Single O

A Japan Coffee Tale for your Morning Coffee Today we launch our new Single O Roastworks & Cafe, located in Ryogoku (the Sumo precinct) just 200m away from our old roastery where our journey began in 2014. This marks a decade of business in Japan and will quadruple our capacity for the future. We couldn't have imagined when we first started Single O over 20 years ago in Sydney that taking our business to Tokyo would have been on the cards It all started 15 years ago when Yama was working as a dishwasher at our Surry Hills cafe, on an overseas visit from Japan. A single espresso ignited a passion that led to him becoming a Barista, Roaster, and Q-Grader. In 2014, after a visit to Japan, we fell in love with the Japanese culture, passion for craft and eye for detail – and with the help of Yama and wife Mamiko, it was time to take Single O to Japan. Huge shoutouts to our early customers, from Dandelion Chocolate to Bill's Restaurants Japan. After 10 years of chipping away in a small roastery building our coffee community batch by batch, we're excited to be moving on up to a larger space to do everything we love to do. The characterful 1960s tall shed we now call home houses more room to roast, a large space for training and QC and a café inside too, complete with an epic origin rotation and menu featuring Single O stalwart dishes – from the Banana Bread with Espresso Butter to Avo Show. It’s no denying how strong the specialty coffee community is in Aus – from our long list of barista champs, and the Aussie export, the Flat White. But over the Pacific Ocean, Japan is punching above its weight too. Tokyo was recently voted World's Second Best Coffee City by a panel at Food & Wine and we’re stoked to be amongst and meld with this evolving epic community. Huge ups to Luchetti Krelle, M35., Six Simple Machines, La Marzocco, Georgia Hill, our team Yu Yamamoto, Mamiko Yamamoto, Alistair Tod, Emma Cohen, Dion Cohen and all involved in this project, now and ongoing. If you’re ever in Japan – follow your nose to Ryoguku (the Sumo precinct) and look up for the big tall shed, you won’t miss us.

Extra Good Coffee Happens Today. It's CafeSmart, the day where cafes round the nation rally to raise money for grassroots homelessness organisations via StreetSmart Australia, donating $1 for each coffee sold. Last year, $147,585 was raised by 700 participating cafes and 44 roasters. We were named Top Roaster Partner by Streetsmart, for basically going the most ape in signing up cafe partners to support the cause, bringing in 89 cafes we supply. This year, having gone totally ape once again, we’re hoping to retain our title. Spotting A Participating Cafe So how do you know which cafe to head to today? Squiz StreetSmart Australia interactive map. And Broadsheet Media has things covered too. Chances are when you arrive, you’ll find baristas and floor staff dressed in yellow, the CafeSmart colours. Or in our case, dressed smart with yellow trimmings. We started dressing smart for Cafesmart some 14 years ago. Leaning into the initiative name and dressing smart meant we could easily signify to customers that this day is significant. Thanks For Getting Behind It! As Michael Brabant our CEO explains, “Streetsmart rallied us on board in their first Sydney year and it’s a been a fixture on the calendar ever since. Each year, our café & home customers continue to get behind tackling homelessness in their hoods. It’s a simple mechanic, that impacts the communities where they live and work. That’s why we all love it! Big shout out to our awesome café community & to founder Adam Robinson and the StreetSmart team for putting on another special edition.”

Holy Shiibuya! We’re opening today in the big buzzing heart of Tokyo. Our Shibuya ‘Sideshow’ bar, a spirited speck at the base of a newly built high-rise, is ready to serve locals, travellers and our coffee community. Big shout to Luchetti Krelle, La Marzocco, La Marzocco Australia, Mahlkönig USA and Six Simple Machines. Incredible art by kentaro yoshida. Read more about our small n'mighty space here:

Michael Brabant talking Tokyo, taps and sustainability in the latest issue of 5THWAVE. Big thanks World Coffee Portal and Michael Lyons

Last year, after a decade of supplying some of the best hospo customers in QLD we opened the door on our first cafe, serving up coffee to Newstead locals. Today we're stoked to open another door - our roller door, expanding the cafe to rival the footprint of our Surry Hills cafe. More space for more seating, more food, more coffee, more more! Awesome to be amongst the buzzing hospo scene up here with the likes of ANYDAY, Trader House plus the stack of top-notch cafes, bars and restaurants. Read MORE below. 

Cheers James Henderson Hospopreneurs thanks for having us. Ninna Katrine Larsen you're up next :) #podcast #business #coffee #circular #sustainability

Yu Yamamoto on how he does it in Balance The Grind. Big thanks to Hao N. for sharing Yama’s story.

Well said Michael Brabant Big year to come for Japan!

A lotta of love for our coffee homelands, Tokyo & Sydney, in the media this week. Both hitting the '10 Top Cities for Coffee' list in second and third respectively. Big cheers Food & Wine

Emma’s hot tips now up on The Australian website. Read on via the link below. Big cheers to Milanda Rout for the write-up. THREE BLUE DUCKS Trader House Stumptown Coffee Roasters Honorbread Milkwood Bakery Rosslyn Coffee