The Local Pour - Tim Adams - From Barista to Champion Roaster

What does it take to build a specialty coffee brand from the ground up and keep it thriving for over 15 years?

In this exclusive interview, Tim Adams, founder and managing director of Tim Adams Specialty Coffee on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, shares his journey from Australian Barista Champion to respected industry leader

Tim’s story is one of passion, continuous learning, and a deep commitment to community and sustainability. From his early days as a barista and trainer, through the challenges of building a wholesale business before opening a retail espresso bar, Tim reveals the values and decisions that have shaped his company. He discusses the importance of ethical sourcing, building lasting relationships with producers, and empowering baristas to become storytellers in their own right.

Along the way, Tim offers candid insights into industry trends, the evolving café culture, and what true success means to him. Whether you’re a brew enthusiast, a café owner, or simply love a good entrepreneurial story, Tim’s reflections offer inspiration and practical wisdom for anyone passionate about their craft.

From Curiosity to Craft

On Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Tim Adams has become quite a force in Australia’s specialty coffee scene.

"The interesting part about coffee is there are so many stories and layers to it. That constant journey within coffee has kept me very interested in the product and the community that surrounds it.”
“In 2009 I decided to enter my first barista competition, and I was very fortunate enough to win the 2009 Australian Barista Championship off the back of that. It really launched my career into specialty coffee and the whole wide world of that constant learning and journey that I was after.”

Building from the Ground Up

Tim took a slower, steadier path when building his business.

“We built Tim Adams Specialty Coffee for almost 15 years before actually attaching a retail espresso bar to our roasting production. We wanted to really lay the foundations of our company and our ethos around why we’re roasting, what we’re roasting, and then build our wholesale business off the back of that first and foremost.”

Today, the Sunshine Coast space houses the roastery, production facility, dispatch centre, and espresso bar, all working together to showcase what fifteen years of craft can create.

Craft, Connection and the Chain That Holds It All Together

For Tim, everything starts with the raw ingredient.

“You’re only as good as your raw ingredients,” he says. “Our story runs from the farm to the cup, it’s all about connection. Every link in that chain matters, and for it to be truly sustainable, every community involved has to thrive. If one part fails, the whole system does.”

That belief eventually led Tim to origin, a journey shaped by friendship and shared ambition.

“When I first started competing, I met a now extremely influential industry leader, Sasa Sestic. He was just starting to compete at that time as well, so we bonded purely by quality and chasing a dream of winning an Australian championship.”

“In 2015, when he won the World Barista Championship, he asked me to go on an Origin trip with him to Santa Barbara, Honduras. On that trip I was exposed to some of the most beautiful coffees in the world, and I met a producer there from La Huerta, Jorge Lanza. I’ve been close friends with Jorge ever since, and now we co-own a farm in that same region called Finca Chapola.”

“That was probably my first real connection to origin, an amazing story of community and the links in the chain that I speak about so often within our business. That was the first turning point for that whole world to start to evolve.”

Sustainability in Practice

“Sustainability is a hard one because it can mean a number of different things,” Tim says. “When we visit producers, we’re looking for ones that look after the environment around them, and the carbon footprint of the coffee itself. We work with EcoBarista to make sure our coffee bags are ethically produced, and our our takeaway cups and lids are too.”

At the roastery, every small detail counts, from composting chaff to reusing hessian sacks for worm farming and compost and educating partners and customers about the “one-percenters” that make a difference.

“It’s an ongoing, challenging problem,” he says. “But we try and do our bit to help that.”

The Storytellers Behind the Machine

“The biggest challenge in our industry is that baristas are the ones telling the story from the farm all the way to the cup, so, they are in control of the most important information at hand,” Tim says. “As a company, we want to give as much information to our wholesale partners as we can, make it easy to follow, easy to understand, so they can share our story, the farmer’s story, and their café story with the community.”

That dedication to education has become a hallmark of Tim Adams Specialty Coffee, empowering baristas and café partners to pour with knowledge and pride.

Shared Values, Shared Craft

When it comes to choosing partners, Tim looks for alignment in both craft and character.

“When I first tried The Alternative Dairy Co. about five years ago, it was a no-brainer" he says. "I love the brand, what it stands for, and the way it works so seamlessly with Tim Adams Specialty Coffee. Every time we pour a cup, I know it’s going to come together perfectly..”

It’s a partnership built on trust, quality and shared purpose.

“To have a product that I can stand by, that I’m proud to serve, means we need to partner with that company and The Alternative Dairy Co. fits that bill really well for us.”

Looking Ahead

Even after years in the industry, Tim’s focus remains on consistency, connection, and craft.

“We’re always focused on what’s ahead, rarely on what’s behind,” he says. “It can be a downside sometimes. I don’t often pause to reflect, always thinking about what’s next, as our business along with our industry is constantly evolving."

"Over the next 12 months, my wife Katie and I want to strengthen the foundations of Tim Adams Specialty Coffee. For us, it’s about refining our structure, making sure everything we do is at its best, and supporting everyone in our chain.”

Lastly, Tim adds:

“If someone’s tasted our coffee for the very first time and walked away thinking, ‘that was a really, really good coffee,’ then we’ve done our job,” he says.

Fifteen years on, that same mindset drives him.

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Tim Adams Specialty Coffee is proudly pouring The Alternative Dairy Co.