cresta57

If we're talking coffee shop chains along the Starbucks/Gloria Jean's line then I'd say for a decent coffee you can't beat Zarraffas, they're local to S.E.Qld.
There's a single coffee shop just up the road from us called Sexy Coffee it does great coffee, we usually buy our beans from there about $30 a kilo for their "blend 3" possibly the best short black ever.

papilon

Never said UK was coffee heaven, why would it be when it has no culture for it until recent history. But a lot of the coffee served here is no better than what is served in the UK. If you like sour acidic black coffee you are in the right place and good for you. Personally i like my coffee black and strong but with a smooth taste and low acidity, very hard to find in Melbourne unless you go to one of the speciality coffee roasting cafes. By far the best way to brew coffee is by filter machine, the coffee will taste much smoother and contrary to popular belief has a much higher caffine content than espresso.

papilon

Its all about the beans my friend, coffee beans start to deteriorate from the moment they are picked, when they are roasted, how they are roasted and how quickly they are used after opening.


The Danes make the best coffee in the world, everyone has a filter/perculator, everyone drinks straight black coffee and no poncing around with skinny soy latte or crapucinno

papilon

Back on topic, wonder what will happen to an area like Brunswick/Coburg over the next decade or so. We have recently been looking at houses around that way, still good value when you consider how close to the city. Those old southern med guys are a dying breed and not being replaced by a new influx of migrants from that region, there children have moved on and intergrated,mixed married and a lot of proffesional couples and wankers like me will/have been moving in and completly change the mix and character.

eddie007

Back off topic....

Anyone got a nespresso machine?

Its the ONLY piece of kitchen equipment I haven't sucombed to....

Girl at work.... She just sent her second one back, only got he first one three weeks ago.....

koalakim

I don't know which coffee shops you've been drinking at Papilon but it's heaps better here than the UK, although to be fair to you I only drink cappuccino not espresso.

Eddie....I haven't got a Nespresso but a friend has and I've used them in hotels. You can get lots of different flavoured pods and the coffee is okay, not as good as a proper machine but certainly quicker to use and the frothing machine makes awesome froth.

eddie007

Apparently its the frothing bit thats packed up on both machines... First time Hardly Normal (where she brought it) just replaced the machine, second time they told her she had to get in touch with nespresso, they send some one to pick it up, then she has to wait til they fix it and they send it back,....

Not great service from Hardly Normal IMHO.....

(the names in this post have been changed to protect the identity of the well known chain store who sold the defective products....)

Personally I would have told them to stick it ... You dont get that kind of crap customer service from the Nice Men....

Actually you do, rememebers the steam mop incident....

IvanM

Plenty of places here water it down and burn it. Filter coffee tends to be too weak for me.

papilon

I am probably being a bit of a coffee <snip> but yeah if you drink capp,latte,flat white the milk is masking the taste of the coffee anyway and to me i can't see the difference from say London to Melbourne.
My poison is black coffee, not good in London either but at least they don't bang on about it and claim to be worlds best blah blah blah. Most long blacks/espresso served in Melbourne are rank and in need of a large dose of sugar, which is the Italian way of masking the taste. The cafe's they are served in on the other hand a very nice places to hang out I now tend to drink tea when at a cafe and make my own coffee at home.

papilon

Simple add more coffee and use less water.

papilon

http://coffeegeek.com/guides/siphoncoffee probably the best way to make coffee.

BadgeIsBack

I like it!! The biggest coffee <snip> would be Al Pacino on the ads on the box they have here in Melbourne, and indeed anywhere else.

A short black : best was Gary from Different Strokes.

I am also a latte/ cappuccino lightweight - both significant women in my life ie. my mother and my wife percolate/filter.

Are the Danes the best because of the high ownership of percolators - per capita - if you like, or is the beans and prep a factor?

Bix

A little known fact is that "high" quality coffee beans from South America are soaked for 48 hours in Llama piss.

Aparently the Peruvian Llama is the preferred donor.

Shakmaty

I've had some good coffee in Melbourne....in fact, I had an excellent coffee for a shockingly cheap $2 in that precinct that ozzie posted the photo of.

Here's some, and I'll add more as I go

Shakmaty

On the issue of ethnicity, you can take a walk down my main street, Glenhuntly Road, and listen to:

Russian
Polish
Israeli
Hebrew
Chinese
Vietnamese
German
French
Indian
Italian

There's a fairly large English community around, plenty of Aussies, and many celebs hang around from the TV studios around the corner. I nearly dropped dead when Nick Cave walked into my local cafe