10,000 coffees and counting: Fuel for community at Stone & Chalk
It all starts with a cup of coffee.
You stand by the machine. The smell of fresh beans hits you like a warm hug. The familiar chatter of conversation swirls around. You toss out a joke or two, a piece of news you overheard on your morning podcast, and get an interesting question back.
Before you know it, you’re holding a steaming cup of the good stuff, and have a brand new friend scheduled in for lunch. You take your first sip and the day begins.
Welcome to Stone & Chalk’s Adelaide hub. Where every cup of coffee is the starter for the connections that define our community.
Over the last month, our humble machine has expressly delivered over 10,000 cups of hot coffee. That's 500 cups each working day; roughly 60 an hour—or one cup every minute!
What better day to talk about it than World Coffee Day? So, grab your brew, and let’s dip into why coffee is more than just a drink at Stone & Chalk.
The rich, aromatic history of coffee
Now, let’s rewind all the way back to 9th century Ethiopia.
According to legend, a goat herder named Kaldi noticed his goats became unusually energetic—dancing, it seemed—after eating the red berries from a certain tree.
Kaldi, curious (as you would be), tries a few himself, and gets the same burst of energy. He shared his discovery with a local monastery, where monks brewed the berries into a drink that helped them stay awake during long hours of prayer.
That drink spread to the Middle East, where it attracted hordes of new fans, and by the end of the 17th century, coffeehouses were a mainstay across Europe.
Now, centuries later, here we are at Stone & Chalk, sipping on our own version of this ancient tradition—with coffee the go-to drink for anyone with a dream and a deadline.
Give yourself a morning boost
If you’re like us, the day doesn’t properly start without a cup of coffee in hand. It’s that little ritual to give you an extra ‘oomph’ to take on the day.
Take Tim Mahlberg Sie, our General Manager here in Adelaide (his order: large, extra-hot flat white with a half sugar):
“Every morning, I make my first coffee at home. My one-year-old watches me, he giggles when the grinder goes off, and it’s become a special part of our mornings together. Coffee just makes everything better.”
Coffee helps start the day on the right foot and makes the tough moments a little easier to bear.
Have you tried the coffee at Stone & Chalk
At Stone & Chalk, we take our coffee seriously, and not just in taste.
The beans we serve come ethically and sustainably sourced via Intersection Traders from the slopes of Mount Elgon in Uganda, where the coffee ripens in rich volcanic soil.
It’s not only about the taste—though our coffee is divine—it’s about the community it builds. It has a special way of bringing people together. Ever grabbed a coffee with someone you don’t know well, had a chat, and walked away with a shiny new idea? That’s the power of coffee.
Rebecca Nitschke, our Operations Manager (skinny cappuccino, if you’re curious), swears by it.
“Having great coffee is like a secret magic potion. People love it, and it gets people talking. Those moments by the machine,” she says, “are where the community really comes alive and ideas are born.”
Stone & Chalk Community Manager for South Australia, Seshnie Taylor (her order: long black), agrees.
“When people queue up for coffee, it’s a natural moment for relationship-building. You start with something simple, like ‘How’s your day?’ and before you know it, you’re deep in conversation about work or personal life.”
There’s no exaggeration to say that some of the best ideas at Stone & Chalk have started over a cup of coffee. Those seconds of serendipity—of casual conversations that turn into something more—are central to our community’s success.
Coffee in our community
Shreya Agrawal (her order: mocha with espresso) of startup Trellis Technologies shares how coffee helps her walk through the challenges of startup life.
“Whenever I’m busy or frustrated with work, I head down to get my coffee and chat with people here. It helps reset my mind and keeps me going.”
And she’s not the only one. Coffee is more than a drink; it’s a reason to pause and connect. And that extends out to the entire community around the innovation hub at Lot Fourteen.
Emilie Hanckel, one of our local neighbours at Chamonix (her order’s a chai latte), loves how there’s always someone at the coffee station to chat with. “It’s inspiring to hear what others are working on and how they’re making a difference.”
It’s this spirit of camaraderie that builds relationships that help startups become bigger than they ever could alone. It’s what we see a lot at Stone & Chalk, people from across the innovation sector all coming together for the success of our companies.
As Aron Häusler, Innovation Ecosystem Manager from SA Government says, over his morning skinny latte:
“As the saying goes—it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it takes a community to raise a startup. And that’s exactly what you’ve got here at Stone & Chalk.”
Every conversation, every idea, shared over a cup, strengthens what we do and how we support each other.
Reading the coffee beans
As we knock back the final drops, we can’t help but look ahead to the next one—and to the future. Just like the startups here at Stone & Chalk, we’re constantly evolving and trying new things.
And, sure, maybe some days it’s new flavours (ever tried coffee with Australian botanics? Emilie has, ask her); other days, it’s new startup programs or investment opportunities.
One thing’s for sure though—we’ll always put community first.
Because, at the end of the day, coffee is far more than caffeine. It’s connection. It’s culture. It’s community. It’s building a space where people feel supported, inspired, and ready to take on the world.
And as long as there are ideas to share and problems to solve, we’ll be here, coffee machine in tow, to make it all possible. So here’s to the next 10,000 coffees and beyond. We’ll raise our cup to that!
Curious to see where your next big idea might brew? Visit us at Stone & Chalk Adelaide and grab a cup of coffee with a community that’s building the future of Australian tech.
