The Aussie Bean

Company Name: Aussie Bean

Address: 112 E Maple Ave, Orange, CA 92866

Links: Website ~ Instagram ~ Facebook ~ Yelp

1) Background Story: 

We started planning in November 2012 after our trip in Australia for the Melbourne cup, and we were reminded how good the coffee was. The idea was to open a coffee shop to remind me of home. I work off senses, smell, and sight. There are three reasons you drink coffee back home;
1. because you love the taste of coffee,
2. you love caffeine and
3. you want to be social.

How we came to chose this location in the city of Orange, specially the circle, was because it reminded me so much of my hometown. I was informed by a friend that the lady that was here would be vacating, I thought this was a great place to open up a coffee shop and it is a great atmosphere to be social.

2) How You Are Different: 

What makes us a little different is that we don’t have wifi. We want to create a space where people talked to each other instead of staring at a screen the whole time. We make a great Australian style coffee in which you can taste the difference if you sit back and take it in. So many coffee shops you see people on their laptops working and ignoring everyone else. We don’t necessarily discourage laptops, we just support the idea of putting down your computer for a second and looking around and starting a conversation.

 

 

3) What is your most popular item? 

Flat white. We’ve had the flat white in Australia since the early 80’s. ’83 actually. January of last year it was introduced here. It’s not necessarily sweet but it has more of a bolder taste, you will need to come in and taste it for yourself.

 

4) Do you have multiple locations?

This is the only location. We have a trailer on the Chapman University campus; it is also available to do private events, weddings, and we also take it to the farmer’s market. We are thinking about other locations, we want people to have a choice and the ability to experience the coffee we have back home in Australia.

5) What are your future goals for Aussie Bean?

Education. I’d like to teach people how to brew coffee; I’d like to have people understand how to roast coffee. We would also like to open other locations up like I mentioned before, we want our customers to be able to experience Australian style coffee.

6) Do you have a secret menu or drink?
Yes, we have a drink called the Wallaby, it’s a very special version of a flat white. You’ll have to come in and guess what makes it special. You’ll love it.

Our Experience:

We accidentally discovered The Aussie Bean while we were exploring The Orange Circle and we were so impressed with everything. The building itself is beautiful with natural light flooding in through the giant windows. Aside from the look, there’s a certain cozy atmosphere about this coffee shop. You walk in and you feel like you know everyone, there’s a spirit of family in this building. Right away the owner was beyond kind and introduced us to his family and told us the story of The Aussie Bean. It was wonderful to hear how they got started, especially in an Australian accent (we were listening to carefully, taking in every word haha). He told us about the secret drink and offered it to us to try it and guess what makes it special. We felt like insiders getting to try it! You can try it too, just ask for the ‘Wallaby’, it was delicious and we were surprised to find what makes it special. It really shows the craftsmanship of this coffee shop.