EVERYONE is a little different," says Milly Dawson as she hands me my second cardamom coffee.
"What works for you might not work for the next person."
It's a message that sounds straightforward enough. Yet like everything else at The Healthy Cocktail on Darby Street, a cafe that Dawson opened in October 2022, there is a scientific wisdom beneath the simplicity.
My coffee is really just an espresso shot with milk and a drop or two of cardamom oil. But, Dawson assures me that there's a lot more to it than that.
"Cardamom is an amazing antioxidant," she says.
As if she knows my secrets, the kind of fragile state my weekend has just left me in, she then delivers the news that every Monday morning coffee drinker yearns to hear.
"It helps your liver and alleviates your anxiety," she adds with a smile.
Is the cardamom coffee a delicious brew? Absolutely. Just don't ask Dawson how much you have to pay for this tangy, savoury tincture of wellness. She hasn't got around to that yet.
It's not because it's bound to be pricey, there are just more important things that she'd rather be doing.
Take a look up at the juice, smoothie and espresso board behind the counter and you'll quickly realise what those things are.
You'll understand why you might sometimes walk in to The Healthy Cocktail to find Dawson out the back, perfecting a tonic for a regular's very individual requirements.
Need an anti-inflammatory? Grab a vegan, turmeric and lemon fire cider spring waters ($7). What about a digestive ailment? Try a spring water infused with tarragon, ginger root and peppermint oils ($7).
"Personalised experience"
"People that come in here have a bit more of a personalised experience," Dawson says.
"I find myself having these deeper connections and conversations about why they've come in and what their personal issues are."
The first time I visited The Healthy Cocktail, Dawson had written three short words on a blackboard inside the store. They neatly conveyed all you need to know about Dawson and this passionate approach to curating a healthy remedy tailored to your needs. We Got You.
The "we" that Dawson is referring to brings together the insights of two more dedicated Newcastle locals. As much as Dawson is the expert in liquids and curative tonics, Glen Floyd and Joel Deas, the founders of "We've Got The Munchies", are the brains behind the food offerings displayed throughout the store.
From bags of dark chocolate goji berries ($12), organic raw apple chips ($9), barbecue corn ($6) and wasabi peas ($6), to their incredibly delectable, organic bliss balls ($4.50), Floyd and Deas perfectly complement the hand-crafted philosophies personified by Dawson.
"Going out in Newcastle and finding really healthy, delicious plant-based food can be difficult," Floyd says.
"So we started making all of our food at home. Then we got the opportunity to share with Millie all of the creations that we loved to make at home."
"There are a few vegan places in Newcastle, but we're quite a bit different to everyone else," Deas says. "What we are doing is taking it to the next level.
"Our food is all plant-based but it's also completely organic, gluten free and refined sugar free. There aren't many outlets in this city doing all of that at once. And it's ideal because it all tastes great too."
By the time Dawson finally has a spare moment to join our conversation, after lovingly attending to a rush of customers inside the store, she looks anything but flustered.
It's because she knows how to fuel herself with the kind of relaxing tonics that the rest of us seek after dark. As the name suggests, it's all about treating yourself to a very different strength of cocktail in here.
And with the same straightforward wisdom that she first offered to me, along with my cardamom coffee, Dawson again finds the simplest words to sum up her ambitious and intricate ideas.
"My biggest achievement is just building this place. With my brother we pulled it apart and then put it all back together" she says. "Through lots of small steps, taken one at a time, we've brought this idea to life."
