First Look: Kohi No Deshi, a Milk-Focused Neighbour for Brunswick’s Black-Coffee-Only Disciple Roasters

When Marwin Shaw opened Disciple Roasters on Black Street in Brunswick last year, it was hard to think of a better matched concept and address. After all, Disciple, which Shaw describes as a “coffee cellar door”, serves only black coffee. (It’s the only cafe-roastery in Melbourne we’ve come across that takes this hard anti-milk/mylk stand).

But in December, Shaw opened Kohi No Deshi (translating from Japanese to English to “disciple coffee”) in the space next door to Disciple. The new shop flips the script and exclusively serves milky brews. “This is the yin to the yang next door,” Shaw tells Broadsheet.

Shaw is an OG of Melbourne’s specialty coffee scene. He opened Monk Bodhi Dharma in 2009 and was behind Admiral Cheng Ho (now called Kaede) and Bayano the Rebel (now closed). Kohi No Deshi and Disciple are the distillations of everything Shaw has learnt in the industry – including pottery. He makes all the ceramics for both cafes, and each has been made to hold and serve precise ratios of coffee and milk.

At Kohi No Deshi, the team works with six grinders, four blends and a whopping 11 milks. They’ve entrusted Schultz Organic Dairy for classic cow’s milk. You’ll also find non-dairy options like soy milk from Bonsoy and Happy Happy Soy Boy; oat milk from Oatly and No Ordinary Oat Milk; as well as less common alternative milks including macadamia milk and tiger nut milk. They’ve all been tried and tested against other products on the market, with Shaw and his team concluding that each is the best available in its category.

If you want to really amp up the milky coffee experience, try the Kohi No Deshi affogato, made with ice-cream from Sundae School, the American-style scoop shop from former Tuck Shop Take Away operators Clinton and Karina Serex. A creamy scoop of vanilla ice-cream is added to an espresso shot made from Ethiopian beans processed using an anaerobic fermentation method. The resulting shot has notes of Campari, blueberry and morello cherry, making the alcohol-free drink somewhat reminiscent of a boozy affogato.

Shaw has taken care to ensure the two venues are visually distinct from one another – both inside and out. For example, a black and white mural that runs across both buildings, painted by artist JESWRI, starts off as a white sky as it runs across the Kohi No Deshi space, and becomes a dark and starry nightscape as it reaches Disciple. Inside, Kohi No Deshi’s playful, mostly white space is complemented by light honey-hued wooden tables and benches – a contrast with Disciple’s dark and sophisticated interiors.

One thing both shops share, though, is a deep respect for coffee. This is evidenced in the eco-conscious seasonal sourcing of beans and the fostering of long-term relationships with small-scale farmers. Not to mention, of course, the profound coffee expertise behind the counter.

“Coffee has multiple expressions,” says Shaw. “We offer the mixology side [of] coffee here.” That means endless flavour combinations to discover when coffee isn’t just served in its purest (black) form. If all this sounds intimidating, don’t worry: the deeply knowledgeable and passionate team will happily guide you towards finding what you love in a cup.

Kohi No Deshi
18 Black Street, Brunswick
No phone

Hours:
Daily 7am to 3pm

@kohinodeshi