This tiny spot on newly gentrified Bourke Street is an offshoot of a catering outfit called ‘The Plated Group’. It promised great things, having been launched with appropriate fanfare to the foodie cognoscenti in inner-city Sydney a couple of months ago, and has developed quite a following amongst locals since then.

Given its ‘foodie’ credentials we went there expecting great things, and were surprised to find that the food options were quite limited. The menu was fairly brief, offering the basics but not much more. Items included Homemade Muesli [$9.50], Toasted Banana Bread [$4.50], Fruit Toast and Ricotta [$6.50], Scrambled Eggs [$8.50] and a range of toasted sandwiches.

The scrambled eggs were nicely cooked, but the surprise was that pretty much everything you order apart from the eggs themselves are counted as an ‘extra’. I had mushrooms and smoked salmon with toast, so my dish quickly went from $8.50 to $14. The meal itself was OK, but nothing special – certainly adequate, but nothing more.

Again promising great things was the shiny Syncra Cynesso three group espresso machine on the stainless steel bench – an attraction for coffee purists ‘in the know’. However once again Side Plate disappointed, my flat white having a slightly ‘burnt’ character. The Cynesso is a beautiful machine, allowing custom espresso settings, but definitely needs to be perfectly tuned to turn out the perfect shot!

Service was pleasant enough – although to this reviewer’s mind, it just seemed a little fussy – perhaps the result of the close quarter contact, due to Side Plate’s rather intimate size. One slightly annoying detail – they don’t have a toilet for customers – in this day-and-age, you would not be wrong for considering that pretty much a ‘given’ for any cafe.

Overall the deal at Side Plate seemed to be one which over-promises and under-delivers; in these recessionary times, it’s also a little pricey for what you get. [AF]

664 Bourke St

Redfern East, NSW 2016

Situated on the south end of Errol Street in north Melbourne is Appetite – a small café with a big reputation for its all day brunch menu.

I arrived at about 11:30 on a Sunday morning and ordered Poached Eggs and Bacon on toast, along with a creamy latte. The staff were very friendly and the service was very good. The coffee arrived and I was greeted with a mug of nice smooth coffee with a dark and slightly nutty flavour and a velvety mouth feel.

A few minutes later, the food arrived – a plate of nicely presented wholegrain hand-cut toast with bacon and poached eggs on top, accompanied by baby spinach and seasoned with a sprinkle of ground parsley and cracked pepper.

The eggs were superb and were matched by the bacon, which was rindless and beautifully smoked; the whole piece was a wonderful chewy texture throughout, without being rubbery or dry. I am sure they must get the bacon from the deli at the Queen Vic markets down the road!

The food is fantastic, the coffee is good and the staff are wonderful. If you are on your way to the Vic markets, stop by Appetite, it’s just a short walk up the road and well worth the trip.

Appetite on Errol – Errol Street, North Melbourne

What makes the difference between a good coffee and a truly superb one? It comes down to a number of things. Firstly, most of our Top Five cafés roast their own coffee, largely because they want maximum control over as many elements of the process as possible. Secondly, our top cafes are not into food. They generally do offer some basics, even if nothing more than a friend or two, but they’re primarily espresso bars.

In fact, there are a number of other things that go into making the difference, but overall it’s the commitment of the owner to excellence right through the process – from sourcing of great coffee through to well-roasted and blended beans, the freshness of the coffee – and the perfect shot that a great barista offers at the end of the process!

Sydney has always been regarded as somewhat of a transient city – one that is fickle to the trends that come and go. But one thing that doesn’t seemed to have changed all that much over the past couple of years anyway, are the main players on the purist espresso scene -  with the burgeoning desire for knowledge about specialty coffee, the guys that created the wave of espresso excellence in Sydney are still riding high on that wave. Riding on their laurels too? No – most of them are continually experimenting with roasts and blends, and even new coffee-making techniques. There is great dedication needed to stay at the top and in so doing, these cafés continue to illuminate the way for the new-comers following in their wake.

And just one further thing – many of our reviewers have lived and worked overseas; let’s be clear – these five cafés are the equal of pretty much any on the world stage – our congratulations to them for their passion for excellence!

1.Mecca

67 King St
Sydney NSW 2000

Tel: (02) 9299 8828

Underneath the cornices of the beautiful old Grace Hotel, on the corner of York St and Sydney’s CBD’s busy King St, lies a real gem. And Paul Geshos is determined that Mecca should live up to its name – as a rare oasis for coffee lovers in Sydney’s CBD!

With two beautiful Mirage’s side by side, they certainly pump them out – and they need to, once the city crowd of aficionados starts lining up at the door from first thing in the morning.

But Mecca is also pushing the boundaries with other types of coffee, including the Siphon unit – a vacuum coffee maker, which works on the principle of expansion and contraction of water vapour to infuse the coffee grounds, a method primarily employeed by coffee nerds, but becoming increasingly popular with specialty coffee aficionados.

