210 Specialty Coffee – revolutionising ready-to-drink barista-made coffee shots!

Introducing 210 Specialty Coffee: combining technology and artisan, they’ve created revolutionary ready-to-drink barista-made coffee shots. Just peel and pour; no equipment required. Bringing the cafe to wherever you are, without the machines or the fuss! Check out this interview with the Young Entrepreneur Jamie.

Introducing 210 Specialty Coffee: combining technology and artisan, they’ve created revolutionary ready-to-drink barista-made coffee shots. Just peel and pour; no equipment required. Bringing the cafe to wherever you are, without the machines or the fuss!

“210” refers to their in-house named and formulated processes designed to optimise and refine flavours, aroma, and shelf life without the use of any preservatives, additives, sugars or nitrates.

210 Specialty Coffee capsules are best stored in chilled liquid form for maximum shelf life and may be refrigerated for up to 6 weeks, offering a peel-and-pour convenience anytime, anywhere!

By carefully sourcing their beans from Australia’s finest eco-certified roasters and brewing it to perfection, the experience received is like no other. Cafe quality excellence perfect for enjoying hot, cold or even in your favourite cocktail! 

I sat down with Jamie, the 23-year-old entrepreneur and the founder of 210 Specialty Coffee to pick his brain and get an insight into the original brainstorming and creation of what we now know as our favourite ready-to-drink barista-made coffee shots. 

HOW DID YOU GET YOUR START IN THE HOSPITALITY AND CAFE INDUSTRY? 

I started off working in cafes from the ages of 12/13 as a dish hand (illegally- as all hospo kids often do). I moved my way into the front of cafes when I was 14/15 working as a food runner, running the coffees and understanding how businesses like this work successfully in the industry. It was challenging but opened my horizons to how different businesses operated. Being around my entrepreneur father, it was a very different environment being around cafes vs properties, so it was nice to immerse myself there at a young age. Then I first started working at RSLs as a barista from the ground up and was mostly self taught. From there I became head barista at a local cafe in Manly at 17 and worked my way up at Kazzi Manly (also one of CLSs most successful clients)

HOW DID 210 COFFEE ORIGINATE AND WHERE DID YOUR INSPIRATION COME FROM?

During covid is when things started to take a turn, and I started looking at not only being a barista, but looking at the role outside of the cafe workplace. At that time many customers coming into the cafe were frustrated that they couldn’t enjoy their favourite coffees at home during lockdown and then through limited opening hours, plus the fact that more people were working from home than ever. I also saw there was a problem that it wasn’t convenient enough. 

From there I started brainstorming how people could access cafe-quality coffee at home, or from the office, where they wouldn’t have to spend as high as $5-7 for a single cup of coffee. The price was a big factor for me- it was ridiculous how coffee prices were inflating! That price just isn’t reasonable but I understood why they would continue coming to the cafe because they wanted the unmatched quality. A lot of people were happy to stay at home but couldn’t achieve that quality with their home equipment which is not up to standard compared to the commercial equipment used in cafes. I started thinking about how we can create a cafe quality coffee at home where they don’t have to brew it themselves. Ready to drink coffee. But then I didn’t want to have to put preservatives in it that took away from the cafe excellence that you expect when you go to a cafe. 

Most ready to drink coffees on the market have preservatives or additives. Regardless of being cheap and accessible, the standard is so far from cafe excellence and the quality just isn’t there. We wanted to have something you could pour into milk and water and it felt like you were drinking a cafe quality coffee. 

WHAT WERE THE EARLY PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT STAGES LIKE?

So I started testing shots of coffee but instead of using an espresso machine, we used a much longer method that stretched the extraction time longer than you expect at a cafe. That allows us to preserve the coffee for a longer period of time without the need for additives or artificial preservatives. Our 210 Coffee is brewed over 24 hours, allowing us to preserve it for 4-6 weeks, creating a greater breath of flavours, aromas and oils that make our coffee so unique and of the highest quality. 

