Best of Melbourne 2019: Top Melbourne cafes who roast and pour
Are you searching for more creative coffee blends with flavour notes of dark chocolate, papaya and molasses? Or perhaps that perfect single origin cold drip? Here’s the higher ground — the city’s best coffee roasters. SEE THE LIST
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Melburnians love our coffee almost as much as we love sport — some even moreso depending on who you ask.
If you like to track your caffeine fix from bean to cup, love trying creative blends (with descriptions to rival top wines) or want to brew your own concoction at home, we’ve rounded up the higher ground of the city’s top coffee roasters to separate the beans from the chaff.
For those who need a regular perk-up, many of these roasters offer coffee bean subscriptions.
You can read about Melbourne’s top coffee spots — as voted by you — HERE.
We’ve also compiled a list of hidden gem coffee shops tucked away in the suburbs.
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PROUD MARY
172 Oxford St, Abbotsford
Thankfully this Proud Mary doesn’t keep on burnin’ and is instead known for perfect roasts.
This one-stop shop coffee empire not only has cafes in both Melbourne and Oregon, but also sells brewing equipment, their own blends — from the South and Central American ‘Angel Wings’ to the fruity, cosmopolitan ‘Ghost Rider’ — and filter coffees.
Touted as Proud Mary’s “cellar door”, Aunty Peg’s Brew Bar in Collingwood is your insider’s ticket to learn how to brew, stock up on beans and tour the roastery.
And for those who take their brew more seriously, Proud Mary’s Collingwood Coffee College trains both home brewers and budding baristas in the art of the perfect coffee.
For customer Marty McLaren the Proud Mary at Melbourne Airport has “amazing coffee, great service”.
More: 9417 5930
VERTUE COFFEE ROASTERS
8 Raffa Place, Carlton, and 34 Swan St, Cremorne
Fancy a South American and African blend with notes of peanut brittle, apricot nectar, candied orange, smooth malt?
Vertue Coffee Roaster’s ‘Sabertooth’ blend could be your cup of tea (well, coffee).
Or perhaps the ‘Dark Side’ — a bold mix of dark chocolate, cherry ripe, muscatel, caramel, papaya is more your bag?
For purists, Vertue — based in coffee-loving Carlton — also sells single origin espresso and filter roasts.
But it’s not just about the beans, it’s also the atmosphere.
Customer Natalie says it’s the perfect cafe for Melbourne.
“Consistently great coffee and service, great with children and (barista) Marcelle is a stand out as host,” she says.
More: 8060 6987
MARKET LANE COFFEE
Prahran, Queen Victoria and South Melbourne markets, along with locations in Melbourne CBD and Carlton
This boutique coffee roastery and seller sustainably sources beans from some of the best growers in the world and roasts them in small batches at Prahran Market.
Established a decade ago, Market Lane isn’t just about the best coffee — they also source milk from Timboon’s Schulz Organic Dairy and organic Dulce sugar from Costa Rica.
Their Mormora espresso from Ethiopia is described as “strawberry jam and dark chocolate with a perfumed finish”, while Planadas espresso is more “walnut with orange and maple syrup”.
Customer Lisa Dimitrievitch, whose order is the classic flat white, Market Lane’s brew is “just a beautiful coffee when you need it”.
Meanwhile Gidon Waller, who enjoys a strong latte or house brew, says it’s all about the taste.
“The smoothest, most unique coffee in what is a coffee-crazy city,” he says.
More: 9804 7434
CARTEL COFFEE ROASTERS
19 Somerset Place, CBD
This specialty roaster works directly on coffee projects in Ethiopia, Uganda Burundi, Kenya, Colombia, India and Indonesia.
For those who want to learn the tricks of the trade, Cartel Coffee also offers barista training on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
As for their blends? The ‘Chief Rocker’ hails from Colombia, India and Ethiopia with flavour notes of dark rum and raisin chocolate, nutmeg spice, molasses, sweet cherry and caramel.
Taylor Canning, who loves a flat white, says: “Best coffee you’ll ever find, nice and strong, perfect every time, the staff know their stuff and are very passionate”.
More: 9670 4904
coffeecartel.com.au/melbourne-brewbar
THE ABBOTSFORD CLUB BY COFFEE SUPREME
Building G, 28-36 Grosvenor St, Abbotsford
Coffee Supreme has a fabled history, including a series of misfortunes, and rising from the ashes of the then-liquidated roasters Belaroma in Wellington, New Zealand.
Founders Chris Dillon and Maggie Wells — who were selling Belaroma Coffee at their Reds Cafe — did a deal with liquidators to employ the former green-bean supplier to roast for them and Coffee Supreme was born. So how did this coffee get across the ditch?
After a trip to Melbourne to watch the Grand Prix, Supreme employees Justin Emerson and Marsha Partington became enamoured with the idea of starting a coffee business in Australia’s Garden State and the rest, as they say, is history.
Customer Michelle Dewberry, whose order of choice is “a batch brew and an everything toastie” says: “They roast on site, only hire legends and make you feel like you’re a part of the Supreme family”.
More: 1800 232 671
coffeesupreme.com/blogs/locations/abbotsford-cafe
THE STOREHOUSE
7A York Rd, Mt Evelyn
This one is a little further afield than the other inner-city haunts but it’s got a cult following of loyal customers, which sustained the Mt Evelyn cafe when owner Graeme Knoll broke his back in June.
“A massive shoutout to this community for all the continued support you’ve generously poured out on The Storehouse and on me and my family through this season,” Mr Knoll posted on Instagram.
“I’m grateful to feel so held in the thoughts and prayers of a strong community who have come to our aid in so many ways, thank you all so much. And thank you to our awesome team including many past staff members and ring-ins from other cafes who have supported us by covering shifts and doing extra days that they shouldn’t really do to keep The Storehouse pumping.”
And our readers didn’t hold back with their praise of this family-owned small batch roaster, which doubles as a community hub.
Luke Riches says: “The coffee is outstanding. It is roasted in store and boy oh boy do they make a good brew!”
Meanwhile Mim Stek, who loves the cafe’s doughnuts, says: “It’s the heart behind the heart on the coffee that makes this place a winner! Grae-dog (Graeme) is all soul”.
“Roasted in house with love! And seriously, the culture and vibe of this place is amazing!” Shennie Swaine says, while another fan says: “Graeme is the ultimate coffee-nerd. He sources, blends and roasts in-house, and provides world-class barista training to his staff.”
More: 8288 2112