Coffee from Seven Seeds. Photo: Ally McManus
If there’s one thing Melburnians take pride in it’s coffee – the city bursts at the seams with cafes and coffee culture. The only problem for people new to town is how to find the best brew. That’s where Welcome to Melbourne comes in.
Jessica Browne works with Welcome to Melbourne, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to help people new to the city through events and tours that embrace Melbourne’s culture.
“It’s something we do to serve people who have moved to Melbourne who maybe aren’t that connected here and are looking for ways to explore the city but don’t want to do it alone,” Jessica said.
Welcome to Melbourne, an initiative of City on a Hill, aims to engage newcomers to the city by running monthly events, which they promote through social media and the City of Melbourne website. “We get an eclectic mix of people each time, and the idea is that we try and connect them with one another so they can start to make friends in their new city,” Jessica said.
The organisation’s most recent event, held last weekend, took participants for a brew at some of the city’s best venues. They visited Market Lane Coffee, Auction Rooms, St Ali North and finished up at Seven Seeds.
Jessica teamed up with barista Lachlan Ryan to help educate the group about different types of coffee, filters and brews. “He encouraged people to order something that they wouldn’t normally order,” she said. If they would usually get a skinny cappuccino or a skinny latte, he encouraged them to order something different like a Magic or a pour-over.
A Magic is a popular Melbourne style of coffee. Also known in some cafes as a Barista, it’s a three-quarter-sized flat white or latte, stronger than a usual coffee. To make a pour-over, hot water is simply poured over ground coffee and filtered before serving.
Jessica and Lachlan are volunteers – none of their work, or anyone else’s work at Welcome to Melbourne, is paid. But their incentive isn’t money, it’s to create new pathways to make newcomers to Melbourne feel more immersed in the culture.
Previous events include a secret laneway tour and a look around Melbourne’s most famous buildings. The focus is to highlight what’s great about the city – to make the most of what Melbourne has to offer.
“It allows people to experience something about what we think is really awesome about Melbourne,” Jessica said.
The tour group at Seven Seeds. Photo: Ally McManus
