Our Story | Merlo Since 1992

MERLO | SINCE 1992

For over three decades, we’ve been sourcing the finest beans from across the globe. We meticulously source, sample, roast, and deliver the most extraordinary coffee available on the market.

For over three decades, we’ve been sourcing the finest beans from across the globe. We meticulously source, sample, roast and deliver the most extraordinary coffee available on the market.

Coffee is woven into the Merlo family history, originating in Luigi Merlo’s Trattoria in Tirano, Italy. In 1950, Luigi set out to make a new life for his family in Australia, starting in the cane fields of Mackay before moving to Brisbane in 1958.

It was in Brisbane that Luigi’s eldest son Gino continued the family tradition of hospitality, opening Café Milano in the Queen St Mall in 1960.

The centerpiece of his café was a gleaming La San Marco espresso machine, the very first of its kind in Queensland. With this machine, Gino introduced Queensland to the European tradition of espresso as the perfect end to a meal.

Café Milano was a great success and enabled Gino to move on to creating another Queensland first — a silver service restaurant, also called Milanos, which would play host to such luminaries as Queen Elizabeth II and Pope John Paul II.

It was here that Gino taught his son, and our founder, Dean all he knows about the art of hospitality. Warm service, high standards and of course, how to craft the perfect espresso.

The Merlo Coffee you know today began as a small CBD espresso bar in 1992.

With a passion for hospitality and inspired by his travels throughout Europe and the US after university, Dean Merlo wanted to bring the unique and vibrant espresso bar experience home.

Struggling to source the best quality beans for his cafe, Dean opened the first Merlo Coffee Torrefazione (Italian roasting house) in 1996. Here he was able to create the quality coffee blends and roasting profiles he had been searching for.

From the Torrefazione, Merlo began selling freshly roasted coffee to other cafés and restaurants, as well as direct to the public to meet the growing desire for café quality coffee at home.

The process of sourcing, roasting and blending coffee is an important journey requiring painstaking attention. Beginning with sourcing the highest quality beans from around the world, care is taken in every step of the process.

Merlo Coffee has created seven unique blends each with distinctive flavours, and carry nine single origin beans to suit a broad range of tastes. We also source limited edition offerings – special, small lot, high grade coffees including those we serve up through our Bean of the Month program.

As a member of the board of the Australian Coffee Traders Association and the Australian Speciality Coffee Association (AASCA), Merlo Coffee is dedicated to ensuring quality control in every aspect of our coffee production.

We also support the Rainforest Alliance sustainable coffee program, which ensures that the high quality beans you purchase are produced in harmony with wildlife to maintain healthy ecosystems.

Today, Merlo is proud to be one of Australia’s leading independently owned and operated coffee roasters.

In addition to supplying the public and our own 17 Merlo stores with freshly roasted coffee every day, we also supply more than 1,500 cafes and restaurants throughout Australia.

We work hard to ensure that every business serving Merlo receives the freshest coffee for their customers.

Online ordering has made it possible for us to deliver our beans to every part of the country and around the world.

MERLO | SINCE 1992

MERLO | SINCE 1992

ITALIAN TRATTORIA TO SPECIALTY ROASTER

ESPRESSO BAR TO ROASTING HOUSE

SOURCING, BLENDING & ROASTING

RETAIL, WHOLESALE & ONLINE

MERLO | SINCE 1992

MERLO | SINCE 1992

ITALIAN TRATTORIA TO SPECIALTY ROASTER

ESPRESSO BAR TO ROASTING HOUSE

SOURCING, BLENDING & ROASTING

RETAIL, WHOLESALE & ONLINE

Shop the look

Choose Options