How one father's passion for a brew spawned CQ's best coffee
Revealed: The winner of the best place to buy a cup of coffee in Central Queensland
Coffs Harbour
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WHEN Jason 'Gus' Korda came to Rockhampton eight years ago, he had a dream of launching a coffee so good, it would get the tick of approval from his caffeine-loving late father, Gus.
They shared many cups of coffee during his life, and he would often hear the gripes of his father who longed for a cup that met his high expectations.
After years of success, Mr Korda knows his coffee blends would have impressed his late father.
Gus, who was a well respected character within the hospitality industry, had moved to Australia from Czechoslovakia and worked in restaurants across the country.
"Before he passed, I was going to start a coffee business for him," Mr Korda said.
"It never happened because he passed away. It's something he would've loved. My middle name is Gus and his name is Gus, so we called it that in honour of dad.
"All the blends came together in honour of him and I was trying to get the right ratio to what we think he would've loved."
Last week The Morning Bulletin asked the public where to find the best cup of coffee in Central Queensland and after sifting through over 200 comments, it was clear that Gus' Coffee was a hot contender.
When voting polls closed on Friday, the business had beat out the rest of the competition with 28 per cent of votes.
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Mr Korda said his father would have been proud and would have really loved the blends - the red and black labels.
"I'm ecstatic. It's great. It's fantastic to have support from the community," Mr Korda said upon hearing the news.
"It's just a combination of really highly trained barristas and customer service and our special blends.
"It's a whole lot of small incremental things, including selecting the right harvesting."
Described as being like a "fine wine", Gus' Coffee is "full-bodied, smooth and exotic", paired with the "sophisticated fundamentals of European hospitality" and tweaked to create the perfect blend.
The beans are sourced from Honduras, Colombia, Papua New Guinea, Costa Rica and Guatemala.
The franchiser, who owns Northside Plaza's company store and has two franchises at Stockland Shopping Centre and on George St, said one of the blends was sourced from a small family in Papua New Guinea who provide their product exclusively to Gus' Coffee.
"We have really good traceability with our origins. The family grows specifically just for us. If we go to a wholesaler, it's just not the same," Mr Korda said.
"We also give back to the community: $1 a kilo for fresh water for their community. That relationship has been going on for seven years."
Mr Korda lived in Adelaide and Sydney before making the move to Rockhampton and said the close-knit relationships formed within the town were something special.
"I love the community spirit. The people are amazing around here," he said.
Coming a close second on the online poll was Coffee Society with 26 per cent of votes.
Fast Lane came in third place with 13 per cent.
Originally published as How one father's passion for a brew spawned CQ's best coffee
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