"Welcome to Five Senses Coffee"

In an area starved of consistent, quality coffee, Café 54 is already considered a stand out — pure liquid gold. Located in Pier Street at the east end of the city, the story behind Café 54 can be summed up with one phrase, ‘a journey for the perfect cup of coffee’.

Back in the years when Michael was serving in the military, he began drinking instant coffee purely as a stimulant to keep him awake during night shifts. His desire for a better coffee led him to a plunger, but still not satisfied, he purchased an espresso machine and then specialty roasted coffee.

Michael’s love for quality in the cup was very quickly transferred to son Dale, who mirrored his dad’s journey. During Dale’s lunch hours in the city he often hit the pavement in search of reliable baristas who could make a consistent, quality coffee. His search found a limited number of gems, his favourite — Velvet on King Street.

Dale and his wife Jessie regularly discussed the lack of quality coffee in the east part of town, and thought this could be an opportunity to turn their passion into business. They found an old heritage building and imagined creating a relaxed environment where people could escape the daily grind and become lost in a great cup of coffee.

They secured the premises; now they needed precision machinery and specialty beans.

After much research they discovered Synesso, which lead them to Five Senses. In one afternoon they purchased Number Five of the first ten, limited edition Synesso Sabre’s with custom plate and began the process of selecting their own signature blend. After consultation with the roasters, the team at Café 54 created an exclusive blend that is well balanced, exceptionally smooth and has great mouth-feel. The blend also has a slight hint of cocoa and an unassuming toffee aftertaste.

The early beginning of Café 54 is now just a memory. They’ve been open for three months and to coin a good football phrase, ‘they are looking forward and taking it one week at a time’. Many improvements have taken place recently including a new jarrah bench top, custom-made by Michael, and a three-seater and two single-seater couches (proving to be very popular with customers).

Dale and his brother, Jordan, are the barista team, while Jessie manages the cafe. Dale and Jordan’s dad, Michael, is also an important member of the team, aptly named Quality Control Manager (taste tester).

Some of their daily, loyal customers walk over a kilometre to get what they say is the best coffee in Perth. Some are especially impressed by Dale’s fern (as they call it) on the flat whites. Little do they know, Dale’s latte art ability will be one to watch out for in the next Western Australian latte art competition expected to be in March 2008.

Café 54: 54 Pier Street, Perth