IT’S JUST COFFEE!

Melbourne is famous for having some of the best coffee in the world - but is that reputation built on quality or just really good marketing?

A fiery opinion piece has taken aim at Melbourne’s coffee culture, calling Australian coffee bitter, burnt and overpriced while arguing that Italy’s cheaper, simpler espresso culture does it better.

So, is this a fair reality check? or a badly researched takedown of an entire industry?

Melbourne café owner and coffee professional Dan Dick joins us to unpack the article’s biggest claims. We compare Australian specialty coffee with traditional Italian espresso, break down what it actually costs to serve a cup of coffee and ask why cafés and baristas continue to be targeted in conversations about rising prices.

Plus, Condesa Co.Lab joins us with the weekly coffee market report.

COFFEE BREAK! is your weekly inside scoop into the coffee community. Everything from on-the-fly barista tips, honest and unfiltered café reviews (eek), hospitality stories and gatekept coffee secrets.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Melbourne Coffee Under Attack01:27 Welcome to Coffee Break01:59 Dan Dick Reacts02:30 Australia vs Italy07:10 Is a $6 Coffee a Rip-Off?11:32 Why the Media Targets Coffee14:37 Condesa Co.Lab Market Report17:16 What a Cup of Coffee Really Costs21:08 The Impact on Baristas24:14 Opinion vs Accuracy27:12 Standing Up for Australian Coffee

Find Dan Dick here:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielpeterdick/Paperboy: https://www.instagram.com/paperboy.surreyhills/

Want more coffee content?

IT’S JUST COFFEE: https://linktr.ee/itsjustcoffeepod

Want to get in touch? Hit us up at hello@itsjustcoffeepod.com with your questions, comments or hot takes.

Proudly sponsored by:

Marco Beverage Systems: https://www.instagram.com/marcobeveragesystems/Apax Lab: https://apaxlab.com/Condesa Co.Lab: https://condesacolab.com.au/Riverina Fresh: https://www.riverinafresh.com.au/

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Why has Dan Dick stepped back from the cafe industry? After over a decade of operating successful Melbourne venues Nigel and then PaperBoy, Dan has called it quits. Our conversation was had in the midst of handing the reins over to new operators; an equally emotional and practical decision that has catapulted Dan into a new chapter of his career. We discussed the problems facing cafe owners today… and why it has become so much harder to run a profitable cafe.

If you're new here (welcome), our show dives into some of the best coffee conversations on the internet, but we will always remind ourselves at the end of the day - It's Just Coffee!

Dan Dick: https://www.instagram.com/danielpeterdick/

CHAPTERS

00:00 Why Running a Café Is Harder Than Ever
01:48 Why Dan Is Leaving the Café Industry
05:17 Are There Too Many Cafés?
10:40 How to Open a Successful Café in 2026
14:12 When Should You Sell Your Café?
18:31 Are There Too Many Coffee Roasters?
20:04 Why Direct-to-Consumer Coffee Is Growing
25:43 Why Dan Didn’t Build a Roastery
31:44 How to Sell Coffee Online
35:40 Why Co-Fermented Coffee Is Selling
42:19 Should Your Café Start Roasting?
47:35 The Mistakes That Nearly Broke the Business
49:30 A Public Holiday Café Meltdown
52:55 Wages, Coffee Prices and Café Closures
57:27 What’s Next for Born and Raised

Want more coffee content?

IT'S JUST COFFEE: https://linktr.ee/itsjustcoffeepod?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=4e8cead0-6644-4c4a-b419-28c825b1b236

Want to get in touch? Hit us up at hello@itsjustcoffeepod.com for any questions or comments.

Proudly sponsored by:

Marco Beverage Systems: https://www.instagram.com/marcobeveragesystems/

Apax Lab: https://apaxlab.com/

Condesa Co.Lab: https://condesacolab.com.au/

Riverina Fresh: https://www.riverinafresh.com.au/

Thanks for listening!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fresh from the 2026 World Brewers Cup in Brussels, Ben breaks down the coffees, brewers and techniques used by the competition’s top six finalists.

We look at how World Champion Nas Jaafar, Australia’s Simon Gautherin and the rest of the finalists approached their routines, from the rise of hybrid brewers and fast-flow filter papers to shorter ratios, lower temperatures and coarser grind sizes.

Plus, we unpack Bavis Kwong’s wild “sandwich extraction”, Simon’s two-coffee brewing method, the continued dominance of Panama Geisha and whether these competition techniques can actually improve the coffee you brew at home!

