Melbourne's Best Coffee

askthecoffeeguy

on 1434316445:

Thought you guys might appreciate Ironically, my short macchiato was a little under extracted.

That's great ! I hate lemon acidity in my espresso !

mycuppa

Well, this post is not about Melbourne's Best Coffee - but more a sad case of lament over the distinct lack of professional journalism now exhibited by commercially focused editorials attempting to compile reviews for consumer consumption. A rather stylish and fashionable electronic publication, aptly called Broadsheet, caters primarily for the new and interesting foodie and beverage community happenings along with aspects of entertainment. Featuring cafes, restaurants, exhibitions, events, etc. I have often enjoyed and appreciated their artistically prepared emails. Their juggernaut has continued unabated with recent Sydney-based content publications now up and running. Everything was fine in my Broadsheet world until last week when they featured a "Best Cafes in the West" manifesto. Being an Eastern-based boy I relished the opportunity to read about what cafes have been up to "over there" - especially with a tagline of "go west young man"! - how could I resist. And then it happened.......... One of the cafes they featured from an inner-west suburb had almost the entire review content focused upon a specific owner and his "heritage". Written in the style of intimacy that gives you the impression the author actually turned up and had that precise experience. Unfortunately, said owner no longer owns that establishment as it was sold some time ago.........now offering a completely different theme and entirely new menu and facilities under the new owner. So.......being rather curious I started searching for other references via trusty, indispensable mr google.......and it seems that a very old article (ancient in hospitality years, which are sort of like dog years) popped up. Well, what do you know.........a few simple cut & paste jobs and task complete.......record time. Can the publisher be trusted anymore ? Was it just a simple and genuine mistake caused by a pressing deadline and the need to "fill space" ? Is this a sign of the future - treat your followers with contempt.....just like they are wood ducks....... Reminds me of recent articles about vast segments of social media who purchase 50,000 facebook likes for $150 or 1,500 Instagram followers for $100 - fake it till you make it !

Brett H

Reviving this old thread and re-reading Jeff's excellent post above... I'm off for a couple of days in the Melbourne CBD.  What are the up-to-the-minute cafe must do'oooZZZZ??

Dry_bean.

on 1487051748:

Reviving this old thread and re-reading Jeff's excellent post above... I'm off for a couple of days in the Melbourne CBD.  What are the up-to-the-minute cafe must do'oooZZZZ??

Business or pleasure Brett? regardless, enjoy your trip.

admin

actually must admit i'm a little out-of-touch with the Melb scene - names of top 5-6 standouts would be much appreciated!

Beanz

on 1487051748:

I'm off for a couple of days in the Melbourne CBD.  What are the up-to-the-minute cafe must do'oooZZZZ??

If you are in the CBD I would suggest LB2, Patricia and Workshop Brothers

Koffee_Kosmo

I was in Melbourne about one year ago Place we went to was Degraves Street - originally for lunch and there is lots of choice as well as some good coffee establishments Nice chooros as well around the corner Sorry can't recall any names KK

Brett H

Thanks guys... that's a good start.  The trip is pleasure but because our jobs are our hobbies it'll be business too for a good portion

mycuppa

Brett, The standard is pretty similar across the entire spectrum. There are no standout places and the names of places mentioned above are nothing special in terms of coffee, especially Patricia's ( which I sample every 2 months in the hope that I figure out what I seem to keep missing). The days of the 5 or 6 standouts are long gone. Some of these places are up or down week to week and the same names keep getting A mention. Personally, you may get better coffee outside of the CBD but I'm not going to list places because it's all really subjective. Nobody gets to samples every place. CBD outlets are operating on fixed budgets where the price of a coffee is basically the same across the entire district due to competition. When you get outside of the CBD there is more scope with pricing of products and in some cases a stronger desire to produce excellence...more time, more care, etc. I think it's the places doing exciting and innovative things with food as well as serving good coffee are the most rewarding and memorable experiences. There is some seriously great foodies stuff going on. The coffee, well it's all been done before !

Brett H

In all honesty I'm not surprised to read this Jeff.  And because my wife will be with me it will be she who chooses where we eat and she chooses with her stomach.  It's just nice to put out the question as we're  there for such a limited time.

Lwowiak

Hi Brett, I was in Melb last week and did not visit too many places due to work commitments. These days I do not go out of my way to search for coffee, unless I seek a distraction. I did go to a regular place that my colleagues frequent for breakfast when in town: Brother Thomas 350 William Street Melbourne, VIC 3000 Just outside the Oaks on William. Breakfast is good, and the coffee is nice. Lots of passion, and they do get very busy. Worth visiting for brekkie or lunch if nearby. Cheers Lw.

askthecoffeeguy

If you're willing to travel a little from the city I'd be checking out Proud Mary, Kettle Black, Dukes Coffee Roasters, Allpress Espresso, Wide Open Road, and industry Beans - to name but a few !

Brett H

Thanks guys!