The cafe at Margaret River Roasting Co sits inside the working roastery, in a unit on Burler Drive in Vasse, so anyone stopping for a coffee can watch the next batch of beans being roasted while they drink it. Despite the name on the bag, this is a Vasse business, and the roasting happens there.
The company says the roastery runs on solar power, and describes its packaging as biodegradable and compostable. It names four values it works to: community, unity, sustainability and accountability. The detail behind the list is more interesting than the list. A program the roastery calls Beyond the Beans directs support to community and environmental projects, including ocean conservation and programs supporting women in coffee. One blend, Line in the Sand, carries a donation from every kilogram sold towards coastal conservation and climate change education in the South West.
The coffee with the most particular story is Yira Yarkiny, which the roastery says was made in collaboration with Indigenous artists and traditional landowners. The beans are grown in North Queensland, which makes it an Australian-grown coffee roasted in the South West, and every purchase supports the Children's Ground Foundation.
The centre of the range is a set of house blends for espresso, stovetop and French press: Midnight, The Daily, Genesis and Old Faithful. The tasting notes on this page are the roastery's own, put into our words. Alongside them the roastery has offered single-origin coffees, among them a Kenya Kimani AB, a Peru Finca La Suegra and a Colombia Las Moras, each roasted for filter or espresso. Coffee can be set up as a subscription that arrives every four weeks, in a choice of weights. There is also a small range of loose-leaf teas under the Infuse Tea Company label, including sencha green, peppermint, lemongrass and ginger, chamomile and chai masala.
Beyond the bags, the company runs a barista training course, publishes free guides to brewing methods, and takes a coffee cart out to events. The roastery cafe welcomes visitors. Check the maker's site before visiting.