Our Story
About Rubra Coffee
Artisan coffee roasters, purveyors of fine tea and coffee specialists.
At Rubra Coffee, we believe great coffee starts long before it reaches the cup.
It starts with the people who grow it, the quality of the green bean, the decisions made during roasting and, ultimately, the care taken when it is brewed.
For more than 22 years, Rubra has been part of Western Australia’s coffee industry, building a business around quality, knowledge, relationships and a genuine passion for coffee.
Today, we are a proudly Western Australian, family-owned and operated coffee business, roasting in O’Connor, Perth, and supplying coffee, tea and beverage products to homes, cafés, hospitality businesses, retailers and workplaces.
But our story started with a different idea.
Our Story
Before Rubra Coffee existed, our founders were already working with businesses across Western Australia, supplying coffee machines and coffee beans.
Through that experience, they saw an opportunity.
There was a growing demand for high-quality roasted coffee that was both accessible and competitively priced — and they believed they could do something about it.
2004 | Rubra Coffee is born
In 2004, the focus shifted from simply supplying coffee to becoming roast masters.
At the time, Perth already had established coffee roasters, but our founders were determined to develop their own approach to roasting and coffee quality.
They had already worked alongside prominent coffee roasters in Australia and overseas. They immersed themselves in the craft, learning everything they could about coffee roasting, sourcing and extraction.
A Probat roaster was imported from Germany, marking the beginning of Rubra's journey as a dedicated coffee roaster.
From Green Bean to Great Coffee
Roasting coffee is both an art and a science.
Our early years were spent developing the knowledge and experience required to consistently produce exceptional coffee — from selecting high-quality green beans and developing roast profiles to creating custom blends, understanding flavour and mastering brewing and extraction.
We believe great coffee comes from understanding the entire journey.
From seed to cup.
That means building long-term relationships with farmers, cooperatives and coffee-growing communities, while continuing to learn, taste, test and refine what we do.
A Roastery Built Around Quality
As Rubra grew, so did our ambition.
We established our purpose-built roastery in O’Connor, Perth, where our team has worked alongside some of Australia's renowned coffee roasting professionals to continually develop our craft.
Coffee is roasted daily, with a focus on consistency, freshness and flavour.
Our signature blends and single-origin coffees have become valued for their distinctive flavour profiles, complexity and balance.
What started as a small-batch roasting operation gradually became a coffee business supplying retailers, cafés and coffee lovers throughout Western Australia and beyond.
Growing With Our Customers
As our relationships grew, so did the Rubra range.
Today, our coffee offering includes blends, single origins, coffee pods, Coffee in a Bag and Café Reserve, alongside a broader range of beverage products and coffee equipment.
We work with everyone from people brewing their first coffee at home to experienced café operators and hospitality businesses.
Because every customer has different needs, our role goes beyond simply supplying coffee.
We help our customers choose the right coffee, equipment and approach for the way they work and brew.
Our Award-Winning Coffee
Our commitment to quality has been recognised over the years through competition and industry awards.
In 2006, Rubra exhibited at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show and received four medals of excellence. Every year of the show brought more awards - totally 27 medals for our award winning single origin and coffee blends.
That recognition was an important milestone for a young Western Australian roaster and reinforced what we already believed — that carefully sourced and expertly roasted coffee could stand alongside some of the best in Australia.
Our award history has continued to grow as Rubra has developed.
More Than Coffee
Coffee may be at the heart of what we do, but our customers have always asked us for more.
So we developed a range of complementary products with the same focus on quality.
Fine Tea
For more than 15 years, tea has been an important part of the Rubra story.
We source high-grade teas directly from Sri Lanka and have visited tea estates to better understand the traditional processes behind the tea we serve — from growing and plucking through to rolling, firing, drying, grading and assessment.
Along the way, we developed our own speciality blends and flavours, available as loose-leaf tea and silken pyramid bags.
Our range has also grown to include products such as Iced Tea Machines and our new Peach Iced Tea Concentrate.
Drinking Chocolate
We also wanted to create a drinking chocolate that delivered the same level of quality we expect from our coffee.
