The Little Things Behind a Really Good Coffee

A really good coffee can seem simple. Beans, water, milk, done.

Behind the cup, though, is a lot more than meets the eye.

For Jason from Toowoomba’s Six of One Coffee Roasters, coffee became more than just coffee when he realised “How ridiculously complicated it is to make something that looks so simple.”

Six of One is the local roastery behind the coffee we serve at The Baker’s Duck and that attention to detail is a big part of why.

“You can get away with a lot in life. Taking shortcuts with coffee isn’t one of them.”

Sometimes, the difference comes down to something as small as a single gram.

“Coffee is annoyingly unforgiving.”

Jason describes himself as obsessive about doing all the little “one percenters”, all the time.

But all that precision isn't about making coffee complicated for the person drinking it. Jason believes the best coffee comes back to one thing: balance.

“Some coffees are incredibly clever but the best ones are just incredibly drinkable.”

There’s still a little magic in the process, too.

“Taking a funny little green seed from the other side of the world and turning it into something delicious that brings joy to so many people.”

GETTING IT RIGHT, EVERY DAY

Recently, that approach earned Six of One some pretty special recognition, with its Las Flores Java named Best Espresso at the Golden Bean Australasia 2026 Championships.

For Jason, the award means “maybe all the obsessing and aiming for greatness isn’t completely pointless.”

But ask what he’s prouder of than the award itself, and his answer says much more about the way Six of One approaches coffee.

“That the coffee we serve every day is really good. Awards are fantastic but getting it right on a random Tuesday matters more.”

And getting it right means doing the same work again and again.

“Repetition and consistency. Roasting to the same high standard, roast after roast, day after day. It’s a lot of toil and the devil is in the detail.”

It’s the kind of approach we appreciate at The Baker’s Duck. Good ingredients, good people and plenty of care behind the scenes.

As for what Jason thinks goes best with a good coffee?

“A Baker’s Duck pastry. Truthful answer! I used to say to Isaac that if we put his amazing pastries together with our beautiful coffee, it would be a killer combo!”

“It has turned out pretty well.”

We reckon so too.