Brisbane's Best Coffee...

askthecoffeeguy

Likewise, I haven't ventured out in Brisbane often enough to know where to go for coffee, although I did enjoy a couple of great coffee experiences last time I was there, about a year ago.

My family and I usually pass through BrisVegas a couple of times a year, though, as the outlaws are based on the Sunshine Coast, and we drive down to Byron to stay with friends.

So just in case I'm looking for a pick-me-up en route, who can tell me where to go, figuratively speaking, that is,,,

nzroaster

My Pics: Caffiene Espresso - 100 commercial rd, Tennerieffe. They roast their own and have a beautiful shiny Diedrich in store. One of the richest espressos in town, buttery and fruity, cant ask for more. Naked Coffee - Elizabeth Arcade, city. Campos users and bloody good at what they do.

askthecoffeeguy

I enjoyed espressohead in Byron, which apparently started in the West End in Brisbane. Does anyone know any more about this? Cheers, Pat

GrindOnDemand

Yeah Pat, Espressohead started in West End up here by a friend of a friend of mine - excellent coffee & fantastic home-cooked breakfasts (when she owned it anyway). She sold it, moved to Melbourne with her partner, & they now have several cafes in St Kilda. Leroys is one.

kiwijim

My favs are: Urban Grind - Paddington West End Coffee House - West End Naked - City James

sire_harvey

The Dancing Bean on George st City is great coffee if you don't mind the wait.

DoubleEspresso

Did a recent visit and after walking in circles and going up and down several levels in the wrong building (discovered that as if the cancer wasn't bad enough already now GJs are even in Myers these days ) I finally found Naked Coffee and Dancing Bean. If you wern't looking for Dancing Bean it would be a easy one to miss or mistake it for the establishment next door. (the entrance only, not the coffee!!!) A step up in decor from the average coffee cart operatin in foyers with the wood panelling and design conveying warmth and creating a rustic little hide away amongst the hustle of George Street. The crew there were great and were willing to put through shots of their SO's through their deli grinder improvising with merit considering their dedicated SO grinder was AWOL. After several shots, adjustments of the grind and a short black sampled by the staff to make sure everything was ok I was treated to a shot with good acidity and chocolate overtones. The machine was a pimped up double boiler PID Expobar. After all the hype I've heard about Naked Coffee I was expecting a main street frontage with an elaborate and very expensive fitout and as a result if it wasn't for the crew at Dancing Bean I would have likely missed it and not gone down the arcade. While the location hasn't got the prestige of a main street frontage and dually attached nasty burden of overpriced sq m2 the machinery and the crew worked wonders to produce a beautiful espresso (my first taste of Campos) and a surprisingly sweet tasting yet strong latte with art on top. To note was the barista dedication to grinding on demand for each and every coffee even with the customers 5 deep waiting for their orders. While I mentioned the cafe fitout wasn't elaborate it was obvious the main cash had been spent on the equipment with a La Marzocca present.

flatwhite2

Checked out the new Campos beside James St Markets....WOW. There has been some recent media about the location of the new store which I will extend upon in the trade section, but I shop at the markets every Sunday and haven't felt the need to purchase a coffee because the coffees at spoon are quite ordinary and saw no point going to Merlo when I have their beans at home. After todays tasting I think I'll be getting my pick-me-up every weekend from Campos.....pity about the wall!!

bris

people you need to check out Matty at Two Cups. It's on upper Edward and he is awesome. The coffee is Di Bella and he has Campos rocks having recently discovered it just up the road. My old favorite was The Spot tho in Taringa I think it has new owners and uses Abrisca now. Same thing as Naked they would grind on demand no matter how many people were lined up out the door. I think people are happy to wait if they know they are getting a great coffee. Cheers

nzroaster

After a trip to Campos a couple of weeks ago, it is my new Favorite. I had an espresso that was better than any I have ever had from Campos beans, including Campos Sydney!!!

bris

congratulations to Matt and the team at Two Cups for taking out best cafe and barista in the Courier Mail lifestyle catagory. People you really need to visit this place it rocks.

GrindOnDemand

congratulations to Matt and the team at Two Cups for taking out best cafe and barista in the Courier Mail lifestyle category ...

most voted for - not necessarily 'best' :🙂

bris

I realise that but he does make great coffee and his place has a great atmosphere. Apparently there was only one vote seperating him from the other guy so congrats to him too. I am a bit biased having worked with Matt and having seen him in action he really inspires you with his enthusiasm. Having worked in a cafe that was voted in the Courier Mail top ten places for coffee I realise this is not an award judged by industry gurus but then again it is the public that in the end are the ones we are trying to please in order to make a living. As long as we all can continue to be enthusiastic about coffee then it can only get better. Cheers

DoubleRistretto

I was up recently; DoubleEspresso must have had a similar experience to you - thought i'd try and find Dancing Bean; unfortunately didn't have much time in the CBD, but walked around and around and couldn't even find them - talk about low profile! Looks like John Ronchi has taken part-ownership of Campos up there - not sure if he's still involved with Naked. Tried Two Cups - seemed Ok, but shot I had was a bit weak - didn't have time to stay for a second. -A

DoubleRistretto

HI guys - quick question - where does the Gold Coast go - with Brisbane, or should it have its own thread, like Sunshine Coast? dR

emmama

Campos is absolutely great. The coffee is amazing the service has dropped off in the past few months though. I don't know what it is, but the staff aren't as friendly, and it was a really sudden change. I think the guy from New Zealand left and it's really gone downhill since.

askthecoffeeguy

I may be wrong about this but some 'high end' coffee shops have a stated policy of the barista not engaging with the customers so that they can focus on the product that they are producing I'm intrigued though by the new Intelligentsia store in Venice Beach, California - which has four open barista 'platforms' with no benches around them - where each customer id directed to an individual barisa who welcomes them, takes their order, makes it, and takes the money for it - making one drink at a time for one customer at a time Surely this sets a new new benchmark for customer service in the hospitality industry? Cheers, Acg

emmama

askthecoffeeguy: that's really interesting, I'd love to go visit there and see what it's like. I know when I used to work as a "barista" (crappy chain shop) I hated having people talk to me as I couldn't concentrate on the coffee, but that was more of a problem when we were super busy, doing it one at a time wasn't a problem.

nettis_coffee

when campos nails a coffee, its the best in brisbane. bbuutt sometimes they can be inconsistent.

admin

Hi guys - putting a call out for names of truly excellent cafes in Brisbane [see conversation under [i]'Sydney's Best Cafes'[/i]]... we are considering extending our best cafes of Sydney & Melbourne, but to do this [& given the standards we require] we need to know there are at least 5 cafes which make truly excellent coffee - ie where you would feel confident recommending your aficionado friends time after time... Does Brissy have [at least] five cafes of this calibre? If so, please list here. A