Coffee Chats: MILKLAB x Altura Coffee

MILKLAB Coffee Chats: Altura Coffee

In our latest Coffee Chat, we sat down with Giuseppe and Pasquale Agresta, owners of Altura Coffee.

Altura is one of Adelaide’s leading premium coffee roasters, and in addition to making beautiful coffee, their brand is known for its elegant style. The design aesthetic and product naming evokes thoughts of Italy with its Roma, Tuscan and Amalfi blends, paying tribute to the owners’ family heritage.

With a brand new roastery just opening this month, it was the perfect time for us to catch upon what’s been happening and what’s coming next for Altura.

Discovering the all-new Altura Coffee HQ

Giuseppe and Pasquale painted us a picture of their amazing new location and will underpin many aspects of their brand’s future growth.

“It’s extremely exciting,” Giuseppe said, noting that the new roastery will “become the new hub for any and all things Altura Coffee.”

In addition to being a roasting facility, the new location will also serve as Altura’s warehouse and service departments, its retail sector, and training rooms. But most exciting is that it’ll also be home to the very first Altura Coffee Café, so it’s a massive milestone in their coffee business journey.

Location-wise, the team has decided to remain in close proximity to their original spot in Adelaide, so as to maintain convenience for their loyal community of coffee enthusiasts.

Pasquale explained how community-minded thinking was the foundation of the new roastery.

“We wanted to better serve our customers and create a welcoming and warm space for locals. Our new roastery offers a much more open vibe that will allow us to connect with customers and locals in a way our previous location did not allow,” he said.

“The back section of our roastery-cafe is glass, which will allow customers to see the roasting process for themselves. We also wanted a venue that gave us the ability to showcase our coffee blends and single origins firsthand,” he added.

As well as being a state-of-the art roastery, it’ll also be a place to share knowledge, stories, and the love of coffee. If you’re a coffee lover in Adelaide, be sure to keep your ears to the ground for more news on the new location!

On what’s it like to be a MILKLAB partner

As an established MILKLAB partner, we asked the Agrestas what our colLABoration means to them.

“Partnering with MILKLAB has been instrumental in enhancing our business as a coffee roaster,” Pasquale explained.

Finding a top quality alternative milk partner became critical to meeting the needs of Altura customers, who are “increasingly seeking plant-based alternatives for their daily brew,” he said.

“MILKLAB's commitment to producing high quality plant-based milks aligns to our dedication to ensuring our customers always receive the best products possible,” he continued.

The collaboration also provides more freedom of choice for those exploring non-dairy options beyond the well-known almond and soy, Giuseppe added. “The variety of alternative milk options from MILKLAB has not only diversified our product offerings but also enabled us to stay ahead of the curve, adapting to the growing interest in plant-based choices.”

How has the partnership evolved over time?

Pasquale explained how our colLABoration has grown, since first beginning as a test based on their own curiosity and “our own team members being keen to sample the latest MILKLAB products,” he said.

It didn’t take long for the quality to shine through.

“Once we began sampling MILKLAB ourselves at our roastery, we loved the products, and began to offer them to customers,” he continued.

With the shared bond growing stronger and our brands working closely on a regular basis, it made perfect sense for Altura to become the South Australian roaster partner for MILKLAB.

Since then, our collab has resulted in many epic moments, as Pasquale continued, “our latest venture was hosting the South Australian heat of the 2023 Barista Battle at our roastery, which we loved!”

How do you think MILKLAB is different from other alternative milk brands?

While there are abundant plant milk options available these days, Giuseppe explained that as a coffee roaster considering which milk brand to work with, there’s more to the story. And he was thrilled to see how MILKLAB places a strong emphasis on listening to feedback from partners.

“One thing that became clear to our team was that MILKLAB focuses on the needs of baristas and coffee roasters, and they create plant-based milk recipes that are specifically designed with the consumer in mind,” he said.

He added that MILKLAB products not only taste delicious, “[MILKLAB] also ensures baristas have a product that stretches and maintains its integrity when serving milk-based drinks, which is very important to us.”

Vibe check: the Adelaide coffee scene

Giuseppe was thrilled with how the coffee culture in South Australia is thriving, saying “Adelaide’s coffee scene is a very exciting place at the moment and I think as a whole it has lifted, and is only getting better and better.”

He added that there seemed to be growing recognition among consumers and cafés that it’s important to support local roasters, which were contributing strongly to a vibrant, growing specialty coffee scene.

“It’s great to see consumers choosing to use higher quality products, respecting the journey and process coffee undergoes before it lands on your shelf, and also seeing people being more concerned about what’s in their cup,” he added.

What makes Adelaide’s coffee culture unique in Australia?

Being a smaller city also brings a special sense of community for coffee lovers, as Pasquale explained.

“Adelaide’s smaller size allows for more of an emphasis on the community aspect of coffee culture, which is a great thing. Everyone knows everyone and it gives you that sense of community feel when you walk into your local roaster or coffee shop.”

“It really helps to create a warm and welcoming vibe around Adelaide’s coffee venues,” he added.

Before we go, which MILKLAB product is your favourite?

The brothers agreed that while all MILKLAB plant milks are top-notch, it’s hard to beat a classic.

“You definitely can’t go past the ‘OG’ — MILKLAB Almond!”

Head to Altura Coffee in Adelaide to sample their stunning range of coffee blends, and visit their brand new roastery!

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