shifting into an area the place espresso isn’t just brewed, it’s felt, shared, explored, and loved–and that’s thrilling
Sew has at all times been about folks and connection. How do you retain that very same power because the crew retains rising?
The Sew Espresso philosophy is to be beneficiant with our information and our time; you don’t go very far if you go it alone! So regardless that our crew is consistently rising, we like to remain related by internet hosting group and in-house espresso occasions which might be each instructional and social alternatives; making certain that everybody from the workplace peeps and on-line packers to cafe workers and roasters can get to know each other and knowledge-share.
Examples of community occasions include our Broadway Periods and provider cupping nights, whereas in-house we run numerous coaching workshops for our cafe workers. Extra lately, we ran an in-house Origami brewing competitors that was numerous enjoyable! And the subsequent in-house occasion will likely be our annual January Christmas occasion (having it a month late this yr so new cafe workers can take part too).
What do you take into account your most notable espresso achievements? Particularly, how has espresso formed you and introduced alongside some distinctive and superior experiences?
Nawar Adra – “Espresso truthfully reshaped my total life.”
I grew up in Lebanon consuming the harshest, lowest-grade Lebanese espresso you possibly can think about — the type it’s a must to drown in sugar simply to get it down. Then in 2009, somebody handed me a pure Ethiopia from Guji, and it was just like the universe cracked open. I tasted berries, bananas, fruit… flavours I didn’t even know espresso might have. That one cup flipped a change in me. It made me curious, excited, and hungry to study all the pieces about this world.
That curiosity is what carried me throughout international locations and cultures. From roasting warehouses in Sydney to small cafés in China and Japan, to competition levels the place I one way or the other ended up educating folks about Australian espresso tradition in probably the most surprising locations.
If I needed to decide my most notable achievement to date, it’s this: having the ability to journey the world and share our Australian espresso tradition throughout Asia. Within the final two years alone, I’ve travelled by 15 cities in China, opened two shops in Suzhou, and jumped from one espresso competition to a different. The power in China’s espresso scene introduced my ardour again to life. It jogged my memory why I began and pushed me to continue to grow, hold exploring, continue learning from what the “different facet of the world” is doing.
Espresso formed me into somebody who believes in curiosity, compassion, and creation. Every little thing I’m immediately nonetheless traces again to that first Guji, the cup that modified all the pieces.
THE COFFEE
Espresso Espresso:
Black Subject Mix
This month’s signature espresso was the second mix Sew Espresso ever created! Named after Nawar’s favorite rock band Blackfield, this mix was crafted as a medium-roast espresso with basic notes of darkish chocolate and candy caramel, and a clear but velvety texture. With low acidity, it’s the right mix for an espresso or milk espresso.
Espresso Origin:
PNG & Ethiopia
Tasting Notes:
Notes of candy caramel and velvety darkish chocolate.
Advised Recipe for Espresso:
Dose: 19–23g (based on your basket dimension)
Yield: 38–46g
Temp: 94°C
Time: 27–31 seconds
Ratio: 1:1.8
Filter Espresso:
Costa Rica, Volcán Azul
This filter espresso was a champion from the very starting. Grown on a farm that has received the Cup of Excellence award three separate occasions, it delivers a naturally candy and expressive flavour. Producer Alejo Kahle Castro’s meticulous consideration to element and disciplined processing permit these highland Costa Rican beans to develop wealthy notes of candy cherry and chocolate, ensuing within the gentle roast brew we all know and love.
Espresso Origins:
Costa Rica
Tasting Notes:
Notes of wealthy darkish chocolate, candy raspberry, and a vivid cherry-like character.
Advised Recipe for Filter:
Dose: 15g
Bloom: 30g for 40 seconds
Water: 255g
Temp: 97–100°C
Time: 1:30–2:half-hour
Ratio: 1:17
Espresso Darkish Roast:
Darkish Subject Mix
conserving custom of naming our blends “_____ Subject” continued in 2022 with the introduction of Darkish Subject Mix, the darkish roast counterpart to Higgs Subject and Black Subject Mix. This Italian-style roast espresso caters to the Stoics amongst us, with its dense and deep-flavoured traits like darkish chocolate, toasted almond, and caramel. A mix of specialty beans sourced from Papua New Guinea, Darkish Subject mix is daring, wealthy, and goes properly with as a black espresso or milk espresso. Count on minimal acidity and a few delicate sweetness.
Espresso Origin:
Papua New Guinea
Tasting Notes:
Notes of darkish chocolate, toasted almond and caramel
Advised Recipe for Espresso:
Dose: 19–23g (based on your basket dimension)
Yield: 38–46g
Temp: 93.5°C
Time: 27–31 seconds
Ratio: 1:1.8
Premium Filter:
La Palma is located on picturesque slopes close to the city of Palestina, inside Colombia’s Huila Division (an space that’s famed for its specialty espresso manufacturing). The producer Luis Edgar Camacho Mateus inherited the farm from his father, who began off as a cherry picker earlier than amassing the funds that made it doable to buy La Palma. At present Luis resides on the farm together with his spouse Ledy and two kids, and solely started planting Bourbon bushes in 2021; this lot is without doubt one of the newer fruits of those labours, which we roasted gentle. Count on mid-to-high acidity and tons of sweetness.
Espresso Origin:
Columbia
Tasting Notes:
notes alongside hints of blood orange and crimson apple
Advised Recipe for filter:
Dose: 15g
Bloom: 30g for 40 seconds
Water: 255g
Temp: 97–100°C
Time: 1:30–2:half-hour
Ratio: 1:17
Iced pour-over recipe for these sizzling summer time mornings 🙂
Costa Rica, Volcán Azul
Dose: 18–30g
Ratio: 1:10
Grind dimension: Medium–coarse (barely coarser than normal pour-over)
Temperature: 95°C
Bloom: 1:3 for 30–50 seconds (e.g. 15g : 45g)
First pour: 60g for 50 sec – 1 min 10 sec (start closing pour as soon as drained)
Closing pour: 80g for 1:30 – 2:00 minutes
Brew end time: 3:00 – 3:30
Chill the brew in a pitcher with ice and fold between two jugs to chill quickly. As soon as under room temperature, pressure and serve over ice.
Bonus suggestions: Cone-shaped filters work finest for iced pour-overs. Rinse the filter with sizzling water for thermal stability. Clear ice melts slower and retains your brew crisp.
