Canberra's Coffee Culture

The regular kind – at home, with my hand. As opposed to in public with a hazelnut macchiato, or at a roller derby game, slack-jawed, with a blanket over my lap.

WMCaruso- I draw your attention to the first line of my post- What kind of wanker are you?
I read a beautiful comment in the recent Hell on Wheels post- nuff said..

Mmm coffee. Have to weigh in on this debate!
Worst is definitely Bean In The City. It really does taste like greasy dishwater. It’s kind of amazing.
Best for me is the National Gallery Cafe, and strangely enough the Portrait Gallery Cafe (neither is particularly convenient though). In the city – Guru in the Canberra Centre.
Yum.

…ha ha..snort..ha ha…WMC, you’re a funny-arse 😀

Perhaps we can set up a post for you to discuss the differences in freeze drying techniques

Better than a thread about whether you can use your fauxhawk wax on your pointy white leather shoes.

Face it – you don’t like coffee. You like overpriced, p.ss-warm, coffee-flavoured frothy 2% milk in a cardboard cup, slurped in the company of other equally deluded w.nkers, all of you lounging about on fake suede chairs while ‘So Frenchy So Chic’ from three years ago warbles in the background. “Ooh, Rainforest Alliance this, single origin that” you all gurgle, your inane blathering punctuated only by the monkey behind the counter offering their two cents about what’s wrong with the emissions trading scheme.

trix- thanks mate, that was the comment I was looking for. Sadly confirms what I feared. I look forward to hunting down some new haunts but am realising that I’m going to need to drop my expectations.
Also wanted to add ‘Providore’ in Manuka for a decent brew- go the special blend.
Thanks also for your mention of the home brew. My daily grind is done on my stove stop with great beans and to my fastidious standards. But its only half of the cafe experience.
And to those who spout the virtues of Instant over an Extraction.. Perhaps we can set up a post for you to discuss the differences in freeze drying techniques and jar shapes so you don’t feel left out..

Zusi4114 said :

Yeah Tonic use to do it for me but that was cos one particular staff member in overalls is an awesome coffee maker, quite a character and remembered his clients enough to keep the chat whilst remembering details about them, havent seen him there lately, sorry bout that.

The guy in the overalls doesn’t work there anymore – I agree he was a good barista.

You still see people drinking international roast though.

If I can make a better coffee than 95% of places with my machine it says something about how good ‘baristas’ are. It’s not the machine which stuffs up a good coffee bean.

Had a great coffee recently in Hervey bay so we bought some of their beans. Run out now which kind of sucks.

George D said :

I moved here from Wellington. People say that Melbourne does good coffee. And it does. But it certainly isn’t as good as the coffee in Wellington, which lives by its espresso…
I’m a soy drinker…

I’m impressed that a little rural NSW town does good coffee…
But then how can you taste *anything* past the putridness of soy? 🙂

Special G said :

Coffee is all about getting what you are used to.
If you are a person who likes international roast then a good coffee will taste like crap. and vice versa.

Oh please – you cannot tell me there’s anyone on the planet actually *likes* international roast? I’m convinced that is the floor sweepings from the coconut shell fibre factory. Any coffee in it purely optional. Next you’ll tell us Vegemite makes a real nice soup.

Heh heh, trix, all true. Tonic’s fine, tho I’ve been thinking my soy lattes have been getting somewhat too milky/creamy of late.
I think that girl is actually pleasant enough, she’s just way introverted. As a fellow congenital non smiler, I kinda identify.

Up The Duffy said :

We need Coffee Police, and Punishable Coffee Crimes.

Tip good Staff, then they might stay in the Trade.

At Canberra prices? And with Canberra service?

Yeah, right.

As for the comment about getting the Sunbeam coffee machine and doing your own, it’s a pretty sad statement that it’s mainly true that you -will- get better coffee that way than at 95% of so-called cafes here in Canberra.

i forgot one more – there’s a cafe in Dickson in that bit behind the supermarket that does nice breakfasts and decent Veneziano. Can’t remember its name, unfortunately.

Actually, Woody, I do argue about what’s the better beer, but I’d rather compare the merits of Chimay with Anchor Steam (they’re both bloody good). And your wager about the coffee would be so wrong – just because you have no tastebuds doesn’t mean the rest of us are so lacking.

