ITALIAN TRATTORIA TO SPECIALTY ROASTER

Coffee is woven into the Merlo family history, originating in Luigi Merlo’s Trattoria in Tirano, Italy. In 1950, Luigi set out to make a new life for his family in Australia, starting in the cane fields of Mackay before moving to Brisbane in 1958.

It was in Brisbane that Luigi’s eldest son Gino continued the family tradition of hospitality, opening Café Milano in the Queen St Mall in 1960.

The centerpiece of his café was a gleaming La San Marco espresso machine, the very first of its kind in Queensland. With this machine, Gino introduced Queensland to the European tradition of espresso as the perfect end to a meal.

Café Milano was a great success and enabled Gino to move on to creating another Queensland first — a silver service restaurant, also called Milanos, which would play host to such luminaries as Queen Elizabeth II and Pope John Paul II.

It was here that Gino taught his son, and our founder, Dean all he knows about the art of hospitality. Warm service, high standards and of course, how to craft the perfect espresso.

ESPRESSO BAR TO ROASTING HOUSE

The Merlo Coffee you know today began as a small CBD espresso bar in 1992.

With a passion for hospitality and inspired by his travels throughout Europe and the US after university, Dean Merlo wanted to bring the unique and vibrant espresso bar experience home.

Struggling to source the best quality beans for his cafe, Dean opened the first Merlo Coffee Torrefazione (Italian roasting house) in 1996. Here he was able to create the quality coffee blends and roasting profiles he had been searching for.

From the Torrefazione, Merlo began selling freshly roasted coffee to other cafés and restaurants, as well as direct to the public to meet the growing desire for café quality coffee at home.