"Welcome to Five Senses Coffee"

Aaron Pyne has been something of a fixture on the Perth CBD coffee scene over the last few years. With stints at Tarts, Lincolns and Zekka on his resume, we were always keen to get Aaron into the Five Senses family. When he began looking for a coffee partner for his new site Vinyl, we jumped at the chance!

Aaron is one of those guys who always manages to be in a great mood and creates a good atmosphere wherever he works. It’s not often that a great barista also happens to have an excellent rapport with his customers and a good feel for food. Aaron manages to tick all the boxes.

The tiny space for Vinyl was created when the iconic 78 Records site in Hay Street was broken up into a number of smaller spaces. Aaron managed to grab the prime street front site, perched right on Hay Street, to establish his espresso bar. The clever, well thought out shop design sits right on the street, and the combination of a good location and Aaron’s reputation saw this tiny café recruit a strong following almost from day one.

It’s pretty rare for a café to get busy this fast, as people usually need to be lured away from their regular haunts. It’s testament to Aaron’s barista skills and popularity that Vinyl is already doing more coffee than many cafés three times the size. We like to think our coffee played its part as well!

Aaron is now looking at how to re-jig the layout of the machines and grinders to allow him to introduce a second barista, and thus ensure that the growing hordes continue to get their coffees quickly, and at the high standard that Vinyl has established.

It’s quite a ‘buzzy’ scene outside the café, with plenty of lively banter as a steady stream of local city workers wait for their takeaways and catch up with office gossip and the footy scores.

Taking advantage of a large alfresco area and also a cozy nook deeper into the 78 Records building, Vinyl manages to seat a surprising amount of people. With Aaron’s pedigree as a barista, you could be excused for thinking this place is all about coffee. Think again! The food is a pleasant surprise and, personally, I’m a sucker for the breakfast tart that is a bit of an ‘Aza’ signature dish that has followed him from venue to venue.

So next time you’re in Perth, why not head for Vinyl and enjoy great coffee at an iconic location?