Our Victoria Crew | Five Senses

Adrian Dart Sales & Customer Support Manager Adrian has a love for coffee dating back to the first time he sprinkled it on ice cream as a wide eyed 6 year old. Since then he has seen coffee take him on the glorious journey of fanatic barista, passionate café operator and certified Q grader. Strengths: Pour over, cooking pancakes, 26ft jump shots. Weaknesses: Kenyan coffee, Pinot, saying ‘no’ to his daughters.

Lauren Stokes Account Manager Fuelled by cheese, wine and baked goods, Lauren can run rings around most baristas – all while showing you pictures of her cat, Amigo. Having done stints at La Marzocco Australia and Café Imports, and acing a Q Grader course, she is a skipping encyclopedia of all things coffee.

Leo Kavanagh Account Manager In 2007 Leo Kavanagh moved to Melbourne to study Contemporary Music Performance at the Victorian College of the Arts. This proved to be an excellent segue into a career in hospitality and Leo quickly found himself in the depths of the specialty coffee scene. He has spent the last 10 years managing, training and consulting throughout Melbourne and will finish his symphony one day, when he gets some spare time.

William Cruger Account Manager After a few years jet-setting overseas where he spent his time soaking up the music and specialty coffee scenes of New York and London, Will is back in Oz providing insightful counsel to the cafes of Victoria. Of a morning, you can usually find Will owning the music playlist while brewing up a juicy Ethiopian for his fellow colleagues.

Hannah Sexton Marketing Coordinator Hannah drinks more craft beer than coffee, but don’t let that fool you – she’s spent the last 10 years working in all facets of the specialty coffee industry, albeit never as a barista. Like a crisp Riesling, she loves a cool climate and can often be found shredding the ski slopes.

Adrian Mancuso Barista Academy Trainer Starting as a lover of piña colada’s and getting caught in the rain, Adrian put down the shakers and picked up the portafilter. After brewing his way around Edinburgh, Adrian returned to his hometown, Melbourne. Certified Q Grader & green-thumb, his cold brew cocktails with fresh herbs (grown in the barista academy courtyard) will make you swoon!

Damien Steponavicius Head Roaster Damo has been putting his Bachelor of arts, advanced diploma in screenwriting and post grad in literature to good use roasting coffee for the past 8 years! No only can he discuss all things roasting with you, he’ll do it with perfect grammar and vivid analogies. He might seem a little shy, but just bring up Europe, specifically the little Swiss town of Lauterbrunnen, and watch him gush!

Caleb Heinselman Field Service Supervisor One of the best things we’ve imported from USA, Caleb left Synesso in Seattle over 10 years ago to join our tech department. The mumma bear of the tech team, this former US Marine is just as likely to fix your grinder as he is to give you a big bear hug.

David Velic Field Service Technician

Justin Bianchi Field Service Technician From his love of motorbikes to his many years working at Holden, Justin has always been immersed in the mechanical world. When not saving the day in a cafe, you’ll find him carving the waves at Bells on his longboard or coaching his son’s soccer team.