If you happened to pass by the Antipodes Festival, you might have noticed a new Greek coffee named MELVOURNI, being served with delicious loukoumades at St Gerry’s kiosk.
Named after the multicultural city known for its great coffee culture, second generation Greek Australian couple, Thalia and George Dardamanis, chose MELVOURNI, for their organic Greek Coffee, to incorporate in the name the city they grew up in, and the Greek culture that continues to thrive through the generations.
Thalia Dardamanis (née Kalaboukas) was very young when she first arrived in Melbourne. Growing up here she continued to visit Greece, keeping a strong connection to her roots, in Siatisa Kozani, but also Crete, where they love to holiday.
“I have always loved Greek coffee,” Thalia told Neos Kosmos, in an interview about the launch of their coffee this year. “But the idea of starting a company was back in 2016, when I had my first child and took time off work.”
“I was on maternity leave and having a baby meant that many visitors would come over, and so I found myself making a lot of Greek coffee during that time,” she said, adding that that’s when she realised that she couldn’t find organic Greek coffee to serve her guests.
Thalia Dardamanis who normally worked many hours as a special counsel in Baker McKenzie’s Funds Transaction Group, suddenly had time on her hands.
“I was also in a different mindset and a bit more creative. So we started our research. We went to Greece and had a look at what was on offer there.”
Even in Greece, she said, they couldn’t find what they were looking for. There may have been a few organic choices, but there was nothing that was ethically sourced. “It’s become more important through the years, in the coffee trade especially, where sometimes you have children picking the beans.”
Sustainability was also another important factor as they designed their product’s packaging.
The couple’s next step was to find a boutique roaster in Melbourne. “Our key criteria was that we wanted premium grade, organic and ethically sourced beans.”
Choosing the name Melvourni, she adds, was to pay homage to the city that is known for coffee, but also their Greek heritage. “A sort of a fusion of both of those elements.”
They believe that their coffee will be embraced by non-Greeks as well and even across borders. “There are so many health benefits connected to drinking Greek coffee. As we did our research, we found out more and more reasons to pursue this project.”
“We’ve had lots of support from some of our Greek related people who understand our concept,” Thalia said adding that her husband George, an Australian born Greek from Mytilini, has been in the hospitality industry for 25 years, and therefore has the necessary experience to run their project on a day-to-day basis.
“It’s been a journey. And then we had COVID, and we’ve had a second baby. And so it’s just been a hobby, until now.”
At the moment, MELVOURNI can be found at Bakaliko in Oakleigh and Athina’s Deli in Preston, but updates of new stockists are released on their website at www.melvourni.com and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/melvourni
