By Alesha Capone
George Bittar says he has been enjoying coffee for longer than he can remember.
With International Coffee Day – which is held annually to educate people about the history and popularity of coffee – approaching on Friday, October 1, Mr Bittar shared his story with Star Weekly.
Mr Bittar established Chalk Coffee Roasters as a home business about three years ago, before moving into a Hoppers Crossing site which serves as a roastery, coffee shop and café early this year.
“What I remember is that in the last 15 years or so I started trying different coffees to make at home and exploring coffee shops around Melbourne,” Mr Bittar said.
“At that point I started investing in better coffee machines for home and honing on my coffee-making skills.
“I also got a small coffee roaster, which kept me happy – and busy – for a couple of years.
“I had this thing at the back of my mind that I should be roasting specialty, high-quality coffee commercially.
“Coffee is a huge passion of mine and I wanted to bring high-quality specialty coffee to our area here in the west, given most of the good roasteries are at inner Melbourne.”
Mr Bittar said that opening up in Hoppers Crossing just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit was “ really tough” with many cafes closing or operating with reduced hours.
“There’s not a lot of demand at the moment and cafe owners are hesitant to make any commitment or change coffee suppliers given the current circumstances,” he said.
However, Mr Bittar said that he feels “very grateful” for his regular customers and being able to sell coffee bags online.
“I have been very lucky and have been getting great feedback both from cafe customers and from retail customers,” he said.
“I think this is a combination of being able to source great quality coffee beans and the passion we put into it.
“I only source high-quality coffee beans from reputable importers.
“Specialty coffee beans can be expensive but you can certainly notice the quality in the cup.”
Details: www.chalkcoffee.com.au/
