Adelaide's Best Coffee Houses

psaigh · May 2010

Well it's probably about time some1 posted this little one back up again. Here's a list of pretty well everywhere I can be found drinking coffee:

Bar 9
Coffee Barun
Taylors Blend
Espresso Royale
Simply Coffee
Cikolatte
Rigoni's
The Big Table
Queen St Cafe
Grain and Bean
Nano's
Argo
Viva Espresso
Cafeteka

askthecoffeeguy · May 2010

Mate... If I lived in adelaide I would practically live at your joint!

lars · May 2010

i'm not too sure about Simply Coffee - often get my beans there, but the coffee they make is terrible... I guess it depends what you're looking for! Lars

psaigh · June 2010

A big week for Adelaide coffee as 3 new hot shots all hit the scene greatly increasing the level of coffee in the Adelaide CBD: Andre's Cucina & Polenta Bar (cnr Grenfell & Frome) - 5 Senses Coffee Madera (Rundle St) - the Coffee Barun coffee [singles, siphon etc] Coffee Branch (Leigh st) - 5 Senses Coffee [singles, Synesso]

admin · August 2010

hi guys - we're looking for member input here - we've done our Best Cafes of Melbourne and are now looking at doing Top 5 for Adelaide [if there are that many :>] for our Spring issue... any suggestions [or additions] to the above will be most welcome! A

admin · September 2010

still considering whether to do 'Best cafes of Adelaide' - can't say there has been a groundswell of enthusiasm... does that mean that we're not going to find 5 cafes that are going to be good enough to feature in Adelaide? A :-\

hazchem · September 2010

hmm, I hope there is a least 5. That said, when I was there at xmas there were only two I felt were up to standard. Bar 9 and Coffee Barun. Looking at some of @barnine';s recent tweets though it looks like there could be some more contenders in town. I'll be back in town again this xmas and looking forward to it!

admin · September 2010

Hi mate... not exactly a 'ringing endorsement'! A

hazchem · September 2010

well, no not really. That said, psaigh's list was posted after my last visit, and there is no question of Adelaide's capacity for more coffee places and love for all things delicious. It'll come as NO surprise that I intend to visit all the places above this xmas, as I know the OP's opinion can be relied upon ;D

admin · September 2010

Big news on the Adelaide coffee scene - Russell from The Source has advised that Tony d'Angelo has recently left Rio Coffee to set up his own roasting business. Will be interesting to see how this affects Rio, as Tony has been the mainstay of their business for a number of years... A

askthecoffeeguy · September 2010

Could it be something to do with the water quality in Adelaide which can corrode a machine and corrupt a coffee so easily? I know Ian spent a bundle on a reverse osmosis and re-mineralisation water filter system for his machines - but how many others can say the same thing? I've tasted coffees in Adelaide and I definitely thought that the amount of scale build up in the machine was the predominant overriding character of the coffee, even in some of the so called 'better' establishments - which makes me wonder how many operators actually know what they're doing - and to give big props to those establishments like Ian's who acknowledge the problem and tackle it head on...

Dry_bean. · September 2010

Living 160 k north of Adelaide I'm not in the best position to comment, there are only a few of places I go out of my way to frequent when I visit the smoke, and they are, The Coffee Barun, I pass them on the way in and out of town. Lucia's on the western side of the Central Market (the whole market thing is a great experience) Coffee Craft on South Road, not in the area often but certainly call in when I am. I certainly wouldn't include Simply Coffee on the list :-X

Dry_bean. · September 2010

on 1285549109:

Could it be something to do with the water quality in Adelaide which can corrode a machine and corrupt a coffee so easily? I know Ian spent a bundle on a reverse osmosis and re-mineralisation water filter system for his machines - but how many others can say the same thing? I've tasted coffees in Adelaide and I definitely thought that the amount of scale build up in the machine was the predominant overriding character of the coffee, even in some of the so called 'better' establishments - which makes me wonder how many operators actually know what they're doing - and to give big props to those establishments like Ian's who acknowledge the problem and tackle it head on...

Don't think so ATG, I suspect its simply lack of training, stale beans or just don't care. SA water is not good but its really not that bad either, I've owned espresso machines for over 12 years, don't filter my water but descale regularly and would back the quality of my shots against 80% of Adelaide's coffee houses. What taste does scale impart to the water/shots? maybe its there all the time and I simply cant pick it :-[ though I don't think so.

psaigh · September 2010

@Dry Bean, SA water (along with WA water) is terrible for coffee. The issue for Brass/Copper boilers is not as apparent as the scale just builds and builds and regular descaling will obviously help reduce the build up and consequent nasties that can occur. On Stainless steel boilers (like those used coffee machines such as Synesso, La Marzocco etc) the amount of chlorine in the water is the bigger issue. Under pressure, chlorine converts into chlorides which then attack stainless steel. Mark Baruns Synesso coroded within 6 months before he installed an RO unit, and coffee branches RO unit failed within 3 months due to the wrong membrane being installed on the filtration itself! Descaling is certainly a good thing to do, but preventing that nasty water ever coming into contact is even better for your machine. Plus different mineral deposits within the water will greatly help draw out every tiny bit of fantastic coffee nuance from your espresso, which is why re-mineralisation is also important. But to get back on topic, Sazon in Mount Baker and the White House in Hahndorf are both serving some tasty espesso.

DoubleRistretto · September 2010

great, but are there any decent cafes?

