Melbourne Coffee Review Hotshots - Find your Local Beaner Cafe

August 17, 2010

125b Broadway, Nedlands
Open 7 days -  6.30am-5pm Mon-Fri, 6.30am-2pm Sat & Sun.

streetview

I sought out La Galette after my wife tasted their almond croisants at another Perth cafe,where she soon became obsessed with these delectable pastries.

We headed down to Nedlands with our 8yo Cavalier Georgia in tow to sample the much vaunted pastries and try their coffee. A water bowl near the alfresco tables in front of the store for visiting pooches was a nice touch.

The décor was light and bright with a black and white theme giving it an oh’ so French ambiance.

Apart from the Almond croissants also on offer are baguettes, cakes, pies, fruit tarts, friands, brioche breads and authentic sweet and savoury crepes.

The staff were very busy but friendly and efficient, we ordered our croissants and coffee choosing a table outside so that Georgia could socialise with the other four-legged clientele.

Our coffee arrived soon after, mine being a flat white and my bride having a latte, both coffees had good temperature and were well presented with silky textured milk. The blend cut through the milk giving a pleasant and flavoursome taste experience.

The croissants were sheer decadence and every last crumb was devoured leaving  the plates  sparkling clean!!

Coffee by Five Senses

A most enjoyable visit and I’m sure I will be coerced into visiting again  in the not too distant  future, gotta be worth a little brown bean.

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Trevor Green
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Posted in 1 Bean, Family Friendly, Western Australia | No Comments »



March 26, 2010

If you’re a regular reader here, you’ll already be more than aware that life is too short for bad coffee. Anyone care to disagree? Didn’t think so!

Not only is staying away from supermarket coffee  a tough move for most home-baristas (or even instant, c’mon, admit it – we’ve all been there before), but the pursuit of coffee in its finest form can really take some effort. Are you one of the few who would walk three CBD blocks just for a superior cup? If so, you’re in for a relaxing treat with a World Tour ticket, but you have less than 72 hours before its snatched away for another two weeks.

Wondering what the World Tour is? We recently added the World Tour link you can see to the right there, but we did it steathily, without telling anyone. If you click on through this mysterious link (http://worldtour.melbournecoffeereview.com/), you can uncover all the details you need to know. The curiosity of over a thousand MCR readers is astounding becasue even though we put up the link without a proper MCR announcement last week, we are almost at capacity for our first World Tour destination!

I know it can be hard to move quickly on a Friday evening but if you want fresh coffee the way it was meant to be experienced, you’d better get some hustle on! Click through and have a read, but you may want to speed-read as the order forms will automatically close when we hit capacity. This will easily be sometime over the weekend, well before our planned Monday cut-off, so good luck getting in and it was nice meeting you!
- Mark Hendrickson

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markh
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Posted in Announcement, World Tour | No Comments »



December 11, 2009

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32 Market Street,

Fremantle

After hearing so many good reports about Hush I journeyed down to our port city  with my dear old mum in tow for a spot of lunch.

We ordered a foccacia filled with tender chicken strips, semi-dried tomatoes, brie and an avocado dressing, they were delicious and luckily I had to finish off mum’s for her.

The blackboard menu had some interesting offerings including all day breakfast and could be easily read without having to leave our table.

shop

The decor was relaxing with timber floors and comfortable seating. Synesso is the caffeine extractor of choice with Mazzer grinders, one of the Mazzers holds their single origin bean which changes weekly offering their clientele taste experiences from all corners of the globe.

My espresso arrived in an ACF demi cup temperature perfect and looked amazing, it had a crisp acidity, good body, smooth and rich, a total treat to my taste buds leaving a delightful and lingering aftertaste.

After we enjoyed our foccacias my flat white was delivered by one of the friendly staff, it had   silky smooth milk and was  adorned with a  dainty rosetta. Temperature spot-on with the blend cutting through the milk leaving a pleasant choc/cocoa mouthfeel that lasted for ages. These guys really care about their coffee and its shows in the cup.

Coffee by Five Senses

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(Mark Chandler, WA Barista Champion 2 years in a row standing at counter)

Fremantle has finally got a cafe serving great coffee at a consistent standard and has lived up to all of the good things I have heard from other worshippiers of the humble bean.

Keep up the good work Daniel, Michael and team — well worth a couple of beanzzzzzzzzzzz

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Trevor Green
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Posted in 2 Beans, Family Friendly, Western Australia | 1 Comment »



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 »



October 9, 2009

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Shop 7b Naturaliste Terrace,

Dunsborough, Western Australia.

We arrived in Dunsborough mid-afternoon and being in need of a caffeine hit we sought out the Yallingup Coffee Roasting Company, as we approached we could see holidaymakers seated at tables on the verandah enjoying their coffees.

It had a relaxed atmosphere with polished concrete floors, stainless steel, timber and a shiny red Diedrich sitting in the corner surrounded by bags of green beans from around the globe, two La Marzocco’s stood proudly on  the counters along with a display cabinet filled with delightful locally made biscuits and slices. My wife gave full marks for the lime citron slice and my son’s chocolate slice disappeared at a rapid rate.

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My traditional short mach arrive in a clear shot glass with layers of espresso, crema and splash of milk, a small container of microfoam accompanied my mach for topping-up if required (a nice touch). The espresso had good temperature and body having a taste reminiscent of a mocha/java blend which left a rich lingering aftertaste on my taste buds.

