We are extremely pleased to announce that iconic Queensland brand, Merlo is to be Eat Drink Blog 5’s exclusive coffee sponsor.

Responsible for introducing Queensland to its first espresso machine in the 1950s, and for changing Brisbane’s sidewalk dining laws in 1993, Merlo has been at the forefront of the country’s coffee revolution and is the perfect partner to represent the dynamic Australian coffee scene. Voted Australia’s favourite coffee again in 2014 at the I Love Food Awards, this coffee brand is true to the very essence of coffee and its origins.

In February Merlo marked another major milestone in what is already a history indelibly intertwined in Queensland’s culinary coming of age – the Merlo team welcomed their newest arrivals in a brand new Brambati Roaster direct from Italy, and a custom-designed Cupping Room, dedicated to sampling single-origin beans. It’s one of the only of its types in the city and a room designed to appreciate coffee.

Coffee is in the Merlo family DNA. Grandfather Luigi Merlo operated a trattoria next to a bocce court in his home town of Tirano in Italy. His son Gino was a budding adventurer and when he migrated to Australia in the 1950s, he bought with him Queensland’s first Italian espresso machine – in doing so he started Queensland’s coffee revolution.

Today Merlo Coffee has five Torrefaziones, 10 BarMerlos and can be found in over 1000 distinguished cafes and restaurants across Australia.

For more on Merlo, check out their website.

Merlo will be keeping our delegates caffeinated all day! Thanks to Merlo for coming on board as the Eat Drink Blog 5 coffee sponsor.