Our Story

Looking after the town since 2012

Founded in 2012, the first appearance of Ricochet Espresso was in Brisbane’s iconic Davies Park Markets in West End. Founder, Dawood Jan (DJ) Urozgani, a regular market goer, became impatient waiting up to 25 minutes for his Saturday kick, and ended up taking over management of his favourite little coffee stall. He named it ‘Ricochet Espresso’ to demonstrate its point of difference, and soon the wait-time was reduced to 2.5 minutes… faster than a speeding bullet… well, you know, a speeding shot!

The first bricks-and-mortar Ricochet Espresso bar was on the ground floor of a Fortitude Valley office tower, where be-suited office workers would ricochet in and off to the lifts with their steaming shots. A year later, on Anzac Day 2016, the Italian-styled Edward St espresso bar in the CBD opened with the same concept of a fast rebound for busy workers hurrying to their actual destinations. In 2018, Ricochet Espresso replaced the market stall founded by the well-loved Bunker Coffee at the Milton Market on Sundays. Now, between the two markets and the Edward St espresso bar, Brisbanites can quick-grab a Ricochet latte any day of the week.

But it was never only about the service.

The Ricochet team is a motley crew of well-trained, experienced baristas who are passionate about pouring perfect shots. They serve up nothing less than they would expect from any other self-respecting specialty coffee outlet. Slightly on the geeky side, but awfully friendly nonetheless, members of the Ricochet team have developed such an impressive depth of knowledge that it seemed a waste not to harness that wisdom and delve into the magical craft of roasting and blending.

Under the guidance of our ace Q-grader, Jenny Seok, research and development began in mid-2019. After several months’ gestation, the Artillery blend emerged as the proud, elegant and wonderfully versatile house blend for Ricochet Espresso outlets. We roast using state-of-the-art Loring equipment at Open Coffee, Australia’s first coffee roasting collective in Brisbane’s south. Being a member of a collective, we are part of an expanding community of curious coffee roasters in our city, all of us benefiting from each others’ endeavours by sharing the results of our efforts. After all, there’s plenty of sunshine for everyone!

During the slow time of 2020, we were able to deepen our knowledge of coffee production. and the mysterious ways that flavour, aroma and texture of coffee can combine to create such wildly different coffee experiences. We were able to turn our focus to growing a modest range of new blends and learn more about coffee.

Keep an eye on our online store or at our espresso outlets as new offerings emerge from the roastery. Ask any of the team about tips for grinding and brewing, or ask us to grind for you, to make your own perfect cup at home!