ST. ALi
Within a lofty converted warehouse in the back streets of South Melbourne sits the headquarters of ST. ALi, an ambitious coffee operation with a focus on in-house roasting, expert coffee brewing and forging strong relationships with the farmers that grow the beans.
ST. ALi owner, Salvatore Malatesta felt that large corporations set about roasting and selling coffee without paying much attention to the custodial chain from crop to cup.
This is where ST. ALi wanted to be different when it came to specialty coffee.
‘It’s about focusing on the work of the farmers. We believe that we’re custodians of their work and it’s our obligation to extract the cup profile and treat their work with respect,’ says Salvatore.
The ‘raison d’être’ or ‘reason to be’ of ST. ALi is to give the caffeine plant a true and honest voice.
‘For anyone committed to coffee, the epiphanic moment happens on a farm when you see a trade with fruit, eat the cherry, and then your mind is opened up about the whole process,’ says Salvatore.
‘Lucy Ward, who took over my role as green bean buyer, essentially lives on the farms for six months a year. Her relationship with farmers is more one of family and friends than growers.’
This relationship translates over to the customer, where trained baristas are able to provide their knowledge to coffee drinkers to assist them with their own bean journey.
‘There’s only a handful of roasters in Australia, maybe three, who do that. That work is crucial.’
Each person’s coffee journey often starts with cafe lattes or cappuccinos with sugar. They end up in batch brew or pour over single filters and end up knowing a lot about the coffee, including the harvest dates and so forth.
‘People can explore the coffee world in more depth through our Sub Zero range; coffees that we’ve been collecting and curating like a wine list. They’re roasted and frozen into 21-gram bags, so you can find coffees from anywhere,’ Salvatore says.
Thanks to the freezing process slowing down the ageing of the coffee, we are able to carry a diverse selection from roasters around the world at any given moment.’
‘Our General Store has become a convenient, curated source of delicious things for customers. It’s very rare to watch someone walk into the store for a coffee and not walk out with something else, whether it’s good quality milk, some beer nuts or some Archie Rose & ST. ALi whisky.’
ST. ALi has a new site coming up at Queen Victoria Market called ST. ALi and the Queen, a project focused on coffee and cocktails. A third site is due to open in April 2023 at Melbourne University, where Salvatore started his career in food and beverage.
Salvatore believes if you’re local and can shop local and support your local craftsperson, that has many benefits. These include reducing carbon footprints, supporting the maker, and bringing you closer to the freshness and roast dates.
‘We’d love to see you in the store, in the factory, having a “cellar door” experience, watching the coffee come out of the roaster, going into a bag and straight to your house.’