Visiting different coffee shops each day is something that can be a challenge at times. For two particular reasons for me in the more recent future. The first is that to find a cafe I have not visited that I want to visit I have to travel some distance now. The second reason is that this has become somewhat challenging with some ongoing car problems. The car problems are more of an annoyance for the most part, but they do also make life kind of difficult.

Through this period I have come to realise there are two different sorts of cafes for me. The first is the cafes that I visit once or maybe twice. While they are often nice, there is not anything that they are doing outstanding that makes me think I need to go back here.

The second is the cafes that I feel comfortable in, either space wise or because I know I am going to be more than happy with the coffee. When I get a coffee I like to take a photo and spend 30 or so minutes doing a little work. So when the cafe is small I feel uncomfortable taking up a seat someone else could use. When it comes to the coffee I like to enjoy exceptional coffee. While most of what I experience is good coffee, and I like it, I am finding more and more that I move away from some particular coffees.

I have found myself gravitating to a smaller handful of cafes that I feel comfortable in closer to home. Partly as I have spent more than a few days getting around purely on the bike. But also partly because I just want to get some work done without feeling like I need to vacate the table for other customers.

Either way, I think that everyone has their reason for visiting the cafes that they do. Sometimes it is the space, sometimes it is the coffee and sometimes it is the people. Most importantly is that you enjoy where you get your coffee. So it is time to get into the spots I shared this week, and I do have a couple of favourites in here.

Monday, 19th March 2018

B + C Lab Cafe

Location – 31 Musk Street, Kelvin Grove, QLD

Coffee – Five Senses

B + C Lab Coffee is a spot that came to my attention through Instagram. I watched I think from when they opened and planned to find time to get over to the area to check them out. It was worth the trip to enjoy some coffee here from Five Senses and the nice atmosphere in the cafe. While I did see some rather interesting looking layered cakes in the cabinet I was a little early to eat so had to pass (I follow an intermittent fasting plan).

Tuesday, 20th March 2018

Passiontree Velvet

Location – Westfield Carindale, 1151 Creek Rd, Carindale QLD

Coffee – Own Blend

I am a very regular visitor to the Westfield Carindale Shopping Centre and pass all the cafes in the centre frequently. However, I have not yet visited them all, but I decided to stop and try the coffee at Passiontree Velvet one morning. I am not sure who exactly roasts the coffee, and while I enjoyed it, there are other options if you are looking for a coffee. Kind of what I spoke about in the introduction, it is coffee, but maybe it is more suited to milk coffees.

Wednesday, 21st March 2018

Le Bistro

Location – 75 Cambridge Parade, Manly, QLD

Coffee –

One morning out and about in the Manly area and I decided to try a new little spot that had opened for coffee. Le Bistro is part of the Place Real Estate Office and has a rather nice look to it. I don’t think you can normally sit inside, but over the warm weeks of summer they seemed to be making an exception. A nice cup of coffee, but somehow I forgot to stop and find out just who roasts the beans.

Thursday, 22nd March 2018

Tighty Whities

Location – 160 Brisbane Street, Ipswich, QLD

Coffee – Toby’s Estate Coffee Roasters

There is a small story behind visiting this cafe, which begins with it being just the second cafe I have visited in Ipswich. However, the name of the cafe is not what I was expecting. It turns out that the cafe had recently changed owners and Google Maps was not yet updated. So it was only after the fact when we were sitting here that I realised it was now called Tighty Whities and not Nourish Real Food Cafe. Either way I was happy with the coffee from Toby’s Estate, a roaster that I enjoy drinking, but do not come across quite so often.

Friday, 23rd March 2018

Frankee & Co.

Location – 5/63-65 Springwood Rd, Springwood QLD

Coffee – Bear Bones Specialty Coffee

On the day that I visited Frankee & Co, there was something that must have been leading me here. I had planned to visit a different coffee shop and for some reason decided to take a different route and end up here instead. There was something pulling me here though as it turned out that as I walked to the counter a friend was behind the counter serving. It was nice to catch up, just unfortunate it was through serving me coffee instead of sharing coffee. The coffee here is quite good as well and comes from a favourite of mine Bear Bones Specialty Coffee

Saturday, 24th March 2018

Dramanti Artisan Roaster

Location – 3/471 Lytton Road, Morningside, QLD

Coffee – In-house Roasting

When it comes to local coffee roasters, Dramanti Artisan Roaster is right up here at the top of my list. They have some great coffee on offer and the best place to get it is right here at their roastery cafe in Morningside. Having visited quite a number of times I keep going back to the nice ambience and the friendly faces. The coffee is very good as well with a rotating selection of single origins alongside their Tingal Blend.

