Come with us on a journey, and input along the way!
Our intention on this site is to only bring you reviews of the good coffee being made or roasted around Brisbane, and keep celebrating the good, not putting down the bad. Its amazing how many people whinge about other people in the coffee industry up here. So all hail the Baristas of Queensland who take their job seriously and the Artisan Roasters, closely guarding their secrets. Soon, bad coffee in Qld will be a thing of the past!
**Let me tell you how this blog came about...
It seems that no matter where you go, Italy included, there are many poor quality/not fresh coffees floating around in cafes, being extracted by even poorer baristas.
Just over a month ago whilst staying with some friends from Brisbane, who are living in Kiev, Ukraine, we got talking about the state of coffee in Brisbane. The longer we talked about it, the more we realised that yes in fact, Brisbane is on the improve atleast, and already has some world class coffee being made. Let me back that up!
For all my rants about coffee culture in Brisbane, I could list off atleast 5 places straight away where I would be happy to introduce someone to 'real' coffee, and 10 places where you could go if you were able to live with 'good not excellent,' results. Lets build on what we already have!
So once again I say, raise your glasses (or acf cups) to the baristas, cafe owners and specialty coffee roasters of Queensland, and lets enjoy every last drop.
P.S Since this is my first post, I thought I should put in a video of me pouring a rosetta at work with my boss filming.
8 comments:
Hey man, looking forward to reading your blog! Living in London is a bitch when it comes to coffee. There's maybe 6 great coffee places in town (according to the blogs). I've only been to 2 of 3 which are in my part of the city. But London has 7 times as many people as Brisbane! Actually the best roastery in London, Square Mile (run by 2 former WBC's) recently had an Australian coffee tasting event (unfortunatley didn't make it) but I didn't see any Brisbane coffees in there. Maybe you can get some roasters like Mark in contact with them for the next one, a little taste of home wouldn't be amiss!
Anyway, I hope you're free in the first week of January for a café crawl! I've got lost time to make up for mate!
Hey!
This blog was a great idea!
Look forward to reading it also.
Yes Linus I will definitely be looking forward to a coffee crawl. Got a few more spots to hit up these days too, so it'll be good to catch up with you! :)
There are lots of places in Brisbane you can get a "good" coffee, but very few which do exceptional coffee.
I have attended The Dancing Bean Espresso Bar on George Street for several years, where Phil Sproule and Darwin Frame made the best coffee I have tasted to date.
Darwin Frame has to be the best barista in Brisbane, bar none. Forget all these bollocksy "best barista" comps - they are usually staged by Di Bella coffee, the msot overrated and bland bean on the market. Unfortunately Darwin has moved onto other coffee projects, but none is yet to match him, or come close.
Many people at work go to Naked Coffee in Elizabeth Arcade, though I am not a bit fan of it. However I have recently been frequenting Cafe Cremosa on Adelaide Street. Blake does a good coffee and their blend is unique, however it is early days and I hope to see consistency continue.
So for now, it is Dancing Bean and Cremosa. At home I use Dancing Bean house and decaf beans, and occasionally another boutique roaster. As for the suburbs and exceptional coffee - forget it. There are plenty of places to get a "good" coffee; in my experience, Gloria Jeans, Starbucks, McCafe and several Coffee Clubs are not included in that list. Basic rule of thumb - if you have a high school/uni student behind the machine, it will be an average coffee.
Best Coffee - Made by Darwin Frame at Dancing Bean; one off promotional blend called Oz 1 or something. I still remember it clearly.
Worst Coffee - Almost ever Gloria Jeans or McCafe I have had; and every Starbucks coffe I've ever had.
Saeco - I definitely agree about there being lots of places to get good coffee...actually let me rephrase that. There are lots of places to get OKAY coffee, its just average, its not terrible, but you're right, it is definitely not exceptional.
That being said, hopefully once we have a solid reader base on this blog, and over the coming months of reviewing the exceptional, people will start figuring out that they deserve the best, not just average! Thanks for your comments.
Oh and on a side note, I know Darwin and you're right he is a very good barista. He is very passionate and loves what he does which is great. I know a lot of great baristas though and I would say he is equally the best barista around with a few others.
Thanks again for the comments! We will definitely check out Dancing Bean and check out Cremosa too.
Although I still go to Dancing Bean, I must say this anonymously - that since Phil has left, I know of several regulars who have since left and go to other coffee shops; not just others I have worked with, but regulars I used to see at DB, who now sit outside Naked, or go to others along George Street.
Fortunately DB's blend is consistent enough that if you get an average-made coffee, it still tastes reasonable. That cannot be said of other places. I think Leon and Scott are starting to make better coffee which is relieving and hope the quality will continue. I do not want to be one of the masses to have exited the Bean.
This blog is a awesome idea for the public to understand and appreciate good coffee! good luck cousin!
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