If you need proof that Marrickville is Sydney’s latest foodie hub, is surely it. The ACT bespoke sustainable coffee roaster launched its first Sydney café in the hot spot last month, and coffee nerds have been rejoicing ever since.
ONA Coffee was founded in 2008 by Sasa Sestic, a Bosnian-born immigrant who moved to Australia to play professional European Handball. After playing for Australia in the Olympic Games in 2000, Sasa studied hospitality, eventually opening KONA – soon changed to ONA – with his wife Beti and brother Dragan. Their mission is an ambitious one: they want to create the best and most sustainable coffee in the world.
The coffee menu changes regularly, depending on which blends are on offer. A 'milk' coffee is served one way only - you won't find a latte here. Source: ONA Marrickville
You won’t find lattes, cappuccinos or flat whites here. Milk-based coffees are all served in one style.
All about the coffee
While ONA's ACT outlets are more traditional-café in structure, at the focus is squarely on the coffee. Sestic was crowned World Barista Champion in 2015 and many of the staff - like Sam Corra and Hugh Kelly - are fellow internationally-awarded baristas.
The space is dominated by a European-style central coffee bar, allowing customers to perch while they down their espresso or milk-coffee – you won’t find lattes, cappuccinos or flat whites here. Milk-based coffees are all served in one style, similar to a cappuccino without the extra froth and chocolate.
About that $16 cuppa…
The price for a cup varies across the menu, depending on the blend, origin and availability. Prices can get pretty steep compared to the standard $3-5 a cup that punters are used to paying. Like, $16 worth of steep.
Their mission is an ambitious one: they want to create the best and most sustainable coffee in the world.
“Many people think that all coffee is the same, and that anything more than the ‘normal’ price is absurd,” ONA Marrickville spokesperson, Jordan Montgomery, tells SBS. “But coffee is like wine in many ways, and like wine there are some regions that are famous and produce excellent quality, and some types or sub-species that are rare and fetch a pretty steep price.”
A good example of this was shown last year when the record for price-paid-per-pound of green coffee was broken at the ‘Best of Panama’ auction. A natural-process “Geisha” coffee lot from went for $601 USD per pound, versus the average price of $61.98 USD per pound at the auction.
Would you like some freekeh with your Hitman? Source: ONA Coffee
Scoring system similar to a wine guide
While ONA aren’t buying the infamous “601” Panama blend, they are certainly buying different levels of green beans to roast. They use a three-tier scoring system to show customers the “cupping score” to indicate quality or rarity (similar to points on a wine guide). A blend is part of their “black label” (83-85 points) category and costs $4 a cup, whereas the blend is “gold label” (90+) and costs $6 a cup.
ONA can provide a predictable, repeatable experience with the coffee tasting the same next week, next month or even next year.
Then there’s the “reserve menu”, which ranges from $7-$16 per cup. All reserve coffees are made from prepared in doses. Coffee is frozen in a vacuum-sealed environment at very low temperatures, which seizes the cellular activity and effectively “pauses” development of the coffee. Effectively this means that ONA can provide a predictable, repeatable experience with the coffee tasting the same next week, next month or even next year.
“When we roast a coffee, we wait until it has aged to its best potential,” says Montgomery. “This is usually between 14-25 days, when all the CO2 is released from the bean and it begins to oxidize.”
The roasted beans are vacuum-sealed in 20g lots, ready to open the moment they are needed. Source: ONA Coffee
The coffee is then sealed with a vacuum sealer and frozen until the moment it’s required.
Oh, and there’s food too
While the coffee is the star of the ONA show, the café still boasts a decent menu. Head chef Brooklyn, prepares simple but tasty dishes in the open kitchen on site.
The menu changes frequently depending on seasonality and availability of local produce, but might include Kingfish Smørrebrød with lemon aioli, pickles, capers and rye or Tomato stracciatella with grapes, olive, basil oil and rye.
Avocado, charcoal, labneh and togorashi on rye (and essential black plate). Source: ONA Coffee
With the number of roasts and beans on offer, though, it will be the unique coffee experience drawing the crowd into ONA. It’s probably worth trying that $16 blend just to see if your coffee palate is up to scratch.
Open 7am - 3pm weekdays and 8am – 3pm weekends.
140 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville, NSW
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