Melbourne's Best Coffee

Lacehim · March 2014

NO! $25... Dreamin' City folk must have money to burn! >:D

Ol Grumpy · March 2014

Nah, that $25- coffee must include a 1/2 kg bag-o-beans to take home as well : pan Now I've got that bloody 80's rock song chorus 'Panama' playin over-n-over in my head...

C-man · March 2014

And served by a young topless waitress....

beanroy · November 2014

At the moment, Foxy Brown is my favorite coffee destination in Melbourne. The coffee here is consistent and delicious. Congrats Pat and team, you guys deserve all accolades!

aperfectcoffee · December 2014

Anyone been to commonfolk in mornington on the mornington peninsula? beats anywhere in the city its amazing

Lacehim · January 2015

Where is good for coffee in the center of Melbourne? I have a trip coming up and will be in need of a decent coffee!

Looking forward to some time with the Mrs without the kids in tow!

Will be staying around the Bourke St/Swanston St area.

Lacehim · February 2015

Well I just got back from Melbourne. Had a great trip with the Mrs, and went to see Billy Connolly's High Horse Tour at Hammer Hall which was fantastic. We did the touristy thing and I tried Ash's Nakid Espresso bar but it was always closed!

Maybe they don't do weekends. I stumbled across "League of Honest Coffee" which was really nice, and up near the Gaol. They had a couple of slayers and table service (everywhere up here, you have to order and pay! lol). Nice cafe, friendly staff. I could have spent quite a bit of time there! Lots of coffee stuff for sale that you just don't get in stores up here. They seemed to be using Padre Coffee and even had their own brand milk!!! Nice cafe, loved the lights and group handles on the wall. I just had a latte at this place which was really nice, and the milk was just the perfect temperature. My wife took some photos.

Also popped into Dukes Coffee Roasters and had a lovely coffee. Great place, lovely beans and helpful service too, and I bought some of there own house blend because the Mrs like it so much!

Overall I didn't have a bad coffee anywhere though, even at random cafes and the weather a nice helped too! It was 20 degrees during the day, lovely compared to sweating like mad up here on the coast! We went to St Kilda beach and at the markets there I found a 2 group IZZO lever on a pushbike setup. Ran on gas, what a great idea! Can't wait to go back again with the kids next time. My youngest would just love the trams, and they even have disabled friendly ones now too on some lines!

Yay.

cosmic_couple22 · February 2015

Great to hear you had a good time Lacehim, LoHC and Dukes both great cafes, enjoyed our experience when we were there last. As you said plenty of great coffee in Melbourne, Oak room, Proud Mary's, Seven Seeds, Auction Rooms, Admiral Cheng Ho Workshop Brothers and many more all good places to try, and all easily accessed from the trams in zone 1. Makes you wonder why it is so hit and miss in QLD.

Lacehim · February 2015

on 1422840639:

Great to hear you had a good time Lacehim, LoHC and Dukes both great cafes, enjoyed our experience when we were there last. As you said plenty of great coffee in Melbourne, Oak room, Proud Mary's, Seven Seeds, Auction Rooms, Admiral Cheng Ho Workshop Brothers and many more all good places to try, and all easily accessed from the trams in zone 1. Makes you wonder why it is so hit and miss in QLD.

The new tram "freezone" is great. You can hop on and off any tram in the CBD without using a myki card! I can't believe Brisbane got rid of theirs! So short sighted really isn't it! It was an amazing way to get around.

C-man · February 2015

welcome back to Qld. Lacham where the only culture we have is bacteria.

GeekKopi · May 2015

There's a new (1 year old) cafe that opened up in my local area called Butcher 128 in Yarraville VIC. Great food and awesome coffee. They use the Black Mamba blend from the Maling Room as well as have SO's of the week. Coffees are prepared on a Synesso and the owner can sure put it to good use.

askthecoffeeguy · June 2015

Just had a shit coffee from somewhere *I won't say where* using a slayer - it was all lemon acidity and burnt toffee in the flavour profiles More the fool me for ordering a flat white and an espresso at the same time ! Is it unreasonable to expect a coffee that tastes like a coffee and not some fool barista's wet dream of what they think a coffee should taste like ? Word up to cafe owners everywhere - don't inflict your social coffee experiments on me ! P

kbilleter · June 2015

on 1433558608:

Just had a shit coffee from somewhere *I won't say where* using a slayer - it was all lemon acidity and burnt toffee in the flavour profiles More the fool me for ordering a flat white and an espresso at the same time ! Is it unreasonable to expect a coffee that tastes like a coffee and not some fool barista's wet dream of what they think a coffee should taste like ?

