Meet Steve Ella, proud Yuin man and owner of Supply Nation-certified Indigenous-owned coffee company, Zipella. With its smooth, mild flavour, Zipella’s Little Bay blend is an enduring favourite with BrewHub clients.
Now, Steve has answered the call from those who covet a stronger brew, creating a new blend, Yarra Bay, to join Little Bay in the Zipella fold. We sat down with Steve to learn more about the latest addition, his obsession with good coffee and why Zipella offers so much more than a quality brew.
Were you always a coffee lover?
“My brother is a big coffee drinker and gave me the taste for it when I was young. But it wasn’t until I understood what good coffee was, and how important good beans, a good roaster and good barista are, that I developed a real interest in it. I got very fussy about my coffee then.”
When did Zipella kick off?
“My close friend was part of the team that started Supply Nation. He was encouraging me to start a Supply Nation business and suddenly it hit me – coffee! Aside from the fact it was a passion of mine, I like that it’s grown from the earth and encourages people to gather with one another. That’s why the names of my blends are centred around gatherings. Little Bay is one of the places we used to dive for seafood to feed our family, and Yarra Bay is where we had all our family gatherings.”
Why did you join forces with BrewHub?
“At first not many people were interested in Aboriginal coffee. It was a new thing and there wasn’t the awareness. It got to a point where we weren’t selling much and were ready to close. Then I heard a company called BrewHub was making a few sales. I met with David Scott [read more about David Scott here] and some others, and from the beginning the team showed a real passion for using Aboriginal coffee. We’ve been in partnership now for 10 years. It works because BrewHub’s values are very similar to our own. It’s a business that genuinely cares. They want to do the best for people, their heart is in the right place.”
Tell us about the motivation behind a second blend?
We’ve had Little Bay for a few years now. It’s a beautiful mild blend, and we thought it was time to have a second, stronger blend with a different taste profile that could compliment it.
Now we have Yarra Bay as well as Little Bay, and customers can have both blends in the hoppers so they can take their pick from mild or strong.
What was the experience of creating Yarra Bay blend like?
“I worked closely with BrewHub’s Coffee Culturalist, Dom Spadaccini [read more about Dom here]. We chatted about adding some fresh aspects to this blend as a nod to those memories of growing up at Yarra Bay.
Steve Ella breaking the crust of the coffee in a cupping session, first sniff.
There’s a bit of a fruit and floral note to it, while still having a dark chocolate, nutty, roasted almond finish.
During the tasting process, a large group of us blind-tested different coffees all day and scored everything at the end. It was an unforgettable experience being able to sample Dom’s freshly roasted brews. We were all pretty much in agreement on the winner.”
Steve Ella assessing the new Yarra blend in a cupping session
“You try and connect with people when you create a blend. Yarra Bay was inspired by Steve’s seaside family gatherings, so we wanted some fresh aspects to the coffee. But it still needed enough body to deliver through an automatic machine. ”
– Domenico Spadaccini, Coffee Culturalist, BrewHub
When a client chooses Zipella, they’re not just getting a great coffee – they’re also supporting the KARI Foundation, the largest Aboriginal home care service in Australia. Tell us about your partnership with them.
“We support KARI Foundation’s Cultural Unit work [learn more about KARI in their own words]. KARI has a few hundred Aboriginal kids in its Out of Home Care program, and each kid has a portfolio of who they are, where they’re from and who their family connections are. It keeps connection to culture.
This is vitally important as Aboriginal kids removed from their families get displaced and disconnected. Finding family and reconnecting to culture later on presents a range of challenges and traumas. We know the real difference it makes to have this cultural information and documentation. Any business that chooses our coffee is joining with us in keeping culture and connection alive, and in turn helping to strengthen communities.”
Any more reasons why clients should choose Yarra Bay or Little Bay?
Quality coffee is just one part of it. With BrewHub, you also get the experience of excellent service and top-level machines. [learn about the BrewHub Experience]. They take care of their machines so well. When beans are put through machines that are clean, you can really taste the difference.
Final word?
“Life’s too short to waste on bad coffee.”
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