Melbourne Coffee Review Hotshots - Find your Local Beaner Cafe

April 27, 2010

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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

market lane

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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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!”

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Trevor Green
Posted in Melbourne | 3 Comments »



October 17, 2009

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Muirrilup Road,

Northcliffe WA

Hours: Thurs-Mon 10am-3pm

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On our trek towards Albany we called in at well-known boutique dairy Bannister Downs nestled in the lush rolling green dairy country in Northcliffe in the deep south of WA.

http://www.bannisterdowns.com.au/dairylounge.htm

The rustic cafe has large viewing windows where visitors can view the milk processing and packaging of one litre biodegradable pouches with inflatable handles that all of Perth’s top cafes use as their choice of milk.

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We headed to the counter with   a La Cimbali sitting there all nice and shiny, we ordered a flat white, latte and capo along with the obligatory scones, jam and Bannister Downs cream (of course).

My flat white was a visual delight with silky milk, dainty artwork and rich crema showing around the rim, the blend cut through the milk and the natural sweetness of the Bannister Downs milk made for a taste sensation and well worth the trek to get here. My wife’s latte was a visual delight in a tall tapered glass all the colours of espresso, crema, milk and foam swirled to create a kaleidescope of colours and she commented that the blend cut through the quantitiy of milk nicely. Chris’s capo was spot on and complimented the fresh scones, jam and cream that we devoured with gusto.

Coffee was a four bean blend from Yahava roasters, Yallingup

Highly recommend a visit if you are touring the bottom corner of WA.

Magnificent rural vistas, good food and coffee, I’m going to award them a one beaner!

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Trevor Green
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Posted in 1 Bean, Western Australia | 2 Comments »



April 23, 2009

138 Cotham Rd

Kew   VIC   3101

 

outside

 

 

Well who would have thought………Pilates and coffee, exercise bikes and coffee, weights and coffee…….the CaFFiend is intrigued!!

This unassuming little shopfront nestled in leafy Kew could be easily missed, overlooked in fact, if you were out about in search of a great caffeine hit; but trust me, you’ll be sorry if you don’t stop in and give these boys a go.

Upon entering you are greeted by a sea of smiling faces, by a cascading waterfall, so soothing, so relaxing, so unlike the CaFFiend!

This well fitted out and funky little cafe, oozes cool, it has such an eclectic vibe, you just have to come down and say g’day to the 2 Nic(k)s

I ordered a ristretto and was pleasantly surprised that they confidently prepared a beverage that was an appropriate homage to the dark lord of the Devil’s Cup.

Such an amazing extraction, a dense and caramelly crema that was just perfect on the nose, with a hint of chocolate and the promise of so much more. A nice acidic intro ,followed by a fruity middle with a BIG chocolate finish, it was 15mls of pure bliss, well rounded and complete.

Just to confirm my suspicions of another HOTSHOT potential candidate, I ordered a cafe latte and was very impressed at the friendly service as well as the speed and efficiency of the team there, but hey they’re all a bunch of fitness fanatics too, so it’s in the blood.

My cafe latte was perfect; the temperature, the textured milk, the espresso extraction, the complete combination of coffee and milk, a match made in heaven, or is it hell, either way……

I have to say that this place is definitely a three bean destination, and especially after my last experience a welcome detour on this caffeine fuelled pilgrimage.

Just on another note, it’s also worth understanding that the owners are trained fitness instructors, are just as passionate about keep fitting and exercising as they are coffee and are big fans of The Devil’s Cup radio show, broadcasting again this Saturday 25/4/09 on 94.1 3WBC fm @ 11am, or stream it live @: www.3wbc.org.au  ……..so not only will you get a great coffee, will you keep fit, but you can rest assured that the guys behind the FAEMA are well informed with their finger on the pulse!!!

 

Till next time…………………………… keep on caffeining on!

 

Coffee: Veneziano

 

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Steve Agi
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March 4, 2009

2 Acland St

St Kilda Vic 3182

il-fornaio

A bit of a treat for brekky this morning, coffee with the stars…..Ron Barassi was today’s choice down at this iconic St Kilda bakery cum café.