It’s a method that best showcases single origin coffees, and they’re currently offering this unique brewing method with exotic origins like Ethiopian Sidamo, Kenya AA Auction Lot 639 Gatomboya and Guatemala El Injerto Estate Pacamara. They offer the Siphon-brewed coffee for $3.50 up [depending on origin]. It’s difficult to explain in print, however, if you’re planning to explore coffee to new levels, this is certainly worth checking out!

Head Barista: Alex Kum

2.Toby’s Estate

32-36 City Rd
Chippendale NSW 2008

Tel: (02) 9211 1459

Toby’s is one of the ‘big names’ of the boutique coffee roasting business in Australia, supplying several hundred cafés in New South Wales, and soon to expand to Victoria.

They also have several retail cafes, including the original in Cathedral St, Woolloomooloo, and our favourite – the Chippendale location – on City Road opposite Victoria Park, and close to Broadway.

One of the pioneers of specialty coffee in Sydney, Toby’s have been up there, but not quite top of their game for the last couple of years. However, with a couple of new baristas, and innovations like the new Mirage Idro Compresso hand lever unit [at their Chippendale store] they’re definitely back up there with the best!

With a house espresso blend that is full-bodied and chocolatey, this is truly excellent coffee destination - highly recommended.

Head Barista: Joel Scott

3. Campos

193 Missenden Rd
Newtown NSW 2042

Tel: (02) 9516 3361

We ‘discovered’ Campos seven years ago [Crema issue Spring 2002] and others took up on our review that year, and in subsequent years.

With their success has come growth – they’ve expanded to become one of Sydney’s leading suppliers of specialty coffee to cafes.

Typically with a tangy, fruity flavour and hint of spice, their shots come to their peak with milk-based coffees, and since approximately 90% of Australians drink milk-based espresso, they’ve picked their niche well! It’s always busy and the main complaint if often finding a seat. But we see its business as a just reward for their commitment to espresso excellence - Campos is still the benchmark by which others are judged!

Head Barista: Ben d’Emden

4.Single Origin

60-64 Reservoir St

Surry Hills

Tel: (02) 9211 9055

As the name suggests, these guys have chosen to make a name for themselves in single origin coffees.

A buzzy atmosphere - one that’s almost a little too frenetic for some - they manage to pour out some of the best espresso shots in town. Typically your espresso will have a spicy, caramelly flavour ['House Origin' blend], but they also offer single origins like Habar from Honduras, El Salvador Santa Anna and Panamanian Boquete.

Single Origin hit the scene almost 6 years ago with their café in Sydney’s trendy Surry Hills, and over that time, have built up a loyal following.

Head Barista: Shoji Sasa [pictured]

5.Grind Espresso

6 Surf Road
Cronulla NSW 2230
Tel: (02) 9568 5535

An oasis of relaxation in beachside Cronulla - Grind features the sort of cosy, grungy atmosphere that you would expect to find in Newtown’s King St. Its walls are lined with all sorts of knick-knacks, photos and reviews - most of them good! And there’s a reason for that. Richard Calabro and his team churn out the sort of coffees that you could almost drive down to Cronulla especially for.

Let’s cut to the chase - they don’t do food but that’s not why you come to Grind. It’s an espresso bar and yes, it’s all about the coffee. And what great coffee it is too - it certainly holds its own with any of its more citified Sydney compatriots - smooth, bold and with an excellent crema - these guys do it right. If you’re down that way, make sure you make a visit; for the true espresso aficionado, this one’s definitely worth the 40 minute drive!

Owner/head Barista Richard Calabro

There’s a new gun in town and the word going around is that only the Laotian will do! If you haven’t been to Kensington recently then you should probably do so, as a plethora of cafes beckon and none more so than the aptly named, Obscura, located somewhat obscurely at 1 Bellair Street, Kensington, just outside the train station. However, as I write, plans are afoot to relocate the café across the tracks sometime in April, so get in quick if you want to experience the best of what’s on offer at the current location.

The café itself is only seven months old and already they’re looking to relocate to larger premises, which will also hopefully be a bit more resilient to Melbourne’s notorious weather. After cycling furiously around Kensington for 40 minutes trying to find the cafe on my mobile gps, I eventually found Obscura nestled in the comfortable confines of the train station.

Still, the wait was worthwhile because what I discovered was a speciality coffee shop that imports its own coffee from Laos, roasted to order, and flown direct to Melbourne via Thai Airways. Now I’m not sure how many readers have been to Laos, but I have and I can tell you that the coffee there is fantastic, and is poured dark and strong over ice, but be sure to tell the locals to leave the condensed milk out of the mix!

I enjoyed a piccolo latte at Obscura made from the Bruno blend, which Tom describes as medium to full-bodied and as his ‘Melbourne-Italian style espresso blend.’ My piccolo was well made and flavoursome with caramel and biscuit notes predominating, combined with a hint of exotic Asian spice.

