It doesn’t matter where you’re from, as long as you care enough to how to make a good cup of coffee and talk about the coffee culture, you’re invited to join other coffee connoisseurs for a series of coffee activities that will be held at Garage 51 this week.
In collaboration with Tourism Victoria, one of Melbourne’s pioneering coffee specialist, St Ali, and Malaysia’s very own Melbourne-inspired and award-winning cafe Garage 51, are set to give Malaysians a taste of Melbourne’s coffee culture.
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As Australia’s coffee capital, Melbourne, Victoria is now a global trendsetter in all things coffee, importing over 30 tonnes of coffee beans each day to feed the city’s caffeine obsession. The caffeine-loving city is prompting cafes as far afield as New York to name themselves after Melbourne streets and is the direct inspiration of many cafes in Malaysia.
St Ali’s tour to Malaysia is part of an initiative by Tourism Victoria to showcase what Melbourne has to offer as the most liveable city in the world and the coffee capital of Australia. With the burgeoning of Melbourne-inspired cafes in Malaysia, the visit to Malaysia is the perfect opportunity to once again demonstrate the close affinity between Melbourne and Malaysia.
As one of the main pioneers of specialty coffee in Melbourne, the St Ali family has grown from a flagship store tucked in an assuming laneway in North Melbourne to one of the most recognisable names in the Melbourne coffee industry.
Matt Perger, Head of Coffee at Melbourne’s St Ali and Sensory Lab, is ranked the world’s top 3 baristas and he has a string of impressive awards under his belt, including champion at the 2012 World Brewer’s Cup and 2nd place at the 2013 World Barista Championship.
Regarding the coffee culture in Melbourne, Perger said:
Melbourne definitely has one of the strongest café cultures in the world. It is known not only for the quality of the roasting, brewing methods and baristas, but for the café scene that continues to flourish with more quirky venues to feed the city’s coffee obsession. We hope that our international tour can help people to understand what it is that Melbourne is offering that makes the city so special.
Brothers Choong Kar Wai and Choong Kar Heng, who are the founders of Société Family, proudly act as the host in Malaysia. Fully understanding the Melbourne coffee culture, they’ve opened a series of Melbourne-inspired cafes which include CoffeeSociété, Garage 51, Underground Société, and Procaffeinating.
The Société Family cafes are dedicated to delivering the best coffee and brunch experience, serving all‐day breakfast choices alongside specially brewed cups of coffee.
Kar Wai said, “During my many visits to Melbourne, I loved the thriving café scene and saw a niche in Malaysia’s café market. It is certainly an honour to be able to pay homage to the city that inspired our café through this collaboration with Tourism Victoria and St Ali.”
A series of coffee activities, including private coffee pairing session and exclusive coffee workshops, is set to take place at Garage 51 from 11th to 14th June. Perger will take over for the coffee shop for a limited time only. The take-over of Garage 51 will take place on 13th and 14th June between 11am to 2pm. Participants can witness Perger working alongside Garage 51 baristas as they whip up some of Melbournians’ familiar favourites such as flat whites, long blacks, and espressos.
During the 2-day takeover, coffee connoisseurs can do an exclusive Master Class with the Matt Perger and the Société Family team. Participants can expand their knowledge on third wave coffee, roasting, and coffee culture worldwide and in Australia. Interested participants can also find out more about the coffee workshops and sign up by visiting Garage 51’s official Facebook page.
For more information about Melbourne, log on to Visit Melbourne’s official website or engage on social media using #visitmelb on Facebook and Twitter.