International Coffee Shops

Coffee Shops to visit in Australia

26th July 2016

We’ve been back for a month and I have finally got my head around the many amazing coffee shops in Australia. From Sydney to Perth and back to Brisbane, here is a list of coffee shops I recommend you visit when you go to Australia.

SYDNEY COFFEE SHOPS

Our coffee adventures began in Sydney. A busy city, bustling with commuters, workmen, and tourists… all in search of a good coffee. Coffee is not a luxury in Australia, it is a daily lifestyle, a necessity that is easily accessible on most streets.

We spent a lot of our time in an area called Surry Hills. I fell in love with the quaint streets and architecture of this city suburb. The coffee shops were also just incredible so you will notice a few listed below from the area. When you visit Sydney don’t be afraid to extend your range outside of the inner city vibes. We found incredible coffee roasters and cafes all over the Sydney landscape. So here are a few you MUST get to when you visit Australia.

Artificer | 547 Bourke Street, Surry Hills | Facebook

Neighbourhood by Sean McManus | 16 Buckingham Street, Surry Hills | Instagram

Reuben Hills | 61 Albion Street, Surry Hills | Instagram

Mecca Coffee Roasters | 26 Bourke Road, Alexandria | Facebook

Single Origin Roasters | 28B Cranbrook Street, Botany | Facebook

Paramount Coffee Project | 80 Commonwealth Street | Facebook

The Copper Mill | 338 – 356 Mitchell Road, Alexandria | Facebook

PERTH COFFEE SHOPS

The next stop on our trip was to visit family in Perth. Obviously I had scouted some places out before hand but with a bit of help from a few locals we ventured upon some absolutely incredible coffee shops.

Just down the road from where we were staying was our first coffee stop and from Nedlands, we found some winners in Subiaco and then a whole bunch in the city. We also spent two days in Freemantle, where we spent many hours huddled in the warm cafes of this Uni and Harbour town.

Elixir | 145 Stirling Highway, Nedlands | Facebook

Felix & Co | 160 Hampden Road, Nedlands | Facebook

Architects & Heroes | 25 Rokeby Road, Subiaco | Facebook

Small Print Baker & Coffee Maker | 125 St Georges Terrace, CBD | Facebook

DuoTone | 313 Hay Street, East Perth | Facebook

Max & Sons | 140 Perth | Facebook

Willie Wagtail |131 William Street | Facebook

Tiisch | 9B 938 Hay Street | Facebook

The Attic | 16 Bannister Street, Freemantle | Facebook

BRISBANE COFFEE SHOPS

After a brilliant week in Perth we jet set back to the East Coast, this time up to Brisbane. Our time in Brisbane was not all our own, as Paul was working for a lot of it but we managed to get in some good coffee between meetings and on the road in the morning. Brisbane’s coffee scene made me very excited. Again with the coffee lifestyle, there is an evident grab and go culture.

Coffee shops are smaller, not your regular spot to sit and get work done, but rather grab a quick coffee and a snack before heading back to the office. There certainly are those coffee shops on the outskirts of town, towards the suburbs, that you’ll find more moms with prams taking it easy in for the morning. Some of my favourite coffee shops around Brisbane are listed below.

John Mills Himself | 40 Charlotte Street, CBD | Instagram

Bunker Coffee | 21 Railway Terrace | Facebook

Morning After | 57 Vulture Street, West End | Facebook

The Single Guys | 2/2051 Moggill Road, Kenmore | Facebook

Blacksmith Specialty Coffee | 8 Bothwell Street, Mount Gravatt | Facebook

Dovetail On Overend | 85 Overend Street, Norman Park | Facebook

Dandelion & Driftwood | 45 Gerler Road, Hendra | Facebook

We also spent a few days North on the Sunshine Coast in Noosa, and we then went down to the Gold Coast for a long weekend with family to end our 4 weeks. Here are some spots not to miss in those areas of Australia.

Padre | 10 Eenie Creek Road, Noosaville | Facebook

Clandestino Roasters | 59 Rene Street, Noosaville | Facebook

Espl. Coffee Brewers | 4 The Esplanade, Surfers Paradise | Facebook

All in all we had a phenomenal, coffee fuelled trip. Pregnancy did not stop this coffee blogger from getting around to as many great Australian coffee shops as possible. Paul and I shared coffee, bonded over delicate flavours, and marvelled on a new part of the world. All the above coffee shops welcomed us in with friendly faces and delicious coffee. Thank you to all the baristas, managers, owners, and coffee friends we spent time with in Australia, you made our trip so worthwhile.

I hope this list sends some more traffic to your coffee shops, from around the world!

Help us explore Australia’s coffee scene

14th January 2016

It has been a goal on the list for 2016 to get to Australia for a proper coffee tour around the country! You can help us explore Australia’s coffee scene by recommending your favourite specialty coffee shop. As you can see on our directory, the country/continent of Australia has yet to be explored.

Travelling Australia

The destinations we have mapped out are…

Perth | Brisbane | Melbourne | Sydney | Gold Coast

Now it’s your turn to fill in the gaps. Which Australian coffee shops should we visit?

