- Case Studies
A Modern Tea Business Steeped in Culture: How Blak Brews Built a Thriving Business from the Ground Up
Learn how Zeller can support your business.
Blak Brews began with a van, a few market stalls, and a bold ambition – to put culture, wellness, and native Australian ingredients into people’s hands, and into their cups.
“There wasn’t a blueprint for what we were doing,” says co-founder Troy Benjamin. “We just built it as we went.”
Troy and his partner Cerisa launched Blak Brews from their home in Geelong, blending teas by hand and selling them direct to the public at festivals and pop-ups. From the start, they knew they had something unique.
“It was very DIY at first,” Cerisa says, “but people connected with it quickly. We believed in the product, and that made the hard work worth it.”
Two years on, Blak Brews has evolved into a thriving business with national reach. Their range of native teas and coffee blends is stocked in high-end venues, airport cafés, and independent retailers across the country. They’ve won Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars Australia, launched their flagship venue – Booln Booln Café – and built a team to keep pace with growing demand.
Celebrating culture over a cuppa.
For Troy and Cerisa, Blak Brews is more than a product – it’s a way to connect people with culture. Troy’s heritage includes Tati Tati, Wadi Wadi, Muti Muti and Wamba Wamba ancestry. Cerisa’s roots span Gurindji, Jawoyn and Walpiri Country. Their aim has always been to celebrate native ingredients and their significance, and that’s exactly what they’ve achieved with Blak Brews.
“From day one, we wanted to show people that native ingredients can be premium, functional, and world-class,” says Troy. “We’re doing that now on a bigger scale, but the drive hasn’t changed.”
The early days were all hustle, hand-blending at home and building the brand from scratch when no one else knew what a native tea company could look like. “We started from the ground up,” says Troy. “Small stalls, long days...but we backed ourselves.”
Zeller is efficient. Easy for staff, easy for customers.
Cerisa Benjamin, Blak Brews co-founder
From pop-ups to a permanent space.
Winning Food Stars Australia in 2024 gave Blak Brews a big burst of visibility – and a financial runway to grow. The couple used the momentum to open Booln Booln Café, a light-filled space in central Geelong that serves jaffles, native teas, coffee and community connection.
When it came to choosing a payment system, Zeller was an easy choice. “Zeller just felt like a clean fit for what we needed at Booln Booln,” says Troy.
The recommendation came from their POS provider, Whoods, who pointed Troy and Cerisa to Zeller as a powerful, stylish and easy-to-use solution.
“We wanted a simple, modern payment system that was easy for staff to use and looked sharp on the counter,” says Troy. “Zeller ticked those boxes.”
Keeping up with fast-paced operations.
Between wholesale, retail, the café and events, there’s always a lot happening at Blak Brews.
“It’s full throttle,” says Troy. “We’ve got wholesale, retail, café operations, events, media...all running at once. But we’ve got a solid team. My focus is on building the brand, big-picture strategy, and making sure we keep growing the right way.”
Cerisa adds: “There’s a lot going on behind the scenes. Keeping things moving across multiple channels takes constant coordination, but we’ve built systems that work for us.”
At Booln Booln, one of those systems is Zeller, which runs the café’s daily transactions with zero disruption. “For Booln Booln Café, Zeller has been solid. Clean interface, easy for staff, and no hiccups,” explains Troy.
Fast payments, smooth reconciliation.
Reliable, fast payment processing is critical when you’re running a venue with steady foot traffic and short order turnaround. Zeller’s fast settlement cycle helps the team keep the café running without delays or hold-ups.
“The quick settlement definitely helps – especially when you’re running a physical café,” says Troy. “It keeps things flowing without delays.” Cerisa agrees: “It’s reliable, which makes a difference when you’re managing a venue that sees consistent foot traffic.”
For customers, the experience is seamless. Whether they’re grabbing a coffee or sitting down for a meal, they can pay quickly and get on with their day – no fuss, no queue.
“It’s fast and clean and that’s all most customers care about,” Troy says. “You’re not holding people up at the till, which matters when there’s a line.”
A payment system brewed for ease.
Zeller’s industry-leading reliability has helped to keep things streamlined at Booln Booln Café. The café team can focus on customer service, not device troubleshooting. And for Troy and Cerisa, knowing the system just works gives them one less thing to worry about.
“The café runs its own ship day to day,” says Troy, “but yeah – knowing we’ve got a system in place that’s consistent and low-maintenance means one less thing for us to worry about.”
So what’s been the biggest benefit of using Zeller? “It works,” says Troy. “That’s it. No glitches, no learning curve. Our team picked it up quickly, and it hasn’t let us down.”
For Booln Booln Café, Zeller has been solid. Clean interface, easy for staff, and no hiccups.
Troy Benjamin, Blak Brews co-founder
Advice for other growing businesses.
Blak Brews is scaling strategically – building long-term partnerships, growing global reach, and staying grounded in the values that started it all.
“We’re scaling up our global presence, locking in some major long-term partnerships, and continuing to grow the brand while staying true to who we are,” Troy says.
“We’ve built something strong,” Cerisa adds, “now it’s about maintaining quality and expanding the right way.”
Their advice to other business owners looking for a smooth start with payments? “If you’re opening a venue and want something that just works from day one,” says Troy, “Zeller’s a solid option. No drama, no overthinking.”
Zeller’s helped them stay focused on what matters most – serving customers, sharing culture, and keeping the blend just right.
