October 01, 2025
This month, we’re teaming up with our friends at Daily Drop Coffee Roasters — a roastery dedicated to crafting extraordinary coffee for life’s everyday moments.
We caught up with Adrian Dart, the general manager and one of the creative minds behind Daily Drop Coffee Roasters, to learn what makes this roastery unique and how he found his way into the world of coffee. In an era where coffee can feel more like a luxury than a daily essential, Daily Drop Coffee Roasters is here to flip the narrative. Although born and brewed out of its parent company, Five Senses Coffee Roasters, Daily Drop is carving out its own identity—everyday coffee, extraordinary taste. The team has poured countless hours into creating something refreshingly different that every coffee lover, from novice to aficionado, can enjoy.
This mission to satisfy the diverse tastebuds of their customers has been central to Adrian’s career from the beginning. During his early years in hospitality, he found himself drawn to the coffee machine, determined to deliver the perfect shot. This passion has led him to act as a judge for Singapore’s Aeropress Championship and earn his certification as a CQI Q Grader—a qualification that recognises a coffee professional’s ability to cup and grade with precision. More than twenty years later, he remains true to his vision. During July of 2024, a new chapter began with the opening of Daily Drop Coffee Roasters—delivering coffee that’s delicious, accessible, and every bit as distinctive as the roastery’s name.
THE INTERVIEW
This month, Daily Drop’s Adrian Dart, shares his top tips to cupping at home, revealing how this roastery got its name, and lets us in on upcoming coffee trends to look out for.
How did the brand get started?
So, our starting direction was—everyday coffee, extraordinary taste.
We gained consumer and industry feedback, and heard a consistent, strong desire for a coffee lineup that was simple, approachable, and great value, while also being amazingly delicious!
Café and home consumers don’t always want dozens of options to choose from, or coffee profiles that stray away from the tried-and-true sugar browning pocket. Instead, the goal is streamlined classics done really well. Coffee brings joy on countless levels, so we felt a pull to ensure our message was grounded in fun and approachability. Communicating ‘serious about quality’, while still being easy going.
Where did the name come from?
This is my all-time favourite question! I have always asked café owners where their venue name comes from because it’s so unique to each person and often comes along with a great story. Like many who have gone through a naming process we threw out all types of ideas to see what felt like a great fit. I wish we kept those initial lists now, they would be hilarious to look back on. We liked alliteration, and words that felt nice to say out loud also scored well on our unofficial metrics. As our list of potential names became shorter, we started to notice a trend. The word “daily” appeared often, speaking to routine and ritual, and so did the word “drop”—for obvious reasons. During one particularly passionate meeting the two words were uttered together, remarkably for the first time, and that was it. Our first mic drop moment. Daily Drop Coffee was born.
How would you explain what “cupping” is? What’s one tip you’d give our subscribers if they want to try cupping at home?
Cupping is a method used by coffee professionals to evaluate and compare the aroma, flavour, and quality of different coffee beans.
Coffee is coarsely ground and steeped in hot water. Then the tasters slurp the brew from a cupping spoon to help assess its taste and texture. It’s a standardised process that helps identify subtle flavour notes, defects, and overall quality. This standardisation is key as it means that cuppers from anywhere around the world are approaching the assessment of coffee in the same way.
I suggest taking your time and focusing on only one or two attributes at a time until you get comfortable. This will help you hone in and be more specific as to what you are experiencing. As an example, when starting your tasting experience perhaps look at just flavour and aftertaste. Then a few minutes later go back and just focus on the acidity and mouthfeel of the coffee. If you are after a support tool to use, the new SCA Coffee Value Assessment Combo form is great. The form almost walks you through the steps of what to look for in a logical sequence. It also has CATA (check all that apply) boxes which act as prompts to help you zero in on a flavour profile. The coffee is sweet? Yes! Is it more vanilla or brown sugar?
How would you describe your coffee to someone who’s never tasted it before?
Coffee you can serve equally confidently to a self-appointed coffee snob or your Nan. Apologies to all the coffee snob Nans out there. Having said that, get on it Nan!
Tell us about what’s in store for the rest of the year? Any exciting or upcoming projects to note?
We will be serving our coffee out at MICE 2026 at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre in March 2026, so that’s a real treat to look forward to. MICE always has such a great energy and variety of attendees— all thirsty for a great cup. We can’t wait to get amongst the crowds of coffee thirsty patrons and share a brew or six. We hope we see you all there!
THE COFFEE
Filter Coffee:
The Union
This month’s filter coffee is part of their rotating single origin range, ‘Air Drop’. A wonderful blend of Mexican coffees containing two separate lots from Oaxaca—one from the north ‘La Union #1’ and the other from the south by Sebastion Mendoza. These are both grown in highly remote regions and would rarely be pulled together in this way. The ‘La Union #1’ gets its ‘#1’ from being a blend of the best micro lots.
Coffee Origins:
Mexico
Tasting Notes:
Plum, apple, butter and brown sugar
Suggested Recipe for Filter:
Dose: 16g
Bloom: 50g for 30 seconds
Water: 250g
Time: 2:20–2:40 minutes
Ratio: 1:15.5
Espresso Coffee:
Mic Drop
Introducing ‘Mic Drop,’ an espresso so smooth it is guaranteed to be gone in seconds. This ensemble blends two Brazilian regions of Sao Paulo and Minas Geras, with a splash of Papua New Guinea from Las Malo. Think rich raisins with a sweet Snickers coating. “A versatile medium roast that transforms any coffee, from an iced long black to a frothy flat white, into a deliciously sweet indulgence”.
Coffee Origins:
PNG and Brazil
Tasting Notes:
Praline, milk chocolate and raisin
Suggested Recipe for espresso:
Dose: 19g
Yeild: 36g
Time: 27-30 seconds
Ratio: 1:1.9
Temp: 95 degrees
