Glasshouse Plantation coffee farm, cafe to open in Sunshine Coast hinterland

The deep flavours and characteristics of coffee and its roots will be on full display at a Sunshine Coast plantation and cafe gearing to open in the hinterland.

Coffee connoisseurs are rejoicing as an exciting plantation and cafe plying the unique flavours of Australian coffee has just opened in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

The Glasshouse Plantation, a coffee farm and cafe at the Glass House Mountains, opened their doors on May 31 to the public following a busy few months behind the scenes.

Amy Palu and her partner Paul have developed their brainchild for almost 13 years after gaining inspiration from a small scale coffee farm during a family holiday to Norfolk Island.

The business hoped to not only dish out a delicious cafe menu featuring seasonal local produce, but will offer coffee tours along with a farm shop.

Head chef Ryan Pilcher at Glass House Plantation Cafe. Picture: Patrick Woods

Ms Palu said they want to also offer a tasting experience which involved complex flavours, textures, acidity, mouth feel and characteristics of coffee.

“It’s not just the flavour, it’s also the after taste, like wine,” she said.

“We want to be able to help our customers understand and develop their palette when it comes to coffee.”

Ms Palu said they’ve planted 3000 coffee trees which were expected to be harvested in July and August, with an additional 2000 to be planted in spring in partnership with the Southern Cross University and Australian Grown Coffee Association.

She said the semi dwarfed version of the coffee trees named the K7, which was originally developed in 1938 in Kenya, will be the first time it’s grown commercially in Australia.

The plantation will also be offering a cafe along with tours and taste testing. Picture: Patrick Woods

Glass House Plantation Cafe. Picture: Patrick Woods

The business will sell their own coffee in 2025, but will be offering Zentveld’s Coffee from the Atherton Tablelands through their cafe along with food.

Ms Palu, who is the Australian Grown Coffee Association’s secretary, said she and her partner had a late career awakening and wanted to go back to doing what they loved, where she formerly worked as an agronomist and he was a horticulturalist.

“Coffee is appealing and the crop is in demand … it’s increased globally while production is declining,” Ms Palu said.

“There’s many different ways to process coffee … that’s one of the real attractions, it’s so interesting and now we have the capacity to trial and experiment, there’s so much potential.”

Inside the cafe. Picture: Patrick Woods

The business will be opening soon. Picture: Patrick Woods

Ms Palu said Australians drink more than two billion cups of coffee each year, however less than half of one per cent was grown in Australia and wanted to see the percentage of home grown coffee rise.

The pair bought their property in the hinterland nine years ago, finding the perfect mix of tourist traffic, Glass House Mountains scenery, the right slopes, and an appropriate water supply while also offering another option to those travelling to the Sunshine Coast for nature activities.

“Coffee has historically been grown here since the very beginning, it’s such a beautiful place,” Ms Palu said.

“Traditionally after their experience in the mountains there’s not a lot else to do locally … they either go to the coast or Maleny.

“So we’ve decided to develop another experience.”

Whether your poison is hot coffee or cold drip, everything will be on offer at the Glasshouse Plantation at the end of this month.