My last outing with the crew of Bean Brewding, those staunch advocates of the Brisbane coffee scene, was the Walking Coffee Tour of Fortitude Valley in August 2014, which I wrote a little about here. Now twelve months on, and having seen the “Beans” continue their great run of tours over that period, a recent event over the weekend provided a great opportunity to get involved again.

This time around, a morning of tasting some Australian grown and roasted coffee from Moonshine Coffee Roasters, held at PUK Espresso, at Kangaroo Point — in the shadow of Brisbane’s Story Bridge. Having not had occasion to visit PUK before, I was keen to head along, and also sample some coffee from a local Australian grower and roaster.

Moonshine Coffee Roasters are located (just down the road really) in the hills at Federal, in northern NSW, inland from Byron Bay:

Coffee has been grown and roasted in these hills since before we were born. It’s just been kept a little quiet, the Moonshine way.

I certainly couldn’t think of a better way to start a mild Saturday morning in August than with some Moonshine.

The Coffee

As I arrived at PUK things were kicking off right on time, with a brew of the 2014/15 harvest Natural Process from Moonshine just out of the Aeropress.

I had high hopes the coffee would be good, however was pleasantly surprised with the depth and complexity of flavour. Brewed through the Aeropress, the filter roast on offer was low on acidity, however extremely well-balanced, with medium body and a lovely smooth, creamy mouthfeel – like a velvety coating, which lingered long after the prominent caramel flavour subsided.

Next up, the kind folks at PUK took our orders for a complimentary espresso based coffee which would showcase the Moonshine Blend on offer at the cafe. Mine? A simple espresso of course.

This also gave me a chance to snap a few pics and take in the dry aroma of some of the freshly ground Natural I had just sampled. Nutty and earthy are terms that come to mind, which sometimes can be a little unnerving in a naturally processed coffee, however as I’ve mentioned above, this one was a beauty.

Onwards to the espresso, which was short, thick and dark. Here the taste belied the appearance. I found the espresso quite intriguing. In many ways it was a more concentrated form of the filter brew: mild acidity, medium on body with creamy coating in mouthfeel, with big caramel and chocolate notes. Again, the finish kept on and on. The blend served at PUK contains the locally grown variety from Federal, along with other seasonal offerings from around the globe.

I’ll certainly be back to PUK again very soon, I can guarantee that. It is a calming space, with plenty of shady outdoor seating, friendly staff, and of course great coffee.

So with the morning’s event over, off I went with enough complimentary Moonshine coffee to fuel my Hario V60 filter brews for a few days as well — a nice touch.

The Finish

Another successful Bean Brewding event under my belt, and from discussions on the day with the guys, the local coffee tours will keep rolling on, and there are some new and exciting possibilities also in the pipeline.

If you have an interest in coffee around Brisbane, or just coffee itself, check out Bean Brewding on the web or Facebook for upcoming events, all of which are extremely well supported by local speciality coffee establishments. It is simply a great way to get an inside look and learn from industry experts you may otherwise not have access to in a very non intimidating way.

Thanks to Bean Brewding, PUK Espresso and Moonshine Roasters for an extremely enjoyable morning.