Australia Is Ditching Boxed Wine for Boxed Cold Brew Coffee

Boxed wine—a legendary Australian invention better known as cask wine or goon in its native land—celebrates its 50th birthday this year. Alas, not many people seem to be toasting to the occasion with a glass of Chateau de Cardboard; average drinkers nationwide have dropped from 30 percent to 16 percent since 2007. They may, however, be celebrating with a glass of goon coffee.

Darlo (Australian for "Darlington," where the coffee is brewed) is the cold brew creation of Sydney-based brothers Ben and Erol Salcinovic, who ingeniously combined the novelty and engineering prowess of boxed vino with the Australian affinity for coffee. Handcrafted, 24-hour steeped caffeine can now be enjoyed on tap.

The goon sack design was pioneered in the 1960s by the Angove winemaking family, which was looking for a way to sell cheaper wines in bulk (contrary to the common belief that it was to enable the drinking of wine from washing lines). Its fundamental concept of airless flow was inspired by the European wine bladder, a leather pouch that collapses as the wine is poured, keeping air out and preventing spoilage.

Goon sales peaked in the 1970s and 1980s, but it remains an Australian cultural icon—to the point of being memorialised in sculpture. Erol and Ben say the popularity of their coffee shows that Aussies "are serious about coffee and love goon bags forever."

Could Darlo coffee be just what a cask wine revival needs? I caught up for a ganter (banter under the influence of goon) with the cold brew alchemists about their coffee, boxed beverage innovating, future plans, and gillows (when you inflate the empty goon bag and use it as a pillow).

MUNCHIES: Hi, Ben and Erol. What came first: the lightbulb moment for making your own cold brew, or the lightbulb moment for selling a beverage in a cardboard box? Ben and Erol Salcinovic: Well, we've been making cold brew for quite some time, experimenting with different beans and the processes, but the light bulb moment was definitely in the packaging, before even the novelty and the awesome cultural touch. We really believe it's an ideal way to serve cold brew, especially in the offices around the city.

For cold brew noobs, can you give a brief explanation of the process and the characteristics of the coffee it produces? Flavours are drawn from a slow process where freshly roasted coffee is brewed over 24 hours in cold water. This allows for even extraction, and for the natural flavour and sweetness of the coffee to shine through, avoiding any unpleasant bitterness or acidity.

Novelty and bulk supply are obvious advantages of the bladder and box design. What are others? Novelty aside, it's a perfect way to store cold brew coffee—keep it in your fridge at home or in the office … and the two-liter box is fresh for at least 30 days. It's win-win, really.

Can you talk to the similarities and differences people who drink cask wine and cask coffee? Judging by some of the reactions, we've definitely got a few seasoned cask wine drinkers, but generally it's the city coffee crowds that just find this a cool way to keep cold brew in their home or office. And who are we kidding? we've all had our share of cask wine boxes.

Have you ever slept on a gillow? Who hasn't? It's versatile, used for camping or when you crash somewhere unexpectedly.

Did you have any disasters or notable caffeine-fuelled moments in the development process? Well, we thought we were prepared … but then we hit the market. It was all great, but we found ourselves in a position that we couldn't brew fast enough. What we thought would be enough for a week sold out in eight hours—it was crazy!

We've recently seen soda water, Prosecco, and even wine on tap in some cafes and bars. Could cold brew coffee be next? Or could Darlo be the Nespresso of the cold brew world? Absolutely, summer is coming up and cold brew is great on tap. It's still early days at Darlo; we are establishing what works best for our customers. The next months over summer we will have a better understanding on where we are heading.

What are each of your favourite ways to consume the beverage? In the morning straight, in the afternoon with a dash of milk, and at night in an espresso martini.

Although the goon bag is heralded as a heritage icon, sales for cask wine have been declining since the 80s. Do you think that Darlo coffee could help destigmatise cask wine and revitalise the market? Yeah, we hope so—we're bringing goon back!

Thanks for speaking with me.