Coffee Break is your weekly inside scoop into the coffee community. Everything from on-the-fly barista tips, honest and unfiltered café reviews (eek), hospitality stories and gatekept coffee secrets.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Back From Brussels02:04 The Top Six Brewers06:24 Is Brewers Cup More Accessible?09:38 Hybrid Brewers Take Over11:05 Modern Filter Coffee13:53 Is Percolation Dead?14:42 Fast Filter Papers15:03 Panama Geisha Dominates18:25 Natural vs Washed Coffee21:48 The Sandwich Extraction24:43 Simon’s Two-Coffee Brew26:10 What Home Brewers Can Use28:20 Are These the World’s Best Coffees?30:13 The Future of Pour-Over

Want more coffee content?

IT'S JUST COFFEE:https://linktr.ee/itsjustcoffeepod

Want to get in touch?

Hit us up at hello@itsjustcoffeepod.com for any questions or comments.

Proudly sponsored by:

Marco Beverage Systems:https://www.instagram.com/marcobeveragesystems/

Apax Lab:https://apaxlab.com/

Condesa Co.Lab:https://condesacolab.com.au/

Riverina Fresh:https://www.riverinafresh.com.au/

Thanks for listening!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ultra-light roasting might have pushed coffee forward, but has it now become more about flexing than flavour?

Benjamin Brassart has just been crowned the 2026 World Coffee Roasting Champion, becoming the first Belgian to win the title, on home soil and in his first appearance at the World Championships.

In this episode, Benjamin takes us behind the scenes of one of coffee’s least understood competitions. We unpack how competitors assess unfamiliar green coffees, build a three-coffee blend, create a roast plan and predict what judges will taste in the final cup.

We also explore what everyday roasters can take from competition, including how to identify vegetal, woody and baked flavours, why cupping is a roaster’s most important skill, and how different machines shape the final result.

Plus, Benjamin shares how he launched Boo Coffee Roasters, what it’s really like working on a fluid-bed roaster and why the perfect profile means nothing if you cannot taste what needs to change.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Roasting Championships
01:47 Meet Benjamin Brassart
05:14 Starting Boo Coffee
07:41 Fluid-Bed Roasting
10:50 How the Competition Works
14:17 APAX LAB
15:10 Skills Every Roaster Needs
19:35 Fixing Problem Coffees
20:44 Roasting Defects
24:20 Lessons from Competition
29:00 Are Ultra-Light Roasts Dead?
31:05 Building a Winning Blend
35:40 Advice for New Roasters
38:05 Roasting Automation
41:05 Riverina Fresh
41:45 Benjamin’s Hot Take
43:05 The Person Behind the Win

Find Benjamin here:
Instagram: @benj.brassat

Find Boo Coffee Roasters:
Instagram: @boocoffeeroasters
Website: boocoffeeroasters.com

APAX LAB:
@apaxlab
apaxlab.com

RIVERINA FRESH:
@riverinafresh
riverinafresh.com.au

Want more coffee content?

IT’S JUST COFFEE:
linktr.ee/itsjustcoffeepod

Want to get in touch?

Hit us up at hello@itsjustcoffeepod.com with your questions, hot takes or guest suggestions.
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Tasting espresso is one of the most important skills in coffee, but it is also one of the least clearly taught.

In this episode, we break down how espresso is evaluated using the World Barista Championship sensory framework.

Ben Bicknell, World Barista Championship judge and Q Grader Instructor, explains how to assess sweetness, acidity, bitterness, flavour, body, texture, finish and balance, while separating personal preference from actual quality.

Then we put the framework into practice by tasting four very different coffees and scoring them in real time.

A practical episode for baristas, roasters, competitors, café owners and coffee drinkers who want to taste espresso with more structure, clarity and confidence.

Because “I like it” is a preference. Knowing why it works is a skill.

CHAPTERS

00:00 — Learning How To Taste Espresso
03:27 — Why Espresso Tasting Matters
09:01 — Quality vs Preference
13:07 — Building A Shared Coffee Language
20:21 — The WBC Espresso Scoresheet
24:16 — Flavour Notes vs Accuracy
28:28 — Body, Texture And Finish
30:44 — How Espresso Gets Scored
37:55 — Ben’s Espresso Tasting Framework
39:28 — Tasting Coffee One
47:53 — Tasting Coffee Two
54:06 — Tasting Coffee Three
59:56 — Tasting Coffee Four
1:06:06 — What The Scores Mean
1:10:21 — Using Feedback To Improve Coffee
1:14:56 — Final Takeaways

Want more coffee content?

IT'S JUST COFFEE: https://linktr.ee/itsjustcoffeepod?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=4e8cead0-6644-4c4a-b419-28c825b1b236

Want to get in touch? Hit us up at hello@itsjustcoffeepod.com for any questions or comments.

Proudly sponsored by:

Marco Beverage Systems: https://www.instagram.com/marcobeveragesystems/

Apax Lab: https://apaxlab.com/ Condesa Co.Lab: https://condesacolab.com.au/

Riverina Fresh: https://www.riverinafresh.com.au/

Thanks for listening!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices