Tasmania's best coffee...

askthecoffeeguy

I hear that OOMPH! are doing great things with coffee in Hobart, but again, I haven't tried them...

Last time I was in Tassy I was representing Victoria in the National Cocktail Competitions, and that was more years ago than I care to remember!

Didn't win, but met a nice young lady there by the name of Dianne Appleyard - wonder where she is now...

Soon the little one will be too old to qualify for free flights anymore, which means that Tassy is looking a hell of a lot better as a holiday destination, seeing as how you can pop your car on the boat and have a relatively non-expensive driving holiday there.

Add to this the great produce and sensational wines coming from this region, and why wouldn't you wanna go there? 8-)

Lovey

My beautiful bride and I returned from Tassie just a few weeks ago after spending our honeymoon there. What a lovely place, I wish I'd gone there years ago. A couple of places I can thoroughly recommend in Hobart, only listed in the order that I visited them in: - Oomph. - Villino Espresso, using Island Espresso beans. - Island Espresso. If there's any others that I can think of, I'll whack them up.

coffeedrinker

Island espresso in the South the best and Croplines in Launceston. Croplines roast for themselves so they dont worry about competitions.

fattylateplease

Island espresso was the best down south but it was up for sale - so who knows now.

JF

Thanks guys... I am taking my wife down to Tassie for our 15 year anniversary, and now I have a few cafes to visit for the week I am based in Hobart, Cheers JF

fattylateplease

Add to this the great produce and sensational wines coming from this region, and why wouldn't you wanna go there? 8-)

Launceston's Tamar Valley is home to Tasmania's best wines. I wonder if that is the reason they are going to stick a great stinking pulp mill slap bang in the middle. :o

JF

Just got home from 2 weeks in Tasmania and OOMPH! is definately the best coffee down there. I first found them at Freycenet (east coast) however the barister (sorry, coffee maker) didnt like coffee so sadly, the coffee whilst not the worst Ive had was OK.. I then visited Hobarts cafe every other day and filled the loyalty card.. Great coffee. My only criticism was they couldnt make a piccolo late properly - they used a full extraction and just poured a little milk - a 2/3rds normal late... But other than that - was something I looked forward to each morning... Thanks for recommending this one.. Cheers JF

taz

Just out of curiosity. If you went to the same place eveyday, how do you know it is the best.

fattylateplease

Tasmania and good coffee are two words that would never go together in the same sentence. 😛

admin

well, I'm about to find out for myself; will try the ones recommended above [Oomph, Villino, & Island Espresso] but any other recommendations - especially for Hobart - would be most welcome! A

admin

Hi guys - well, went to Tas, and have to confirm the general opinion - there's not a lot of good things that I could find happening in the coffee scene. Will start a bit of a blog of posts, as I go through the notes I took on my trip. First Hobart, and I have to say, it didn't come across as a particularly 'buzzy' city. The locals walk around with a look that seems to show that they're aware they're not living in a centre-of-the-universe - type city; at least they're honest, I guess. Oomph 60 Liverpool St This seemed to be one of the few places with a bit of buzz in the whole city. Ordered a flat white: came in a large cup; rich, thick good body with chocolatey undertones & creamy textured milk. The shop was a bit bare, but these guys seem to know what they're doing, and even more interesting, they're about to open a new espresso concept with several high-end machines and around 25-30 single origins - pity it hadn't opened while I was there! Retro 33 Salamanca Place Lodged on the corner between the Wilderness Society and Salamanca Gallery, Retro lives up to its name, with a jumbled interior with a slightly ramshackle, bohemian feel. The coffee came with an attempt at a rosetta, but with the milk so foamy that it was barely visible. The [Vittoria] coffee was weak, with a distinctly 'woody' flavour. They had some amazing Carrot cake [$7.50] whichwas moist, delicious and most of all huge - reminded me of the sort of cafes I used to frequent in my student days!

admin

Next installment - on to Villino - in the inner city precinct, on Criterion Street. Villino featured an excellent range of Panini, and were it not for the expertly made flat white [right down to the rosetta in the expertly steamed milk] by a young, but extremely competent barista, it would have been easy to write it off as a pleasant lunch spot but not much else. But the coffee was fresh and the espresso came with good body and was rich and well-rounded. Did a bit of a circuit & went down Hampden Road to the historic Battery Point [& perhaps fortuitously given my surfeit of caffeine, just past the Heart Foundation], in search of a cafe/bakery that had received a lot of positive press in a Google search. After about 10 mins walking, I came to the Jackson & McRoss Bakery, situated in a beautiful, historic building on the corner of Kelly Street. As the name suggests, it's an upmarket bakery, offering a range of sourdough breads, pastries and exotic savouries and pies. The baked goods looked exquisite, which was just as well as the coffee was appalling, with all the characteristics of engine oil, and I simply couldn't drink it. Onwards and upwards...

admin

OK, so the quality of cafes goes down steadily from here... next installment will be from the hinterland of Tassie. But just a reminder, if anyone is doing a driving trip, feel free to put the cafe results up as a sort of mini-'blog'! A

Springbok

Just back from a great 2 week holiday in tassie - had good coffee at Coffee Republic in Launceston, but sadly not anywhere else - generally was disappointed with the standard and the service in Restaurants - not up to the local Brisbane Standards and we did eat out a fair bit. The best coffee I had was at a Grinders sponsored outlet at Melbourne Airport - hit just the right spot as Coffee sometimes does..

MineAllMine

[quote author=admin link=topic=813.msg6016#msg6016 date=1268647446] Hi guys - well, went to Tas, and have to confirm the general opinion - there's not a lot of good things that I could find happening in the coffee scene. Will start a bit of a blog of posts, as I go through the notes I took on my trip. First Hobart, and I have to say, it didn't come across as a particularly 'buzzy' city. The locals walk around with a look that seems to show that they're aware they're not living in a centre-of-the-universe - type city; at least they're honest, I guess. That's just what is so absolutely beautiful about Tasmania and Tasmanians. Totally honest and very friendly because you don't have all the worries of the 'buzzy city' risks. ex-tasmanian living in Perth because I met and married but still loving 'home'