Personally, I give anything with Lavazza, Piazza d’Oro and Vittoria a big swerve, and the less said about “Sambaroma” and Nescafe, the better. Gus’s used to do a decent coffee when they still did Veneziano, but they now do the Vittoria shite. Essen around the corner has a big selection (although the default coffee is Piazza d’Blergh), but they ruin it every time – it tastes like dishwater. The Front in Lyneham do shite coffee too, with a latte having the dishwater suds on top. I have heard one guy can actually make a latte properly, but I’ve never had one, and with Piazza d’Crap, you aren’t going to get much anyway. It’s a shame, because I’d actually hang out there a lot if they had decent coffee. And savoury snacks. Tilley’s is marginally more reliable, but don’t bother with a real coffee – sweet and milky is the only way. And they still serve lattes in those tacky 80s tall glass mug things. As for Bean in the City, feh. The Republic does an ok coffee, but I find the Cosmorex beans they use have a dirt flavour (like any Cosmorex coffee I’ve had – it’s a boutique roast, shame about the taste). Coffee Guru do fair trade, but they manage to make it weak, flavourless and yet bitter.

For the higher-end but non-boutique roasters, Veneziano (from Melbourne) is decent coffee, and if you get a decent barista, it’s pretty good. The Glass House in Civic do a decent job with it. Bardelli’s used to, but they are now closed. I’ve had one really good coffee at Cream – their beans are fine, but they don’t have a clue how to grind and brew them. So, ok for milky drinks as well, or if the owner happens to pull it, which never happens these days. Kaldi do a pretty good coffee, both the one by the buses, and the one up by Customs. Don’t bother with the generic coffee – get the “roast of the week” (although a couple of those are pretty eh).

That pretty much leaves the Kingston Grind/Tonic/the other place. Some of their baristas have the habit of burning it, which makes it way too bitter, but if they can manage not to do that, the bean is pretty nice, and very richly flavoured. If you learn who the decent baristas are, you can get a very nice short black. Kingston Grind itself could stand to vary its menu occasionally (I don’t think it’s changed in 4 years), and Tonic gave up on the lunch wraps they did, which were horribly overpriced for a thin wrap stuffed full of raw salad and a sniff of meaty filling. Cakes are pretty generic, but nice enough. The new woman they have serving could stand to cheer up a bit with the customers.

Oh, and if you want to get some nice beans and a decent coffee as well (but not the espresso, unless there’s one particular guy on), Wagonga Coffee at the EPIC market on Saturday (and I think the Bus Depot on Sunday) do bloody awesome roasts. Thoroughly recommend the PNG peaberry, but they’re all great.

Chocolate Olive is Phillip is good for a morning brew.

Coffee is all about getting what you are used to.

If you are a person who likes international roast then a good coffee will taste like crap. and vice versa.

Find one you like and stick with it or make your own. Got a Sunbeam cafe series machine at home and make a better coffee than most cafes – so take aways and kids playgrounds for us. They have the same machine at work so I save a bucket load of cash as it only costs about 60c a coffee.

Oh please, we are talking about coffee here. Its like when I did the Boag’s Brewery Beer Appreciation tour

*snort*

You come over all “ooh, I shan’t drink that dish water, Nigel” about Nescafe but you’ll hold Boag’s up as something other than another bland Australian lager? Funniest thing I’ve seen all day. Do you also argue about whether Cascade is better than Crown? Talk about a sucker for marketing.

I’d wager that if I got three neighbouring Civic cafes to knock up some flat whites you couldn’t tell them apart from one round to the next in a double-blind tasting.

My coffee swilling coworkers swear by Tonic.

If you’re after a hot chocolate, the best one in Civic is from Cafe Cibalia, which is tucked away behind Tonic. Apparently their coffee is fairly decent too. They also make a mean slice of raisin toast!

Tonic in civic. You won’t be disappointed.

icantbelieveitsnotbutter said :

I’ve always found the Nescafe skim latte packet mix to be fabulous! It costs half the price and you don’t have to leave your office or home to get one?

Aahh, the chemical latte.

If you’re afte cheap coffe you may as well drink plunger coffee. Much cheaper and no fake taste.

yuk – im not meeting you for coffee – cheapskate icantbeliveitsbutter………icantbelieveitscoffee!!!

icantbelieveitsnotbutter said :

I’ve always found the Nescafe skim latte packet mix to be fabulous! It costs half the price and you don’t have to leave your office or home to get one?

