A little slice of coffee perfection has just opened in Mitchell

Posted on 24 February, 2023

Driving the streets of Canberra’s industrial areas, you expect to pass mechanics, warehouses, and more tradies than you can poke a stick at.

But in Mitchell, an unexpected treat tucked down on Vicars Street can now be discovered—Bean Culture Café.

The Bean Culture team has been roasting coffee beans out the back for years, but they’ve now taken over the street frontage as well—transforming this Mitchell shop into a space that will have you wanting to plug your laptop in and pretend to send emails all day, mesmerised by the window into the roastery.

Walking in, one of the first things your eyes will be drawn to is the row of coffee trees slowly growing under a series of LED lights in a hydroponic system— a first for Canberra.

“They pay homage to my culture and heritage,” explains Co-owner and Manager of Bean Culture Café Cara Matthews. “My grandmother grew up on the Cook Islands growing coffee trees and these are seedlings from her backyard, so it feels pretty special to have them here.”

Eventually, the team hopes to grow enough beans to be able to pour you a cup of coffee that has not only been roasted on-site but grown right behind where you will sit to enjoy it —another first for Canberra.

You might recognise Bean Culture’s distinctive logo from its former home on Northbourne Avenue until August of last year when the team decided to close their city cafe and focus on Mitchell instead.

The team also has a range of coffee carts and vans that can often be spotted in APS buildings, outside grand openings and across Canberra—but their Mitchell space has something special in the air.

That’s because it offers not only an excellent caffeine boost but also barista training and coffee roasting opportunities for the whole community, which Head Roaster Michael Phelan is particularly passionate about.

“We work with [Bimberi Youth Justice Centre] and do training once a week with the kids to give them not just coffee skills but life skills that will open up opportunities for them,” says Michael.

Unable to master the art of pouring the perfect cup at home? Book in for some training sessions that will have you feeling like a pro, or you can even roast your own beans, giving you control and choice over the green coffee you use to produce your own batch—both offerings yet another first for Canberra (are you catching a theme here?).

That being said, the beans currently roasted by the team aren’t anything to turn your nose up at. As I sip away on my iced latte and walk through the café and roastery, I cannot help but appreciate it’s a bloody good drink.

“We’re going to start out with two of our blends,” explains Michael. “We have a reserve blend called Seasonal and then we have our Parliament blend which is your more traditional coffee with its notes of chocolate and hazelnut and what you’re drinking at the moment.”

Sourcing beans from across the globe the team has no shortage of single-origin blends that will be hitting the shelves over the coming months.

“We have about 30 different singular origins from around the world. For me personally I really love the Ethiopian naturally processed coffees,” says Michael.

It’s worth driving the extra couple of minutes out of the city to be welcomed with a warm smile by the tight-knit Bean Culture team and to be able to sit back and sneakily watch the magic unfold in the roastery.

Images supplied by Bean Culture