by cafedave on February 28, 2010
Workshop coffee / Toby’s Estate decaf. Shop RG01A, the Galeries Victoria, 500 George St, Sydney. Not much bigger than a hole in the wall, opposite the town hall side entrance to the QVB, there are two espresso machines and three grinders, and a kitchen out the back.
Somehow they have crammed in a bench and a series of stools, seating four or five, but their core business is clearly takeaway, and the queue is clearly evident.
The food is a little pricey, but competitive here in the CBD, and the range of sandwiches is broad.
Coffee is very good: the crema is strong, milk is well put together.
Worth a visit: I would say the best coffee on its block.
by cafedave on December 13, 2009
Charlie Lovett coffee (roasted on-site). George St, near Quay St. I’ve been waiting a while to let them iron out some of the opening-week jitters in their service. Overall, it’s a place that has a *lot* of staff working there, but it is selling a few different things: freshly baked bread, sandwiches and single pieces of bread with gourmet spreads, a range of deli-styled items, and freshly roasted coffee.
It’s pretty courageous to open a cafe next door to an established Gloria Jeans, but I imagine they consider their offering to be distinct from GJ’s, even if their store decor is a similar colour, and their approach to lighting is similar.
The experiment appears to be working: both places tend to be relatively crowded, even with their proximity to each other.
Decaf is good – it’s smooth and drinkable, with a hint of complexity. And yes, they have a decaf grinder.
by cafedave on November 20, 2009
Cherry beans coffee. Shop 1/45 Pyrmont St, Pyrmont. Lots of open space in this cafe – large open windows and high ceilings. This is likely to try and dissipate the heat from the roaster when it’s running. The food prices owe a lot to the nearby tourist haunts – the person ahead of me in the queue orders two big breakfasts, at a little over $28.
Coffee is unusual: there are a lot of choices for caffeine drinkers, including a single origin, but just the one decaf. It has quite a nutty flavour, though for some reason I’m not a huge fan.
Good to see someone roasting in a tourist district.
by cafedave on November 7, 2009
Neoma coffee – their own blend. 414 Bourke Street, Surry Hills. Forget the friendly staff, the French accents, even the wooden shelves and two sizes of latte bowl. What this place has thatsets it apart is space. Big communal tables (yes, more than one) that seat as many as 20. This is an unheard of luxury in Surry Hills: if you’re looking for somewhere to spread out and be looked after, this is the place.
Coffee is quite good. A generous serving size for the large; suitably
milky with a hint of sweetness. Two different sizes of latte bowls are on offer: the large is enough coffee to provide a very pleasant start to the day.
A range of French pastries are baked on the premises, and can be combined with a choice of preserves.
by cafedave on September 6, 2009
Peaberry Espresso. 166 Riley St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010. Recommended by a friend, I never would have ventured to the far side (from work) of Oxford Street, but I’m glad I made the journey. It’s hard to tell from the outside, but this is one of those places that feels like a little haven for espresso. There’s enough light to read comfortably, but not so much that you’re basking in the afternoon sun – this allows the senses more scope to focus on the coffee.
The barista admits that the decaf is not his preference – they have two house blends that are more to his taste. It has a strong, earthy flavour to it, with enough complexity to know you’re in good hands. It’s tough to fault the milkwork too. Another one of those “must visit” cafes for your next trip to Sydney.
Website: peaberry espresso
by cafedave on September 1, 2009
Harmony Coffee (roasted by Single Origin Roasters). 107-121 Quay St, Haymarket. I’d walked past this a few times: the counter is a bit of a distance back from the street, and it’s not immediately clear that the coffee served here is anything to talk about.
How wrong I was; the coffee is roasted by Single Origin Roasters, and is made well, with an attention to detail. Even the hot chocolate is stand-out – there are choices of different hot chocolates based on the percentage of cocoa you’re after in your drink (for my own taste, about 60% cocoa is on the money).
Well worth a look.
by cafedave on July 16, 2009
Taste of Europe coffee. Shop 3, 441-449 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills. Concrete and glass are the main interior design elements, with wooden chairs and metal tables. To order food, step up to the counter at the back of the cafe – the front is for coffee orders only.
A tempting range of pastries and European breads – you can even have brioche – and competent kitchen staff make this a good venue for an indulgent snack.
Not all the staff have worked out the cash register yet: it took a few goes and some waiting to get a simple order right, but at least it was delivered correctly!
Coffee is quite good: it’s not metallic, rather it has some kind of inherent sweetness to it.
Worth another visit to see if their customer service picks up.
by cafedave on September 23, 2008
Bar Indigo Blend (roasted by Single Origin). 15 Cross St, Double Bay. With seating inside, and in the traffic island in the middle of the street, this place seems busy all Sunday long. They make up for their 5-8 minute wait for a takeaway coffee, though, by being honest about the time it will take for the order to arrive. Yes, this is an upmarket suburb in Sydney – the store across the way that recommended the place charged me more for a greeting card than I ever thought I’d pay – but this cafe is quite reasonably priced.
The decaf latte has a good texture, and is neither bitter nor sweet. It’s the standard decaf that Single Origin make. If you’re in the neighbourhood, it’s worth a visit.
by cafedave on August 24, 2008
Little Marionette Coffee. 1A Booth St, Balmain.
Across the road from Gladstone park, if you’re lucky you can find a parking spot just across the road. Though not a large cafe, it manages to fit a couple of bookshelves on the wall, giving that welcoming sense of a second hand bookshop. Indeed, locals sit enjoying the atmosphere reading the paper, or books that they have brought.
Coffee is deservedly well-reputed. The decaf is rich, with a strong, slightly sweet flavour, with a lingering aftertaste. Well worth a visit, just for the coffee.
by cafedave on April 9, 2008
Velluto Nero coffee. 259 Clarence St, Sydney. Rated just yesterday by the SMH’s good living section as the best coffee in sydney (though it was an odd set of places, to be sure), I couldn’t resist having a look at this place. The outside is nothing special – there’s a lot of construction work taking place on clarence st at the moment, and the bins were out this morning too, hence this interior shot.
Once you’re inside, though, it’s the kind of place that good living tends to wax lyrical about. Polished concrete, clean lines, a roaster on display as you walk in, all manner of coffee-making gear on sale – even the $2,000+ variety of home espresso machines! Order and pay at the counter: the staff are very friendly and efficient, and the barista even apologises – twice – at how long it’s taking, but hey – it’s the morning rush!
The large, takeaway decaf is very large: about the size of a venti at starbucks, which is surprising for a place that roasts its own coffee: normally drowning the espresso with milk. The cups – like the whole place – excel in their branding: refined and elegant.
The decaf itself is quite good, though it’s hard to tell with all the milk. The more you drink it, the better it gets: the milk is thick and hot at first, but calms down during the course of consuming the beverage, letting the flavour of the coffee shine through. I wouldn’t say the best decaf in sydney, but for a café in the heart of the cbd, it’s worth adding to a list of places that are worth a visit.
Update: As a commenter rightly points out, they roast their own coffee, and it has indeed won awards at the Sydney Easter Show.
