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C1 coffee. High st, christchurch. Themed after an old cinema, with a range of trendy, bohemian types, there is a rich scent of coffee throughout the inside of the place.
Coffee is good: there’s a thick head of foam at the top to keep the heat in, and just a hint of complexity.
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Tidz coffee blend. 2/12 Oatley pde, Oatley. Wooden floor and furnture, seating about 30 between indoors and out. A range of soft drinks, including some organics, are in the fridge, and though I coukdn’t see a menu, there are certainly cakes and gelato.
Coffee is quite good: it’s good to see a place in the suburbs trying their own blend, instead of sticking with one of the big names. It was a bit too thin for my tastes, but consistent from first drop to last.
Tidz across the park, Oatley
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La petit crème coffee. 118 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst. Standing room only on a sunday afternoon, we wait for others to gain atable in this darlinghurst institution. Their special breakfast, at $18 comes with fried eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, *cereal*, fresh OJ, and coffee or tea.
Coffee is a bit hit and miss; the first decaf latte that comes out is great: not too hot, with a nutty flavour; the second – a piccolo – is disappointing: this would seem to be a blend that goes best with a lot of milk.
The weekend-only eggs benedict on brioche is excellent.
As a place to write: this place is too busy to accomplish any writing – you’ll be moved along, or seated out the back.
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Mecca espresso coffee. 1 Alfred St, Circular Quay. Open just a few weeks, this is another stall under a glass roof that’s open to the air. With a sandwich board and other signage indicating the high critical acclaim for the other Mecca (king st), this otherwise ordinary cafe immediately catches my eye.
There’s table service and a narrow range of menu options: food-wise, it’s just like the other mecca, but prepared more in the open air.
Coffee (i have a decaf latte) is excellent: rich flavour, neither sweet nor bitter, a little on the hot side, and great milk work. Well repays a visit.
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Republica coffee. Normally I would have walked right past this food-court styled café in the new “top floor” of the broadway shopping centre, but it comes recommended. Their point of difference? All the blends they sell are both organic and fair trade.
They’re out of decaf on the day I call in, so instead, a piccolo latte is brought out in a bright red demitasse cup. It’s smooth, hot milkwork. The coffee is subtle, a little sweet, with some woody notes about it.
For writing? This place has a high ceiling, and it’s in the middle of a mall, so it would be hard to concentrate, I fear.
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Update (20-07-2009): Closed Mondays
Golden cobra coffee. Shop 8, 130 Carillion Ave, Newtown. A range of seating options, from “top gear” inspired bench seats, to a mid-size commual table, and a range of outdoor tables. A range of polite, well-groomed locals spend time here savouring a coffee and a read of the communal newspapers, while uni students gather together at other tables for a gossip session.
Food here is excellent, and generous serving sizes abound. The poached eggs are reputed as the best in newtown, and I look forward to a return visit to test that theory.
Coffee – roasted in Mascot – is really good. A very large flat white showcases the excellent milk work and free-pour latte art, while a double-ristretto-picollo gives the bean itself a welcome showing. Its campos heritage is apparent, but it’s a smooth, never bitter drop with a long-lingering aftertaste.
As a destination for writers, it’s easy to imagine yourself in a corner here, working away furiously for a while: the place seems big enough to allow someone some space for a while without feeling forced to leave.
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Pronto coffee. 72 pitt st sydney. Narrow, galley style café with a bench and a couple of chairs. The espresso machine advertises the trouble that the staff went to to find the perfect blend for its customers, and the barista – friendly to the regulars – indeed grinds the beans fresh for each shot.
There are bacon and egg rolls ready to go, and a sandwich bar for the lunch crowd, with sandwiches hovering around the seven dollar mark.
Coffee is ready in a hurry, and it’s hot. A bit thin, as lattes go, but the blend is good. Still with mainstream appeal, not drifting too far from the classic well-made allpress, but just a little sweeter. 6.5/10
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Chrysler coffee. The logo here caught my attention: very 1950’s american, and the interior, apart from the overwhelming scents of modern australian cooking, holds onto this.
Two baristas, two coffee machines, lots of seating outside in the lane-way. Staff are a bit indifferent to newcomers, but friendly to regulars, knowing orders and names of the other people in the queue behind me.
Coffee is quite hot, but not too hot, and thin, but not ridiculously so. Its flavour is, sadly, not to my tastes: reminds me of a mass-market blend like primo, rather than having a unique character to it.
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Mecca espresso, roasted in Adelaide by Rio. This café is quite famous in the Sydney coffee scene, but there’s no signage to draw attention to that fact. Standard tiled floor, indoor and outdoor seating for around 20.
The skim latte is merely very good, but the macchiato is superb: sweet, without a hint of bitterness, lingering on the palette. It’s what coffee drinking should be. 9.5/10.
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Riverstone coffee (organic blend). Next door to legendary health food store kombu, this place combines a licenced café with a small book store and a range of cds. Some very chilled lounge music plays – just the right volume to afford private conversations without forcing patrons to shout.
Staff are friendly and knowledgeable, and the patrons appear to be mostly tourists, with a range of ages from 6 to 60. When an roder is placed, water is brought out without specific request: always a good sign, I find.
Coffee is served promptly, and the staff are very accommodating to bizarre coffee orders: there’s pouring cream for those who want it, chilled coffees are no problem. The coffees are hot, and for an organic, they’re particularly good.
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