This is an abridged  version of my recent coffee tour of Melbourne, visiting as many quality cafes as possible during my short stay:-

DAY ONE–We arrive in Melbourne from Perth at 6am on the red-eye!

leave bags at hotel and with our MCR cafe guide  we head to St Ali for breakfast, great coffee with  poached eggs on sourdough, mmm– MCR122

walk to Dimattina for a flat white and latte MCR54

headed to Seven Seeds, Brigitte made me an Esmerelda in the Clover which was amazing,   I then attended 7 Seeds cupping of 8 Kenyan microlots MCR118

jumped on a tram and headed to Genovese Coffee in East Coburg, I toured their  roastery which was impressive

back into CBD and dropped in to Degraves Espresso for a short mach MCR52

after shopping I headed to Cambell Arcade and Cup of Truth for a short mach and I thought I tasted a familiar drop!  (Ristretto blend from Perth in grinder two)

Dinner at Mercadante Woodfired Pizza, Lygon Street

DAY TWO — BBB for a Colombian COE short mach MCR24

trammed it to Bridge Road and then Church Street, visited 7 Grams, enjoyed a great espresso MCR14

we walked to Prahan and headed to markets, Jasper Coffee MCR80 was first port of call, lovely Timor short mach and chat to the crew

next stop was Market Lane where I  attended a brilliant cupping session, a couple of Bolivian COE stood out for me

back to Bridge Road and had lunch at Chimmys, then back to Sebel for a break

enjoyed dinner in Hardware Lane then walked to Etihad for the Saints/Pies blockbuster, awesome atmosphere!

DAY THREE — BBB for an espresso and flat white

caught tram to QV markets and browsed, then headed to Auction Rooms MCR20  for a MCR meetup group get-together. I enjoyed some great coffee and conversation with the group, great to meet you James!

After leaving  Auction Rooms I came upon Di Bella so dropped in for a java MCR53

walked back into town and headed for Sensory Lab at David Jones, enjoyed a great Rwandan syphon brew, loved the lab coats and cool gear, I then wandered uptown to Pellegini’s MCR112, this place oozed nostalgia!

Met my wife for lunch and then it was time to  head to Etihad for the Eagles/Roos game, should’ve stayed in town and drank java!!

We had a steak dinner in Hardware Lane and then went to the theatre to see Jersey Boys, absolutely brilliant show!

DAY FOUR –  Degraves Espresso for heartstarters then to Flinders Street Station and headed down to Tyabb on the Mornington Peninsula for visit friends who have recently moved to Victoria. We went to their five acre property andtheir two cavaliers Leo and Charlie,  they took us for lunch at elixir in the huge Packing Shed antique centre in Tyabb. Arrived back in CBD late afternoon, headed to Lygon Street for a tasty  meal and early night.

DAY FIVE –went to visit Vanessa at Three Bags Full but missed her, nice fitout, great coffee and cake, we then ambled to Abbotsford

First Pour at Veneziano MCR128 was our next destination I enjoyed a Brazil Santa Clara espresso, loved the yellow LM, we then  jumped on a tram and headed down to Smith Street, Collingwood to seek out Proud Mary, 6 group Synesso, a row of Mazzers, Clover, syphons, a roaster, this place has it all. Enjoyed a Clover brewed Costa Rican Santa Elena Estate, sheer bliss! Food was excellent, Nolan is on a winner here!

We spent the afternoon at Chadstone for some retail therapy, checked out Jasper Coffee MCR80 and Jones the Grocer MCR82

after returning to CBD and a rest we headed to the Curry Vault for an enjoyable Indian feast.

DAY SIX — Dancing Goat for a heart starter and a chat to Shannon MCR51

walked back into town to Eclipse Coffee Specialists, enjoyed an intense short mach

we then head out to Padre in East Brunswick MCR28, Slayer, roastery, great coffee and cake

after lunch I headed to Deadman Espresso, Sth Melbourne for a brilliant espresso

next port of call was St Kilda to visit Il Fornao in Acland Street, enjoyed a lively short mach,

I then  returned to CBD via Port Melbourne, discovered Broodbox in a laneway off Lt Burke Street, a cool  art gallery with a cafe in a caravan, my Rwandan syphon was a most enjoyable  experience!

I was lucky enough to win a latte art training course on Coffeesnobs compliments of  David Seng of Espresso School, David and Will Priestly ran the session which was an amazing experience and hopefully my artwork will improve with their skilful tuition, this was a great way to end my trip to Melbourne as we were heading back to Perth at 6am the next morning.

With the MCR top 100 guide to help me navigate my way around the Melbourne cafe scene I managed to fit so much into a limited amount of time–keep up the good work MCR, a few cafes I visited weren’t in the guide but I’m sure they soon will be!

Hope you enjoy my little adventure!!

Famous quote: “Life is too short to drink bad coffee!”