Yes, I'd say so ;-). There's an extraordinary range of aromas, flavours and textures you can get out of coffee. It's understandable that not everybody appreciates everything. Generally, it's fairly obvious roughly where in the broad spectrum of possibilities a given place is going to sit. I can sympathise with how disappointing it is if you're surprised either through misrepresentation or inattention but I don't think you can really make assumptions about what you'll get in a cup these days. Personally, I'm grateful there's a greater range of things to try. You may get the occasional drink you can't stand - you don't need to go back. On the other hand, it's possible to discover something completely surprising and delightful.

Dry_bean. · June 2015

on 1433558608:

Just had a shit coffee from somewhere *I won't say where* using a slayer - it was all lemon acidity and burnt toffee in the flavour profiles More the fool me for ordering a flat white and an espresso at the same time ! Is it unreasonable to expect a coffee that tastes like a coffee and not some fool barista's wet dream of what they think a coffee should taste like ? Word up to cafe owners everywhere - don't inflict your social coffee experiments on me ! P

Not at all unreasonable Pat, a lot of most of the disappointments I've experienced have been at the hipster type places. Nowadays if I walk into a place and find a grubby looking "barista" wearing a funny hat and sporting a few days growth I exit post haste. I don't want surprises, just a good coffee. :stir

GeekKopi · June 2015

on 1433561242:

Not at all unreasonable Pat, a lot of most of the disappointments I've experienced have been at the hipster type places. Nowadays if I walk into a place and find a grubby looking "barista" wearing a funny hat and sporting a few days growth I exit post haste. I don't want surprises, just a good coffee. :stir

I know the feeling guys. I checked out this little cafe not far from home. As soon as we walked in it looked like their furniture was collected from hard rubbish curb side collection and the barista looked like he just woke up - messy hair, beard, clothes he found somewhere etc. The place was choc full though and I couldn't tell clientele apart from the staff. I looked at my wife and said "not in the mood for fruit juice" so instead we went to a local Lebanese bakery, bought some baklava and went home where I pulled some awesome syrupy coffee. Happy days ! I think many cafes that are sprouting up these days are forgetting what customers want. And that is coffee and not an experiment in the cup.

askthecoffeeguy · June 2015

on 1433561242:

Not at all unreasonable Pat, a lot of most of the disappointments I've experienced have been at the hipster type places. Nowadays if I walk into a place and find a grubby looking "barista" wearing a funny hat and sporting a few days growth I exit post haste. I don't want surprises, just a good coffee. :stir

I guess the apple never falls far from the tree I know the coffee profiles that I like and the handful of places in Melbourne which are capable of producing them I don't mind experimenting and trying something new and it's a delight when somewhere new (to me) hits the nail on the head And I realize that individual palates vary and that not everyone shares my enthusiasm for coffee that tastes like coffee and not like green apples Still, when I can roast my own at home to perfection and then make great coffees to my own personal taste - I usually need a strong inducement to try something else Not naming names or anything but I went to code black in Brunswick last week and was blown away by the coffees I had there See..It is possible to surprise me! P

kbilleter · June 2015

on 1433562154:

[...] The place was choc full though and I couldn't tell clientele apart from the staff. [...] I think many cafes that are sprouting up these days are forgetting what customers want.

Hmmm...

GeekKopi · June 2015

on 1433562657:

Hmmm...

Yes I contracted myself. Meant to state choc full of hipsters and they are forgetting what the average folk want. Plus it's a new place so let's see if it's there in 3 years time let alone 12 months time.

askthecoffeeguy · June 2015

on 1433562154:

I know the feeling guys. I checked out this little cafe not far from home. As soon as we walked in it looked like their furniture was collected from hard rubbish curb side collection and the barista looked like he just woke up - messy hair, beard, clothes he found somewhere etc.

sounds a lot like my old joint but at least we used to pump out 55kg per week!

askthecoffeeguy · June 2015

ok ive thrown in an entirely subjective tasting poll for good measure so dont take it as gospel truth folks unless its been vetted by tony abbots media advisor and i realise that the same coffee can taste different made at two different cafes hell, the same coffee can taste different if made at the one cafe, depending upon whos on the machine, and the time of day etc... so just give it a pot luck best shot and let the apples roll where they may p

kbilleter · June 2015

on 1433562874:

Yes I contracted myself. Meant to state choc full of hipsters and they are forgetting what the average folk want. Plus it's a new place so let's see if it's there in 3 years time let alone 12 months time.

Yeah, that's what I'm curious about too. As contrary as I'm being, I actually prefer mid / darkish roasts. Just that I like the idea of a bit of chaos, vibrancy and heterogeneity too :-).

