We have recently concluded a coffee-hopping trip [including the erstwhile capital of modern world espresso - Seattle] and we now firmly believe that Melbourne takes its place – not just as Australia’s but pretty much the world’s, coffee capital – and as you’ve probably guessed, we don’t make that sort of statement lightly!

However, coffee has got to such a stage in Melbourne, that there may not be much further you can go with espresso. The ‘third wave’ in coffee has seen more emphasis on brewing with different methods – syphon, pour-over, chemex, french press and clover – to the extent that some roasts are optimised for these brewing methods & may actually not be quite so good for espresso… a quandary that probably no other city in Australia may be experiencing.

This leads us to a second point, this review was done on the basis of espresso coffee. Many of Melbourne’s top cafes & espresso bars are actively experimenting with the delicate intricacies of single origin coffees, which can be best explored by non-espresso brewing methods – syphon being foremost amongst these – hence perhaps, the absence of a couple of the better known ‘big names’ in this review… of course, the ultimate is both – great choice in syphon and the perfect espresso!!

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1. Proud Mary
172 Oxford Street
Collingwood

Still relatively new on the scene, and rated no. 5 in our Best Cafes of Melbourne last year, Nolan Hirte and the team at Proud Mary have continued to push the boundaries and the results are stunning. With their custom-made, 6-group Synesso purring like a stretch-limo on the counter, Proud Mary is full-throttle coffee at its very best. Now roasting off-site, they offer their own blends (in addition to 5 Senses) and single origins available from the Synesso but for the more fastidious coffee-connoisseur, or
those wanting to audition their taste-buds, Nolan also roasts more exclusive coffees especially for the syphon bar, clover and other slow brew methods.

Whilst one of the earliest protagonists of the 3rd wave, Nolan continues to maintain a strong focus on offering single origins and blends optimised for espresso as well as exploring nuanced roasting for alternative brewing. The Kenyan ‘Gethumbwini’ Peaberry was the show-stopper with a luscious citrus acidity, blackcurrant notes and a creamy mouthfeel… distinctive and delicious.

When it comes to commitment in everything they do and an enthusiasm to share their knowledge, Proud Mary gets the number 1 podium spot from us and exceeds the already lofty benchmark for coffee excellence in Melbourne.

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2. Dukes Coffee Roasters
169 Chapel Street
Windsor

There is a certain element of fate when it comes to opening up a new business, especially a cafe in the already over-caffeinated Melbourne. For owner Peter Frangoulis, Dukes is one of those places that was simply ‘meant to be’; originally the cafe was to be located at the Duke and Orr dock at South Wharf, giving rise to the name ‘Dukes’. Although securing the location fell through, Peter had already become attached to the name and so, launching forth in search of premises, as fate would have it they landed in Windsor, up the road from the Duke of Windsor Hotel and across the road from Duke Street.

Using only single estate or co-op beans, roasting is in-house with a 15kg Joper. They also roast smaller batches (on a US Roaster Corp 1lb sample roaster) which are used for filter coffees, Syphon and French Press. Their house espresso maintains a base of Brazilian natural processed coffee; when we visited it was blended with a high grade Kenyan, a single estate El Salvador and an Indonesian from Aceh – with a deliciously sweet choc-nut flavour and notes of caramel and spice, it packed a punch with a creamy finish leaving us wanting more; the Ethiopian Guji offered the aroma of jellybeans that gave way to flavours of tropical fruit and apricot acidity. The name was perhaps an omen – that it was meant to be – that was 2 years ago and today Dukes Coffee Roasters is a buzzing showcase of great coffee.

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3. Axil Coffee Roasters
322 Burwood Road
Hawthorn

In botanical terms, the axil of a plant is the point at which a leaf or stem springs out of the branch from which it grows. Perhaps, this also symbolises David Makin’s development and growth from the fold that is the Melbourne coffee scene. David (ex Australian Barista Champion and silver medalist in the 2008 World Barista Championships) along with his partner Zoe Delany, also a noted barista, have recently opened a showcase cafe at the roastery site on busy Burwood Road in Hawthorn.

Not one for hiding his light under the metaphorical bushel, David is often the one to greet you as you enter the cavernous warehouse cafe space – it’s bold, vast and strikingly decorated in black, definitely a statement by design. The botanical reference continues as the spacious seating area is separated from the ordering counter by a suspended trestle holding terracotta potted ferns. The single origin Tanzanian impressed the most – offering aromas of marzipan and almond, there was citrus acidity on first sip, with a delicious creamy mid-palate, good acidity at back of mouth and a nice silky finish. This is a hot house for coffee excellence and they demonstrate their passion for espresso with outstanding coffee and great service, and their almost
unheard-of leap directly to no. 3 position in Melbourne’s Best Cafes.

