At the back of the building, off an alleyway parallel to the main street is a simple, utilitarian loading dock with peeling paint and the scuff marks of trucks and trolleys on the door frames and steps.

Mid morning is an unusually quiet time for reflection and contemplation back here with the hum of traffic echoing down the laneway. The early morning drop-offs have been completed andloaded into the building, and the late afternoon dispatches are stacking up inside ready for the evening’s trucks.

Bruce and Todd sit in the morning sun, sitting on the dock of the Fairytrade Coffee Roastery, watching time roll away. Bruce drinks from an infeasibly large mug of coffee as we talk. It is fresh brewed from the first roast of the day. Coffee is a perk of the job, they tell me, with a momentary glance of expectation as I politely smile and dutifully acknowledge the pun.

Business at Fairytrade has remained surprisingly steady since the lockdown started, once they cleared the first hurdle of downsizing their packaging. More bags and cartons for coffee lovers working from home, and fewer sacks and cases to the baristas and cafes who use to service them en masse.

The world turns, but coffee is eternal.