Inside Atelier Ensō, Alicia Feng's new Carlton café – BeanScene

The moment you open the barn doors to Atelier Ensō, the rush and noise of the outside world fade away.

There’s no background traffic and none of the typical sounds you’d associate with a bustling café: no grinding, tamping or humming of a traditional commercial coffee machine. Instead, calming classical guitar fills the ambient space adorned with Japanese-inspired wooden furnishing, stainless steel, paper chairs, and a large overhead light fixture. Atelier Ensō, quite literally, is meditation for coffee lovers.

“I want people to come in and relax. Be present. Enjoy the coffee, and stop rushing. When you do, everything calms down and you enjoy the experience even more,” says Alicia Feng, a World Coffee Championship Certified Sensory Judge, Australian Brewers Cup Head Judge, Specialty Coffee Association Professional, and licensed Q Grader.

“We’re living in a society where there’s too much stress. I wanted to create a place where people can slow down to reconnect to themselves, not only for our customers but also for ourselves, as operators and staff.”

Atelier Ensō is Alicia’s third café venue, after opening Calēre Coffee in Fitzroy in 2019, and Chiaki in Collingwood in 2023.

Alicia had the idea to open a third café in 2022 after visiting Japan and being inspired by the practice of meditation, and learning about the circle of ensō, a Japanese zen symbol representing enlightenment.

Helping achieve the tranquil space back in Melbourne is a deliberate integration of automation and craft brewing. Alicia’s foray into automation started three years ago when she installed two automatic pourover machines, giving her the confidence to explore automation further at Calēre Coffee, and now at Atelier Ensō.

In her latest venue, a custom-white Eversys Cameo machine serves Atelier Ensō’s own-roasted seasonable blend and decaf.

“The quality [from the Eversys Cameo] is amazing. The first time our staff tried it they said, ‘it’s too easy, it feels weird, I suddenly have nothing to do’, but because of the machine’s consistency it allows us more time to talk to customers, especially because we’ve lowered the bench and therefore the height of the machine, so we can have conversations with customers about the coffee more easily,” Alicia says.

Espresso shots from the Cameo are also filtered through via LinkBar dispensing machine, which at the touch of a button on a single faucet, extracts Atelier Ensō’s seasonal blend at a pre-set water volume and temperature.

“We’re bringing the long black back,” Alicia says. “This type of beverage can be aggressive but the end product is a creamy mouthfeel thanks to the microfoam aeration that pass through.”

A second faucet dispenses a brewed cocoa husk tea, which uses the byproduct to create a clear liquid tea which Alicia says is a “gentle and approachable offering” for non-coffee drinkers or those wanting a creamy mouthfeel without diary.

Depending on the beverage desired, Alicia can also change the taps to dispense cold beverages thanks to the connected refrigerator.

A Modbar espresso and pourover station also features on the counter bench for crafted filter coffee, adding to the lineup of equipment that removes any barrier between barista and customer.

“I want this space to be a demonstration of how automation and traditional methods can integrate. One is not better than the other. They can coexist,” Alicia says.

Two xBloom pourover brewers are positioned near the retail coffee display, pumping out more than 70 filter brews on opening weekend. Alicia says this method of brewing has been so popular she’s ready to order two more.

“It’s a great machine for a home set-up. We offer everything you need to make great coffee at home: beans, recipe and machine, with training classes to open upstairs in the coming months,” Alicia says.

In time, she also hopes to provide a ‘click and collect’ roasting service where customers place small coffee orders for their weekly home brewing.

You won’t find any signature drinks on the menu here yet, and it’s a deliberate choice. Alicia notes there is increasing pressure on café owners to deliver beverages that can go against their purpose.

“I want to ensure our staff are passionate about the beverages they serve. It’s easy to lose your purpose and confidence, thinking that customers won’t come because of your pricing or [simplified drink selection] but we need to get that confidence back,” she says.

In an environment of inflation and living costs, Alicia says it’s also important that café owners value the products and service they provide, noting her first venue Calēre Coffee is the smallest café on Gertrude Street in Melbourne but also the first to raise prices when needed.

“I don’t believe we’ve lost any customers, but perhaps customer frequency has reduced. I don’t think that’s because we’ve raised our prices, I think that’s cost of living in general and people being more concerned about their spending,” Alicia says.

“Charge what you’re supposed to according to your costs. We have never delayed in raising our prices or been scared to. Customers will still drink coffee. They are buying their bubble tea for $10 or a $15 house wine. If everyone puts their price up, everyone benefits. It’s not about competition. There’s places to go for those who want cheap coffee, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you don’t price your specialty coffee accordingly, so that you can pay your staff properly, you’re devaluing the product you serve and the experience you provide.”

At Atelier Ensō, that experience is one of customer attention, interaction, and education.

Located in the heart of Melbourne’s Italian-community of Carlton, where post-World War II migrants introduced espresso to the area in the 1950s, customers of all ages are discovering this new café by word of mouth, behind a petrol station and down a cobblestone laneway. Conversations between Gen Z discuss the flavour notes and the best bag of coffee to take home, just as Baby Boomers approach the Eversys Cameo machine to enquire how and why their flat white was textured so perfectly.

To protect the hospitality experience, Alicia caps seating at 80 per cent and serves takeaway only. The venue has only ‘soft launched’ but already there’s a queue out the door by midday.

“Here at Atelier Ensō, it’s about providing a relaxing calm environment and vibe, with accessible products and great hospitality,” Alicia says. “Some venues embrace food, others are about express service, but whatever you do, do it with intention.”

Atelier Ensō is located at 8 Raffa Pl, Carlton VIC, 3053