Dry_bean. · June 2015

on 1433563747:

ok ive thrown in an entirely subjective tasting poll for good measure so dont take it as gospel truth folks unless its been vetted by tony abbots media advisor and i realise that the same coffee can taste different made at two different cafes hell, the same coffee can taste different if made at the one cafe, depending upon whos on the machine, and the time of day etc... so just give it a pot luck best shot and let the apples roll where they may p

Re the poll Pat, should have included none of the above, I like my coffee to taste like coffee. ::)

askthecoffeeguy · June 2015

True dat it is s little tongue in cheek >:D :stir

FreshCoffee2 · June 2015

on 1433558608:

Just had a shit coffee from somewhere *I won't say where* using a slayer - it was all lemon acidity and burnt toffee in the flavour profiles More the fool me for ordering a flat white and an espresso at the same time ! Is it unreasonable to expect a coffee that tastes like a coffee and not some fool barista's wet dream of what they think a coffee should taste like ? Word up to cafe owners everywhere - don't inflict your social coffee experiments on me ! P

Thank you Pat. Well said. And you didnt even mention anything about the brand of machine and the BS associated with "brands".... May I simply say that I like my coffee to taste like coffee. If I wanted lemon and acidity, I would go to the local fruitarama and buy a lemon. Or, I would specifiy the coffee made by INFUSION for cupping where I can legitimately seek to find all sorts of characters depending on the type of coffee and roast, rather than in an espresso machine where I expect the coffee to taste like an espresso style brew should...

askthecoffeeguy · June 2015

Agreed have to say I prefer an old school Italian roast to a bowl of fruit salad any day !

kbilleter · June 2015

We had trouble finding coffee that didn't taste predominantly of ash in Venice last year. And the milk was always frothy. Fared a bit better the few days we spent further north (and much cheaper). Lots of choice the week we spent in Bucarest, although my favourite (Origo) sounds like it would have been too bright for everyone here. Still... I was so glad to get back to our machine, I had to make a coffee at 03:00, jet-lagged just to make sure I wasn't imagining how good it used to taste :-) K

Brett H · June 2015

on 1433558608:

Just had a shit coffee from somewhere *I won't say where* using a slayer - it was all lemon acidity and burnt toffee in the flavour profiles More the fool me for ordering a flat white and an espresso at the same time ! Is it unreasonable to expect a coffee that tastes like a coffee and not some fool barista's wet dream of what they think a coffee should taste like ? Word up to cafe owners everywhere - don't inflict your social coffee experiments on me ! P

This is one of my favoite posts from 2015!!!!!! While I was reading it I anted to pump the air screaming yes, only you made me laugh too quickly. I attended a Bris coffee meet-up a few years ago and The host gone to great trouble to procure some of a barista champ's blend. The resulting ristretto tasted like warm lemon juice with slightly more body. The only thing more outrageous than ruing good coffee with a roast profile akin to a lemon meringue pie was the price he charged. I topped mine up with cold soda water and drank it as a spritzer.

Brett H · June 2015

on 1433575481:

Thank you Pat. Well said. And you didnt even mention anything about the brand of machine and the BS associated with "brands".... May I simply say that I like my coffee to taste like coffee. If I wanted lemon and acidity, I would go to the local fruitarama and buy a lemon. Or, I would specifiy the coffee made by INFUSION for cupping where I can legitimately seek to find all sorts of characters depending on the type of coffee and roast, rather than in an espresso machine where I expect the coffee to taste like an espresso style brew should...

Another 'YES' and fist-pump! I help can't help but feel very smug when I think of the money I haven't spent on coffee despite enjoying high-end gear. As I read your collectively excellent posts ladies and gents I'm sipping on a coffee from my BFC machine roasted by me and tasting like coffee. A double win!! Now someone did the sums on my gear in a thread a couple of years ago and looking around I see I'm in good company. But when I consider I rarely if ever drink coffee out compared to my friend who manages two to three a day at a cost (he's in finance) of $3k -$3250 a year, my machine looks particularly frugal. Think of it as renting for 18months but owning it at the end of that time. What has this all to do with Melbourne coffee? As the caffeinated home of Australia how far are they prepared to to let the fringe and avent garde dictate the mean? How many will they turn off, disenfranchise and then rue the economic implication? As a country of very recently converted beer drinking zealots is this even possible?

askthecoffeeguy · June 2015

I don't mind bright acidity in an espresso as long as it's balanced by fruit sugars I just don't like it in my milk based coffees I've also had some great coffees from Reverence Coffee, St Ali, and Seven Seeds in Melbourne - all of which were lighter style roasts but which were exceptionally well balanced Not my preferred or 'go to' drinking style for coffee but very enjoyable never the less Still I've often found myself making my own coffee afterwards to my own requisite strength, and desired coffee profile But I've had a lot of terrible coffees out and about also which makes me even happier that I can produce my own good cup of Java at home !

kbilleter · June 2015

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

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