Sydney · Australia
Single O
Single O is one of 5 Sydney roasters tracked on day9, in New South Wales.
Since 2003 · Emma Cohen, Dion Cohen
Overview
Single O was founded in 2003 in Surry Hills by husband-and-wife Emma and Dion Cohen, who left corporate jobs to open a single-origin-focused cafe at a time when most Sydney coffee was dark, stale and Italian-blended. The original name was Single Origin Roasters, later shortened to Single O; their first roaster, a refurbished machine they nicknamed Big Boris, sat in the back of the Reservoir Street cafe before all production moved to a dedicated roastworks in Botany.
Known for
- Pioneer of Sydney's third-wave specialty coffee scene from 2003
- Sydney's first self-serve batch brew bar, opened April 2019, with four taps inspired by craft beer pours
- Co-founder of The Juggler milk-tap system, credited with eliminating millions of two-litre plastic milk bottles from cafes
- Tokyo roastery and tasting bar in Hatchobori since 2014 — the first overseas outpost
- B Corp certified; long-running 'No Death To Coffee' climate-resilient varietal program
Why it matters
Single O is one of three Sydney roasters, alongside Mecca and Reuben Hills, credited with seeding Australian third-wave specialty coffee. Two decades on, the Surry Hills cafe still operates on its original Reservoir Street corner, and the company's sustainability work — solar offsets, the Juggler, climate-resilient varietals, the 'Giving A Puck' grounds-recycling program — has set the bar for what an established roaster's environmental program can look like.
Production
- roaster machine
- 120kg production roaster at the Botany Roastworks
- filter equipment
- Self-serve Freepour batch brew taps (four-tap system)
- roastery location
- Botany, Sydney (Roastworks)
Café
60-64 Reservoir Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 (flagship); Carriageworks Farmers Market Saturday stall (since March 2016); 18 Skyring Terrace, Newstead QLD 4006 (Brisbane, opened September 2023); Tokyo (Hatchobori)
Recognitions
- B Corp certified
- 1% for the Planet member (since January 2021)
- Co-founder of The Juggler (sustainable milk-tap system)