Elementary Coffee, Adelaide
Elementary Coffee
A roastery, a wholesale business and a couple of cafes, run by two people with more than twenty years in Australian coffee behind them. The blend is named after the street the roastery sits on.
Roaster Profile
The roastery
Twenty years in, still at it
A roaster, a wholesaler and the operator of a couple of Adelaide’s better cafes. Three businesses in one sentence, and a fair summary of what Brad and Carly actually do all day.
Brad and Carly are the two of them, and they put it better than we would: “We’re Brad and Carly, and for over 20 years, we’ve been part of Australia’s dynamic coffee scene.” Adelaide is home now.
Twenty years in Australian coffee covers a lot of ground. The arrival of the third wave, the long argument about espresso versus filter, the shift from dark and bitter to sweet and clear, the rise and fall of a dozen brewing fads. People who have sat through all of it tend to have opinions worth listening to, and tend to be a lot less interested in whatever is trendy this month.
“We’re Brad and Carly, and for over 20 years, we’ve been part of Australia’s dynamic coffee scene.”
There are two Elementary sites. The roastery cafe at 9-17 Young Street in the city, and a second at 2 Jervois Street in Torrensville. If the name of their house blend sounds familiar, that is why. The Young Street Blend is named after the address it comes out of, which is either a failure of imagination or the most honest naming convention in Adelaide coffee. We think it is the second one.
Approach
How they roast
Ask Brad and Carly what they are up to and you get small batch specialty coffee with a focus on sustainability and quality, and on the buying side, partnering with farmers who share their commitment to ethical sourcing. Their words, and their standard to hold.
The part that matters more day to day is the process underneath. Elementary run weekly quality cuppings and stick to strict roast profiles. That sounds boring written down, and it is, and that is the point. Cupping every week is how you catch a coffee drifting before your customers do. Holding a profile is how a bag tastes the same in March as it did in January. Consistency is unglamorous and almost nobody markets it, but it is the difference between a roaster you trust and a roaster you gamble on.
Small batch matters here for the same reason. Smaller roasts mean more control per lot and less coffee sitting around waiting to be sold.
The range
What Elementary roast
Three blends. The Young Street Blend, Cara Mia, and a Colombia Decaf. The decaf being a named single origin rather than an anonymous house decaf is a decent signal on its own.
The single origins move around, but the current line-up runs Burundi Nkonge Hill, Colombia Aristides Cruz, Ethiopia Dadadu and Ethiopia Nitro Uraga. Two Ethiopias on the board at once is a choice, and usually a sign someone in the building has strong feelings about Ethiopian coffee.
They also sell subscriptions direct from their own site, starting at $20.
Elementary Coffee
An Adelaide roaster, wholesaler and cafe operator run by Brad and Carly, who have been part of Australia’s coffee scene for more than twenty years. Two sites, one on Young Street in the city and one on Jervois Street in Torrensville. Small batch roasting, strict roast profiles and weekly quality cuppings. One of the independent South Australian roasters in the Allways rotation.
Questions people actually ask
Where is Elementary Coffee roasted?
In Adelaide, South Australia. Elementary have two sites, the roastery cafe at 9-17 Young St, Adelaide SA 5000, and a second at 2 Jervois Street, Torrensville.
Who runs Elementary Coffee?
Brad and Carly, with more than twenty years in Australian coffee between them. As they put it: “We’re Brad and Carly, and for over 20 years, we’ve been part of Australia’s dynamic coffee scene.”
What coffees do Elementary roast?
Three blends, the Young Street Blend, Cara Mia and a Colombia Decaf, plus single origins. The current single origin line-up is Burundi Nkonge Hill, Colombia Aristides Cruz, Ethiopia Dadadu and Ethiopia Nitro Uraga.
Why is it called the Young Street Blend?
Because the roastery cafe is on Young Street in the Adelaide CBD. The house blend is named after the address it comes out of.
Can I get Elementary Coffee delivered?
Two ways. Elementary run their own subscription direct from their site, starting at $20. Or through an Allways subscription, where Elementary comes up in the rotation, roasted to order, ground to how you brew or left whole, and shipped free Australia-wide.
What does Elementary Coffee taste like?
Depends entirely on the coffee, and the range moves. The notes come printed on the bag, along with the origin and the roast date. What holds across all of it is the consistency: small batch, strict roast profiles and weekly cupping, so the bag you get tastes like the bag you got last time.
Why order Elementary Coffee through Allways instead of going direct?
If Elementary is the only coffee you ever want to drink, go direct. Buy from the roaster, more of the money stays with the roaster, everyone wins. Allways is for the other situation. One subscription, a different independent South Australian roaster in each delivery, ground to how you actually brew. Elementary is one of the roasters in the rotation, not the whole thing.
Elementary is one of the roasters in the rotation
One subscription. Every independent Adelaide roaster in the rotation. Roasted to order, free shipping Australia-wide, pause or cancel whenever you like.
14 more independent South Australian roasters. Scroll across.
1645 Coffee
Glynde
Altura Coffee
Findon
b3 Coffee
Blackwood
Bobby's Coffee
Warradale
Charlie Black
Pooraka
Coffee in Common
Hindmarsh
Dawn Patrol
McLaren Vale
Elusive Coffee
Athelstone
Kindred Coffee
Adelaide
Monastery Coffee
Windsor Gardens
My Kingdom For A Horse
Adelaide CBD
Peninsula Coffee
South Australia
Two Fish Coffee
Adelaide
Vice Coffee Roasters
Adelaide Hills
