By AJ Bafer
Surry Hills Coffee does not skip out on presentation, ensuring orders are as appetizing to look at as they are to eat.
You know Mallorca for its eye-catching cliffs, but you may not have met its most appetizing hills. This location does not keep watch over the Mediterranean; it’s not even tucked between the island’s sky-breaking mountain ranges.
Rather, it roosts between Palma’s narrow alleyways on an unassuming street corner. Walk too briskly and you may miss it, like passerby Lauren Bonet almost did. You won’t be able to gloss over the warming aroma of specialty coffee, though.
An alleyway in Palma near Surry Hills Coffee. Their enclosed nature keeps gems like Surry Hills from the bustle of Mallorca's main roads.
“It just kind of appeared out of nowhere, the cutest little shop,” Bonet said. “It smelled like home.”
The scent trail will lead you to Surry Hills Coffee, a caffeine dream.
A Distinct Destination
Inside Surry Hills Coffee, a neon interpretation of the shop's graphic logo melds with yellow light for a cozy vibe.
Sitting at C. del Carme, 12, you might be taken aback by the promise of “Australian Brunch” outside Surry Hills’ modest doorway. Don’t let that deter you. One pastry and cup of joe combo will have you wishing the Balearic Isles took more notes from down under.
Crouch beneath its entry to the jovial clink of pleased patrons. Lions, bulls, cowboy boots and California girls prove the shop’s satisfactory delivery to be transcontinental before you even sit down.
Behind the bar you’ll find but two sets of hands, belonging to a man with kind eyes and a woman with an equally-as-inviting smile. Between juggling the register, espresso machines and order delivery, they will meet you with a friendly attentiveness as hard to ignore as the lingering scent of espresso.
A quick survey will reveal both a reader’s den and a people-watching paradise. Whether you want to cozy up in the corner and read by the light of the shop’s neon logo sign or breathe fresh air while flâneur watching French-style, Surry Hills brings a surprising level of utility for its size.
First-Class Coffee
Behind the register, out the window and at the tables of Surry Hills.
Your gaze will be drawn to a confection-filled pastry case as you meet the register. Denoted in handwritten marker, it includes sweets like lemon and carrot cake. To its left, a shelf proudly displays beans sourced worldwide, standing guard for the curious home brewer.
But it’s worth sipping in-house. Order a Spanish essential like a cortado and watch the coffee couple go to work and have your order out before you can say crikey. You’ll be astounded at how the speed doesn’t compromise the aesthetic – its heart-shaped latte art emblematic of the love poured into every cup.
Future café trips will be forever affected once that first sip hits your lips. The scent of breaking the seal on a fresh bag of beans wafts from it as you meet the ups and downs of surprise and pleasure. The complex richness, the fine-tuned balance – yes, it’s that good.
Consider complementing your cup with one of their cheese scones. The pastry's crunchy coating and soft contents are as stark a contrast as the Mallorcan landscape’s peaks and beaches. Notice the fresh herbs peeking out of each focaccia-like bite. Be sure to ask for it caliente.
Poured with Passion
Felipe Vessena Calahorrano and Tatiana Weiman stand before their life's work, with smiles you can find them wearing genuinely while on the job.
Surry Hills’ quality is far from a fluke. Felipe Vessena Calahorrano and Tatiana Weiman, the couple manning the espresso line, have fully committed themselves to coffee over the past three years. He used to work in finance, she for Twitter.
They had a comfortable life, a model white-collar couple. One trip to Surry Hills in New South Wales changed that.
“When we discovered specialty coffee, that was life-changing,” Calahorrano said.
They marveled at the Australian neighborhood’s quarter-century of specialty coffee cultivation. It was the “coffee mecca” of the third wave, a worldwide revolution centered around coffee quality, direct trade and inventive brewing methods.
From Calahorrano and Weiman’s perspective, Surry Hills was a proof of quality and concept.
“We knew it would be something huge,” Calahorrano said.
They realized they had high-quality coffee back home in Buenos Aires, but none with an Aussie twist. The pair left behind their 8-5s without looking back.
Their passion paid off. Now with two locations in Buenos Aires and Mallorca, Surry Hills Coffee was successful from the get-go. The couple took inspiration from their world travels, including their time spent in Japan and South Florida.
It’s only fitting; Calahorrano believes a quality coffee exchange can overcome any language barrier.
“The message is the same, but in a different way,” he said.
A Balearic Butchery?
Customers eat before the shop's Marés wall, which is over a century-and-a-half old and matches the space's seating options.
Surry Hills is committing its ideology to a growing number of continents. The duo adore their latest location off the Spanish mainland and are as enraptured with the building’s history as the coffee craft.
If asked, Calahorrano will excitedly describe preserved remnants of the space’s old place as a butchery. Note the stonework past the register, the back wall made of classic Mallorcan Marés from 1860.
Tiny indentations, whispers of a now-retired butchery, dot the beams above Surry Hills' light bars.
Almost the rest of the shop has been renovated. But look close enough, and you can spy holes in the wooded ceiling, used to hang sobrassada from hooks. Another metal sickle above the coffee bean bags held lamb meat.
Surry Hills Coffee kept it all, of course. Their meat-melding predecessor, now 90, still lives upstairs.
From Mallorca to the Magic City
Zipping between tables and returning to their posts ‘round the clock, the Argentinian couple dedicates their life to a quality brew every day.
And they’re not finished. Their sights are set on the States.
While the West Coast is the center of America’s specialty coffee scene, a few trips to soflo have convinced Calahorrano that Miami is on the cusp of high coffee caliber.
“Something’s happening,” he said. “Specialty coffee is unstoppable.”
Felipe Vessena Calahorrano etching Surry Hills' information in calligraphic handwriting with the same care used on the shop's pastry case.
He and his wife have visited the Sunshine State enough times to know its coffee scene. Calahorrano will gladly show you a list of their favorite spots, including Miami’s Vice City Bean and Ft. Lauderdale’s Wells Coffee Co. (they have great taste; the latter is worth another post on its own).
Calahorrano and Weiman settled on Wynwood for Surry Hills’ third location because it gives off the same “hipster vibe” as their Australian inspiration halfway across the world. It is in its final preliminary stages, and they hope to open its doors by the end of 2022.
Soon, you might not have to trek to Europe or the Indo-Pacific for an intoxicating cup of Surry Hills Coffee. Either way, it would be worth it for a taste.
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