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Devotees of The Great will understand that coffee is not a new thing, but for Rochester cafe owners Shayne and Brooke Walkley it is constantly evolving.

The weekend’s celebration of International Coffee Day was the eighth year of recognising the event, launched fittingly in Milan, Italy.

Almond, soy, oat, coconut, cashew, rice and even hemp milk all now share the shelves of refrigerators with regular dairy milk, in the kitchens of a growing coffee-making cafe community.

An interesting course of events considering the long-time importance of the dairy industry to the Rochester region.

If you have caught the episode of The Great which briefly steers away from the Vodka swilling aristocrats that accompany Peter III and his wife Catherine the Great and directs its attention to coffee you will realise the long history of coffee.

The two-season Stan production follows the storyline of coffee being introduced through the Turkish Ottomon empire and a decision to ban the hot drink due to a concern that it had a narcotic effect on its consumers due to the caffeine it contained.

Coffee is actually blamed partially for fracturing the Ottomon empire, after being introduced in 1843 and becoming instantly popular.

Coffee houses began to pop up everywhere, allowing men to congregate and speak of the Sultan of the time’s rule — causing rebellion.

Caffeine-fuelled efforts are considered responsible for the establishment of an independent Greece, along with Serbia and Bulgaria.

There is certainly no talk of coffee being banned at Shayne and Brook’s Moore St Kits Kafe, which has a 13-year history and an established coffee drinking clientele.

“It is more of a culture now,” he said.

Shayne said in the last decade there had been an explosion of specific requirements, and requests, from coffee drinkers.

“A lot more people have dietary requirements, it is certainly not just a case of grabbing a cup of Joe on the go,” he said.

The Rochester business has five baristas who operate from the cafe seven days a week, from 7am.

And Shayne said he felt the best coffee makers were not necessarily those who had been schooled on the modern day disciplines of being a barista.

“I really think it is how much time you spend behind the machine. It is all about the machine and the caring for the machine.

“We weigh in every morning (19.3 or 20 grams of coffee in each pour) and we dedicate plenty of time to cleaning the equipment,” he said.

"There is never a pour of more than 30 seconds and we are using a premium bean though Belaroma,’’ he said.

Shayne, who has been a chef since the 1990s, said he was the brawn and his wife was the brains behind the business.

The couple’s seven and 11-year-old daughters have also shown an interest in the caper, but as yet are not sold on the consumption of the beverage.

As for the Rochester coffee community, the town’s location on the Northern Hwy means it has a constant flow of visitors.

“We get people coming through from Melbourne and Sydney and there are now plenty of coffee options in town.

“Even the newsagency has a coffee machine,” he said.

Kyabram Free Press and Campaspe Valley News editor

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