Our Story
The story of Toby's Estate began in 1997, when coffee-loving lawyer Toby Smith made a life-changing decision, swapping legal books for coffee cups to follow his passion for his favourite brew. Travelling to some of the most remote corners of the globe, Toby lived amongst coffee-producing communities, experiencing first-hand the lifelong dedication and hard manual labour that went into growing their exquisite beans.
Where it began
Toby knew connoisseurs and everyday drinkers would love specialty coffee as much as he did — but getting those beans from crop to café was the challenge. With mass-produced coffee threatening the craft he admired, and inspired by the communities who welcomed him in, he decided to take it on himself. Back home, he turned his mum’s garage into a mini roastery and began mastering the art of roasting — and from that humble setup, Toby’s Estate was born.
Toby's Estate Today
Toby’s Estate is a carefully cultivated crew of 100+ coffee obsessives — enthusiasts, artisans, sensory experts and baristas who don’t just like coffee, we live it. We explore, experiment and push boundaries to discover new flavours, blends and beans, honouring our farmers through honest craftsmanship. We’re privileged to share the specialty coffees we’re known for, always served with uncompromised quality and freshness at our signature outlets and partner cafés.
Our Approach to Coffee
So how do we get hold of those beautiful little beans that become your delicious go-to cup?
We work hard at creating a fair and sustainable supply chain that supports our growers, their futures and the future of coffee. Where would we be without our coffee growers? They're not just ‘suppliers' to us. They're friends, team mates and a crucial part of our journey. And as mates, we look out for each other. Then everyone gets a fair go, with full control, transparency and traceability about our coffee and the prices we pay.
We work with lots of big guys – the well-known, established and respected coffee farms and producers – but we also champion the little guys too. We love nothing better than using our buying power to open the door to small, less visible coffee producers who are doing amazing work producing beautiful coffees. Every year we do a Toby's tour to our producing countries, where we not only see the impact we've made first-hand – but how we can make it even better.
Sharing is caring. Which is why we plough our success back into our grower communities, investing in the local social and environmental projects that are really needed, as chosen by our producers. Our goal is to support grass-roots projects in every producer community we buy from.
There's an art to roasting coffee – and a splash of science – which we've got down to a T. Every little detail matters when making that perfect Toby's cup. It's a meticulous and precise process and a real labour of love, reflecting the hard work and passion that our farmers have put into growing each and every bean.
We taste and test every batch of coffee, aged from 1 hour, to 14 hours all the way through to 30 days, adapting and refining the roasting process for quality and consistency. Our strong team of coffee roasters love and live for coffee. Masters at their craft, our team is constantly brewing, blending, creating and collaborating to bring you a world of exceptional coffee experiences.
OUR CRAFT
Roasting with precision
Every batch is roasted with meticulous care on state-of-the-art equipment. We release over 80 unique single origins yearly, highlighting the distinct characteristics of each region—from the high altitudes of Ethiopia to the rich soils of Colombia.
- Small Batch Roasting
- Seasonal Single Origins
- Quality Control