Our bags aren’t packed but we are ready to go. We have family all over Aus so we can’t wait to visit them. For now we are searching the web day and night (well web alerts like sky scanner are doing that for us) for good flight prices, and we are putting together a list of coffee shops to visit.

The Australian coffee scene has in many ways lead the charge in the specialty coffee movement. The current world barista champ is from Aus, so we cannot wait to explore the Australian coffee scene.

So help us out by commenting below with a link to your recommended Australian coffee shops.

THANK YOU!!!!

Society Cafe

16th June 2014

While staying in South West England, in January, we were lucky enough to be a 15 minute train ride to Bath, where we discovered the delightful Society Cafe. I’m not quite sure why it has taken me nearly 6 months to write this post, as Society Cafe was truly one of my favourite UK coffee shops.

The service is super friendly, the coffee is AMAZING, and the atmosphere is so inviting. What more would you want from a coffee shop. Society Cafe is in Kingsmead Square, right in the hub of student life and tourist foot traffic. The interior is a trendy mix of light wood, the magnificent blue espresso machine and art laden walls. I love how this cafe really supports their society- all the baked goods, art and the coffee are locally sourced.

As I was exploring around the cafe I steadily made my way down the wooden staircase and fell in love with the basement part of this cafe. Cosy couches, booth workspaces and the most friendly and cheerful atmosphere. I could so see myself as a student spending A LOT of time at Society Cafe.

The coffee is roasted at Round Hill Roastery, a favourite in the UK. I loved the nutty flavour of my cappuccino and the perfection of the latte art, as you can see in the image below. I couldn’t decide on which cake to have so settled on a chocolate, caramel biscuit bar. Along with this the food sounded incredible too, with a great selection of sandwiches and light munchies.

Society Cafe are meticulous when it comes to service, products, atmosphere and cleanliness. One can certainly see how upholding the quality of these areas has made Society Cafe a top class cafe.

Society Cafe is open 7 days a week

Mon – Fri: 7:00 am – 7:30 pm

Sat: 7:30 am – 6:30 pm

Sun: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Follow them on Facebook & Twitter for regular updates on menu items & events.

Society Cafe also recently opened in The Corridor on High Street. I haven’t been to that branch but I hear it is equally as wonderful!

For more of my favourite UK Coffee Shops click HERE.

Small St. Espresso

3rd March 2014

Bristol is home to a few great coffee shops, and during our UK adventures in January we were particularly impressed by Small St. Espresso. Located at 23 Small Street, this coffee shop is a friendly, cosy respite from the squally conditions outside. We had been advised to visit Small St. Espresso by a few locals and it is safe to say that their reputation is well deserved.

While we were there they were serving a guest blend by Clifton Coffee Company. It was full of flavour and left you with a taste of caramel. Small St. Espresso rotate through a number of great roasteries, namely Square Mile Coffee Roasters, Workshop, Origin Coffee Roasters, Nude Espresso, Caravan, Small Batch Coffee Company, Round Hill Roastery, Clifton Coffee Company, and Extract Coffee Roasters. That is one thing I so enjoyed about the coffee shops we visited, they support so many roasters and offer a great range of coffees.

Small St. Espresso baristas serve up a mean flat white, and this artisan coffee shop also has a variety of tasty pastries, cakes and sourdough toasted sammies on offer.

This world we live in is so small, we were chatting to John (the owner) and he was so chuffed to hear that we were from Durban, as he had spent a year in Durban playing rugby. We shared stories and laughed and convinced him to come back for a visit 🙂

Small St. Espresso was one of our favourite UK coffee shops and I would recommend it to anyone visiting Bristol. You will be welcomed by friendly faces and amazing coffee!

Monmouth Coffee Company London

31st January 2014

From Cape Town to London the coffee culture is growing and adapting to all tastes and flavours. This December I spent a few days visiting some of London’s finest coffee shops and top of the list is Monmouth Coffee Company in Covent Garden. At 27 Monmouth Street this elongated coffee shop is constantly packed with coffee lovers even to the point where the outside bench was our only seating option.

Monmouth started roasting in 1978 and held regular tastings for the community before people would buy their beans. They now roast and supply country wide and have a large roaster in Bermondsey. Like most coffee shops in the UK they have a filter blend and an espresso blend on daily and each blend boasts unique flavours of the region it is from.

When you step in to Monmouth you experience true coffee love. Before you even get to the coffee shop there is a counter laden with scales, timers, coffee paraphernalia and of course bags and bags of various beans. At this point you are able to taste and smell the different blends and make a decision on whether you want a filter shot or and espresso shot.

Behind all this there is a friendly faced barista pumping out the orders and he sure does know how to pull a good shot because Monmouth Coffee is pure pleasure to drink. If you are lucky you will find a seat at the back of the shop which is a welcome respite from the busyness of the front of the shop. Enjoy free wifi and if it is winter (like it was for us) you will never want to leave the warmth and the tantalising smell of coffee in this place.

For anyone visiting London, specifically the Covent Garden area, do yourself a favour and visit Monmouth Coffee Company. I would even suggest planning a day in Covent Garden to visit Monmouth. What an incredible coffee experience it was. To read up more about Monmouth Coffee Company you can visit their website at www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk.