Fleur Studd
We caught up with Fleur Studd co-owner of Market Lane Coffee and founder of Melbourne Coffee Merchants in her beautiful home in Melbourne where her Moccamaster coffee set up is in perfect harmony with its surrounds.
We wanted to discover how it all started for Fleur and her team and their obvious passion for what they do.
As one of Australia's most influential coffee professionals, please tell us how you came to get into coffee and how the passion developed.
I started drinking coffee when I was at university, but it was when I was living in London in my early twenties that I really fell in love with it. I was working in an unrelated field and regularly visiting Monmouth, a very special coffee shop and roastery in Borough Market. Monmouth carefully sourced and roasted their own coffee, and they wrote and spoke about the producers and flavour profiles with the same level of thought and precision. I began to make my way through their extensive list of coffees, slowly experiencing and understanding the ways in which things like terroir, variety and processing methods can impact the overall cup profile. I had many 'aha' moments while tasting coffees there, and eventually I left my job and joined the Monmouth team!
When you arrived back in Australia from London, how did you go about starting a business in coffee in your home town, Melbourne?
After returning home, I discovered that while the local coffee and café scene was absolutely thriving, there was very little focus on the provenance of the coffee itself, and access to high quality green (unroasted) coffee was virtually non-existent. So, in 2008 I set up Melbourne Coffee Merchants and began establishing relationships with quality-focused coffee producers – many of whom I'm proud to still work with today – and selling their beans to specialty roasters around Australia. And then a year later, I opened up Market Lane Coffee at Prahran Market alongside Jason Scheltus and Jenni Bryant (who joined us soon after opening). Our goal from the beginning was to set a very high standard for coffee in Melbourne and, at the same time, to make great coffee accessible and exciting, simple to understand and appreciate, and easy to brew and enjoy.
What principles were important to you in laying the foundations of the business?
From the get-go, we were really clear about the kind of business we wanted to set up, and what we wanted it to be. Not necessarily in terms of its scale (I never anticipated opening ten shops!), but how we wanted to employ people, the way we wanted to buy coffee and talk about it, and how we wanted to do business.
Our producer relationships are at the heart of what we do, and we knew from the start that we wanted to build long-lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships with the dedicated people who grow and process the coffees we offer. We wanted to celebrate the seasonality of coffee, be transparent about the traceability of each lot, and platform the producers and their stories.
A lot has changed, both in the industry and in our business, since we opened our doors 17 years ago. But the core values we started with – quality, transparency, sustainability, and community – still inform and guide every decision we make, big and small.
You now have 11 cafes in Melbourne with a new one in Fitzroy North. Can you tell us which is your favourite and why?
Our growth to having eleven shops has been gradual and organic. All our shops are located in pockets of Melbourne/Naarm that we love – they're either attached to beloved, bustling food destinations like Queen Victoria and Prahran Markets, or set in unique, lively neighbourhoods that we enjoy visiting and spend lots of time in, like Sydney Rd, Brunswick and Faraday St, Carlton.
I honestly can't pick a favourite shop! I've loved working on the design for each one with Jason, Jenni and talented architects like Sarah Trotter and David Goss and their teams. I will say, though, that I'm very excited about the Fitzroy North shop, as I love the area – it's close to my home – and I've dreamed of opening a café there for a long time.
The Moccamaster is a central piece of the coffee-making station on your kitchen bench. Tell us why you love using it.
We first got a Moccamaster to use in our head office many years ago. I immediately fell in love with it and got one for home. I love it for so many reasons. Firstly, it's so easy to use – my young kids often make me coffee with it, it's that simple! Secondly, the design is beautiful and iconic, and it's truly made to last. It's also great for brewing coffee for lots of people, at the end of a dinner party or at Christmas lunch. I've bought Moccamasters as gifts for so many people – my mum and dad, my sister and brother, and extended family! We now also sell them at Market Lane. All these years later, I still love my Moccamaster; it's how I make my coffee every day.
Photography and styling Tristan McKenzie