Despite completing tertiary education in electrical engineering at the University of Auckland, Pranav Meelu was intrigued by the excitement of the hospitality industry and acquired Melba Vulcan Lane in 2019 after operating Melba Victoria Street for two years, which taught him the intricacies of the coffee world, including, roasting, daily machine maintenance standards and more.
“The NZ café scene is very exciting. There has been enormous innovation and growth both in the field of specialty coffee and brunch food. There is space for everyone to be involved somewhere in the supply chain and express themselves in this evolving industry,” said Meelu.
A close relationship with suppliers is essential to ensure and control quality and consistency. Some of these unique Melba relationships are high-grade specialty coffee roasted in-house at Penrose, organic bread from Bread & Butter, Manuka Smoked Bacon by Colonial Bacon and plant-based packaging from Decent Packaging.
Meelu’s go-to coffee order is a double shot small flat white, and he recommends Melba’s seasonal Huevos Carne, a mince toast dish with a mixture of black beans, chipotle, chutney and avocado chile.
He believes a great coffee to be one with a perfect extraction that brings out all the body flavours of a coffee blend, paired with steamed milk that is silky and at an optimum temperature.
Even when he is not working, Meelu is usually at a newly opened coffee joint or watching an old All Blacks test match.