This place is just divine, nestled at the start of Acland St just under the Prince of Wales, it is surely a tourist destination, a must see and so when visiting this fair town of ours. Ron was just great we had a bit of a chin wag, a couple of coffees, a bit more of a chat and so on.

For a bloke who just turned 73 he’s doing pretty good, he’s all recovered from his New Years incident, with no regrets, and a bit of a taste for the finer things in life he explained that he just loved his coffee from one of the many regular jaunts around St Kilda, this being one of them.

I ordered a ristretto to kick off the day and was extremely happy to see a very restricted extraction presented to me, obviously these guys knew what they were doing. A very aromatic drop, hints of chocolate on the front palate a strong acidity with a buttery finish, just what the doctor ordered.

I followed it up, quick to continue the momentum, with a café latte, while Ron ordered his standard long black. Out they both came, his looked great, plenty of crema, very aromatic, mine was velvety smooth, a nice thick foam, not watery and too hot like you get all too often. The espresso managed to really cut through the milk well, the blended together effortlessly to create the perfect start to a busy day ahead.

il Fornaio really impressed the CaFFiend, 3 BIG BEANS, without a doubt, a faultless execution of excellence and a BIG thanks to my mate Ron Barassi for his time today….till next time, keep on caffeining on!!!!

Coffee: Di Bella

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Steve Agi
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December 29, 2008

382 Mt. Dandenong-Tourist Rd

Sassafras VIC 3787

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The final installment of the CaFFiend’s journey through the Dandenong mountains took me to a quaint little shack straight out of an Agatha Christie movie, in search of Espresso satisfaction.

Since I went to the House of coffee earlier and the coffee wasn’t great, I thought I’d hit the Tea room, maybe they would do justice to the humble coffee bean.

It was so nice and cozy inside, packed to the rafters!!!

Devonshire Tea was the order of the day, so we ordered a serve, Scones!!! YUMMY!!!!

But Tea, NO WAY!!! “I’ll have an espresso please.”

I should have taken the hint when they didn’t know what that was, which was clear by the puzzled look on their faces, proceeding to bring me a café latte.

Too much confusion!!!!!!!!!

Honestly team caffeine, I couldn’t even bring myself to try it, the meringue ontop, really put me off and the fact that I needed asbestos gloves to touch the glass was a sign that it would not be the best beverage I’d ever had…I opted for a cup of tea and thoroughly enjoyed it with my scones, but Goddammit!! I needed a coffee and I needed it fast….which way to the nearest HOTSHOT café?!?!?!?

http://hotshots.melbournecoffeereview.com/

No beans here and a speedy descent from Mt Dandenong for the CaFFiend!!!

Till next time, keep on caffeining on…….

[Support MCR and delight your taste buds by joining our Home Barista Hotshot Club]

Coffee: Versano

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Steve Agi
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December 17, 2008

Concord Mall

Wilmington Delaware U.S.A.

coffeebeaneryThe Melbourne Coffee review is on tour again, this time out to Delaware with the highly caffeinated Al, WELCOME to the team with this little cafe, hope you all enjoy:
It’s that time of year again and as much as I swear that I will not go to the mall, and that I will do all my shopping online….. here I am once again at the mall. In and out of stores, taking my 4 year old to the bathroom

several times, up and down the esclators, I am in deep need of a heavy duty shot of caffeine! So off to the only coffee shop in the mall, The Coffee Beanery. There are only 2 small tables and the store is a little cramed, but that’s o.k. as long as the coffee is good… I take my first sip breathless with anticipation but unfortunately it was nothing to write home about.

It tasted a little flat, watery and almost tobaccoy, in a really harsh way.

It did not even give me the caffeine boost I so desperately needed… I guess being the only coffee shop in the mall means you don’t have to try too hard since there is no other competition.

Sadly no beans here but a hope that they will pick up their act and give us all satisfaction, that’s what we need…..

The Caffiend sympathizes with you my man Al, bean there drunk that felt the disappointment often dude, keep on caffeining on in search of that perfect ‘hit’ and WELCOME to the ranks …….

till next time…….

