Best of Geelong: top 10 coffee shops revealed
We’ve filtered through the list and come up with a strong result — the full list of Geelong’s top cafes to get a great coffee. Did your favourite generate some buzz? SEE THE FULL LIST OF WINNERS
Geelong
Don't miss out on the headlines from Geelong. Followed categories will be added to My News.
THE coffee lovers of Geelong have spoken — and it’s clear through the votes that they like these 10 Geelong coffee nooks ‘a latte’.
There were hundreds of nominations and with more than 1000 people voting, it is clear a good coffee means a lot to the region’s caffeine drinkers.
From bean flavour, art, nice blends, to quick service — there is many elements that make the ‘perfect’ coffee.
BEST OF GEELONG: TOP 10 HAIRDRESSERS
BEST OF GEELONG: TOP 10 CHILDCARE WORKERS
BEST OF MELBOURNE: TOP 10 COFFEE SPOTS
10. Grounds of Society, Geelong
LOCATED in the heart of the Geelong, Grounds of Society has quickly built up a reputation as one of the best coffee shops in the city.
Serving delicious fresh food and coffee, the shop is a firm favourite with locals and visitors to Geelong, said owner Julie Taylor.
Ms Taylor said consistency was the basis of a good cup of coffee.
“That way, every time you get one you know what you’re going to expect,” she said.
“Being an inner city coffee shop, it’s all about knowing your customers.
“It’s important to create that relationship where you know their coffees better than they do.
“So if they make mistakes in ordering, we know what they want.
“Consistency means their expectations are met every day.”
Ms Taylor said the business had built up a loyal customer base during its two-and-a-half years in business.
“We’ve done that despite this end of the town being quite quiet, we’ve grown as the area has grown and that was always our plan,” she said.
9. The Village Door, Geelong West
STAFF at The Village Door in Geelong West could not withhold their excitement after being told they had been nominated as one of Geelong’s top coffee spots.
“We’re absolutely rapt,” said owner Alana Pausak.
“One of the baristas came running in and told me the good news and we were very excited.”
Ms Pausak said consistency was the key to a good coffee.
“People are coming in to get the same thing, and that’s why people are always happy here when they get their coffees,” she said.
“Plus coffee with a smile with lovely people serving you.
“We have a very loyal customer base and then we get new people — but we love them all.”
Ms Pausak said the most in demand coffee at their shop was either a flat white or a latte.
The shop has been operating for close to three years.
“Our customers just love our coffees and they actually told us never to change our beans,” she said.
“They would be super disappointed if they came back and we didn’t have Julius Meinl anymore.
“We can’t move from these beans.”
The business is located at 156 Pakington St.
8. Skinny Dippers Cafe, Geelong
SKINNY Dippers Cafe has long been regarded as one of the best places in Geelong for a healthy breakfast and a delicious coffee.
Kitchen manager Sarah Holmes said the coffee shop, located at 2 Lambert Ave, Newtown, was a firm favourite for coffee lovers far and wide.
She said many things made a good coffee but flavour and good quality beans were the key.
“The flavour is really important for a good coffee, the way it’s done — our coffee is local and we’ve checked out how they roast their own beans,” she said.
“We have a lot of regular customers that keep coming back for their coffee.
“We’ve been open for just over two years now.
“We get people coming from Melbourne on the weekend and we attract a lot of locals as well.”
7. It’s All About the Grind, Newtown
MARK Arnold knows what makes a good coffee — he was a long time barista before opening his own business It’s All About the Grind.
Located at 310A Latrobe Terrace, Newtown the busy drive through business is open from 4.30am to midday.
Mr Arnold’s many loyal customers are testimony to his success as a barista.
He said about 100 different things made a good coffee barista.
“A good personality, putting a lot of love in a cup, caring about what you do — at the end of the day I think that’s the biggest thing,” he said.
“If you want to make a good cup of coffee, you’ve got to care about it.
“Aside from that, the grind, the temperature, the boiler — we use bottomless portafilters in Geelong and we’re the only place in Geelong that does that.
“It’s harder to extract a good cup but each cup tastes a little bit better.”
Mr Arnold said he had only been in business for a year but he had been a barista for 10 years.
“I wanted to open my own place,” he said.
“I wanted to make coffee the way I thought was the right way to make coffee — smooth, rich, creamy and strong.”
6. Sodi Cafe, Geelong West
JESS Stewart was lost for words when she found out Sodi Cafe had been nominated as one of the top 10 coffee shops in Geelong.
Located at 149 Pakington St in Geelong West, the shop is a popular haunt for coffee lovers in the renowned foodie strip.
“It’s exciting to know that our customers love Ocean Grind as much as we do, which is the coffee that we use” she said.
Ms Stewart said there were lots of elements that made a good coffee.
“I think a good strong bold flavour and silky milk is the key,” she said.
“We’ve been in business for just over a year so it’s pretty exciting that we seem to be doing things right.
