If you were like me and saw Coffee Crazy on network 10 a few weeks ago, you are probably in awe of Paul Bassett’s Bacino. It was the drink that won him the 2003 World Barista Championships and he describes it like this:

“The rim of the glass is dipped in honey and cinnamon sugar, which I’d crushed. Then I used chocolate ganache using Ivory Coast picao , which I’d prepared with a little cream and a bit of sugar syrup which I’d infused with vanilla and stirred. Then I poured espresso over the top and put an orange wedge on the rim.” It obviously went down a treat …

It made me want to crawl through the tv and grab it right out of the eye candy girl’s hand. The tv show reminded me of how I have been settling for substandard coffee served around my office building and inspired me to journey outside my little square to find…

THE BEST CUP OF COFFEE IN BRISBANE!


Each day I’m going to try and get a coffee from a different store in the Brisbane CBD area and evaluate it. I’m in no way a coffee connoisseur and don’t have all the adjectives to describe the roast or the technique. I’m just going to see if I can find one that blows my mind. I’ve started by ordering a cappucino, but I’m thinking I might have to go outside the tried and true to find a better cup of coffee. We’ll see how it progresses. But now, I present to you my first evaluation..

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee

Located between Charlotte and Mary Sts on Albert St it looks the business. They sell a home coffee machine with training by one of the owners for $650, have gold framed coffee artwork on the red walls and an impressive variety of drink choices. The lady at the register knew a lot of the customers names so they obviously have regulars. I’d heard about this place on Coffee Geek Australia forums so I was expecting big things.

12-04-05_1118.jpg

I entered the store around 11.15am and oredered a medium cappucino. The order took about 5-7 minutes as there were a few people in line before me. The girl kept apologising for the wait but I didn’t care as good coffee should be worth waiting for. The barista was a good looking asian guy. $3.00 later I had my coffee and took it off to a stairwell to take a picture:

12-04-05_1125.jpg

It looked really good, but unfortunately after finishing the coffee I still only really tasted milk. I’m not sure if it was because I ordered medium and therefore the milk ended up being the main ingredient? So I can’t comment on whether the coffee was any good.

Verdict: All looks, no substance. Will try the store again – perhaps with a different size drink. Can’t be too quick to judge.

Comments

comments

11 thoughts on “Coffee, Coffee, Coffee

  1. dbee says:

    mmm, love this post being a coffee lover :o) I must say tho, that at my work.. I make a pretty delicious and creamy flat white. It has a lot to do with the right equipment (i.e. correct measurement of coffee grains etc), the yummy brand (we have merlo) and of course a teaspoon of love ..erh.. love of coffee that is..yeah, you know what I mean..mmm, how bout them Broncos? 😉

    Reply
  2. having a beer says:

    So when you’re done doing the cappucino rounds will you repeat it all for flat whites?

    Reply
  3. Amyo says:

    Yeah, maybe – I prefer flat whites actually – I don’t know why I picked cappucino. Or I might go and test how good they pull a guiness at the bars at lunchtime. Then I’ll sleep until 2pm and then have a coffee to wake me up in time to go home. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Karyn says:

    Try Grind Espresso in Elizabeth Arcade near Borders in the city. Clea (the owner) roasts the beans herself, and makes coffee that is to die for.

    I too conducted the same search when I transplanted from Melbourne to Brisbane, for many long months I felt as though I’d died and gone to coffee hell. But things are looking up, we’ve been here for 4 years now, and in the last year or so huge changes have been happening on the coffee scene in Brisbane. It’s a welcome relief.

    Reply
  5. Amyo says:

    Thanks for that Karyn, I will definitely try that place sometime this week!

    I felt coffee hell when we went on a road trip to Mt Isa. We found Winton was the only place with a real coffee machine on the whole trip and by god were we glad it existed!

    Reply
  6. Anthony says:

    Hello, I’m one of the staff at coffee coffee coffee on albert and I was put onto this place by Alen the owner-barista of cafe modena. He’s very happy that you are happy by the way 🙂

    I’m sorry that your experience at coffee on albert wasn’t up to the hype 🙁 If you come back again please tell my friends there your experience and they will recommend a drink for you that is stronger in coffee taste.

    Anthony

    Reply
  7. Kel says:

    I am so impressed that you made the effort to come on and attempt to resolve the clients needs Anthony!! Amy, that’s definately worth a visit back now! Perhaps wear your t-shirt with your web address on it and see if you get special treatment. Or the one “I’m blogging this”.

    But you gotta say, if you’re impressed with the look of the store they’re halfway there!

    Reply
  8. Amyo says:

    Anthony, am I correct in assuming that you are the infamous Ant from the coffee geek forums? It was your recommendation that led me to Coffee, coffee, coffee which in turn led me to try the rest of Brisbane’s coffee. Since the store was the first I tried I hadn’t perfected my ordering technique of choosing the smaller size and as such I decided that I will go back to this store. Unfortunately I haven’t gotten back there yet to give it a second chance. I would like to go to your cart in Adelaide St as well since you are obviously someone who cares about the coffee they make.

    Over the few months that I’ve been testing the coffee I’ve learnt a lot about the differences and can now even tell when they make shit milk froth. I used to think burnt coffee was just strong coffee and that it was very bitter. Alan pretty much ruined my coffee drinking habits when I tasted his flat white because I didn’t honestly know what was good coffee until I tried his. Now I can’t accept anything less. It sucks! 😀

    Reply
  9. Anthony says:

    infamous oh dear. At the cart, we use baskets in proportion to the size of the takeaway cup, so everything will taste quite strong in comparison.
    Alen is a tough act to follow, and everytime I walk in there to grab lunch I am also amazed at his milk ability.

    Hopefully by Saturday of this week all the renovations will be done. A cappucino at coffee on albert works better for the inhouse cups which are 6oz in size. They don’t make adjustments to the shot when moving up in size unless it is for the 16oz. To make it easier for you next time- You can ask for a ‘strong’ cappucino which might work better for you, or for a double shot cappucino which will bring the cost of an 8oz coffee from 2.20 to 2.70. I think the double shot coffees at c-albert taste better than the strong coffees there.

    Anyway, I can also recommend that you try Bar Moda on Queen St just up from the Macarthur building. I’ve had good coffee there as well but I think Alen’s coffee is still better than his. Probably because I am not that big a fan of imported coffee.

    Reply
  10. Kel says:

    Wow, such an art to ordering coffee!! Keep going Anthony! I’m taking notes!

    Reply
  11. Anthony says:

    NO NO NO.. there is no art to ordering coffee. Ordering is just being familiar with a certain cafe’s system. >_

    Reply

Leave a Reply