Sunday, 25th March 2018

Sunday’s Cafe

Location – 59 Brooke St, Rocklea, QLD

Coffee – Veneziano

I don’t know if it was intended this way but I am going to with the pun anyway that Sundays and are meant for Sundays Cafe. It was a Sunday that I visited and found out that they had only been open two and half weeks. The cafe is the newest addition to the collective of cafes that are operated by Venzin Group across Brisbane. When it comes to the coffee they have Veneziano and it tasted quite good. Plus you might just catch that brownie in the corner of the photo it was also delicious.

Coffee

I hope that you have enjoyed this little look at my week of coffee. If there is a cafe that you think I might like to visit why not let me know about it in the comments below.

The vast majority of younger people working in a cafe or coffee shop may not consider the position as long term. For the most part, it is a great way to get the first job or to get a steady income while working on their studies.

The reality is that starting out as a barista or waitstaff can lead to a whole lot more. For those who are interested, it is entirely possible to make a career out of working with coffee. You do not have to be a barista forever, but it depends on where you are working and how open you are to opportunity.

Even the idea of owning a cafe should not be something that is out of the question. But it is something that is well worth researching in depth before jumping in head first. With so many cafes around the process of opening one is rather straightforward. But always remember that while it might be straightforward, it is never easy. It will require a lot of hard work to get the results.

Monday, 12th March 2018

Ashton & Old

Location – 5/459 Old Cleveland Road, Camp Hill, QLD.

Coffee – Veneziano

Ashton & Old is a cafe that I have visited a couple of times and find it is quite a lovely setting. Although like many spots I find myself driving past more often than stopping. Partially because it is on the main road and I often think about it after I have already driven past. They do serve up some rather nice coffee from Veneziano Coffee Roasters. Along with some nice little touches like some of the plants that are for sale on the tables.

Tuesday, 13th March 2018

Cambridge Lane Espresso

Location –  61 Cambridge Parade, Manly, QLD.

Coffee – Genovese

Cambridge Lane Espresso brings laneway cafe style to the small area of Manly Harbour Village. The cafe does have two entrances, one on either side of a travel agent off the street. You can take the laneway which leads to the side entrance and a selection of laneway tables. Alternatively, there is the main door which takes you through the tables inside. They serve up coffee from Genovese a coffee that I have come to enjoy, which is one reason why I keep coming back to this spot in Manly.

Wednesday, 14th March 2018

Viva Coffee Roasters

Location – 2/184 New Cleveland Road, Tingalpa, QLD

Coffee – Roasted In House

Viva Coffee Roasters is fairly new to the coffee scene in Brisbane and it was only by a chance message from a friend that I discovered them. It was all around a little coffee event that they put on called An Evening With The Roaster. The night started out with a coffee, which I gave their Columbian Decaf a try since it was later in the day. It was a nice coffee and I was still able to go to bed and sleep that night. You can find the post with my full story about the even here.

Thursday, 15th March 2018

Billykart Kitchen

Location – 1 Eric Cres, Annerley, QLD.

Coffee – Campos

Somehow Billykart Kitchen had managed to escape my notice. I think that it is just outside the areas that I often travel and the map had just not got in quite the right spot. But I found the cafe and had made plans to visit. However, at the cafe before heading here, I was talking to the barista and asked about good cafes nearby. It turns out this was her recommendation and used to be her daily spot for coffee. Such a small world with coincidences like that. Oh yes, the coffee, I cannot forget about that. It came from Campos and was great to finish off the morning.

Friday, 16th March 2018

Degani

Location – Hyperdome Shopping Centre, Bryants Road, Loganholme, QLD

Coffee – Degani

Although there are quite a few cafes to choose from at the Hyperdome, I always find myself drawn back to Degani. While they do seem to be quite a big chain of cafes in Victoria, in Queensland they only have a few locations. The coffee is quite good, and that is kind of why I go here instead of some of the other options locally.

Saturday, 17th March 2018

Yatala Pies

Location – 28 Old Pacific Highway, Yatala, QLD.

Coffee – Unknown

I must say that I did not some for the coffee when I decided to stop into Yatala Pies. As you might have guessed by the name, it is a pie shop. For those not from the area, it is quite possibly the biggest and most popular pie shop in South East Queensland. So I was here to try their apple pie and decided to grab a coffee while I was there. I cannot even recall if I could see what the coffee was, but it was rather ordinary. As for the apple pie (my weakness), it was quite good and a decent size for the price.

Sunday, 18th March 2018

Allpress

Location – 26 Wellington Road, East Brisbane, QLD.

Coffee – Allpress

Allpress coffee is a brand of coffee that I only discovered when I visited a cafe at New Farm. That cafe was Mylk + Ko, and I quite enjoyed the coffee and the idea behind Allpress when I looked a little deeper. So I was somewhat interested to stop in and give it a try when I spotted Allpress was opening a cafe in Woolloongabba. It is a great space and one that I know I will be visiting whenever I get a chance. Just to bad that they only open on weekdays.