Dry_bean. · September 2010

(But to get back on topic, Sazon in Mount Baker and the White House in Hahndorf are both serving some tasty espesso.) Just don't plan on walking to either one from the city centre

both about 30km from Adelaide up in the hills. ;D

lars · September 2010

on 1285570785:

Lucia's on the western side of the Central Market (the whole market thing is a great experience) Coffee Craft on South Road, not in the area often but certainly call in when I am. I certainly wouldn't include Simply Coffee on the list :-X

agree with the last part of your statement DryB - thought I'd try Simply Coffee again in the weekend, and the coffee was simply awful; not sure about Lucia's either - i know it's an experience but the coffee is pretty average there, in my experience. L

Dry_bean. · September 2010

on 1285718241:

on 1285570785:

Lucia's on the western side of the Central Market (the whole market thing is a great experience) Coffee Craft on South Road, not in the area often but certainly call in when I am. I certainly wouldn't include Simply Coffee on the list :-X

agree with the last part of your statement DryB - thought I'd try Simply Coffee again in the weekend, and the coffee was simply awful; not sure about Lucia's either - i know it's an experience but the coffee is pretty average there, in my experience. L

Re Lucia's, perhaps depends on who's on the machine, they can get pretty busy at times, not making excuses, just wondering out loud. Have tried Simply Coffee a number of times and like you have found the coffee to be very ordinary, have you checked the beans cooling in the roaster? very uneven, would not be at all happy if my Corretto roasts turned out like this, SC had a good name when they fired up, something has changed?

admin · September 2010

tried Pranzo today [from Psaigh's list at the top of this thread] - very heavy dark roast, no delicacy or subtlety at all; a little disappointing really, as I had expected better. A

DoubleRistretto · September 2010

on 1285735721:

very heavy dark roast, no delicacy A

they wouldn't use Rio would they, by any chance? Sounds pretty typical of their kind of roast

admin · September 2010

Hi guys - fyi, the Best cafes of Adelaide poll closes at midnight tonight!

admin · October 2010

Well, the poll has officially closed off and these were the "peoples' choice" results: 1) Madera Boutique Coffee (42.5 %) 2) Coffee Barun Sefton Park (24.8 %) 3) Bar 9, (20%) co-incidentally, the local rag has apparently come up with a Best 5 of everything in a new glossy mag that they put out; unfortunately I don't get it however so missed the results, but will hopefully be able to put them up as a comparison when I get hold of a copy! A

Dry_bean. · October 2010

Morning Admin, maybe I'm a bit slow, where exactly is/was the poll? seen it discussed but have not actually seen the poll. ?

admin · October 2010

hi mate - yes, afraid you are a bit slow; it was a poll on Adelaide's Top Cafes which was up all week on the home page of Bestcafes.com.au - our sister site. Closed off at midnight last night.

Dry_bean. · October 2010

on 1285895807:

hi mate - yes, afraid you are a bit slow; it was a poll on Adelaide's Top Cafes which was up all week on the home page of Bestcafes.com.au - our sister site. Closed off at midnight last night.

So once a poll closes is it automatically deleted?

admin · October 2010

Yup - but just for you, managed to source the url which shows the chart at the midnight cut-off [don't say we don't look after you!]: http://www.bestcafes.com.au/review/libs/poll/?results=adelaide_cafes A

admin · October 2010

Ok managed to source the hardcopy of this to see their methodology, and bottom line: there is no methodology. Their 'Best of' [there are actually six] for Adelaide are:

[li]Lucia's[/li] [li] Cibo Espresso[/li] [li] Felici[/li] [li] Espresso Bar[/li] [li] Simply Coffee[/li] [li] Stax[/li] Just a quick personal critique for those who are interested; have been in Adelaide about 8 months now and while I find Lucia's has a lovely atmosphere, its espresso is nothing special; I find it odd that they simply list Cibo Espresso [presumably as no.2] as there are about 14 of them scattered around Adelaide and there is a huge difference in quality. For the record, my last espresso at Simply Coffee was undrinkable - I just couldn't finish it. A

Dry_bean. · October 2010

on 1285905511:

Yup - but just for you, managed to source the url which shows the chart at the midnight cut-off [don't say we don't look after you!]: http://www.bestcafes.com.au/review/libs/poll/?results=adelaide_cafes A

Thanks Admin, I obviously don't get out anywhere near enough, have not heard of most of the names listed. :-[

Dry_bean. · October 2010

on 1286071237:

Ok managed to source the hardcopy of this to see their methodology, and bottom line: there is no methodology. Their 'Best of' [there are actually six] for Adelaide are:
[li]Lucia's[/li] [li] Cibo Espresso[/li] [li] Felici[/li] [li] Espresso Bar[/li] [li] Simply Coffee[/li] [li] Stax[/li]
Just a quick personal critique for those who are interested; have been in Adelaide about 8 months now and while I find Lucia's has a lovely atmosphere, its espresso is nothing special; I find it odd that they simply list Cibo Espresso [presumably as no.2] as there are about 14 of them scattered around Adelaide and there is a huge difference in quality. For the record, my last espresso at Simply Coffee was undrinkable - I just couldn't finish it. A

Has anyone told the owner (Simply Coffee) that they have a problem.

askthecoffeeguy · October 2010

Most customers vote with their feet it's up to the intrepid owner to identify issues as they arise and to correct them on the fly - that's how you stay on top of your game...

Dry_bean. · October 2010

on 1286150650:

Most customers vote with their feet it's up to the intrepid owner to identify issues as they arise and to correct them on the fly - that's how you stay on top of your game...

True, though some "intrepid" owners are a little slow on the uptake, constructive customer feedback is a very useful tool, provided that the owner is receptive.

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