About Us
The inspiration to embark on our caffeine adventure came a few years back while living in Nelson, New Zealand where we were impressed and intrigued by several local boutique coffee roasteries/cafes that consistently made fabulous coffee from beans they had roasted themselves. We became so interested in the roasting process that we bought our own home roaster and became hooked! With the bulk of Darryl's last fifteen years spent in hospitality, including locations from Walcha to New Zealand, starting our own cafe seemed like a way to build the business around our family, rather than the other way around. As we developed our own ideas for a cafe, we were drawn back to the passion and fascination of roasting for ourselves and so decided to make coffee roasting the main focus of our business.
After returning to the New England region in early 2008, we began to put the pieces together. In November of 2008, after over a year of planning and 3 months of renovating, Altitude Coffee Roastery was finally opened in what had previously been a bakery. When all the painting, plastering and carpentry were finished, we opened the doors, and Armidale had its first cosmopolitan style coffee roastery and cafe where people from all walks of life can find a space to enjoy delicious coffee, every time.
Our coffee roaster can be found in the heart of our cafe where we roast several times a week so that we can provide the freshest coffee possible, with all of the delicious subtle flavours that can only be enjoyed when coffee is consumed soon after roasting. We are proud to be able to share this difference within our cafe, through local businesses whom we supply coffee to and now to you!
Our aim is to continue to create and provide gorgeous coffee every time, with every batch we roast and with every coffee we pour. When we combine the aromas of freshly roasted coffee, the subtle flavours and golden crema of a perfect extraction and silky textured milk we make your coffee indulgence a memorable one. We love the process of roasting, the challenge of bringing out the best in each bean, and in turn the best out of each blend. But most of all we love sharing our passion for coffee with our customers, and in turn seeing them come back again and again to enjoy that moment of bliss.
Rachel & Darryl Stace