Coffee, My Favourite Coworker

I am sure that a lot of us share a coffee with a co-worker or friend at work from time to time. So I would like to know what is your goto when it comes to coffee? Do you take the easy route and have an instant coffee or do you take a moment to head to the nearby coffee shop for a proper coffee?

You might have noticed over the past couple of months that I have an interest in coffee. From the daily stops that I make for coffee through to a couple of events that I have shared. When a friend shared a post from Viva Coffee Roasters about a little coffee event I was quite interested. The event was called An Evening With The Roaster, and it had my attention.

The event took place on Thursday the 8th of March and was made up of two main parts. The first part was a coffee cupping session where we cupped nine different single origin coffee’s. With the second part of the night a look at the roasting process and roasting a unique coffee blend from our choice through the cupping session.

The Cupping

I have had the opportunity now to attend a few different cupping sessions at a couple of different coffee roasters. While there are slight differences with each roaster, the process is quite similar. Coffee Cupping is a process is undertaken to observe the tastes and aromas of brewed coffee. The process is done professionally by people known as Q Graders and coffee roasters but can be done informally by anyone.

From the perspective of a coffee roaster, the process is undertaken to identify the individual tastes and aromas of a specific single origin coffee bean. The observations of the cupping than allow them to combine particular beans to create a particular blend including the tastes they are looking seeking.

Below you can see the cupping table prepared for the evening at Viva Coffee Roasters. On the Table is nine different single origin coffee beans from a variety of countries and regions. These included coffee beans from Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, Brazil, Nicaragua, Guatemala and four from Colombia.

Cupping Process

Coffee Cupping is not an overly technical process but has a few important steps. With it being an important part of the coffee roasting processing to help ensure a consistent blend over time. The roasted single origin beans are ground in a certain amount into a cup before they are covered in hot water. They are allowed to brew for around four minutes before a crust will form on the top of the coffee.

At the four-minute mark, you will break the crust and take a smell of the coffee as you do, looking for what aromas you can detect. The crust is then removed, and you take a small spoonful of coffee and slurp it into your mouth. The slurping action helps ensure that the coffee reaches all parts of your palate to give a better sense of the tastes and flavours of the coffee.

The biggest discovery that I have made personally from the cupping process is more on a personal note than anything around coffee. I have found that I either have a rather underdeveloped palate or a very difficult time identifying any particular flavour. I do not think that this is all that uncommon, as in general being able to identify a wide variety of individual tastes can take some work.

Creating A Blend

Through the cupping process, we discovered the tastes and flavours of the coffee on the table. At this point, it was up to us to choose the coffee beans which would go into our coffee blend. The process for our session followed along from choosing the flavours that we would like to combine from the single origins that we had cupped. I do think that the process of creating a coffee blend usually takes on a lot more detailed work in the normal process of coffee roasting. But it was a sufficient method to follow for our session to simplify the process a little.

There were three beans which were chosen for our blend. They included the Ethiopian at 40%, the Colombia Florida at 40% and Guatemala at 20%.

The Roasting Process

Even with all of the detail that was provided, I am still not even close to being able to adequately describing what happens in the roasting process. However, what I can say is that the process takes green coffee beans, heats them up and the product is the brown coffee beans you are used to seeing at the coffee shop. There is obviously a whole lot more to the process. Including a lot of detail and knowledge that go into preparing the coffee and roaster for the process. But you might just have to watch for a similar event being held to find out all the details.

The coffee spent about 15 minutes in the coffee roaster. The roast is a medium roast which sits somewhere between the first and second crack stage of roasting. There are two more stages at this point. The first is the cooling which you can see below, where all the heat is drawn out of the beans. The final step is for the roasted coffee to go through a machine that removes anything that is not a coffee bean. Helping to ensure that all you get in the bag is the roasted coffee bean.

You can buy Happiness Blend

The final result of the evening was a bag of the coffee blend we created to take home. As such we had to choose a name for the coffee blend we have created. With some inspiration coming from the label on the takeaway cups at Viva Coffee. So the name for the blend came out as “You can buy Happiness.”

A Great Event

The night was an excellent chance to see a little behind the scenes of coffee roasting. It is a great way to gain a better understanding and appreciation of what goes into your cup of coffee. I would highly recommend an event like this if you have more than a passing interest in coffee. Getting to see the whole process is rather interesting and informative. At this stage, I am unsure what plans for these events in the future are for Viva Coffee Roasters. But if you are interested in an event like this, you can find their contact details on the Viva Coffee Website.

Thank you for taking the time to read along. If you enjoyed this post please consider sharing it with your network. If you have any questions you can leave them below in the comments and I will be in touch.

Last week I discussed the topic of just how much I pay for my coffee. A topic that has brought to my mind another interesting little thought when it comes to price. The issue seems to be more pertinent to those who drink a long black over other drinks in a cafe.

That is the difference in price between different size drinks. It specifically caught my attention around the time when I first started drinking a long black. I could get a long black in a cup which had two shots of coffee in or I could get a long black in a mug which had two shots of coffee in. The only difference between the two sizes was around 50ml of water. Yet in the cafe that I frequently visited at the time, it would cost me an additional $1.10 to get that larger size.

I can understand a different charge for a mug over a cup when the drink uses milk as there is an additional cost. Or in an instance where a cup might use a single shot of coffee over a mug using two shots of coffee. But when the only difference is a small amount of water it makes no sense to pay more. Ever since I have only ever ordered a long black in a cup.

Monday, 5th March 2018

Bioney Cafe

Location – 8/381 Main Road, Wellington Point, QLD

Coffee – Delamuata Handcrafted Coffee

I have had a chance to visit Bioney Cafe a couple of times now and it is a nice little spot right in Wellington Point. While it is in a very prominent location, you have to kind of specifically be going there to know about it as well.

The location used to be the home of Delamauta Handcrafted Coffee and is still the coffee that they use. I gave the single origin a try for my visit and it was rather interesting. It was one coffee that I almost immediately picked up a particular smell but could not put my finger on what it was.

Tuesday, 6th March 2018

The Daily Coffee Co.

Location – 293 Queens Street, Brisbane, QLD

Coffee – Neighbourhood Coffee Roasters

I do not get into the Brisbane CBD all that often and I would say half the time it is on a weekend when many cafes are closed. So when I do go during the week I try and maximise my time and get to a number of coffees shops. I had been planning a few others on the day that I went to The Daily Co. It just happened to be right next to the bank where I had to go first but I was too early for. They are serving up a coffee I discovered early last year called Neighbourhood Espresso. The Neighbourhood Espresso Roastery is also a great spot to go, but this newish venue in the city is also great.

Wednesday, 7th March 2018

Station 82

Location – 82 Hyde Road, Yeronga, QLD.

Coffee – Establishment Coffee

There are all different reasons why people visit cafes, for me it is a case that I would like to try as many as I can. For my visit to Station 82 though the thing that caught my eye was the bright red coffee machine. Also I do quite enjoy The Establishment Coffee as it is rather strong and generally has tasted good when I have had it.

Thursday, 8th March 2018

Poppy’s On Bloom

Location – 1/66 Bloomfield Street, Cleveland, QLD.

Coffee – Metro Coffee

Cleveland has an abundance of choice when it comes to cafes. There is a whole mix from big busy cafes down to the small and friendly cafes. Poppy’s On Bloom, is on the smaller side, but they have a great location right next to the park on Bloomfield Street. The great part is that because of the way they face even in the morning you do not get the sun beating down on you even sitting outside.

Friday, 9th March 2018

Banter Coffee House

Location – 1/190 Radford Road, Manly West, QLD

Coffee – Roast By Yili

It was kind of a funny story the first time that I visited Banter Coffee House. The day was just after the first time that I came across Roast By Yili in a cafe. It seemed like a interesting coincidence and I made comment on the fact. Comparing notes soon I found out the cafe I had been to the day before was in fact also owned by the same people that own Banter Coffee House. The other cafe was Deedot located at Holland Park.

Since that first visit to Banter Coffee House I have come back a number of times. Both because the coffee is nice, but also the staff are friendly and welcoming.

Saturday, 10th March 2018

The Coffee Door

Location – 2/5-7 Gordon Street, Ormiston, QLD.

Coffee – Delamauta Handcrafted Coffee

The coffee door is another one of those cafes that I often passed but never visited. It is kind of in one of those locations that you unless you are going to the place specifically you do not think about always. But it is well worth taking the time to stop and visit if you can. To start they have some rather good coffee, but they also have some nice looking treats in the cabinet. I would personally recommend the Gluten Free Brownie, but there are a number of other options that look good as well.

Sunday, 11th March 2018

The Garden Grind

Location – Westfield Garden City Shopping Centre, Upper Mount Gravatt, QLD.

Coffee – Merlo Coffee

When it comes to visiting a cafe I must say that I do prefer stand alone cafes, that are mostly enclosed. By that I mean a cafe that I can go inside and sit down and other then people visiting the cafe it is pretty quite. So generally I don’t go looking for cafes like The Garden Grind. When the seating is essentially in the middle of the walkway in a shopping centre it just gets to busy. The main reason I stopped by here was just to change things up a little, and it was rather early so very few people passing by.

Coffee, Break Fluid

I would be interested to know your thoughts on the title’s of these posts. Such as today’s title that is “Coffee, Break Fluid”. I am trying to use a short catchy coffee phrase each time, but do wonder if that is a good or bad thing. If you could leave me a thought in the comments below on this subject I would very much appreciate it.