Oh please, we are talking about coffee here. Its like when I did the Boag’s Brewery Beer Appreciation tour and someone asked about VB and the guy from Boag’s looked at this guy and replied, ‘We only talk about beer here’. Nuff said.

If you’re at the ANU, The Gods (Union Court and Hedley Bull Building) do excellent coffee. And the owners are lovely to their customers. Street Theatre Cafe is pretty good too.

I moved here from Wellington. People say that Melbourne does good coffee. And it does. But it certainly isn’t as good as the coffee in Wellington, which lives by its espresso. Canberra’s coffee is a step down again, although it is improving over time. Too often while I’m waiting I can hear the wrong type of steam, the coffee getting too hot, or the machine overextracting.

I’m a soy drinker, and since moving here I’ve learned to trust my instincts. That means avoiding most places, and even if they seem credible only ordering a flat white the first time I visit a place – most baristas can’t be trusted not to screw things up. I’ve worked behind the machine, and soy seriously isn’t that hard. Just treat it with care and make it by feel.

The Front is pretty good out O’Connor way.

I’ve always found the Nescafe skim latte packet mix to be fabulous! It costs half the price and you don’t have to leave your office or home to get one?

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

Remember when coffee was a drink rather than a lifestyle?

“I’m a barista.”
“You’re an Italian who serves behind a counter?”
“What? No, I make coffee.”
“You mean you operate a coffee machine, in much the same way a teenager at McDonalds might operate a deep fryer?”
“You don’t get it. I also offer entertaining observations on the state of play.”

Classic.

Does that mean if you work at a pub that you’re a beerista?

Belconnen has both the 2008 and 2009 Barista Champs within 150m of each other.

Orange Bean – 2008 Barista Champ
Ona – 2009 Barista Champ.

Both in Benj Offices opposite the Churches Centre building.

Also Deb King does a great coffee out of her Brown Van – http://www.idealcoffeeaustralia.com. She has a very loyal following and is often at the Handmade markets. Her husband – Andrew roasts a good bean too.

Remember when coffee was a drink rather than a lifestyle?

“I’m a barista.”
“You’re an Italian who serves behind a counter?”
“What? No, I make coffee.”
“You mean you operate a coffee machine, in much the same way a teenager at McDonalds might operate a deep fryer?”
“You don’t get it. I also offer entertaining observations on the state of play.”

Moorish on Moore

In Woden Metro is pretty good while BaBar Woden has crap coffee and very unfriendly and rude staff.

Rad Dave said :

That coffee cart is what inspired me to write this post.. I have never had such consistantly bad coffee anywhere!!(except they cafe at Mac House) There’s no love in that coffee.

They must have had a staff change then…

Muffin Break in Westfield Belconnen on weekdays make a nice coffee.

Yeah Tonic use to do it for me but that was cos one particular staff member in overalls is an awesome coffee maker, quite a character and remembered his clients enough to keep the chat whilst remembering details about them, havent seen him there lately, sorry bout that.

Up The Duffy said :

We need Coffee Police, and Punishable Coffee Crimes.

Tip good Staff, then they might stay in the Trade.

Up the Duffy- spot on!

I-filed said :

Clown Killer said :

Give Loui’s a go 🙂

Yeah roight! And Carlo’s in Watson!

If you’re in Watson, Satis generally does nicer coffee than Carlo’s (IMO).

Gungahlin Al said :

I-filed said :

Clown Killer said :

Give Loui’s a go 🙂

Yeah roight! And Carlo’s in Watson!

Yuk to both of them! Bitter, overly strong, horrible.
Bardelis in Garema were great, but alas have folded.
The coffee cart in the defence building at 219 Northbourne is great, and so much better than the overpriced Coyote over the road.

That coffee cart is what inspired me to write this post.. I have never had such consistantly bad coffee anywhere!!(except they cafe at Mac House) There’s no love in that coffee.
I, too, am disappointed with the Front- promising so much and delivering so little. It is the closest to ‘the vibe’ i’m looking for, though.
sb14- I know its not the forum but.. Alberto’s shot (West End), Urban Grind (West End) and Jamies Esspresso (New Farm)
Thanks to all for new venues to try..

yes – kingston grind in kingston does the best coffee – i was also spoilt – in melbourne- so have searched here hard past 3 yrs for a consistency.
good luck in getting a seat – just like everwhere else in this mad little bubble .. its all or nothing – empty or full ..