The brand started off as an idea turned passion project during covid. Trying to combat the toxic environment of lockdown and feeling that isolation and boredom of everyday being the same, I took it upon myself to start something new and have a purpose outside of work that could also solve a problem I was seeing across the cafe industry. As cafe coffee prices and overheads were rising I thought there needed to be a reasonable medium that was more affordable and accessible for everyone. 

Due to limited funds and 210 being a startup, the initial phases were very much a one-man-show. I then brought in a couple of experienced baristas to help me start testing how we could get two shots into a capsule that would fill up a cup of coffee once you dilute it. For that to work it had to be 10x strength that you had to extract versus normal brewing methods. This new and innovative idea hadn’t been done before so it was challenging to get it right at first. Research and development was over a period of about 1.5 years, changing the products many times to suit the market and be able to scale it on a mass production level. 

WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE AND HOW HAVE YOU OVERCOME THEM?

Limited funds was the initial challenge throughout the early stages as well as trying to grow and expand at a slow enough rate that we could confidently satisfy all our customers. Reputation is huge in this industry so growing at a very humble rate and taking on feedback and making changes helped us a lot. The biggest lesson I learned was valuing customers feedback and overall opinions at the forefront of our development. Listening more to what people wanted and what was most popular including different blends and peoples tastes, trying to get the bigger picture and narrowing that down to achieve the best majority outcome. 

WHAT WERE THE FIRST CUSTOMER REACTIONS LIKE TO THE PRODUCT?

It was very confusing for people when we started to set up at markets across Sydney. Having Australia’s first peel and pour capsules, most people thought “Okay, so what machine do I need, Jamie?”. Even after explaining there’s no need for any machines as it’s already brewed for you, they still didn’t grasp what we’d created at first. Then shaking the capsule up to their ear, they were quite shocked realising that its liquid inside and ready to go. Telling them there’s no preservatives and its 100% coffee and water infused over 24 hrs and demonstrating it in front of them provides some real shocked faces and satisfying reactions for us. More satisfying was watching them taste it and getting their honest reaction and positive feedback. Then realising that it’s half the price of a regular cafe coffee is the real kicker. It was definitely a wholesome experience. I felt like then and there after 2 years of getting to this point I was really solving a problem. It was a great experience to satisfy a customer outside of the cafe with a product I poured my heart and passion into, and motivated me more to continue creating, building and scaling the idea. 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR 210 COFFEE?

Dealing with businesses is the next step for us; trying to get it out there to the masses and constantly getting feedback to tinker and make changes to suit the needs of the mass consumer. Then introducing other product lines is definitely a goal once our main concept is perfected, whether that be in the gym industry with protein or endless other possibilities, those new opportunities to impress more people and cater to other industries is the main motivation. 

WHAT DO YOU HOPE IS THE MAIN TAKEAWAY FOR 210 COFFEE CUSTOMERS?

I hope people feel like they have cafe-quality products in their hands that they can enjoy anytime and anywhere. That they feel satisfied with the price, taste and ultimately the convenience. To feel like: wow, this is a high quality drink at a reasonable price that is super convenient for me, my family and workplace. Being in Australia we all have very busy lives and are constantly on the go, so providing something fitting for this kind of lifestyle is the goal. 

TRY IT FOR YOURSELF! JAMIE’S RECOMMENDATION:

Most people drink milk coffee so I would recommend the most quick and easy coffee, my personal everyday go-to, the humble iced-latte. Get ice, milk and then shake peel and pour one capsule in to create the perfect satisfying start to the day. Trying our capsule this way will allow you to really see how strong the capsule still is once you blend it with milk. 

My tests with all compatible coffee pods have been to see if they will cut through or over power the milk. If it can cut through then it’s a winner and that has been the feedback with 210- how smooth it is. It’s perfectly balanced and smooth, not too bitter or acidic. Our longer brewing time allows for such a smooth cup of coffee where consumers are often able to cut down on adding sugar or large amounts of milk as it is so balanced and easy to drink on its own. 

210 Specialty Coffee is truly a revolutionary product changing the way we consume coffee in Australia. After trying it for ourselves, all of us at CLS can attest that the quality, taste and convenience is truly a winner. Try it for yourself by purchasing a box via their website 210coffee.com today.