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4. Dead Man Espresso
35 Market Street
South Melbourne

Warm and inviting, with large windows and a stylish timber decor, this funky cafe seems somewhat at odds with its name. ‘Dead Man’ I’m told, is a reference to the gold rush times of the 1850’s when this area of South Melbourne was a dangerous place with men being murdered for their spoils. It is perhaps a reflection of the current dynamism of the Melbourne coffee scene that these guys, having only been open a little over a year, have already lost their tag of ‘new kids on the block’. With a little help from their friends [including chef Nitish Kissoondhery], owners Luke Mutton and his wife Kylie Mackinlay are using their considerable collective experience and putting it into a well crafted combination of food, ambience and of course, coffee.

Both former baristi, they have maintained a close association with Mark Dundon from St Ali days, so it’s not surprising that the coffee here is roasted by Seven Seeds. At the time of our visit, their house blend was comprised of Brazilian Fazenda Do Sertao pulped natural yellow bourbon, Fazenda Ambiental natural bourbon and a Colombian microlot Los Idaos – lovely almond tones with a caramel sweetness and a long chocolate finish.

We’d say it’s ‘to die for’ but we suspect they may be hoping you want to come back!

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5. Monk Bodhi Dharma
202 Carlisle Street
Balaclava

By repute, Bodhi Dharma was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century and is traditionally credited as the leading patriarch and transmitter of Zen, and if it wasn’t for the banging tunes coming from the Bose speakers you could be forgiven
for thinking that you’d entered into a temple – the contented cogniscenti happily gaze into their lattes, quietly contemplating the ‘god shot’ required to produce such an ethereal beverage.

Dark timbers and cosy tables further reinforce this image, as do the long haired, bearded baristi, circling silently behind the coffee machines – who are surely the prophets of the modern era. Certainly, it almost takes a pilgrimage just to find the place, hidden away as it is among the confines of a disused alley, but the faithful few are rewarded for their efforts with superbly crafted coffee, roasted mostly in-house.

We tried the Nicaruagan Cup of Excellence offering a nose of roasted figs, the palate syrupy with lemon and sour cherry flavours predominating. The house blend was rich and creamy with a nose of almonds, dates and sweet flavours of sticky date pudding on the palate. Zen and the art of coffee roasting.

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Our sincere thanks to our judges: Andreas Martinu, Patrick Sloane, Kris Wood & Mel Caia; for more on methodology & judges’ backgrounds go to the Forum

Cafe Customers – is your favourite local cafe participating? If not, ask them why they haven’t signed up yet? For a list of participating cafes visit the StreetSmart website www.streetsmartaustralia.org/findcafe

Cafe Owners – Why sign up your cafe? For lots of good reasons, for example …..

• you’ll be helping people who desperately need your support

• it’s local – your donations will support people in your suburb or region

• you’ll be helping to tackle homelessness and build stronger communities

• it’s a unique activity– something to talk about and connect to with your customers and staff

• it brings in potential customers to familiarise themselves thereby encouraging repeat business

• your business will be promoted through partner databases, media and PR coverage

• what goes around…. comes around – feel the karma!

Go on – this is important – go to www.streetsmartaustralia.org/cafesmart_signup and get involved

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Actors, and artists, writers and publishers, dancers and designers are just some of the seething mass of humanity that makes up the Biggest Apple… New York City.  Some are born and bred there but most come with a dream: success, a bright and beautiful future and creative expression found nowhere else on the planet. They work, they study, they play… and they do it en masse in the midst of their beloved city.  New Yorkers are out and about.  They’re creative, they’re gregarious and they engage.

Life is lived on the streets, in the bars, at the parks or just about anywhere that’s open for business.  New York’s cafes provide a space integral to the city’s inhabitants. With so many of today’s people working from laptops or freelancing, the city’s cafes are not only a social space, but have metamorphosed into portable offices and meeting rooms, embracing the idea with Wifi, networking events and offering free publicity to their customers’ burgeoning small businesses. Cafes themselves are occupying an important place in today’s community as our social framework moves into uncharted territory. Nowhere is this seen more clearly than on an island that was purchased only a few hundred years ago for just twenty dollars.

As a city, New York divides itself into neighbourhoods, microcosms of a greater whole where the locals appear like members of a tribe, each with their own unspoken rules of dress, attitude and lifestyle. Wander through a neighbourhood and you’ll soon get a feel for its culture.  Spend time in the cafes and you’ll pick up the local nuances as you watch the lives of the locals unfold. Visit the same cafe more than twice and you’ll become a local, greeted when you enter, your particular quirky coffee request already on its way with nods and smiles from the tribe as they break from their laptops, books or friends just long enough to say “Hi, how’r ya doin?” and make you feel you’ve come to the right place… you’re at home.

By far the best introduction to the Big Apple is to wander through Greenwich Village. Over the past 100 years it has attracted a colourful mix of New York’s finest. First the Italian immigrants came, then the century’s early artists and writers arrived, creating the area’s bohemian feel, followed by birth of the Gay movement, traced all the way back to the 40s, their equal rights fight culminating here with the Stonewall Riots of 1969. The Swinging 60s also brought artists such as Jack Kerouac and Allan Ginsberg who made the area their home and workspace.

The locals almost never call it Greenwich Village, preferring to divide their territory into two distinct sections. The “West Village” is a tree-lined, meandering collection of quiet upscale streets bordered by Houston, the Hudson River and 6^th Ave. It bears no resemblance to the grid patterns of the rest of the city thanks to its own history as a set of horse paths for the wealthy. Here you’ll find small boutiques, quaint restaurants and the bars and cafes where the local literati come to work and play. Way too expensive for today’s hopefuls, the quarter has gentrified into a bohemian-chic enclave, but is still a must for those on the cafe trail.

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Grounded was my first stop, hidden away in an odd street sporting low-rise apartments, warehouses and even a public car park, I couldn’t miss it with its big round sign, park bench outside and the delicious aroma of freshly ground beans.  Inside was an oasis, a former carriage-house filled with light, thanks to a huge central skylight. The peeling cement floor, exposed airconditioning and bare walls gave a definite no-frills downtown vibe. Add potted palms, grungy sofas and a huge communal coffee table and you’ve got a cosily scruffy feel that the locals love. Laptop workers gravitate to the rear tables where it’s quiet and an in-house library creates community amongst the locals who donate their used books. Grounded was created by a brother and sister act, two cafe regulars from Cincinnati, who felt that New York was lacking in decent coffeehouses. They decided to open a neighbourhood place that would offer both good coffee and a friendly space to loiter in.  Everything is organic, from the food to the daily milk supply, to their coffee beans which come from Portland Roasting Company in Oregon, an environmentally conscious micro-roaster using organic and often “shade-grown, farm friendly” specialty beans. Their espresso has a slightly sweet ‘berry’ finish, making it a delicious tipple.

“The Village” proper is further east, bounded by Houston and 6^th Ave and ending around Broadway before it blends into the East Village. This is a more touristy area with rows of blues bars, Irish bars and student bars interspersed with NYU digs, cheap restaurants and Korean food-marts. The only place here worth visiting is Cafe Reggio, which opened on MacDougal Street in 1927 and has operated in the same spot continuously ever since. The oldest of the original Italian coffeehouses of the area, it’s the only one still standing and was a favourite with Kerouac. Even today, it maintains its classic Italian edge with wrought-iron tables and chairs, a selection of cakes and pastries to die for, and those tiny, Italian espressos rarely found outside Italy… and Australia!

Moving across Broadway, you’ll enter the East Village, famous for its anarchic, grungy vibe. Bordered by 3^rd Ave, 14^th St and Houston and stretching across to the alphabet avenues, today, it’s a thriving, multi-cultural village of hip, inexpensive eateries, boutiques and, of course, cafes. But it wasn’t always so. Back in the 60’s the likes of Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground cut their teeth playing around the anti-establishment East Village bars. The 70’s brought the punk rock counterculture, still visible in the iconic Trash’n Vaudeville vintage clothing store, and the 80’s saw local galleries supporting graffiti artists like Keith Haring and Jeff Koons. Grunge and punk is still apparent, and although the area is now a tamer place, with tourists outnumbering the anarchists, it still seethes around the clock like the human bazaar that it is.

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The best cafe near the heart of the East Village is Mudspot, a long, thin, orange space on East 9^th St, between 2^nd and 1^st Avenues. It’s likely your barista will be covered in an artwork of tattoos, the odd piercing or five and topped off with a head of honey blonde dreadlocks.  Get used to sipping your latte to the sounds of the latest grunge rock but if that’s a tad too much, keep going through to the tiny outdoor garden at the back where the music isn’t quite so intense. Anti-establishment is alive and well here and proud to uphold the tradition. The coffee’s pretty good too.

Wandering east along 9^th St through Alphabet City brings you to a more laid back residential neighbourhood complete with community garden centres proudly displaying their urban sculptures and tiny independent boutiques, forced away from the melee by its exorbitant rents. This is where coffee aficionados come to savour the famous elixir of the 9^th St Espresso Bar. Voted best espresso outside of Seattle, this nondescript little bar has a big reputation and is widely considered to be the first real espresso cafe of the new wave to take off in New York. The philosophy is to do coffee very well and to that end other offerings have been pared back until, at my visit, there was almost no food at all.  But the coffee is good… it’s what they do.

The owner of 9^th St Espresso got his influence from childhood visits to the Hungarian Pastry Shop on the Upper West Side. Sitting on Amsterdam Ave at 110^th St since 1961, this charming cafe appears at the same time derelict, antiquated and intriguingly irresistible. Its interior is dark, cavernous and hot.  On a summer’s day there’s no air conditioning, just a few floor fans but this seems to only add to the atmosphere.  The place is busy but still manages to feel intimate and the clientele clearly represents the local neighbourhood: students on laptops, older students writing longhand or huddled over thick texts; a few elderly European-looking ladies, the odd intellectual perusing the New York Times and of course a few foreigners who’ve heard that it’s not to be missed. The coffee is abundant and pretty good using quality Columbia beans for the espressos, but you really go there for the amazing array of pastries. Strudels in all shapes and flavours, including the true Hungarian Sour Cherry Strudel, come fresh every morning. It’s a family business with two daughters working on the floor so no chance it will be closing down anytime soon, although their sometimes gruff approach did remind me of utilitarian Eastern Europe, pre-Perestroika.

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Back downtown to Grammercy Park finds a quaint, neighbourhood cafe in the basement at 71 Irving Place. Simply named 71 Irving, it’s busy and buzzing. The clientele are New Yorkers, no tourists here, and they’re the local 20 and 30-somethings: hip, professional and very social. Reflecting the neighbourhood, it’s a place where friends meet to catch up, compare contracts (lot’s of actors here), do lunch and enjoy both great coffee and great food. The style is colonial American with slat-board walls, atmospheric lamps and even a fireplace giving a cosy but elegant feel. Along one wall there’s a staircase leading up…. to the ceiling. It was featured in the classic movie, The Seven Year Itch, with Marilyn Monroe, who exclaims “Where do they go? No place? A stairway to nowhere… that’s elegant.”

The owners, not happy with the coffee they found in New York, bought a farm upstate and now provide their own beans, Irving Farm, not only to their cafe but to such gourmet institutions as Wholefoods, Dean & Deluca, Gourmet Garage and Petrossian.

Venturing out of Manhattan I headed for Brooklyn, lured by the promise of a unique and exquisite cafe out in Park Slope; 30mins later and still on the subway, I knew I was in Brooklyn and was seriously questioning the likelihood of there being anything unique and exquisite this far from the epicentre. At Grand Army Plaza, I escaped the subway system and was instantly mesmerized by the most perfect brownstone houses I have ever seen. Unique to the USA, this architectural style is reminiscent of a bygone era of stately urban homes exuding elegance and style. Encouraged, I persevered and eventually disappeared through a pair of non-descript doors. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

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The Tea Lounge is a massive warehouse space complete with the ubiquitous chipped concrete floors and open-face brick walls, with exposed air-conditioning pipes disguised under a thin coat of blue paint. Similar to a loft living space, areas are marked out by the furniture arrangement. Communal picnic tables in a well-lit area are for those working in groups and a Moroccan-style sofa extending the length of one wall caters for those working in solitude.  The centre armchairs, sofas and coffee tables are arranged to create living rooms, conversation corners and desks where people can settle in and feel at home. The decor is op-shop grunge meets student digs, with the occasional shot of Baroque opulence.  A row of Indonesian rattan fans high on the ceiling sway back and forth, gracefully synchronized though not moving fast enough to create any breeze. They only add to the eccentric mish-mash that makes Tea Lounge so irrestistible. The coffee is seriously good and the chalkboard menu of delights leaves one almost unable to choose. I went for the Shot Chocolate, which as you can imagine, is a shot of espresso dumped into a seriously indulgent hot chocolate, and then topped it off with a homemade Strawberry Shortcake.  Tea Lounge offers an array of sweet things, all made locally and delivered each morning to their loyal tribe.

Further along the bar, I noticed a chalkboard offering of wines and a tiny dinner menu. One need never leave… just wander further down the bar from breakfast to lunch and then onto dinner. How perfect – a tea lounge for all occasions!

New York has always marched to the beat of a more exotic drum than the rest of the US.  Finally embracing the onslaught of Seattle-inspired espresso bars, its ’take’ on these remains unique and edgy, just like the city itself. As I sank into my plush, emerald Louis armchair and sipped my Shot Choc I couldn’t help but think the world was all the better for it…

My love affair with eating chillies is something that has developed over a number of years; I simply can’t resist the sensation of a good hot chilli! I love exploring the various levels of heat and the subtle unique flavours that individual chillies have such as the ‘Guajillo’, which has a red berry flavour and the’ Ancho’ with its smokey dried fruit notes. This fascination for chillies has evolved into a deep appreciation for Mexican cuisine. I have also come to value that there is more to the country than tequila and tacos, Mexico also grows some pretty good coffee too.

Mexico’s coffee history dates back to the late 1700’s with the introduction of coffee to the Antilles by the French however, it really didn’t take off until late into the 19th century. Mexico sits in at number 7 in the top 10 coffee producing nations and the second largest behind Colombia in Central America. The concentration of coffee production is in the southern regions of Mexico growing Arabica varieties such as Catuai, Caturra, Bourbon and Typica. In the low lying plantations they are commonly producing relatively average blend filler coffees’, but as the plantations start to climb the mountains the quality really starts to appear. A lot of the production efforts in Mexico are focused on organic certification and Fair trade in order to boost their position in the market. Mexican coffees take a lot of cupping to find the really good ones so be sure to look out for coffee coming out of regions like Oaxaca, Coatepec and Chiapas as well as its grading – HG (high grown) or Altura means it’s the highest grown coffee to come out of Mexico.

I’m a big fan of much of the coffee that comes out of the Soconusco region in the southern state of Chiapas that boarders Guatemala (I do like Guatemalan coffee so that’s probably why I favour anything that is coming from this region) however, the coffee is becoming harder to find. In October 2005 the region got slammed hard by Hurricane Stan which damaged many of the crops that where close to harvest and recent reports are now suggesting that this years crop will be the worst yield in 20 years due to bad weather and severe labour shortages.

Whenever I get a washed high grown coffee in from the Americas I always have a tendency to roast them on the light side so you really get to experience the delicate fruit notes and brightness that sets them apart from one another

The dry fragrance has an intoxicating toffee note, with a hint of red apple. Wet aroma is hazelnut and honey-vanilla. The cup has a mild and delicate acidity of peach and apricot and I find a little sugar cane sweetness at the end. The body is smooth but a little thin and quick off the palate which makes it perfect for a single origin espresso. Amazing in syphons and pour over units as these make the stone fruit notes come to life. I would not dare attempt blending this coffee as it is far too delicate and would get lost, but I suggest you just grab a block of 85% cocoa chocolate and sip on a double ristretto.

The Coffee
Location: Chiapas, Mexico
Altitude: 1500 meters +
Plant type: Typica, Caturra

Cup Profile
Fragrance/Aroma: Hazelnut, honey and vanilla
Flavour: Stone fruits
Aftertaste: Sweet and short
Acidity: Mild
Body: Smooth and thin

The original De Clieu was a french naval officer who is celebrated for his claim to have introduced coffee to the French colonies of the Western Hemisphere in the 1720s. According to l’Année littéraire of 1774, he arranged to transport a coffee plant (or perhaps several) from the greenhouses of the Jardin Royal des Plantes [which had originally been given to the French King from Holland] to Martinique in 1720.

The story goes that water was rationed on the voyage and De Clieu was so dedicated to his mission that he shared his ration with the seedlings. The story may be apocryphal, but most sources do in fact credit De Clieu with the introduction of coffee to Martinique & thence the Caribbean.

But enough of history – De Clieu is a funky spot where everyone seems to hang out in black jeans [& black jackets, shoes or whatever] but this belies its class – it’s trendy, but it also serves good coffee and very good food.

The menu reveals an elegant simplicity as would be expected from the kitchen of Steven Carr (previously of the Healesville Hotel) and offers a slightly exotic take on otherwise prosaic items – our Pork Neck Roti [sweet roasted pork neck on a spring onion roti, with a fried egg and hoisin-flavoured BBQ sauce] was exquisite.

And the coffee – we had one shot which was excellent and one which was [only] good, which given the general state of espresso coffee, is still very good overall! Definitely recommended.

De Clieu
187 Gertrude Street
Fitzroy
(03) 9416 4661

After flawless performances in his first WBC Championships, Australian Barista Champion, Matt Perger won 3rd place in the World Barista Champs 2011, held in Bogota in June.

The final placings were:

2nd Place – Pete Licata, USA

3rd Place – Matt Perger, Australia

4. Javier Garcia, Spain

5. Miki Suzuki, Japan

6. John Gordon, UK

Congratulations to Alejandro, the finalists and all the 2011 competitors.

Although a city with a population of little more than 300,000 Wellington has the cosmopolitan vibrancy of a much larger city. This is, in the main, due to the fact that the CBD of Wellington is principally structured to be accessible by foot and, with a civic policy of discouraging generic malls and outlying shopping precincts, it draws a communal breath into its restaurants, cafes, bars and shops, giving a pulse to its streets and a beat to its heart. Venture out on a Friday or Saturday night and you will be greeted by the buzz of the city’s populace in its myriad of  forms, all congregated around the restaurant and bar precincts of Cuba Street and Courtenay Place.

But there is a deeper, more visceral, if not down-right dangerous side to Wellington which can be easily overlooked. According to Maori tradition, Wellington  was discovered by the Polynesian explorer Kupe and his followers in around the 10th Century. This Maori legend speaks of the volatile nature of the land and its resulting spectacular beauty. Situated on the verge of two of the earth’s unstable tectonic plates, Wellington experiences tremors on a regular basis and its buildings are designed to withstand major seismic events. It is perhaps with this temporal reminder ever present, that Wellingtonians enjoy an attitude for a life well lived!

And so, good food and wine seem to be the norm in this ‘bon vivant’ city. We had come to Wellington with anticipation as its reputation for good coffee had preceded our visit. However, while we have learnt from past experience to be Initially cautious, we were to our delight, far from  disappointed – for as far as cafe life is concerned, there are few cities that offer good coffee at so many establishments in such a concentrated space.

Our cafe crawl began in the uber-cool environs of Cuba Street. Named not after the South American country – although you could be forgiven for thinking this might be the case – but rather in honour of one of the settler ships, the Cuba,  which landed in Wellington Harbour in 1840. The name however clearly begets the eclectic collection of bohemian cafes, shops, boutiques and art galleries to be found around this quarter of the city.

One cannot be on Cuba Street without being drawn to Fidel’s Cafe, a bastion for coffee, at the top end of Cuba St. There were certainly no pretensions at Fidel’s, being very laid back, slightly grungy, and very much the scene for the local bohemians.

Linked inextricably and not surprisingly with Havana Coffee Works, one of Wellington’s primary local coffee roasters, the coffee at Fidel’s was fresh and well-made but with a certain punchy flavour and mouth-feel unusual to Sydneysiders. Heading down Cuba street toward the harbour, the buzzy cafe scene continued. One that caught our immediate attention was Plum, which was, on a decidedly cold Wellington afternoon, full enough on the inside to have patrons braving the outside tables. Small but comforting, the interior of Plum was warm and inviting with simple cakes and slices on display and a definite aroma of freshly ground coffee in the air. We managed to score a table inside and once again, the coffee was good, with a freshness and presentation that only comes from a dedicated barista accustomed to serving quality coffee. We learnt that the roaster, Eight-thirty, was a relative new-comer to the city, but once again the brew was potent with the distinct ‘Wellington’ style.

Other offerings on Cuba worth a visit were Ernesto’s and Midnight Espresso. Both part of the Havana Coffee Works stable of cafes, the latter was the first cafe they opened and as its name suggests, is open for coffee into the wee hours of the morning.

Our caffeine needs well and truly satiated for the day, we headed out for dinner to Matterhorn, a stylishly warm and secluded Wellington institution located just off Cuba Street. The meal was definitely pleasing and the service attentive, but the highlight was the wine which was to die for – defying us to forget that this part of New Zealand is also famous for its pinot.

Next morning and a short walk from our digs on Cuba Street, we were assured of a ‘kick-start’ by launching our second day with breakfast at Caffe L’Affare. One of the iconic daytime cafe institutions of Wellington, this place is large and open but with a quirky, cluttered decor that brings a personality to the walls and table spaces. Apart from the innate benefit of roasting their own coffee (the roastery has only recently relocated from the cafe to just a few streets away), Caffe L’Affare is renowned for its all-day breakfast, of which we could definitely vouch for the Eggs Benedict and Avocado Toast! The coffee here was much more of a breakfast style, lighter and more milky, but still with the ubiquitous Wellington caffeine jolt to set you on your way.

Just around the corner on Tory Street, we popped into the cafe which fronts the Havana Coffee Works. Housed in an old faded green art deco building, complete with a restored Buick pickup truck out the front, we could have literally been on the streets of a Havana. Once inside, through the decorative glass etched ‘Havana’ doors, the interior was designed to give the impression of having a coffee ‘on the streets’ of downtown Havana with a stage-like backdrop of building facades reminiscent of the city itself.

It was then on to Customs, situated on the curiously named Ghuznee St. Relatively understated and low-key, Customs is the showcase of Coffee Supreme and boasts Wellington’s only Slayer machine, along with one of the few Clover’s in New Zealand; enough, from a coffee point-of-view to firmly establish its coffee credentials. And Customs didn’t disappoint, with the best coffee of our trip – an espresso with sufficient ‘oomph’ yet delicate enough to reveal the fruit and floral notes of high-quality arabicas.

Our Wellington coffee education began to take shape as we started to understand the strong influences on the coffee palate of this surprising and slightly quirky coffee city.  The inner sanctum of roasters belongs to three main players, each of which has gained the respect which only comes from the passage of time, starting as they did twenty or more years ago.

Indeed the essence of Wellington coffee was set many years ago, when the greater populace were still drinking instant, by the founders of Caffe L’Affare, Havana Coffee Works and Coffee Supreme [a brand which has also taken a foothold in Melbourne].

Jeff Kennedy, Geoff Marsland and Chris Dillon respectively, are the ‘dons’ of the Wellington coffee scene, and to a certain degree, their brands reflect the personalities of their owners. Caffe L’Affare probably boasts the closest to a typical Italian brand, not too bright, not to dark, with its middle-of-the road flavour profile echoing its brand name [the rather utilitarian 'Coffee Business' in Italian].

Havana Coffee Works, with its imagery, logo and roast profile reflecting its link to island-sourced beans [and suggestive of early 70s days of grungy student radicalism] roast relatively dark and with a high proportion of Cuban and Venezualan beans – that give a big-mouth feel without the delicacy of high-grown arabicas] – meaning their blends have an unmistakable ‘punchy’ quality. Coffee Supreme offers flavour profiles more similar to what we have been accustomed to in Australia, with cleaner and brighter flavours, suggestive of arabicas sourced from higher altitudes.

With enough caffeine in our blood stream to convincingly manage the Haka, we decided to cool our heels with a lunch at Cafe Nikau. Situated in the Town Hall precinct, and boasting the sort of the smart and minimalist decor that you would expect of a cafe opposite the Michael Fowler Arts Centre, the food and service were excellent. We tried their signature dish, the oddly named Kedgeree. A pilaf of mildly curried rice with (Nikau’s own) smoked fish, a scatter of boiled egg, parsley and lemon juice, it was amazing and the only disappointment was that when we went back for more the next day (Sunday) they were closed!

Our cafe exploration over, we had just enough time to take in some of the ‘must-see’ sights of this extraordinary little city before heading off to the airport. Te Papa, New Zealand’s national museum, is an imposing structure on the harbour foreshore which dares to be ignored. With five floors of displays and interactive exhibitions it is an experience worth taking. A quick trip up to the Mount Victoria lookout to take in a final stunning sweeping view and we were off.

And so we departed ‘the windy city’, without so much as a breath of wind to be felt our entire visit. Without a doubt, Wellington is a destination with a groove like no other in the South Pacific; as cool as a southerly, warm as a northerly, as fresh as an easterly and as unpredictable as a westerly.

And the good news is this: from an espresso coffee point-of-view, the Brisbane espresso ‘scene’ rocks, supported by many enthusiastic young professionals eager to share their coffee knowledge and passion. One quick note: it’s not in necessarily in the CBD itself, but in the inner suburbs that you find the best coffee… suburbs like West End, New Farm, Spring Hill and even the formerly seedy Fortitude Valley!

Just a quick note on our methodology – as usual, we convened a panel of coffee professionals and serious consumer ‘geeks’ and over a period of several weeks, these judges tried a shortlist of highly respected cafes and then their results were averaged. While coffee from any one cafe varies slightly day-by-day and barista-by-barista, over the years, we have found this is the best way to get fair and objective ranking. That said, these are all excellent cafes and any one of them could be No. 1 on their day! When it comes to espresso coffee, Brisbane is a city that has truly come of age…

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1. Cup Specialty Coffee

85 Russell Street, West End 

Josh Russell’s place in trendy West End is spacious and cool, and just off the main road in West End, we found it an ideal location to sit back and savour our espresso. There was a funky La Marzocco on the bench, although it’s actually a temporary replacement for their pricy and rather famous [amongst the aficionados, at least] Slayer espresso machine.

The blend we tried was a combination of Indian Balmaadi, Indonesian Flores and washed Ethiopian Sidama – buttery, sweet, fruity bright [but smooth] acidity. Another on the panel described his coffee as a “well balanced cup with fruit on the nose, light yet syrupy mouth-feel, fruits in the front, spice in the middle and hints of savoury notes in the finish”.

Roasting his own origins & blends, they also have a 5 star blend that changes frequently, as it’s roasted and blended due to seasonal factors in specialty coffee. With a young, enthusiastic team behind the machine this is one of the coffee highlights of Brisbane, and should be on any espresso enthusiasts must-do list!

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2. Dandelion & Driftwood

Shop 1, 45 Gerler Road, Hendra

When you first walk in to Dandelion & Driftwood in Brisbane’s upmarket suburb of Hendra, you are struck by the almost equal dichotomy between the pretty interior decoration [some would call it 'fussy'] and the profusion of coffee-related paraphernalia around the walls.

Coffee is by Wolff Coffee Roasters, a new up-and-coming blend from Peter Wolff, one of Brisbane’s most experienced coffee people, and his partner Penny [owner of Dandelion & Driftwood] is an experienced coffee person in her own right, so it’s no wonder the coffee is good. The single origin we tried gave sweet citrus notes in the front, berry fruit and caramel in the middle palate, with a clean and pleasant finish. As well as espresso, they also have other brewing methods that you can try.

One of our reviewers felt the tight space was a little limiting, and you certainly wouldn’t want to come at lunchtime if you didn’t have a reservation. However, if you manage to come off-peak, you’ll find extremely knowledgeable staff and some of the best coffee in Australia.

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3.One Drop Specialty Coffee

5/515 St Paul’s Terrace, Fortitude Valley

There are two shiny, glass & mirror cafes at the bottom of an office block right next to the showgrounds in Fortitude Valley. One Drop is the second, owned by Ben Graham and Blaine Swanborough. As you walk in, the first thing you notice is the clean and tidy space with the shiny, white La Marzocco FB 70 on the bench.

As well as making great coffee, it’s a friendly cafe environment, offering good food and a pleasant atmosphere, if a little ‘plasticky’, because of the location. But the main thing is that staff are passionate about coffee and are missing that ‘attitude’ that some cafes who are serious about their coffee suffer from. They also make a point of remembering customers, and the coffee they like.

Offering a sweet, clean shot that had gentle body and dominant spices, the result was a little light on ‘mouthfeel’ but nevertheless pleasant in the cup. Overall One Drop offers a great coffee product, although some would feel that the location [and lack of parking] mean that it misses that special something in ambience that a truly great cafe would be able to offer. However as a coffee ‘destination’, it’s hard to beat!

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4. Campos Coffee

11 Wandoo St, Fortitude Valley

Walk up the laneway and you’re not quite sure what to expect… it’s almost a surprise to find a cafe amongst the smelly warehouses and fish market paraphernalia, but reach the end and there it is … a funky, busy cafe with two huge fan contraptions [complete with decorative monkey!] completing an interesting decor.

The Brisbane offshoot of a Sydney-based brand name, from a coffee point-of-view Campos offers a tried & true formula, typically serving a ‘punchy’ shot, perhaps lacking in subtlety for a short black, but tailor-made for milk-based coffees, with of course, their trademark rosetta.
On the day we called by, the espresso demonstrated a gentle acidity, a smooth body with just enough mouthfeel, lots of stone fruit and cheery with lovely cocoa on the finish. Serving good food and a consistent experience, it ticks all the boxes.

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5. Bunker

Railway Tce, Milton

Bunker has received a lot of exposure in the Brisbane press for its unique concept and it probably is unique, in that it’s a café inside a converted domestic garage, made of concrete [hence the name].

The interior space is covered with ivy and the La Marzocco coffee machine sitting on the bench is testament to their coffee credentials. It’s interesting to note that they make a point of making only ‘naked’ coffee  – ie using a naked portafilter [see Crema Winter 2007].

As one of our reviewers said: “the care taken can be tasted in the cup; cleanliness and brightness in the shot open up the palate for a rich fruit and caramel middle palate, with a slight sharpness in the finish”. The other point to mention is that it’s quite small with limited seating. An unusual spot with an unusual location, but certainly a place worth coming back to.

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Best Up & Coming

Corner Store Café

113 Sylvan Road, Toowong

Only recently opened on the corner Sylvan Road & Quinn St the interior retains part of the feel of an old corner store but that’s where the similarity ends. It has a beautifully renovated white tile bench with an open plan kitchen area and spacious outdoor terrace seating.

Their 3-group Synesso testament to their seriousness about coffee and we were offered a wel- balanced shot with heavy cocoa again and notes of caramel. There are few cafes which do great food as well as good coffee, and this is certainly one of them.

10 Llankelly Place
Potts Point NSW 2011

by Rob Stewart

I have often wondered what would happen to the world if Brazil stopped producing coffee – perhaps a catastrophic melt down! The price for coffee per kilo would go up, making a cup of coffee cost more than a cocktail at a night club, sounding the death knell of the majority of cafes and coffee companies.  Shift workers, parents, students, productivity, and Italy would all come to a grinding halt. It would affect our economy and our way of life, leaving everyone with one giant headache.

The reality is that Brazil produces 30% the world’s coffee and the only country that comes close is Vietnam, producing about 14% [much of it robusta].  Brazil has been producing coffee that has formed the foundation of coffee brands throughout world. A typical Brazilian coffee doesn’t tend to have many predominate flavour notes that dominate the palate like Central American coffees do, instead they produce fantastic  crema, body and add sweetness, which are all characteristics used when building the base of an espresso blend.

Coffee is not native to Brazil, the first seeds were smuggled there back in 1727 from French Guiana and since then the industry has ebbed and flowed, enduring devastating frosts and drought to dominating the world’s consumption.  Brazil’s growing regions include Sāo Paulo, Minas Gerais, Paranā and Mogiana.

There is a pocket in the Minas Gerais region called Cerrado which is where you will find a company called Daterra: currently producing some of the most exciting coffees you are ever likely to come across. Daterra epitomises what a modern coffee plantation should be: innovative, experimental, sustainable and inspiring. They possess certifications such as Rainforest Alliance and UTZ and are also leaders in organic farming, environmental preservation and social standards for their workers and their community.  But the ace up Daterra’s sleeve is when it comes to quality assurance. Daterra has developed the Penta® system; an elaborate series of technological procedures that follow the coffee from seed to shipping that eliminates defects and ensure that only the best beans make the cut.

Daterra has two locations in Brazil, the Cerrado and the other in the Mogiana region and they have been growing coffee there since the early 80’s. They grow a number of varieties such as Mundo Novo, Bourbon, Typica, Caturra and Red and Yellow Icatu and produce single origins, reserves (being the best of each crop), experimental varieties and Collections which are blends of the various varieties they grow.

The Sweet Collection from the Bourbon cultivar is, I believe, the finest examples of their range. When I first cupped this coffee I was hit by an intense rock candy and mandarin aroma, followed by the sweetness of caramel and honey. The body of the Sweet Collection is well pronounced without being overbearing and the acidy is delicate with a spicy twist. I find this coffee works well across all brewing methods and but in practice the plunger is best, as it accentuates the rock candy notes. Milk based drinks will highlight the sweetness and bring out a vanilla flavour and it’s definitely a coffee you can happily sit and drink a few cups of. I prefer any Brazilian coffee roasted on the lighter side as they have a tendency, if roasted too dark, to leave an ashy aftertaste and this is no exception; try peppering it with a little Kenya or any of the Central Americans – particularly a Costa Rican – to make the cup really come to life, or just enjoy it as a single origin!

The Coffee

Location: Brazil, Cerrado region
Estate: Daterra
Plant Type: Arabica Bourbon
Process: pulped natural

Cup Profile

Fragrance/Aroma: rock candy, mandarin
Flavour: caramel and honey
Aftertaste: clean and subtle
Acidity: low and spicey
Body: medium, persistent