Mecca Espresso and Qantas Helping Hands Community together are raising funds for Youth Off The Streets.

The target is to raise $3000 to replace the out of life oven in the kitchen at Don Bosco House, Marrickville in Sydney.

You can donate at any of our stores by placing your donation in one of the donation boxes provided. In light of the urgency of the sitiuation we are aiming to reach our target by Friday 21st October 2011. Your contribution will go directly towards the cause and help us reach our target and will go a long way to support the youth of Sydney.

Don Bosco House provides crisis and short term accommodation for young homeless people between the ages of 15-18. The refuge provides young people with a safe and supportive environment. Don Bosco House provides crisis and short termaccommodation for young homeless people betweenthe ages of 15-18. The refuge provides young peoplewith a safe and supportive environment. The kitchen facilities at Don Bosco house are used to prepare lunch and dinner for the residents. It is also used to prepare means for the food van that goes out every night of the year in Sydney to Green Park and Darlinghurst.

Youth Off The Streets supports homeless and drug addicted young Australians as they work to turn their lives around. The goal is to have these young people leave the care of YOTS drug free, with a high school education, living skills and a full or part time job in hand. Based on the philosophy that every young person has greatness within, these programs are non-denominational and non-discriminatory.

For more information regarding this project or to learn how to contribute directly, contactandrew@meccaespresso.com. For more information about Don Bosco House, or Youth Off The Streets visit http://www.youthoffthestreets.com.au.

Mecca Espresso and QHHC would like to thank you for your support.

Job Opportunity

Mecca Espresso is seeking a cashier for our Circular Quay store. The position would suit a motivated individual with good communication skills interested in working within an efficient, dynamic and lively team. Availability during mornings, Monday to Friday, is essential. To apply, send your CV to jobs@meccacq.com and/or call 0410 265 280.

Cafe Smart 2011, Friday 5th of August

If you only come into Mecca once this year, make sure you make it on Friday 5 August when we donate $1 from every coffee sold to StreetSmart’s “CaféSmart” project. We will also be donating all of our tips to the cause on that day in an effort to match the monies raised from coffee sales.

CaféSmart is being held during National Homeless Persons Week (1 – 7 August). It aims to raise money to combat homelessness and at the same time, bring the hospitality industry and its customers together to assist local organisations in need. Money raised will be donated to lesser known community organisations - for example, women’s refuges, drop in centres, youth services and outreach centres – that are committed to assisting homeless people or people at risk of homelessness.

According to Homelessness Australia, nearly 1 in every 200 Australians is homeless, without safe, secure or affordable housing and last year, 105,000 Australians experienced homelessness. There are many reasons for it some of the main ones being mental illness, domestic violence and substance abuse.

Clearly the problem is a serious one.

We thought the day would be a great way to take stock and remember that no matter how cold or uncomfortable we feel whilst getting to work or moving around in chilly winter weather, there are people out there who could really use some help to get warm.

Plenty of information about StreetSmart and the CafeSmart initiative is available at www.streetsmartaustralia.org and about the problem of homelessness in Australia at www.homelessnessaustralia.org . Alternatively email us at info@meccacq.com with any questions.

Coffee Cupping Sessions

Our recent run of coffee cupping sessions has come to an end. Thanks to everyone who participated in the sessions, we hope you enjoyed them as much as we did. These have marked the beginning of an ongoing coffee education program to help give those who are interested access to information about our coffees and where they come from, and information about specialty coffee in general.

If you missed out on a session this time or would like another opportunity to participate, the good news is we'll run some more sessions later this year. Sign up below to be notified by email when the next run of sessions is announced.

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New Feature Coffee

Today we will be introducing a new feature coffee from 'La Esperanza', a farm near Trujillo in Colombia. Perhaps the most notable thing about this coffee is the fact that it has been harvested from trees of the Geisha varietal.

The Geisha varietal of coffee tree originated in Ethiopia but was made famous in Panama at 'Hacienda La Esmeralda', in the mid 2000s when individual lots started auctioning for record prices due to the high quality of the harvest. Geisha is one of the few varietals that is generally considered to have unique flavour characteristics which are attributable to the varietal itself. Since the success of Geisha in Panama, many farmers across Central and South America have begun experimenting with the varietal on their farms. Owners of 'La Esperanza', brothers Rigoberto and Luis Eduardo Herrera decided to trial Geisha on their Colombian farm after it's success at another farm belonging to them in Panama (which happens to border the 'Hacienda La Esmeralda' farm). Having just spent some time serving the Esmeralda Geisha from Panama in various forms at our stores, it will be interesting to see the results of how this varietal performs in a different origin.

'Introduction to Cupping' Sessions

Cupping is a process used by growers, buyers and roasters to sample and grade coffees. Small samples of different coffees are roasted and brewed to very specific and controlled specifications and then tasted side by side for comparison and evaluation. Cupping is a great way to look at the different and complex flavours that coffee can exhibit, and learn more about the differences between coffees from different regions in the world.

We are offering the opportunity to participate in a cupping session where we will offer an introduction to the cupping process as well as an opportunity to cup a variety of coffees for yourself. These sessions take place every Friday at 12.30pm.

The events are free of charge, though each session will be limited to 6 places. Send an email with your name to info@meccacq.com to secure your spot. If you have any queries call us on 9252 7668, If you would like to be kept up to date on other events please register your interest here.

New Mecca Store, Harris St. Ultimo

Some of you may be aware of the new store at 646 Harris Street, in Ultimo, Sydney.

The store opened for trading in late January and so far has been a hit.  The space offers a little more of a 'coffee lab' experience, with two clovers in operation plus a range of other brew methods in operation.  Public cuppings will be held frequently so enquire with the staff there if you wish to participate.  Of particular note is the lunch menu, which is more exhaustive than the other Mecca stores and I can tell you from personal experience is well worth the visit.  I recommend the Wagyu Beef salad.  Yum!

Below are some photos of the new store taken by Mayu from Organic Photogaphy, Sydney.

Mecca Coffee Co. Harris St, Sydney

Check out Mayu's other work at http://www.organicphotography.com.au.

Australian Cup Tasting Championships

Congratulations to Mecca's own, Sam Sgambellone on his 3rd placing in the Australian Cup Tasting Championship over the weekend.

After taking out the NSW Championship earlier in the month Sam was up against the other state winners for the right to represent the country at the World Championship's in the Netherlands later this year.

The competition sees competitors faced with eight sets of coffees with each set consisting of two identical coffees and one that is different, the Competitors must choose the odd one out.

The title was taken out by Luca Costanza from Melbourne and we wish him all the best.

For more information on the World Cup Tasting Championship click here.