by cafedave on December 22, 2009
Single Origin coffee. 191 Missenden Rd, Newtown. Some skylights have been cut in the non-street-facing roof of this place. With the high ceilings, there’s a great sense of space. A big chalkboard in one corner tells the story of the high-ish prices – they’re clearly not after the student market.
If anything, there’s a sense that they are looking for is to capture the essence of an eastern suburbs bakery, and locate it just of the main street of Newtown. And they have succeeded: the decor and the food presentation are really top notch.
The staff are really friendly, confirming the details of the coffee orders before making them. On the downside, the coffee does take a long time to come together.
There’s a separate decaf grinder, which is great to see. As you would expect for a place next door to Campos, the coffee is really good. A little sweet, some notes of cocoa. It’s a pleasure to drink.
I haven’t tried the bread, or the other baked goods, but this place appears well worth a revisit.
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 December 27, 2006
Single Origin Roasters coffee. How is Cronulla institution (I’d rather be at) "Grind" going with its transition to a larger premises? Everything is coming along nicely, even settling into a routine. Veteran staff, and some additional new faces to help make the transition to seven days a week, the familiar attitude, and the very familiar coffee have all remained the same.
it’s very odd to be at Grind in the middle of the week. The biggest changes are the lack of customer photos on the wall, and the space. As a regular customer of the miniature version of Grind, it seems that part of the charm of the place is the tiny size. The new venue has space – there’s more seating, and there’s more room above the customers – it must have 14 foot ceilings at least. Despite the larger venue, the menu is unchanged. This means that there’s coffee and biscotti, but (as yet) nothing more substantial.
Coffee as ever is excellent: the beans are as fresh as ever, and there’s a choice of house blend or a regularly-changing “special of the day” – advice is always available on how best to drink your choice of beans.
