Our Story
Hark's Origin Story
Chapter 1...
Hark began with a simple motto "flavour is king"
Founders Sam McKay and Theo Engela had a clear vision of ignoring the notoriously condescending vibe of specialty coffee culture (as well as conventional thinking about coffee roasting) in order to aim for a higher peak... simply delicious coffee
That is where it began
After a few years into our journey we saw the peak more clearly and it had a north face: radical consistency.
“They overthrew the old order and started nothing less than a coffee uprising in Australia”
Chapter 2...
Hark's pursuit of consitency has ignited our exploration of a radical approach to developing delicious flavours in beans - 100% convection energy (air roasting / fluid bed roasting). This technology is much more consistent than the traditional approach of using conduction energy (drum roasting) which relies on beans touching hot metal.
However, the consistency of air roasting carried an unexpected sting in its tail: extreme efficiency! It is by far the most energy efficient roasting method. Too efficient...? Air roasting was prematurely rejected by the industry because it aparently couldn't wait for the inside of the bean to catch up with the surface...
We needed a brand new solution...
Chapter 3...
After two more years of trial and error it dawned on us that we had been trying to saddle a wild horse, but we needed to take the time to connect with it properly...to look into its eyes. We had seen that air roasting was a thoroughbred with crazy potential, but we needed to tame it first!
In 2022 we commenced an 18 month project to fully understand, deconstruct and reimagine air roasting. We went back to first principles. We kept saying "no sacred cows - it has to achieve the goal".
The end result was a massive investment of time and money into what we truly believe is
now Australia's most advanced coffee roaster and software, which has completely
transformed our product.
Frankly (and this is a big claim, we know!) it can now do things that simply are not possible to achieve with drum roasting.
Chapter 4...
To explain our breakthrough without geeking out too much:
The air roaster we have built can transfer heat into the bean in a much more controlled and repeatable way than any other roasting method. Air fryers now dominate kitchen benches for this very reason.
Convection and conduction are dramatically different ways of transfering energy.
Direct contact of hot metal with the surface of one part of a bean is simply less consistent, predictable or repeatable than being completely surrounded by perfectly temperature-controlled air. Our technology micro-adjusts temperature ten times a second.
Furthermore, when the cell structure of a bean is weakened towards the end of the roast our roaster accommodates that instantly and fully. We have eliminated surface burns and thus the unpleasant flavours that otherwise would permeate the entire batch.
When we plot a roasting curve and we're happy with the outcome, we can repeat that exact recipe perfectly on every single roast. This means that we're unlocking the very best of every parcel of beans we work with.
Chapter 5...
You can probably tell we're obsessively passionate about coffee.
But there's another thing we absolutely love...our people!
We have an incredible team of dedicated coffee professionals who all share our ethos: we're heading in the same direction but we want to enjoy the journey along the way!
Hark is the direct product of the creativity, energy and care of amazing individuals who have graced us with their talents.
Air Roasting
Finally, we strive to be Australia's best wholesale coffee partner.
Our network of wholesale customers include cafes, restaurants, businesses, offices, medical practices, schools, churches, sites etc.
This network is passionate about serving and drinking better coffee at work.
Hark is expert in all areas of coffee, including wholeslae supply, machinery, cups, dry goods, cafe operations, hospitality team culture and commercial excellence.
If you want amazing coffee at your work place or business, click the link below for more information!