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Steve Agi
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December 13, 2008

imp863 Albany Highway

East Victoria Park WA 6101

Gee, it looks as though these sandgropers really wanna let us know what’s going on out WEST, and by the look of the latest offering, a review by ‘The Dan”, these guys are doing everything right, plenty of beans out west and plenty of coffee to be drunk.

Here we go:

The Imp is a relatively new cafe in the heart of bustling Victoria Park, that has caught my attention every morning on the way to work. I’d heard only great things about the food they serve, and went along to see if the coffee was up to standard.

I was pleasantly surprised. Unfortunately, WA hasn’t got a huge range of places a true coffee connoisseur would frequent, but if I was in the area, I’d definitely stop in to the Imp again.

The Wega machine that was being used was nice and clean, with no grind or caked on milk, which is always a good thing. They use a variety of different Fiori origins, rotating them on a regular basis. Today I had the pleasure of sampling the Single Origin Honduran. The ristretto I was served was ready for me before I’d finished making my whole order, and it was rather enjoyable. The shot had an interesting mouthfeel… It was almost, but not quite the viscosity I’d enjoy from a ristretto. It had quite dark cocoa notes, with a very long lingering acidity, though not unpleasant. In fact, the acidity was still hanging around by the time I’d taken my seat to wait for my breakfast and second coffee.

An extra-shot flat white is the usual order by which I rate a cafe. The flat white that was delivered to me had a very thick, brown crema, covering the majority of the cup, with just a tiny bit of white down one side. Crema like this would have been ideal for latte art, but was left wanting. The Honduran I thought was better as a ristretto than through milk, but it wasn’t by any means unpalatable.

Where the Imp really shines, however, is the food. I ordered a Big Breakfast, and it was big. Bacon, Mushrooms, Eggs on Toast, all the usual suspects. And it took an effort to get through, even for me. I also sampled the breakfast porridge, ordered by my colleague, which was beautiful, with berries on top.

The Imp is a very funky place, where you definitely get value for money. If it’s good food you’re after, it’s the place for you. If you’re a coffee snob, be prepared to lower your standards a touch.

Excellent work out in the WILD WILD WEST, must get out there one day and see, or rather, taste for myself, happy to report on it as the Melbourne Coffee Review tours the globe in search of coffee that’s up to Melbourne’s standards…..because life is too short to drink bad coffee….

Bean Rating: 1 bean

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Steve Agi
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November 16, 2008

Peter Scullin Reserve
1 Pier Road

Mordialloc Vic 3195

What a glorious day, what an amazing drive out to this place, which comes highly recommended from Team Caffeine, I was pumped, ready for my afternoon caffeine hit, hope this place was worth the effort, because it would be a long drive back without some caffeine pumping through my veins.

I was hoping for a real Tour De Force on a sunny Melbourne afternoon.

With such high expectations, disappointment seemed likely, so I began to stress as I pulled up to this overly modest and quite unassuming kiosk type café in a park near Mordialloc pier; careful guys, if you sneeze you’ll miss this one, lets hope it was worth the effort…..

I ordered the customary espresso and to shake things up I also ordered a piccolo latte, and immediately was impressed by the fact that the barista knew and was competent enough to execute my order…

I received my espresso which visually was stunning, a great rich and thick crema with perfect inflection and an aroma that was heaven to the nose, it pre-empted the inevitable taste which made the whole drive merely a fond and distant memory, it made everything else pale into insignificance, it was exceptional

Matt, the maestro behind the espresso machine, handed me my piccolo latte which was adorned with a fern, to enhance the entire aesthetic experience, and I was not disappointed, in fact I was pleasantly impressed both by his humility as well as the delicate manner in which he prepared and served the Devil’s Cup.

A truly exceptional beverage, well textured milk, a delicate balance as well as a full and rich mouthfeel that could only be described as: 2 BEANS, and BIG ones at that.

Tour De Cafe not only lived up to the highest expectation but the Caffiend is proud to qualify them as a HOTSHOT café:

http://hotshots.melbournecoffeereview.com/

Till next time, keep on caffeining on…my Tour De Caffeine has only just begun.

[Support MCR and delight your taste buds by joining our Home Barista Hotshot Club]

Coffee: Veneziano

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Steve Agi
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