Baba Budan was an Islamic scholar who lived in the 17th Century. After the initial introduction of coffee from Ethiopia to the Arabic world by Saint Ali in the 14th Century, production remained tightly confined to this area, particularly Yemen. It took a brave act by Baba Budan, on his return from a pilgrimage to Mecca, to smuggle seven seeds of fertile coffee out of Yemen. Wearing the seeds around his waist, Baba eventually raised them in southern India, where the plants thrived. Baba Budan’s crop wrested the monopoly on coffee production from the hands of the Arabs and started the global spread of coffee cultivation. In the spirit of Brother Baba Budan’s courageous devotion to coffee, our city store was named after him on opening in 2007.
Nestled among the animated alleys on Little Bourke St, Brother Baba Budan (BBB) does a thriving trade, supplying hundreds of city workers with their daily caffeine hit. Many travel out of their way to sample coffee from what has become the CBD’s favourite coffee house. BBB is our smallest cafe with seats for a few and takeaway coffee for quite a few more. The focus is strictly coffee, and we offer all of the blended and single origin coffees which we directly source from farmers around the world and roast on-site at Seven Seeds. Espresso and filter methods are on offer, as are pastries from Brioche by Philip to cover the mid-morning blues.
No matter how busy we appear, our friendly staff are always happy to assist you in the retail section of the store, whether you need assistance choosing single origin coffee beans to brew at home or are interested in purchasing a brew method such as Hario pourover ceramics or the popular Aeropress. We also stock hand-grinders and replacement filters.
Brother Baba Budan- 359 Little Bourke st, Melbourne
Ph 9606 0449
Monday – Saturday: 7am-5pm
Sunday: 9am-5pm