August - Folk Cafe
Tell us about yourselves!?
We are a plant based cafe based in Byron Bay, Australia. We love serving wholesome, nourishing food and speciality organic coffee in a lush atmosphere of wild cascading plants, edible gardens and swinging tunes.
The FOLK experience is nostalgic, warm and homely.
Sipping a delicious cuppa with the soulful tunes of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchel and Neil Young humming in the background is what you can expect from a visit to FOLK Byron Bay. was established in 2012 by three friends - Adriano Pilati, Marcello D’Intini, and Phillip Haddad – each focused on bringing an ancient method of coffee roasting to life in Australia.
How long have you been roasting and how did it start?
We work with close friends Dukes Coffee Roasters in Melbourne and Marco and Oana to develop a roasting profile that complements the FOLK vibrations in our cafe. We have been around for 6 years and like all good relationships we start first as good friends.
What is your roasting process? / What makes you unique?
We work with organic specialty coffee beans and from the roasting process to the design and packaging create a unique experience for our customers - whether its the flavour in the cup or the hand designed and crafted pouch for the beans you can expect something wonderful and unique.
Having close friends who are expert technicians in the roastery allows us to tweak the roasting profile at will and really create something exclusive to FOLK Byron Bay. Our blend can be described as warm and comforting or more specifically, tasting of toasted almonds, cacao and malt. We like to create a roasting profile for filter brewing methods that results in a delicious and easy drinking cup. Think forest berries, sweet plum and cocoa. Yum!
What challenges do you think the industry are facing that coffee drinkers ought to know more about?
Rising costs and increasing red tape measures for cafes really challenge our industry resulting in less opportunities for unique, innovative and creatively driven businesses. There is more and more pressure to ‘play it safe’ with cafe business models for fear of failure. I’d love to see more support for the small business hospitality sector and encouragement toward those who are crafting unique and inspiring experiences for our community.
Cafe’s are an essential service to our community. The represent a sense of belonging, support and routine for many. I think sourcing organic food, Conducting business sustainably and consciously and moving toward a more plant based driven food model are all critically important things for new and existing business to consider for the betterment of the industry and the global community.
To get your paws on more of their amazing coffee, visit their Instagram @folkbyronbay or better still, come celebrate life and join us for a cuppa at our cafe in Byron Bay - FOLK Byron Bay.