NATURAL HIGH

New coffee shop Zi Espresso has the Southport CBD buzzing, writes Emily Macdonald

DAPHNE Zi is the triple chocolate brownie to her husband Scott Lo’s antioxidant boosting smoothie; the yin to his yang.

The husband and wife team behind Zi Espresso have a philosophy of gently encouraging their customers to make better choices while giving them enough quality coffee and the odd sweet treat to leave them satisfied.

There are no soft drinks available at Zi Espresso, they’ve ditched the deep fryer and both whipped and ice cream have been given the boot.

Instead, the menu boasts a frothy beetroot latte (from $4.50), housemade coldpressed juice ($8.50) and a platino blend from Southport suppliers Silipo Coffee, which will also supply the cafe with a different single origin coffee every week starting with the best from Honduras. The brews are made with a San Remo opera V2, the first of its kind installed in a cafe in Australia.

If you’re looking for lunch options they include granola ($12.50) or a clean salad with quinoa and roast cauliflower and either teriyaki tofu or slowroasted chicken ($12.50).

The cafe, which had its soft opening on yesterday’s public holiday before going full steam ahead from today, is the third business the couple have owned on the Gold Coast.

The Melbourne born IT workers spent a decade living and working in Hong Kong before throwing it all in to follow their entrepreneurial dreams on our shores.

With a Cookie Man franchise and a stint as owners of Espressions Cafe in Burleigh under their belts, Daphne and Scott have relished the opportunity to finally start their own business from scratch.

Speaking of making things from scratch, everything from the tomato and mango chutney served alongside the vegetarian sandwich ($12.50) to the macadamia butter smeared on the toasted sourdough ($6) is created by the couple.

“Look, we don’t have chickens out the back but where possible we’ve made everything else ourselves,” Daphne says.

“There are other places on the Gold Coast that are exclusively raw or have menus that don’t contain any animal products. We see ourselves as somewhere in the middle. Our customers want to be healthy but they also want to treat themselves now and then.”

Bundall’s The Pastry Emporium provides the sourdough, kombucha comes from Flat Earth at Burleigh and the chocolate is made at Molendinar’s Belgium Delights.

Health-conscious Scott (who was known around Burleigh for giving under-theweather regulars his secret turmeric and ginger immune booster shots, now on the menu for $2.50) was the brains behind the majority of the dishes.

“We have a saying among Chinese people that food is medicine,” Scott says.

But if your soul is still not quite fulfilled despite the nourishment of Scott’s vegan dream smoothie ($8.50), you can be sure Daphne will slip you a muffin on the way out.