Mahalia
Master roaster Mahalia Layzell and her husband Paul are both chefs with over 30 years experience in hospitality between them. They have cooked their way around the world and toiled in the kitchens and dining rooms of some of Melbourne’s finest restaurants and cafés. Mahalia’s namesake, (Mahalia Jackson) sang to her mother’s soul and no name could have suited her better – it is with nothing short of soul and passion with which Mahalia roasts and monitors every bean and blend.
It was with their constant striving for perfection in their own Café/Restaurant, started in the mid 1990’s that ultimately lured Mahalia toward roasting. It wasn’t long before what began as an in-house quality drive accelerated into a separate business, Mahalia Coffee was born and for Mahalia an all consuming passion began.
In 2007 Mahalia and Paul welcomed to the company the skills and inspiration of Jamie Anderson. Driven by the same intense love for quality and integrity within the food experience, his skills in technology and marketing are helping Mahalia Coffee to enhance its services, product range and consultative powers for all its customers.
Cafe Contact and Mahalia
Cafe Contact is proud to distribute Mahalia Coffee for Melbourne and Victoria. Our association extends across the entire Mahalia Coffee range, and Melbourne is getting the taste of one of the best profile roasts in the country.
Great Coffee is Also Good
Cafe Contact’s coffee partner Mahalia Coffee strives every day to make the best coffee possible. A big part of what makes a great cup of coffee is actually intangible; it is the good feeling you get from knowing that the cup you just enjoyed didn’t come at the expense of another’s freedom or wellbeing. There is no one solution to the many complex issues of ethics in coffee and trade, but a coming together of many likeminded organisations who seek to solve pieces of the puzzle. For this reason, Mahalia doesn’t favour one doctrine, but participate in many.
Mahalia’s focus is to find the best quality beans, having perfect flavour combine with the best ethical outcome.
To achieve this, we join Mahalia in supporting the work of Fairtrade and the Rainforest Alliance. They favour organic products, and toxin free processes, such as the Swiss Water method of decaffeination. Finally, Mahalia Coffee also actively supports coffee growers through their participation in the Kiva Microfinancing Project.
Fairtrade seeks to end the exploitation of people in developing nations by demanding a fair market price for the goods bought, and also that the producers get their fair share of this price. Mahalia Coffee is a registered Fairtrade partner and sells many products carrying the certification – which requires that the coffee is made from 100% Fairtrade beans. They also include a proportion of Fairtrade beans in many of our other products. As part of their Fairtrade certification, Mahalia gives back to the organisation 2% of the sale proceeds of all Fairtrade beans sold.
The Rainforest Alliance works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land use practices, business practices and consumer behaviour. Mahalia uses Rainforest Alliance certified beans in many of their coffee blends, and we at Cafe Contact join them in applauding the work that RA does to conserve the world’s most precious resources.
Cafe Contact offers a full service of cafe equipment and supplies to Victorian cafes. We have been adding to our stable of customers throughout Victoria, who have come to rely on us for:
Coffee Machines
One of the major outlays for a new cafe is the coffee machine. We have customers who have asked for La Marzocco, Iberital, and Slayer machines. We assist with the install and can have new cafes up and running within a matter of weeks.
Cafe Equipment
Alongside coffee machines, we have put both Compak and Mazzer grinders into new cafes. The quality is exceptional and these can be relied upon to provide years of service. Coffee cups come in all sizes and are another thing to consider when starting out, as there are latte cups, mugs, hot chocolate and espresso sizes.
Coffee & Tea
Of course, our major alliance is with Mahalia Coffee. We are the Melbourne distributor for Mahalia, with all of our cafes extremely happy with the consistency of supply from the award-winning roaster. Mahalia Coffee blends excel year after year at prestigious coffee awards such as the Golden Bean.
Barista Supplies
Coffee machines, grinders and coffee are all a good start to a new cafe, but are nothing without dosing tools, milk jugs, measuring spoons, chocolate shakers, measuring glasses, tampers, knock bins, scales, tamp mats, thermometers etc. Cafe Contact supplies all of this equipment.
Cafe Consumables
When the customer takes their order on the road, takeaway coffee cups, food packaging boxes and other consumables are all a part of the total supply package that are needed from a cafe supply company.
Cafe Contact
At Cafe Contact, we pride ourselves on helping new cafes get up and running with a minimum of fuss. We supply cafe equipment and consumables to a growing number of cafes across Melbourne and Victoria.
Cafe Contact is proud to represent Mahalia Coffee in Melbourne. Melbourne is obviously renowned for its cafe culture and Mahalia Coffee fits hand in glove with the best that Melbourne has to offer. Here’s what Good Food has to say about it, and Broadsheet Melbourne also has an opinion.
Awards Winners
There’s no point being in one of the world’s best coffee markets if your product is not up to scratch. Challenge accepted!
