City Beat: Coffee king Phillip Di Bella’s epic 50th birthday blow out

A man whose coffee has kept Australians charged up for years has had an ‘epic and memorable’ 50th birthday blow out in New Zealand.

Philip Di Bella celebrated his birthday in New Zealand.

Coffee king Phillip Di Bella has turned 50 and celebrated the milestone in fine style.

He marked his half century in New Zealand’s adventure capital Queenstown over the Easter long weekend.

About 35 friends and family gathered in the Barrel Room at food and wine destination Ayrburn for the event which Di Bella says was “epic and memorable”.

And the choice of having the festivities in Queenstown was no surprise.

“It’s my happy place, the one place in this world that we absolutely love and keep coming back. Where we used to own a home and will be building a new one in the near future,” Di Bella says

In a reflective mood Di Bella hopes his journey can inspire others.

Raised in Brisbane by hardworking Sicilian migrants, he grew up watching his father work 26 years as a hospital yardsman with only three sick days, and his mother juggling multiple jobs to support the family.

Phillip Di Bella at the coffee roasters commune in Bowen Hills. Picture: Tertius Pickard

With just $5000 and a vision, he founded Di Bella Coffee in 2002 and built it into Australia’s largest specialty coffee brand which he sold 15 years later.

He then reinvented himself and founded The Coffee Commune – a world-first platform that now empowers over 1600 cafe owners, roasters, and suppliers.

Beyond coffee, he has helped shaped Brisbane through his civic leadership and as chair of the Brisbane CBD Economic Development Board, he helped deliver a range of initiatives and is involved in a number of charities.

“The real legacy isn’t what I’ve done, it’s how I’ve helped others do it,” Di Bella says.

“If I can leave people with anything,” it’s this – be better tomorrow than you were today. Do it with humility, with passion, and with purpose. You never know whose life you’re impacting by showing up and doing your part.”

Green star

Green energy supplier ACCIONA Energia has completed construction of nearly half a gigawatt of new electricity generation at the Aldoga Solar Farm near Gladstone seven months ahead of schedule.

The Fortitude Valley headquartered company says that over the next six months, 480MWp of clean electricity will start coming online as the project is gradually commissioned and connected to the National Electricity Market (NEM).

“Large scale solar projects are one of the fastest and most affordable means of delivering new electricity into the NEM,” says ACCIONA Energia managing director Brett Wickham.

“We’ve delivered this milestone project safely and faster than expected. It’s a credit to the 350 men and women who have built it.”

The Aldoga Solar Farm exported its first 850kW of electricity into the NEM as part of its first steps in the commissioning process. Commissioning is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

Stanwell have signed a Power Purchase Agreement with ACCIONA Energia for 100 per cent of the solar farm’s output.

The Aldoga Solar Farm, near Gladstone on the central Queensland coast.

End of an era

Glen Norris who spent almost four years editing Citybeat, has switched to a full time role with The Australian. And yours truly, who used to pinch hit for Glen, will now be editing Citybeat full time.

Originally published as City Beat: Coffee king Phillip Di Bella’s epic 50th birthday blow out