Best coffee on campus at Melbourne's top universities

STUDYING is thirsty work. To keep you well caffeinated, here’s where to find the best coffee on and off campus at Melbourne’s top universities.

STUDYING hard and getting good grades is the key to nailing university, right?

Wrong; coffee is. (And, if we're being honest, coffee is basically the key to nailing life in general).

Sure, the studying and last-minute smashing out of assignments helps, but we have coffee to thank for making those things possible. I mean, who would you want by your side when you’re pulling an all-nighter to finish a major essay that’s due at 10am? Saint Arabica, that’s who.

If preparation is the key to performance, then coffee should be the first step in your morning ritual.

Because how are you meant to get through a day’s worth of lectures and tutes without first arming yourself with a cup of liquid gold?

So, to help keep you alert (and emotionally stable) at uni, here’s our guide to the best caffeine dealers on and off campus at Melbourne’s top universities.

AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY

OFF CAMPUS

SQUARE AND COMPASS: 222 Clarendon St, East Melbourne

Specialty coffee shop with Vacation Coffee on pour. Pair it with some lemon buttermilk pancakes or heirloom tomato toast with crunchy peanut butter.

SONIDO: 69 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

South American-inspired cafe with coffee by Seven Seeds. Grab a cheeky Portuguese tart with your takeaway cuppa. Your belly will love you for it.

SOUTH OF JOHNSTON: 46 Oxford St, Collingwood

Supreme Coffee on tap. Enough said.

RMIT

LITTLE BANG ESPRESSO: RMIT Building 12, Level 2, 394 Swanston St, RMIT University

Butterbing Cookies, cruffins and specialty, small-batch coffee. Winning.

PEARSON & MURPHY’S: RMIT University, 124 La Trobe St, Melbourne

Trendy breakfast, brunch and lunch spot. Stop in for a takeaway coffee and an obligatory cool-coffee-cup-against-white-wall photo for Instagram.

THE VINE COFFEE ROASTERS: RMIT Building 80, level 2, 445 Swanston St, Melbourne

Fresh Axil Coffee and a Box Brownie to go. To quote Elvis: Thank you, thank you very much. (Side note, if you’ve never had a Box Brownie treat, do yourself a favour and rectify that.)

STANDING ROOM: RMIT Building 12, level 4, New Academic Street, Melbourne

You know it’s business time when the barista is working with Five Senses coffee beans and a Synesso coffee machine. This compact coffee shop was started in 2013 by students at the University of Melbourne and has since expanded to include stores at RMIT, Monash University and Melbourne Central. Booyah.

OFF CAMPUS

MARKET LANE: 109-111 Therry St, Melbourne

Coffee roaster and retailer opposite the famous Queen Victoria Market. There's pretty much always a line out the door here — the coffee is that good.

LA TROBE UNIVERSITY

BACHELOR OF COFFEE: Shop 6A, The Agora, La Trobe University, Bundoora

The coffees are delish and the latte art is always on point.

BAKE ‘N’ BEAN: 8B The Agora, La Trobe University, Bundoora

It’s all about the coffee cups and delicious doughnuts at this La Trobe latte dealer.

NUTS ABOUT TELLA: The Agora, La Trobe University, Bundoora

Dessert pizzas, doughnut burgers, ice cream and coffee. Because what better way to wash down your afternoon pick-me-up than with a little Nutella treat.

DEAKIN UNIVERSITY

BURWOOD

CORNER CAFÉ: Building V, next to the library, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway

Light and bright cafe with all your caffeinated faves. Plus a few colourful, not-so-caffeinated options. Hello, turmeric latte.

MRS ROBINSON: Level 1, BC Building, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway

Running late for class? Grab a coffee and prepacked salad to go.

FUSION: Building LB, Elgar Rd, Deakin University, Burwood.

Who needs coffee when you can have a caffeine-free mixed berry or banarama latte? You can also have regular coffee, just sayin’.

GEELONG WATERFRONT

WATERFRONT KITCHEN: Hay Building, Western Beach Road, Deakin University, Geelong

Coffee with one of the best views in town.

OFF CAMPUS

PUBLIC: Geelong Library & Heritage Centre, 51 Little Malop St, Geelong

Serious coffee (beans by Lavazza), food and wine at this new Geelong Library & Heritage Centre cafe.

UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

STOVETOP: 100 Leicester St, Carlton

Here is everything you need to know: Five Senses coffee, rotating single origin blend, bad ass breakfasts. Try the beetroot and gin-cured salmon.