My wife’s tall latte looked great and she commented that the blend cut through the milk nicely, my son’s flat white was a tad hot be he enjoyed it after it had cooled down.

Coffee by Yallinup Coffee Roasting Company

A great little cafe/roastery serving good quality food and coffee and deserves a bean for sure.

Dunsborough info:–

http://www.westernaustralia.com/en/Destinations/Australias_South_West/Dunsborough/Pages/Dunsborough.aspx

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Trevor Green
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Posted in 1 Bean, Western Australia | No Comments »



June 11, 2009

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128 West Coast Drive,

Sorrento (just before Hillarys Boat Harbour)

Hours: Mon 7am-2pm, Tues-Sun 7am-5pm

Dinner on Thurs 6pm-9pm

It’s winter, it’s too wet to go to work (that’s my excuse) so what better way to spend some time than drinking some good coffee.

Driving along West Coast Drive with the wind gusting and the whitecaps on the ocean throwing up plumes of spray I arrive at Voyage to sample their wares.

This popular deli/cafe has a huge communal table where thirsty and hungry clientele browse newspapers and magazines while enjoying the treasures coming out of the kitchen.

The decor is modern, plenty of stainless steel, bright prints on the walls and a display of deli produce and take-away fresh coffee beans. The display cabinet is full of luscious cakes, brownies and tarts and was ‘oh so tempting.’

The lunch menu had a vast choice of paninis, burgers, pies, wraps, toasties and savoury tarts to name a few. You can byo for a $2 corkage and they are open for dinner Thursday evening 6-9pm.

I walked up to order my espressso and the Synesso was in full production mode, when my espresso arrived it was perfect temperature with lovely rich crema and aroma, it had a lovely viscous mouthfeel with choc/cocoa/fruity notes leaving a lingering pleasant aftertaste.

After watching the stormy day outside for a while I ordered a flat white, on arrival it had silky smooth textured milk with a little heart in the centre, the Bannister Downs milk gave it a natural sweetness with smooth caramel/choc notes, temperature was spot on, why hadn’t I discovered this little gem before now? Two totally enjoyable caffeine hits, hats off to the crew at Voyage “I shall return!!”

Coffee: Custom blend from Five Senses

Great location, great food, great coffee–2 big beans here for sure.

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Trevor Green
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Posted in 2 Beans, Western Australia | 1 Comment »



May 25, 2009

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239 Jaffe Road, Wan Chai

Hong Kong (midway between Causeway Bay and Wan Chai MTR stations)

Open 7.30 til late 7 days

Zambra is situated on a corner with full glass windows over the two levels, the cafe is downstairs and the second level is a good place to relax, sip on great coffee and watch the frenetic pace on the streets outside.

They have a comprehensive menu and tasty meals were being served to the eager clientele. My son enjoyed some fluffy scrambled eggs on toast and had a smile on his face on completion.

On entering the cafe the La Marzocco was the focal point of the counter area and that is where I  headed to place our order. A short mach for me, a flat white for my son and my wife her customary long black with a splash, we headed upstairs to await our order  and it wasn’t long before they arrived in Zambra’s own blue and yellow crockery with their logo emblazoned.

My mach looked great in it’s little demi cup, a rosetta and rich choc crema, ideal temperature, huge fruity/choc notes, what a totally pleasurable experience from this single origin Harar, their bean of the day.

My son’s flat white had a petite rosetta atop the silky smooth milk and lovely crema around the rim of the cup, he commented that the coffee came through the milk nicely to give a lovely chocolately taste.

Later in the week I happened to be in Wan Chai and was drawn back to Zambra to sample some more of their  wares.

Tika the lady behind the LM informed me that they were using their Signature Blend so I ordered a short mac .  The customary rosetta sat on top of silky microfoam with rich choc crema around the edges, good temp, good body, bold choc/cocoa notes, another great caffeine hit.

I commented to Tika that it was one of the best coffees I had enjoyed since arriving in HK and she replied that “it’s because I am the barista!!”

This is a quality outlet obviously run by  lovers of the bean, they roast their own beans and the proof is quality in the cup.

Zambra is a must  for visitors to Hong Kong seeking quality coffee and not the franchise muck that abounds on every corner.

Two big beans for this great purveyor of quality coffee.

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Trevor Green
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May 22, 2009

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67 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

G36 Peninsula Centre, Kowloon

After much checking of my map and being accosted by shopkeepers trying to get me to purchase  goods from them I finally arrived at this hidden caffeine haven.

I made my way to the counter which had stacks of coffee bags placed at one end creating a great atmosphere, I ordered a doppio cafe latte and settled in a cosy corner to await my much anticipated order.

My drink arrived in a tulip cup with a rich golden/caramel crema, silky smooth textured milk and a well poured heart. It looked tempting and upon my first sip I was not disappointed, it was low in acidity and had a rich powerful choc/caramel notes and cut through the milk to give a potent but very pleasing taste experience.

After so much effort to get here I couldn’t leave without another coffee so I ordered a  short macc which didn’t disappoint, it had the same powerful taste and  lingered  with me on my journey traversing the MTR back to back to my hotel.

An inviting display of cakes, pastries, muffins, croissants, rolls and sandwiches were on display to tempt anbody wanting a snack with their coffee.

Coffee: Malabar Gold (Indian Josum Select)

Seeking out this little gem was well worth the effort and I recommend a visit when in HK.

Two big beans awarded for these passionate coffee people.

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Trevor Green
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Posted in 2 Beans | 3 Comments »