Melbourne's Best Coffee

beanflying

Generally I would agree with the Journalists from the mainstream media having issues with getting around and then having the knowledge and tastebuds to sort out a list is another matter. When for example I posted my personal shortlist above here remembering I am 4 hours away and get to Melbourne 6-8 times a year. Some of that is based on been there before, some comes from person X at place Y told me it was worth trying, some comes from Social Media or other online forums and a tiny tiny touch comes from review sites or guides. The problem with food/drink/general Journo's is they are covering a huge scope of topics in most cases and don't dig into or get involved totally in the topic we are most interested in. So like in the fairfax topic they miss places that they shouldn't or parrot past venues.

beanflying

mycuppa wrote:

Just face it Timbo - you can't stay away..........perhaps a Kitehouse by the Bay might be a possibility ?

Mmmm maybe one day but I do prefer the country life 🙂

admin

Hi guys - just a quick 'heads-up' - we announce our Best cafes of Melbourne 2011 tomorrow... cheers A

mycuppa

admin wrote:

Hi guys - just a quick 'heads-up' - we announce our Best cafes of Melbourne 2011 tomorrow... cheers A

Better get your flak jacket and tin hat ready ......... :o

beanflying

5 is so few spots in a city with so much good coffee 🙂

admin

OK here it is: our official Melbourne's Top 5 cafes for 2011 are.... (drum roll please) 1. Proud Mary 2. Dukes Coffee Roasters 3. Axil 4. Dead Man 5. Monk Bodhi Dharma Remember, this is judged on espresso -- we'll have more on judging/methodology shortly [see [i]Melbourne's Best Coffee[/i] thread below] -- but for now, our congratulations to the Top 5 for doing an amazing job in an amazing city for coffee; and of course, special congrats to Nolan and the team at Proud Mary!

beanflying

Dukes for me has been the stand out espresso based coffee for the year for me in Melbourne. They don't make much noise online like some just getting in there and doing their thing well. Going to go back to Proud Mary later this week and take my time having a few coffees as the last trip was last year and was a rushed one with Chris Blair (think we hit 6 or 7 cafes for the day). Its a fairly radical change of names in a Melbourne best coffee list but the competition at the top end is tight. Noticed this on Twitter this morning too 🙂

admin

beanflying wrote:

Dukes for me has been the stand out espresso based coffee for the year for me in Melbourne. They don't make much noise online like some just getting in there and doing their thing well.

yes, they were probably the surprise element... for those that are interested, herewith the full 'Shortlist' 1. Auction Rooms 2. Axil 3. Brother Baba Budan 4. Dead Man 5. Dukes 6. Maling Room 7. Market Lane 8. Monk Bodhi Dharma 9. Proud Mary 10. 65 Degrees 11. Seven Seeds 12. St Ali 13. The Final Step 14. The Premises 15. Three Bags Full we also threw in a new Campos account [Mr Close] but [if you'll excuse the pun] it didn't come close. A

admin

Ok guys - just to let you know, we've got the story up on the home page [ie http://www.cremamagazine.com.au ] - we'll be putting up some extra fun shots, taken along the way, in our Gallery this afternoon - should be fun to have a scroll through... A

KellyHill

post on best coffees available in the world... makes my mouth water and I realise how much I am ready to travel just for coffee!! (Link removed - Cross posting).

takeaim

It was great to be asked to be part of the review process again this year, witnessed a big change in the options Melbourne has for great coffee. We started off with a list close to 30 and narrowed it down to 15 for the second round of judging, there were several others that we visited including: League of Honest Coffee Dancing Goat Campos De Clieu Penny Farthing Atomica Sensory Lab and a few others i've missed.

admin wrote:

yes, they were probably the surprise element... for those that are interested, herewith the full 'Shortlist' 1. Auction Rooms 2. Axil 3. Brother Baba Budan 4. Dead Man 5. Dukes 6. Maling Room 7. Market Lane 8. Monk Bodhi Dharma 9. Proud Mary 10. 65 Degrees 11. Seven Seeds 12. St Ali 13. The Final Step 14. The Premises 15. Three Bags Full we also threw in a new Campos account [Mr Close] but [if you'll excuse the pun] it didn't come close. A

UNM

Just seeing beangreen's 'New arrivals' post in the sponsor section reminded me. Last week I had a really nice pourover of La Candelilla Geisha at Liar Liar in Hawthorn East (the beans were from Market Lane). Not sure about the ambience, but couldn't fault the coffee or the staff. A really nice change from run of the mill espresso and not that much more expensive. The kids were happy with their flat white and latte.

borat123

Just got back from a quick trip to Melbourne. Tried a couple of places off the top end of the list. Some better than others. I don't know if it's just my tastebuds, but anyone else noticing a trend toward 'sour' coffee..... ??? Not particularly noticeable with milk based coffee, but try some of the SO's as a short black and sometimes it can be a bit like sucking on a lemon...

Tango

borat123 wrote:

Just got back from a quick trip to Melbourne. Tried a couple of places off the top end of the list. Some better than others. I don't know if it's just my tastebuds, but anyone else noticing a trend toward 'sour' coffee..... ??? Not particularly noticeable with milk based coffee, but try some of the SO's as a short black and sometimes it can be a bit like sucking on a lemon...

I've noticed it too....some of the speciality roasters in Melbourne are roasting really light, and to my tastebuds, too light. It's especially noticeable with a citrusy type bean like a Yirg - I had a coffee from a place the other month that was sour as but perhaps they think this is the citrus characteristics??

mycuppa

Sometimes, it's not always the final roast depth (or level) that creates sourness. It can be either bean selection and/or the roast profile applied. I can put my hand up and say I've made mistakes - both in blending and in profile engineering. Some places don't do enough testing (I'm amazed some even admit they do no testing, letting their customers be the judge is taking it just a few steps too far) or evaluation in their rush to get a new bean (or blend) into the grinder's hopper and others have very little idea of how to adapt a roast profile to suit specific beans and blends - using a pray and hope approach. What I am seeing in my regular travels around town under the radar is perhaps the small, shiny roaster sitting in the corner doing very modest volumes and often touted as the only way to guarantee specialty quality does not always translate into consistent cup outcomes. A craft requires plenty of practice to master.

WotB

I actually think it has something to do with trying to find something that's usable for both espresso and filter. I also reckon that they wanted a slightly different flavour profile in milk-based drinks (90% of orders).

admin

Hi guys - in Melbourne for a few days... any suggestions on new 'must-visit' cafes, much appreciated! cheers A

Jonty

A, Yet to venture there but am hearing Fine Grind Cafe in Brunswick is hitting its straps..... 34 Union Street, Brunswick Melbourne, Australia http://finegrindcafe.com/ Jonty

mycuppa

Jonty wrote:

A, Yet to venture there but am hearing Fine Grind Cafe in Brunswick is hitting its straps..... 34 Union Street, Brunswick Melbourne, Australia http://finegrindcafe.com/ Jonty

Those boys are absolutely hitting the mark. I thoroughly enjoy my weekly espresso there. Erkan, Youie and Ibby - excellent barista and great guys. Crema members should make it a destination - right next to a train station. I have to declare a conflict of interest - they have been using my SO's since opening in May :thumb:

beanflying

If you haven't been there before highly recommend 3 bags full in Collingwood for a great meal and some great coffees. Then a couple of blocks walk to catch up with the Veneziano crew might be worthwhile.

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