It’s all about the coffee at Obscura, with 7 blends to choose from, most of which are rotated on the coffee machine. According to the JCFC website the coffee is, ‘cultivated from antique Arabica rootstock planted by French colonists in the 1920′s,’ and the coffee is shade grown in jungle forests of the Bolven Plateau in Southern Lao. You can also purchase whole beans for home use, and all of the coffees are certified FairTrade, from the Jhai Coffee Farmers Coop of Lao.

For the record, the Laotians refer to their homeland as Lao (and not Laos), apparently it was those pesky French colonists who decided to call the country Laos, as is their habit of putting a redundant ‘s’ on the end of everything. In the words of the local Lao people; ‘Khob chai lai lai! (which means thank you very much)’. [PS]

1 Bellair Street,
Kensington VIC 3031

We continue to showcase our line up of high-end grinders reviewed late last year and featured in the latest issue of Crema Magazine. Whether you are starting out or planning to up-grade, this review is designed to highlight the features and functions that you should be taking into consideration. 

This unit from Wega is a ‘re-branded’ Compak K3 Touch so this grinder comes from an impressive heritage of commercial grinders.
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ECA (Anfim) ‘Best
RRP: Silver – $699.00 Chrome – $769.00 (incl GST)

This unit has the look and build quality of a commercial grinder but with significantly smaller dimensions, which lends itself to the domestic kitchen setting. With its polished alloy exterior and weighing only 8kg, it’s slim and stylish with pretty much all the benefits of a larger, heavier commercial unit. Standing at 38cm tall, it has 500gm bean hopper with a hopper-stopper. It has tempered steel flat burr blades, a dosing chamber and utilises a stepped grind adjustment mechanism.

The Best performed very well and our reviewers were particularly impressed with the speed of operation, even when lined up against the bigger semi-commercial grinders. It showed an excellent consistency of grind and dose. The resulting espressos were excellent, with a consistent flavour profile.

There were a couple of minor niggles which were picked up by the reviewers, the main one being that the increments on the stepping collar were quite big – therefore not allowing for ultra fine adjustments to the grind setting, but in practice, this did not present a problem in setting an accurate grind for espresso. The only other main issue was that the tamping disc on the front of the unit gets in the way – in fact, it is often unscrewed and left off by operators ‘in-the-know’!

The build quality and performance make it an excellent grinder to compliment a high-end home espresso machine while its smaller dimensions make it a stylish and reliable grinder for the home espresso setting.

VERDICT: High performance unit for the serious ‘prosumer’. Recommended for the home espresso enthusiast who needs a grinder to handle a moderate to high volume. Also suitable for low volume commercial use (ie: back-up/decaf grinder).

Height: 38cm

Flat Burr (tempered steel), Stepped, Dosing Chamber

Consistency of Dose: Max variation range of 0.1gm (average dose was 5.0gm)

Speed of operation: 39.2gm in 30 sec
Temp of grinder blades at end of test: 31°C

For more information on this review and to read about other grinders click here. 

The other day I was preparing to go through the process of designing a new blend and I called my broker to request some samples. He said “I’ve got just the coffee for you! El Salvador Bourbon, she’s my new girlfriend!”  After introducing me to his new love I found myself to be a little confused as to why he had fallen so head over heels; I certainly didn’t share the same attraction. However, keen to find out why my broker had fallen so hard I decided to give her a second chance to leave an impression.
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By Christopher Short

Coffee aficionados love to discuss the elements that make for their perfect cup. Factors often mentioned are their favorite brand of coffee beans, the proportion of arabica to robusta beans, the type of roast and single versus double boiler espresso machines, just to name a few. Interestingly, one issue only occasionally considered is that of water quality. This is odd given that water constitutes 95% of an espresso.

The reason it is not top of the list is probably because few really know what attributes they should be looking for in water and they generally have little choice in the matter. For most of us, it just arrives, normally out of the tap. The reason we should be concerned about water quality is that it does affect the taste of your coffee and it has a significant effect on brewing equipment performance and reliability in many regions. (more…)

As the Summer 2009 print issue of Crema Magazine hits the news-stands - we wanted to bring you a few ‘previews’ of stories. Here we preview our upmarket domestic grinder review, conducted earlier this year.

 So you love great espresso? We do too – that’s the whole reason for Crema Magazine’s existence. So is it all about spending $2,000 + on a fancy espresso machine? Well it may be, but before you go shelling out all that money on a fancy espresso machine, think about your grinder. In fact, one of Australia’s leading espresso authorities maintains that you should spend almost as much on a grinder as you do on your espresso machine – it’s that important. (more…)

For our recent Winter 2008 issue, Crema Magazine invited Stefano Manfredi, celebrated Australian chef, restaurateur, and coffee lover, to showcase some of his espresso inspired desserts. Above and beyond the call, however, Stefano decided to take it as a challenge to create an entirely new selection of desserts. “Kitchens love a challenge and so the challenge of creating new espresso desserts was a pleasure and one we simply had to accept” said Stefano. The pleasure is, of course, all ours as we bring you one of the four exquisite espresso desserts created expressly for Crema Magazine by Stefano Manfredi.

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