I guess its all about knowing where to go. Having lived in Canberra for a long time and then moved to Brisbane, I am still in search of a decent coffee up here, and often preach how much better the coffee is in Canberra. Then again I’m on the north side, not west end.

I don’t understand why everyone raves about Tonic. I tried them a few months ago on recommendation after I started working nearby, and thought their coffee was weak and flavourless. One of my colleages who is quite the coffee connoisseur thinks the same, but I’ve heard a lot of other people claim they have the best coffee in Canberra.

I usually go to Kaldi, right next to Tonic. It can be a bit hit-and-miss (one of their three baristas is so-so) but is generally pretty good. They offer a number of different blends too, so you can pick the one that suits your tastes.

This might help your search:
http://coffeesnobs.com.au/

I-filed said :

Clown Killer said :

Give Loui’s a go 🙂

Yeah roight! And Carlo’s in Watson!

Yuk to both of them! Bitter, overly strong, horrible.
Bardelis in Garema were great, but alas have folded.
The coffee cart in the defence building at 219 Northbourne is great, and so much better than the overpriced Coyote over the road.

I-filed said :

Sigh – even the Front has surprisingly crap coffee for a Bohemian hangout …

I went to the Front for a coffee once, and there were no staff there. So one of the customers chilling out jumped up and made me a coffee! (It wasn’t that good and I didn’t go back.)

Another vote for Tonic, by far the best coffee in Civic.

Kaldi in the Civic Bus Interchange (on the ground floor of the ATSB building). We used to go to Tonic (next door) all the time, but switched when Kaldi opened on account of the choice of beans offered and the marginally lower prices 🙂

If you’re around Phillip try Eat Your Words Cafe. Great coffee, great baristas. The only downside is they’re open from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm, so you can’t usually drop in on your way home. On the other hand, they’re great for an early wake you up.

Sfoglia in Dickson

Peptis said :

My favourites are:

– Kingston Grind (Corner Green Sq)
– Group7 (Same building as Exchange, but much better coffee!)
– Tonic (Across from where Greater Union used to be)

I think they’re from the same people as they’re very similar and the coffee tastes the same. They have the same barista making the coffee all day (no part-timers) and I haven’t found a better place for espresso in Canberra (nice and strong, with a full mouthfeel).

I agree Group 7 and Tonic are the best places in civic to get coffee – if only they were open on the weekend!

My winner is Kaldi Coffee on the terrace above where the old Tandy used to be in Civic. I prefer them to anywhere else in Civic. Scott & Wade in there are pretty funny too 😛

We need Coffee Police, and Punishable Coffee Crimes.

Tip good Staff, then they might stay in the Trade.

Clown Killer said :

Give Loui’s a go 🙂

Yeah roight! And Carlo’s in Watson!

My favourites are:

– Kingston Grind (Corner Green Sq)
– Group7 (Same building as Exchange, but much better coffee!)
– Tonic (Across from where Greater Union used to be)

I think they’re from the same people as they’re very similar and the coffee tastes the same. They have the same barista making the coffee all day (no part-timers) and I haven’t found a better place for espresso in Canberra (nice and strong, with a full mouthfeel).

Give Loui’s a go 🙂

Kramer said :

My recent favourite has been Orange Bean in Belconnen (new DIAC building on Benjamin Way), although it has been (or is that has bean) a little inconsistent of late. Is their prize winning barista still there???

Yeah Orange Bean is good as long as the tall bloke with the light coloured hair is making the coffee.

The new one upstairs in Aqua is pretty good too.

Peter down at Brew Bar in Thuggers makes a good coffee.
…in Civic…there’s loads of great places to get a good coffee…give them all a go till you find the one that suits you.

Sigh – even the Front has surprisingly crap coffee for a Bohemian hangout …

Exchange on London Circuit.

You get to mingle with lame Public servants and cops. Good times.

I haven’t found too many places where the coffee was terrible. But I will say that there’s a better place than Bean in the City, I enjoy waling past the people in the queue waiting there when getting my coffee in the morning.

My recent favourite has been Orange Bean in Belconnen (new DIAC building on Benjamin Way), although it has been (or is that has bean) a little inconsistent of late. Is their prize winning barista still there???