By JESSE GRAHAM
AFTER a decade in hospitality, Healesville’s Brad Beazley knows coffee.
Starting out in a small cafe in the town’s main street while at high school, Brad worked as a waiter before training with coffee company Lavazza as a barista.
Fast forward 10 years, and Brad has spent two and a half years at his current workplace, a little laneway-style cafe called Essenza.
He said his family was also involved in the hospitality industry, which made him want to dip his toes in and try it for himself.
“It’s really good – like everything, it has its ups and downs,” he said.
“My goal is probably to stay in hospitality, it’s what I’m good at.”
A typical day at work for Brad sees him start at about 7.30am, setting up for an 8am opening – then making coffees, serving customers and preparing food until service begins to wind down after 5pm.
“It’s busy,” he said, sitting on the cafe’s long wooden benches, about to have a morning cappuccino.
“And that’s probably what I thrive on – I thrive on business, being able to make everyone satisfied and enjoy their time, while also having a high level of service.”
Brad said there were a number of local faces that regularly came through the door, as well as many fresh faces from visitors or first-time customers.
“We’ve got sort-of a select group that we know is always going to come in, and we know them quite well, and it’s good to actually know that,” he said.
“We actually go out of our way to make them feel at home, and see how their day’s been and what they’re doing.
“We even tell them to go up to the sanctuary or to check out the Maroondah Dam, if they’re heading up that way – some of the attractions they might not know.”
Asked what he would recommend to non-coffee drinkers, Brad said a latte is a safe bet.
“I normally say a latte, because it’s an easy one to drink – it’s milky, you still get a nice flavour through the milk as well, and it’s very smooth,” he said.
“Normally, I just drink a doppio – a double-shot espresso. When I have milk, I prefer a latte.”
He said a good coffee wasn’t just well-textured milk, or a good crema (the thick golden layer on top of a coffee shot), but everything working in unison.
“It’s everything – it’s all little bits,” he said.
“You’ve got to get every bit right to make a good coffee – the milk has to be creamy, the crema has to be right, and it has to be foamed properly out of the machine.”
Brad is just one of the many baristas working behind counters of cafes through the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges, each with their own stories – and coffee recommendations!
