Melbourne's iconic roastery is bringing its quality coffee beans to the supermarket shelf

Monday 8 July 2024 - ST. ALi, Melbourne’s beloved specialty coffee roastery and brand is excited to announce the launch  of its core range of freshly roasted coffee beans in 850 Coles stores from July this year. Spearheading a significant milestone for Australia’s specialty coffee industry, ST. ALi is proud to be making the quality coffee beans they’re known and loved  for accessible to the everyday consumer, bringing a taste of Melbourne’s cult coffee scene to homes across Australia. 

Founded in 2005, ST. ALi remains a pioneer in the specialty coffee space and a name synonymous with Melbourne’s  famous laneway coffee culture. From humble beginnings of roasting on the floor of their original South Melbourne cafe, 20 years later, ST. ALi is a global brand operating in four different countries and servicing hundreds of customers around Australia and the globe. The brand’s launch into Coles supermarkets nationally reflects a maturation of Australia’s coffee consumers and the ever-increasing demand for cafe-quality coffee from the comfort of home. 

“In recent years we’ve definitely noticed a levelling up of at-home coffee and a significant maturation of the market,” says  ST. ALi CEO Lachlan Ward. “We’re never going to replace the cafe experience - that’s what got ST. ALi to where it is today and something that we’ve very proud of. The Australian consumer is simply changing the way they get their coffee - they  might go to their favourite local cafe for their first coffee, then make their afternoon coffee from the comfort of their home.  ST. ALi is now making both options possible and more accessible without compromising on quality.”

Shoppers will be able to purchase ST. ALi’s most popular blends: Orthodox, Wide Awake, Good Vibrations, Italo Disco and Feels Good, all featuring new packaging cohesive in design and bringing back ST. ALi’s original angel logo, nodding to the brand’s rich history.

Available as 225g ($17, ground for filter) and 500g ($35, whole beans/ground for filter) bags, purchasing ST. ALi’s coffee beans at Coles will be no different to the coffee you’d pick off the shelf or be served at a ST.  ALi cafe - freshly roasted with the roasting date and best before date printed on the bags. 

“Even as we expand, we still approach our roasting with an artisan mindset. Everything is carefully calculated in the roasting process to bring out the best in each bean before turning them into our signature blends,” says Head of Operations and  Sourcing Lucy Ward.

ST. ALi’s coffee beans are ethically sourced from all over the world and are freshly roasted daily at ST. ALi’s coffee roastery in Port Melbourne. To ensure the best quality cup of coffee, ST. ALi works with partners at origin who focus on sustainable  practices and wherever possible, they deal with the producer directly. As ST. ALi’s green buyer, Lucy Ward travels the  globe, spending hours pouring over samples of coffee, nurturing relationships with producers and bringing their stories home to ensure customers understand what it takes to make great coffee. 

“Having our coffee in Coles will help us buy more quality coffee from the producers we have spent years forging relationships with and have a big positive impact on the communities where we buy our beans. We pride ourselves in being  the gatekeepers of the quality they produce and champions of the hard work they put in on the farms,” says Lucy Ward.

Offering something for everyone, ST. ALi’s position on Coles shelves marks the next chapter for the brand built on accessibility and getting quality coffee into more people’s hands.

“When I first joined ST. ALi we were just a small Melbourne laneway roastery. The journey of specialty coffee in the last fifteen years has evolved to something we never dreamed of and we are thrilled to have ST. ALi on Coles shelves right around Australia,” says Lachlan Ward. 

RRP $17 (225g) - $35 (500g)

Currently available at Coles, ST. ALi cafes and through the ST. ALi website.

When it comes to specialty coffee, ST. ALi was one of the pioneers. A stand-alone brand, unique, focused and hard to  replicate. As an industry leader, with direct relationships with farmers, in-house roasting, expert coffee brewing and top class food offering, ST. ALi is a destination and an institution in Melbourne. While ST. ALi’s spiritual home will always remain  in the laneways of South Melbourne, now well into its second decade, its experience and impact extends beyond Australia, with stores across Melbourne’s CBD, Melbourne Airport, Jakarta, Japan and Bali.