Owner Pip de Pulford with his niece Maisie de Pulford at the front of Hyper Hyper headquarters in Nowra. Photo: Hyper Hyper.
In a Trumpian world of exaggeration and superlatives, Hyper Hyper Coffee delivers without any fuss.
The South Coast-based cafe and roastery, located in an unpretentious building on North Street, Nowra, packs a real punch. The trick? Avoiding aromatic, lightly roasted beans adopted by Nordic countries in favour of the dark, rich and oily ones feted by the Italians.
But this business is no one-trick pony. Owner, roaster and barista Pip de Pulford explains.
“I cut my teeth with a barista whose knowledge of authentic espresso roasting originated in the cafe scene in 1950s Florence,” he says.
“Good beans, methods and equipment are an absolute must. At our North Street roastery, where we also handle all of our distribution, we use a hand-built 1959 Probat UG22 roaster from Germany that features a hand-built cast iron drum. Then the coffee is poured from vintage Italian hand-pulled espresso machines.”
Owner Pip de Pulford roasts his beans in a hand-built roaster from 1959. Photo: Hyper Hyper.
Drive past de Pulford’s premises and on most days of the week a queue snakes from his counter, along the street. Locals and those who are wise enough to make the diversion appear content to wait for the coffee and other tasty tidbits on offer. They know it’s going to be good.
“I impress it upon my baristas to make each cup for every unique customer. It’s not just about supplying people. Good things take time. Attention to detail, taking care, and being authentic are the things that make a real difference. It’s a pretty good vibe here at the cafe. People come to catch up and hang out or buy some beans to take home. We’ve created a bit of a culture,” says de Pulford.
A barista at Hyper Hyper in Nowra pours an in-house blend for a customer. Photo: Hyper Hyper.
Coffee beans currently available from Hyper Hyper in bags of varying sizes include de Pulford’s tried and tested classics. Blend 6 is best described as an old-school, organic European-style coffee that’s perfect for creating traditional sweet coffee crema. Then there’s Cut Snake. It’s comprised entirely of Arabica beans which are more conducive to short or long black brews. It’s a small selection but de Pulford thinks that having too much choice kills the choice. However, a recent trip to Sicily last year changed all that.
“We’re still working on it, but I’m super excited about a traditional Sicilian blend that we intend to add to our list. It’s virtually impossible to get your hands on these old methods but a series of serendipitous moments meant that we were able to get hold of the method,” he says.
In addition to roasting and supplying beans, de Pulford has extended his hours to include evening meals and a series of live music events. Artists who’ve made a recent appearance at Hyper Hyper include Tall Shaun and The Resolution Blues (of The Voice fame), pianist Annaliese Szota and jazz duo Out of Abingdon. He has many other similar events in the pipeline.
“In life it’s always good to change things up, keep people guessing, wanting more. If we’re passionate about it, it means our customers will be passionate about it too. If that’s what happens, I’m a happy man,” he says.
Hyper Hyper Coffee is located at 85 North Street Nowra, NSW, 2541. They’re open 6:30 am until 4 pm Monday to Friday, 7 am until 3:30 pm on Saturday and 8 am until 2 pm on Sunday.
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