On the corner of Bolton and King Streets is a cafe that has been churning out some of the best brews in Newcastle since its inception in 2013. To whom do we refer? None other than the institution that is Xtraction Espresso.

The long-standing venue has had a change of hands with Mudgee-born now Newcastle local Jayson Brakel taking over the reins in March 2023 – seeing a fresh energy injected into this coffee-loving corner spot.

Having been in the coffee industry since his early years, and formerly a part of the much-loved Sherwood gang, Jayson is finally stepping into his own taking over Xtraction and continuing with the brand’s original philosophy and adding his own flair.

“It was very daunting for us to take it on because it’s become such an institution here in Newcastle.”

It’s been just over 12 months since Xtraction changed ownership and the business is booming. On any given day, at any given time, you’ll find queues of eager coffee lovers awaiting their daily grind.

“Now that we’ve been here a year, we’re very much just homing in on the things that are ours. Coffee is one of them. We never particularly came in with the idea that we wanted to change the coffee. But we always wanted to make Xtraction coffee.

“Now, we’ve got our own blend which is really nice. Essentially, what we’ve done is take the best parts of the coffee that we previously had and merged them into our own blend.”

Now that the locals have come to not only accept but love the new owners, Jayson is looking forward to adding his own personality to the Xtraction offering.

“The last thing we’ve changed is bringing in our own personality. That’s been something I’ve always been really passionate about. That’s the experience I love the most, going to work, getting a coffee, and chatting to people. That’s the highlight of working in this industry.”

The space hasn’t changed a bit, with their industrial chic vibe still holding strong, a visit to Xtraction feels like a cafe you might stumble upon in Melbourne or across a number of European cities.

Whilst coffee is at the core, and always will be, your hunger pangs will be satisfied with the Xtraction Head Chef, Aman,  just releasing a fresh menu as well as some current scrumptious specials offerings like the Southern Fried Chicken Benny.

“I’ve been leaning on our chef’s experience a lot and he’s just been amazing and has some pretty epic weekly special creations.”

The menu also expands to a selection of on-the-run goodies, pastries, toasties, and bagels.

This newly relaunched Xtraction Espresso has no plans on going anywhere, so much so you may just see an Xtraction 2.0 opening before the end of the year. Jayson eagerly invites any keen cafe hopper in for an inner-city cafe experience with great coffee, tasty food, and a good old yarn.