LOT 6: Building 1888, Gate 6, Swanston St, University of Melbourne

Smashed avo and skinny lattes are what uni life is all about.

HOUSE OF CARDS: Engineering Lane, University of Melbourne, Parkville

Coffee house and social enterprise. That means drinking this coffee is good for both your soul and your karma.

STANDING ROOM: Union House, University of Melbourne

The original Standing Room coffee shop and, according to some, still the best. Sure, the coffee is pretty great, but it’s the Shortstop Donuts that keep the people coming back. There’s just something about those original crullers that is simply irresistible.

OFF CAMPUS

THE QUEENSBERRY POUR HOUSE: 210 Queensberry St, Carlton

French canele, Tinman Coffee Roasters coffee and the sweetest little coffee cups. This place is heaven.

SEVEN SEEDS: 106-114 Berkeley St, Carlton

This is where you go when you just need a break from everywhere/thing/one on campus.

CODE BLACK: 119 Howard St, North Melbourne

Join the cult of Code Black coffee worshippers. It’s true what they say: Once you Code Black, you never go back.

ASSEMBLY: 60/62 Pelham St, Carlton

This is pretty much a modern day coffee and tea apothecary, specialising in rare leaf blends, filter coffee and hard-to-find brewing equipment. Australian Sencha? Who’d’ve thunk it.

MONASH

CLAYTON

CHURCH OF SECULAR COFFEE: 32 Exhibition Walk, Monash University, Clayton

Because a daily cup of St Ali coffee is the best kind of ritual.

GRAFALI COFFEE ROASTERS: 21 Chancellor’s Drive, Monash University, Clayton

Boutique coffee roasters and smashed avo specialists.

SUPERNATURAL: 21 Chancellors Walk, Monash University, Clayton

People apply to uni mainly for the coffee and raw cakes. The whole degree thing is clearly just a bonus.

CAULFIELD

FLIPBOARD: Building K, Monash University, Caulfield

Proud Mary beans on pour and a yummy range of delicious and nutritious eats. The churros are the ultimate post-assignment treat.

STANDING ROOM: Building C, Monash University, Caulfield

These guys making another appearance in the south east side. Coffee and doughnuts are obviously staples of the uni student diet.

THE BLACK JUS: 12A Sir John Monash Dr, Caulfield East

Friendly cafe with fresh flowers, fine coffee and the flakiest croissants.

OFF CAMPUS

MR SISTER: 81 Waverley Rd, Malvern East

From the fine folk who brought you Prahran’s Mr Mister comes Mr Sister. Hop over the road for a Proud Mary blend cuppa, a matcha latte or a seriously Insta-worthy breakfast.

GRANGER CAFÉ & CANTEEN: 49A Grange Road Caulfield East

Got a bit of a break between tutes? Wander down to Granger cafe for a bottomless batch brew coffee and a beef brisket sanger.

SWINBURNE

OFF CAMPUS

AXIL COFFEE ROASTERS: 322 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn

A Hawthorn institution. Specialty coffees and a food menu worth waiting for.

HAWTHORN COMMON: 302 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn

The Hawthorn Common balcony is the place to be when the weather is fine. Check it out for its farm to table food ethos and smooth, specialty coffee.

METHODIST COFFEE: 408 Burwood Road, Hawthorn

This place ticks all the boxes. Close to campus. Specialty, small-batch coffee any way you want it. Friendly service. House baked-banana, raspberry and coconut loaf — and other awesomely mouth-watering breakfast options.

OSCAR MIKE: 9/672 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn

The fact that Oscar Mike is in an alley means it is automatically cool. Fortunately, the coffee is actually bang on.

VICTORIA UNIVERSITY

READING ROOM CAFÉ: Building P, Footscray Park Campus, 88 Ballarat Rd, Footscray

Specialty coffee by Sensory Lab. Freshly baked treats. Light bites.

OFF CAMPUS

RUDIMENTARY: 16 — 20 Leeds St, Footscray

Light and bright container cafe that automatically makes you feel happier just by visiting — which is a pretty great way to feel when heading in to back-to-back lectures.

DUMBO: 11 Argyle St, West Footscray

Rosso Roasting Co blends on rotation. Weekly batch brews. Baguettes. Bagels. Butterbing cookies.

COMMON GALAXIA: 3/130 Victoria St, Seddon

Minimalist grey-toned interior. Blonde timber. Seven Seeds specialty blend.

HEY ZEUS: Shop 228, Footscray Markets

Specialty coffee and a rotating selection of toasties. What more could one want.