“We have a lot of local customers and we’ve even got someone that comes from Colac.
“Customers just love our strong flavours.”
5. Jailbird Coffee House, Geelong
THE cosy coffee house on outskirts of central Geelong has become a regular for a steady group looking for their daily fix.
Since early last year first-time business owners Suzy Notini and Matt Kenneally have loving plied their trade to make customers feel welcome.
The pair trained at St Ali Coffee Roasters and are meticulous about their coffee.
They say the response to the business has been extremely positive as customers love their coffee, food and friendly vibe.
The couple renovated the majority of the space themselves, and it took a year of work before the Bellerine St coffee house.
“We opened this as a quick, drop-in spot, but people like to stay in here,” Matt says.
“People seem to open up, and most people are really interesting.”
The regulars are piling up, evident in the box of loyalty cards that is filling up with each week.
Children can enjoy free bubbachinos and a fun toy to play with while they enjoy it, with Suzy and Matt keeping a jar of plastic animals on the bench.
Suzy also likes to keep a jar of chocolate frogs on hand for people who might not be having a good day, as the space is so close to Geelong Hospital, many people stop in for a coffee after visiting a sick loved one.
“We’re creating a moment in a day,” she explains.
“We’re here to serve good coffee and food, but if we can make people feel good, that’s a bonus.”
4. Eddy and Wills, Hamlyn Heights
FOR Hamlyn Heights cafe Eddy and Wills making the perfect coffee is all about “flavour”.
The cafe uses beans from Code Black Coffee Roasters and take pride in creating the best possible blend.
“We are perfectionists to be fair,” owner Matt Colman said.
“We like to play around with coffee art but for us it’s more about the flavour — we certainly aim for the best.
When it came to coffee art — staff members were practising making ‘swans’.
“It’s beautiful and consistent coffee,” he said.
3. Bean Squeeze, (various outlets across Geelong)
BEAN Squeeze serves thousands of customers across its nine Geelong locations daily.
Marketing and communications manager Stacey Whiteford said the locally owned and operate business used the same coffee blend across all stores, with consistency “incredibly important”.
“Some people still have preconceived ideas that drive-thru coffee and food can’t be high quality - so we’re always looking for ways to exceed expectations,” she said.
“There’s a heap of variables that ‘make’ a good coffee and we have worked hard to nail our processes here.
“Quality, freshly roasted beans, a clean machine, the right amount of heat, extraction time, ratio of coffee to water ... are all super important.
“To us though, it’s about care too - we’ll make someone’s coffee exactly the way they want it made.”
Ms Whiteford said Bean Squeeze was “chuffed” to be nominated as a finalist in the Addy’s top coffees competition.
“It’s really nice to be recognised in this way by the Geelong community,” she said.
2. 2 Chefs Geelong, Geelong
THERE’S many elements to brewing the best coffee, according to 2 Chefs Geelong manager and barista Ben LeFevre.
But what is most important is making sure a cup of coffee has the right balance.
“It would be a mixture of everything — making sure the milk temperature is right — that there’s a balance between the milk and the coffee — so it’s not too milky or strong,” he said.
The barista said the most complicated coffee he has ever made was for Australian actress Libby Tanner — who ordered a soy, decaf, flat white — half strength.
“It was the most difficult coffee I have ever made.”
1. UNTITLED, South Geelong
IN A tiny weather shopfront on a busy city corner barista Gemma Walmsley brews Geelong’s favourite coffee.
A relative newcomer to the local coffee scene Untitled, which opened in early last year, has been given the tick of approval with Addy readers rating it the region’s number one coffee stop.
Weary commuters dashing to the nearby railway station, tired mums and dads doing the school drop off and locals pack the busy shop every morning to order their favourite brews.
The café uses its own four bean blend of coffee roasted at a Melbourne warehouse.
Ms Walmsley said the café’s busy baristas sling more than 200 cups a day.
“We’ve had our own blend since day one because we really wanted to make coffee here special,” Ms Walmsley said.
While cappuccinos and lattes are the most popular coffee orders, Ms Walmsley said some regulars liked to mix it up with quirkier choices.
“We have almond milk which is popular, but some customers like something different – like a dirty chai with three sugars,” Ms Walmsley said.
“Overall we are always getting compliments on how lovely the coffee is.”
Ms Walmsley said knowing that a great coffee could make someone’s day kept her and the team motivated to brew the perfect cup.
“A great cup of coffee improves someone’s day a little bit and I love it,” she said.
Originally published as Best of Geelong: top 10 coffee shops revealed
‘We hear the rumours’: Inside proud club’s fight for survival
North Shore FNC is in danger of fading away as rumours swirl around it. And while the club is fighting hard, they are calling for help. We sort the fact from the fiction and examine their plight.
Tears for Armstrong Creek man after drowning tragedy
A 22-year-old from Armstrong Creek is being remembered as a gentle soul after he drowned while swimming in the Murray River.