CSR Golden Bean Award, 2010/11, Event Champion
Mahalia Coffee picked up Gold against a strong capacity field of 1,000
other entrants. Read more here.
Blend No 2
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2015, Class 197 Espresso, Silver
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2015, Class 199 Plunger, Bronze
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2014, Class 151 Cappuccino, Silver
Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, 2014, Class 3 Cappuccino, Bronze
Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, 2013, Class 2 Cappuccino, Silver
Golden Bean Award, 2012/13, Class 2 Milk Based, Silver
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2012, Class 287 Espresso Blend, Bronze
CSR Golden Bean Award, 2011/12, Class 2 Milk Based, Gold
Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, 2011, Class 1 Espresso, Bronze
Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, 2009, Class 1 Espresso, Bronze
Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, 2007, Class 1 Espresso, Bronze
Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, 2007, Class 2 Cappuccino, Bronze
Blend No 3
Compak Golden Bean Award 2016, Milk Based, Bronze
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2015, Class 199 Plunger, Silver
Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, 2012, Class 3 Plunger, Bronze
Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, 2010, Class 3 Plunger, Bronze
Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, 2009, Class 3 Plunger, Bronze
The Equal Golden Bean Award, 2007, Filter, Bronze
Blend No 4
Pentair Everpure Golden Bean, 2017, Milk Based, Silver
Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, 2016, Class 1 Espresso, Bronze
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2016, Class 151 Cappuccino, Bronze
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2015, Class 197 Espresso, Bronze
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2015, Class 201 Cappuccino, Bronze
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2014, Class 151 Cappuccino, Silver
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2014, Class 149 Plunger, Silver
Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, 2013, Class 2 Cappuccino, Bronze
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2012, Class 287 Espresso Blend, Bronze
CSR Golden Bean Award, 2010/11, Class 1 Espresso, Bronze
CSR Golden Bean Award, 2010/11, Class 2 Milk Based, Bronze
Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, 2010, Class 1 Espresso, Bronze
The Equal Golden Bean Award, 2008, Silver
Ethiopian Yirgacheffe
Pentair Everpure Golden Bean, 2017, Single Origin Espresso, Silver
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2015, Class 196 SO Espresso, Gold
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2014, Class 146 SO Espresso, Bronze
Golden Bean Award, 2012/13, Class 5 Organic Espresso, Silver
Sumatra Gayo
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2014, Class 148 SO Plunger, Bronze
CSR Golden Bean Award, 2011/12, Class 5 Organic Espresso, Bronze
Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, 2011, Class 5 Plunger SO, Bronze
Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, 2010, Class 3 Plunger, Silver
Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, 2009, Class 3 Plunger, Silver
Timor Maubisse
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2015, Class 196 SO Espresso, Bronze
Sydney Royal Fine Food Show, 2014, Class 3 Cappuccino, Bronze
Decaffeinated
Pentair Everpure Golden Bean, 2017, Decaf Milk Based, Bronze
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2015, Class 202 Decaf Cappuccino, Bronze
Hobart Fine Food Awards, 2014, Class 153 Decaffeinated, Silver
CSR Golden Bean Award, 2010/11, Class 7 Decaf, Bronze
Cafe Contact has supplied various La Marzocco coffee machines to cafes throughout Victoria.
La Marzocco Coffee Machines
La Marzocco Coffee Machines are some of the finest units in the world. Hailing from Florence in Italy, La Marzocco is synonymous with both technological advancement and build quality.
La Marzocco Models
The La Marzocco range has evolved as technical developments filter throughout each model. In the modern era, the La Marzocco GS introduced dual boilers (now an industry standard), the La Marzocco Strada has become iconic in cafes throughout Melbourne, whilst models such as the GB5, the GS3, the Linea and the FB/80 have all proven just how much La Marzocco values quality.
More Wins!
Mahalia Coffee has picked up another three wins at the 2018 Sydney Royal Show Fine Foods Competition. Mahalia first started entering this show back in 2009 and has now won over 18 medals. 2018 stands apart from previous years, as it is the first time that Mahalia has been able to enter Blend No1. Excitingly, this blend has met the strict selection criteria in volume of product sold, and of course was immediately in the race for a win!
The Sydney Royal Show differs to the Golden Bean, in that not every coffee r
oastery is eligible to enter. To qualify, the roastery needs to have first sold a minimum amount of each particular coffee entered per year for it to be considered commercially viable. This applies to both single origins and blends. The roastery then can enter in the different categories in the competition. It is this exclusivity that makes the Sydney Royal Show’s awards so highly coveted.
Silver
Blend No.1 High Mountain Organic in the Piccolo, Blend category
Bronze
Blend No.1 High Mountain Organic in the Espresso, Blend category
Blend No.4 High European Dark Roast in the Espresso, Blend category