Our drinking chocolate is made using highly graded cocoa sourced from West Africa, creating a rich and indulgent beverage for cafés, hospitality and home.
Relationships Are Our Linchpin
We believe a successful coffee business is built on relationships.
With the farmers who grow our coffee.
With the communities and cooperatives behind those farms.
With our café and hospitality customers.
With retailers.
With our suppliers and industry partners.
And with the people who simply love drinking a great cup of coffee at home.
As a family-owned Western Australian business, those relationships matter to us.
We don't want to simply sell you a bag of coffee.
We want to understand what you need, help you get the best from your coffee and build relationships that last.
Coffee Is Both an Art and a Science
Our passion for coffee extends beyond roasting.
We believe knowledge should be shared.
That's why we established the WA Barista Training Lab — a state-of-the-art training centre dedicated to practical coffee education.
Training covers everyone from home brewers wanting to improve their coffee to cafes training experienced baristas who are looking to develop their skills.
Education can include understanding the coffee plant and cherry, harvesting and processing, flavour development, roasting chemistry, freshness and age, brewing, extraction and practical barista skills.
Because when people understand coffee, they can make better coffee.
Supporting Cafés and Hospitality
For cafés and hospitality businesses, coffee is more than a product.
It is part of the customer experience.
That's why our support extends beyond supplying beans.
We can help businesses with coffee selection, equipment, brewing, staff training, menu integration and ongoing support.
Whether you're opening a new café, reviewing your existing coffee offering or looking for a complete coffee and equipment solution, our team brings practical industry experience to the table.
Good coffee is only the beginning.
Proudly Western Australian
Rubra was born in Western Australia and continues to operate from our family run roastery in O’Connor, Perth.
We are proud to support Western Australian cafés, hospitality businesses, retailers, workplaces and coffee lovers while building relationships with producers and partners beyond our state.
Our business has grown, but the fundamentals haven't changed.
Source great coffee.
Roast it well.
Share our knowledge.
Look after our customers.
And keep innovating.
The People Behind Rubra
At the centre of Rubra is a team of people who genuinely care about coffee.
People who roast it, taste it, brew it, teach it, sell it, service equipment and — most importantly — drink it.
Our experience has been built over decades in the industry, but we never assume there is nothing left to learn.
Coffee is constantly evolving.
New origins, new processing methods, new equipment, new brewing techniques and new generations of coffee professionals continue to shape our industry.
We want to be part of that evolution.
The Rubra Journey
2004
Rubra Coffee begins its journey as a dedicated corporate espresso machine supplier.
2006
Our Probat roaster arrives from Germany and our green bean roasting journey develops. We see a need for locally roasted beans to serve our corporate espresso machine clients.
A purpose-built roastery is established in Perth.
Rubra exhibits at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show and receives four medals of excellence.
2008
Our retail and café network continues to grow across Western Australia. We are stocked at 60% of independant boutique deli's throughout Western Australia.
2010
Our tea journey expands, including direct sourcing from Sri Lanka and visits to tea estates.
2012
New beverage products are developed, including speciality teas, Kokolicious premium drinking chocolate, Lemon Iced Tea concentrate and Chai Spice Latte.
2014
Coffee in a Bag and other innovative coffee products become part of the Rubra range.
2016
The WA Barista Training Lab is established, providing practical coffee education for home brewers and coffee professionals.
TODAY
Rubra remains a family-owned Western Australian coffee business, roasting coffee, supplying cafés and hospitality, supporting retailers and workplaces, providing equipment and training, and helping coffee lovers make better coffee.
Celebrating our 20th year, we welcome Dalla Corte Espresso Machines into the family as the new Western Australian Distributor. Creating a full DC and Rubra Cafe Program to support Cafes with a complete solution - from machine to bean and support.
Looking Forward
After more than 22 years, our story is still being written.
The equipment has changed.
The coffee industry has changed.
The way people drink coffee has changed.
But our focus remains the same.
Quality. Knowledge. Relationships.
We will continue to source great coffee, roast with care, develop products our customers love and share what we know.
Because for us, coffee has never simply been about what's in the cup.
It's about the people, the relationships and the journey that gets it there.
Rubra Coffee
Western Australian. Family owned. Coffee focused.