ENSEMBLE COFFEE RESEARCH + EDUCATION
About ECRE
We are Ensemble of Coffee Research and Education. We want to make the industry more accessible through sharing our resources, knowledge and love for coffee.

Even though we’re known for our facilities in Alexandria, ECRE isn’t just a place where people can roast coffee beans. We’ve evolved into a community focused on delivering the tools to help our industry become more environmentally, socially and monetarily sustainable. This not only makes it a better place to work in but also produces better coffee.


What exactly is “better coffee”, anyway?

Anyone in coffee knows it has its problems: information isn’t openly shared, farmers are closing decades-old plantations, pickers are moving on and commodity coffee thrives on unsustainable practices. To complicate matters, most consumers don’t realise their latte is in crisis or why a $1 coffee at 7-11 does far more harm than good.

From picker, to roaster, to barista, to consumer, we believe anyone who loves coffee can help make things better. By sharing what we know—from sourcing green beans to using the roasting machine that gives you near perfect roasts consistently—we hope to highlight openness and inclusivity, and trigger a desire for change.


“What’s this ECRE business? Wasn’t your name CRS?”

Since 2016, we were a co-roasting facility known as Collective Roasting Solutions, short name CRS. Our transition from a roasting solution to an industry response—that includes education and research alongside roasting—prompted a change to Ensemble of Coffee Research and Education (ECRE). It stands for everything we want to be.

For every kilogram roasted at ECRE we donate 1¢ to World Coffee Research. At an average of 15 tonnes a month, it really adds up. Read more

MEET THE TEAM

Mac

FINANCE / BUSINESS OPERATIONS

Mac is a master of finding efficiencies and working smart, which explains how she seems to pack 3 days of activities into 1: from a Bronte swim at sunrise to study in the evenings.

  • MAD LOVE FOR SUN, SAND AND SEA
  • ALWAYS SAYS IT LIKE IT IS

Kelvin

SWISS-ARMY MAN

What Kelvin loves about coffee is how it lets him freestyle through roasting, brewing, educating or running a tight ship. Kelvin’s our coffee polymath, swapping hats all day long.

  • SOCCER TRAGIC WHO CAN BEAT YOU ON THE FIELD AND PS4
  • LOVES TO CAPTURE STREET LIFE WITH HIS CAMERA

Nawar

FOUNDER / ROASTER / EDUCATOR

As a barista trying to break into roasting, Nawar struggled to get a foot in the door. Advice was hard to come by and setting up a small roastery would’ve set him back six figures—so he set out to change that.

  • HISTORY BUFF
  • ROCKS OUT TO POWER METAL

We’re always on the lookout for people.
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