Sydney · Australia
Sample Coffee
Sample Coffee is one of 5 Sydney roasters tracked on day9, in New South Wales.
Since 2011 · Reuben Mardan
Overview
Sample Coffee was founded in 2011 by Reuben Mardan as a single-shopfront espresso bar on Devonshire Street in Surry Hills, after he had spent more than a decade roasting and working bar at Mecca and Single O. In 2015 he added the St Peters Pro Shop and roastery — built around a 60-year-old Probat UG-15 — and Sample has been a B Corp since 2019, with Mardan named Good Food Guide Best Barista in 2014.
Known for
- Founded 2011 by Reuben Mardan as a Surry Hills espresso bar, with the St Peters Pro Shop and roastery added in 2015
- Roasts on a restored 1958 Probat UG-15
- B Corp Certified since 2019
- Reuben Mardan named Best Barista at the 2014 Good Food Guide Awards
- Australian launch partner for the James Hoffmann × Caravela Coffee Decaf Project
Why it matters
Sample is the small, focused roaster Sydney's specialty scene built around accessibility rather than gatekeeping — Mardan came up under Mecca and Single O at a time when Australian coffee was professionalising fast, and he built Sample as a deliberately calmer, no-nonsense alternative whose B Corp status, transparent producer relationships and brewing-window-by-coffee retail education program make the technical seriousness invisible to the customer.
Production
- roaster machine
- Probat UG-15 (1958, restored)
- roastery location
- St Peters, Sydney Inner West
Café
Suite 1.03, 75 Mary Street, St Peters NSW 2044 (Pro Shop & Roastery); 118a Devonshire Street, Surry Hills (original espresso bar)
Recognitions
- B Corp Certified (2019)
- Reuben Mardan – Good Food Guide Best Barista (2014)