The Story
Seven Seeds emerged from the coffee legacy of Mark Dundon, the man behind Melbourne’s original specialty coffee spots Ray, St ALi and Seven Seeds, who was already being called the original owner of South Melbourne’s St ALi.
After selling St ALi in 2008, Dundon headed back north of the river to Carlton where he and business partner Bridget Amor converted an old warehouse into a roaster and cafe, describing Seven Seeds as “the engine room” of his wider activities.
The pair previously worked together at the groundbreaking ST. ALi, and after venturing out on their first venue together, they now run four unique venues as well as a roastery.
Having established pioneering coffee businesses since 2001, the creation of Seven Seeds in 2007 encapsulated all of their ideals of how coffee should be - exceptional and transparent in a culture open to everyone.
Seven Seeds takes its name from the precious cargo which Baba Budan smuggled out of Yemen and into India during the 17th century, by strapping seven seeds of fertile coffee to his waist, breaking through the tightly regulated system which had kept coffee cultivation within the confines of the Arabic world.
At a time when Melbourne was dominated by dark-roasted, untraceable, commodity-grade beans made solely for espresso, the duo began pushing quality, provenance and lighter roasts to suit filter, cold drip and other brewing styles.
Sourcing & Relationships
In August 2018, Seven Seeds began publishing the FOB & Farmgate pricing for every coffee they released, even their blends, altering their operations to make transparency a key part of their business after marking a statement of intent to ensure that people growing exceptional coffee are still doing so in decades to come.
The price they publish is directly paid to the producer, or co-operative - called Farmgate.
As part of the 2018 Transparent Trade Colloquium, which Seven Seeds was a member of, a group of like-minded coffee companies wanted to commit to a defined language around true transparency.
These direct relationships have seen some of the producer’s kids fly out to Melbourne and work with the Seven Seeds team, with Mark noting “To us, it was really important to actually have Filipe from Brazil come out and work in our cafe for a couple of months to see what happened with his coffee retail-wise, and Raul from Guatemala.”
Mark also owns Finca Santa Lucia, a small farm in Honduras where he is a partner with the Miersch Family, after Erwin asked him 10 years ago to invest in this small lot next to his larger farm.
Their transparency extends to their annual Impact Report which shows where they’ve sourced their coffee from, how long a relationship they’ve had with those producers, and the farmgate prices of all of their sources.
Roasting Philosophy
Seven Seeds’ roasting is data-led and restrained, refining profiles to emphasise clarity, sweetness, and tactile balance across espresso and filter, with each coffee cupped and iterated methodically, so the result in the cup reflects the work done at the farm, not the roaster’s ego.
The company’s roasting operation outgrew Carlton in 2017, and nowadays it imports green beans from the Americas, Africa and Asia and roasts them on a monstrous 60-kilogram Probat machine and two smaller models at its wholesale headquarters in Fairfield.
With its fishbowl-style tasting room in the centre of the space and expansive rain water tanks lining one wall, a coffee roastery at the back and busy cafe at the front, Seven Seeds was architecturally, aesthetically and operationally the next step up from St ALi.
Equally committed to education and community, Seven Seeds shares practical brew guidance, hosts open tastings, and treats the café-roastery as a living lab where ideas are tested and knowledge is passed on.
At regular coffee tasting sessions (‘cuppings’), coffee is judged in terms of taste, body and aroma, with cuppings being relaxed and educational, with expert roasters leading you through different processing methods and varietals of coffee which in turn produce different flavour notes.
At Seven Seeds Coffee, roasting is more than a process—it’s an art form and a commitment of true service, with roasts conducted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with orders placed by 7:00 am AEST on a roasting day shipped the next day.
What to Try
Seven Seeds offers seasonal blends that hit the mark every time, with customers choosing between the sweet & balanced Seven Seeds Espresso Blend, which they use in their cafes, or the darker roast, the big & bold Golden Gate.
The Golden Gate Blend was designed to contrast the Seven Seeds Espresso Blend by continuing the roast a little longer and selecting coffees with more chocolate flavours, and low acidity.
Golden Gate Espresso Blend is a blend of coffees from longstanding partners in Nicaragua and Brazil, described as a sweet and balanced coffee perfect for latte lovers, espresso enthusiasts and flat white fanatics.
Their F-Bomb Filter Blend promises an explosion of flavour with notes of peach, jelly, and purple jelly, as a light roast blend sourced from Colombia and Ethiopia that celebrates coffee’s rich diversity and heritage.
Customers can explore the origins, discover new producers and enjoy different coffee varietals as Seven Seeds showcases their seasonal single-origins.
At their Carlton location, visitors can try exactingly brewed cup of the Golden Gate espresso blend with notes of cocoa and toffee, or try a rotating single origin made with the method of your choice.