The Station cafe evokes fond memories and new beginnings

A retailer stocking products created by local artisans. A showcase of technology conceived to improve the safety of local surfers. A University of Newcastle laboratory researching local initiatives to global problems. Could the rebirth of the Newcastle train station have culminated in a more symbolic exhibit of this city’s interests?

Add a cafe with beans roasted by two socially conscious locals and there you have it – the complete 2018 remake of an 1858 classic. Back then it was half penny tea cakes and steam trains. Now its batch brewed kombucha and Super Cars.

Not that visiting the three-week old Station Café means disconnecting with all that was quaint about the past. Sitting with a coffee between the restored architraves and filigrees, beside the clock tower of Customs House, easily evokes the ambience of a Newcastle long gone.

Renew Newcastle (with Revitalising Newcastle) have polished this portrait up and then nailed it.

Of course, the tracks are no longer, but they have replaced it with a broad and even expanse from one side to the other. All of the freshly opened space is refreshing for those accustomed to the hole-in-the-wall cosiness of so many new cafes in town.

The freshly opened bags of beans from Floozy roasters are a new refreshment as well. The Station café has selected a blend that showcases the roasting talents of Priscilla Fisher and Kristy Mujana –  Newcastle women whose passion for social justice almost matches their commitment to coffee.

The Confetti blend from Floozy combines a Nicaraguan El Diablo with beans from the Huila co-operative in southern Colombia. The Colombian element adds a dash of prestige to the mix – in 2013 coffee beans from this region were awarded what is referred to as the Domination of Origin status.

This status basically affords any Hulia grown coffee with the global recognition enjoyed by grapes from Champagne or cheeses from Roquefort. The region of Hulia itself guarantees a distinct coffee experience. Tart, sharp notes of burnt cocoa and dark chocolate arrive before a smoother, buttery aftertaste.

My double flat white ($4.50) is carefully poured into an intricate pattern and shines with a full-bodied copperiness. The Floozy team of roasters might have packaged up these beans in playful shades of pink but it seems like there is a much darker team of beans inside. Confetti by name, heavy and intense by nature.

On the rainy morning I arrive many of the tables encircling the coffee machine are set under the portico, along the good old platform one to Sydney.

On other occasions, like the twilight food market hosted by the Newcastle Station, you might find yourself seated elsewhere.

The café is entirely portable.

Fancy a view of the cathedral and the city skyline? You can sip your nibble on a quiche ($6.50) in the middle, somewhere near where platform three used to be.

You can sip on an icy kombucha ($5.50) and take in a harbour view in the shade on the side of the expanse nearest the water.

Even better, you can grab a tea cake and just wander. Of course, these days it’s served with a hand-made vanilla gelato ($5).