About Us
We love coffee and we’re committed to roasting the very best
Exceptional Coffee
For us, exceptional is found in partnering with our customers, because we genuinely care about their business and want to see them flourish.
Local Roasting
Our Team
When you bring together award-winning coffee roasters, barista champions, chemical engineers and experienced café owners – things get interesting. But that’s the point, it’s not about thinking the same. To make something truly unique, it takes a collaboration of different skills, experience and background to challenge what’s ordinary and reach for the exceptional.
Andy Simpkin
OWNER & TEAM MENTOR
After serving 8 years in the British Army, Andy left with the rank of Captain in 1981 to try his hand as a Tea Taster and buyer with Lipton.
The beverage game proved to be an area Andy had a natural affinity for and over the next 15 years he would successfully work in and start-up businesses across the globe, before taking on the General Manager role for Unilever’s coffee business in Australia in 1994. In 2000, Andy was ready to step out on his own and follow his passion for coffee by taking Belaroma under his wing.
With a small but committed team behind him, Andy successfully redefined the Belaroma business by harnessing two things; an unrelenting passion for great coffee and a genuine focus on creating environments in which customers could prosper.
With a hands-on approach, Andy provides valuable guidance into the evolution of Seven Miles. When he’s not sailing or surfing, you’ll most likely find Andy in our cupping room helping the team select our next round of outstanding single origins to showcase.
Jenny Willits
CEO
After 17 years in the marketing and communication industry, including leading creative agencies in London and Sydney like Saatchi & Saatchi and J. Walter Thompson, Jenny decided it was time for a completely different challenge – coffee.
As you might expect, there’s been plenty to learn since joining Seven Miles as CEO in 2017. However, Jenny quickly found that behind all the technical aspects of coffee, people are the real thread that ties the industry together. From the farmer to the roaster, the barista trainer to the café owner, it’s actually human relationships that drive us forward.
So, led by her strong personal beliefs in integrity, empathy and kindness, Jenny has set about to put people first on our pursuit of exceptional coffee. Whether it’s through her relentless focus on customer experience or investing in new technology to move us towards a sustainable future, the goal is the same; strong relationships with our team, customers, and the broader coffee community.
When she’s not at work or sipping on a long black at our Espresso Window, Jenny can be found at home entertaining family and friends, cheering on the Sydney Swans, or dominating the spin class at the local gym.
Peter Battista
MASTER ROASTER
As the son of a roaster and growing up surrounded by the divine aroma of freshly roasted coffee, Pete has never known life without coffee.
A qualified Q Grader and a master of the Brambati, Pete’s love for coffee can be summed up by seeing the rich, thick, hazelnut extraction slowly falling into a cup. Energised by pushing the boundaries, Pete is inspired by the dynamic nature of the coffee industry today. He relishes opportunities to challenge the status quo and discover new flavour dimensions through sourcing & roasting exceptionally good coffee.
Working side by side with our QA team, Pete’s focus is on making sure every batch is roasted with absolute precision to create consistently outstanding coffee.
Mike Ford
SMALL BATCH ROASTER & QUALITY ASSURANCE SPECIALIST
Mike’s first encounter with coffee began at 16, watching the world cup in the wee hours of the morning, drinking coffee to stay awake. His defining coffee epiphany struck him a few years later after being blown away by an Indonesia Blue Batak.
11 years later, Mike is now a qualified food chemist,
Q Grader and award winning roaster. Like many in the coffee game, he has a passion to learn more about coffee farming and loves traveling to origin whenever he can.
Mike loves to experiment with coffee, optimising roast profiles to get the very best out of our single origins and crafting small batch seasonal blends that shine in the cup.
When Mike is not behind the roaster or cupping our latest deliveries, you’ll probably find him surfing or snowboarding.
Sharon Jan
SENSORY & GREEN BEAN SPECIALIST
Sharon is an asset to Seven Miles and the Coffee Industry as a whole. With outstanding sensory abilities, Sharon is an accredited Q Grader, international green coffee grader and has a Bachelor of Science degree in food technology.
Sharon spends a lot of time at origin, meeting with farmers, sampling crops and being consumed by the cultures of farmers and the greater coffee community.
When Sharon’s not abroad, she is passionately leading our cupping panels, supporting our buying program and lending her knowledge and expertise to guide our QA processes
Sharon is the 2018 Eleonora Genovese Australian Coffee Woman of the Year