Husband No. 1 sits in front of me, swirling and sniffing his coffee.

It's a batch brew filter coffee, a medium-bodied Rwanda Nyamasheke described as having notes of maple syrup and cumquat marmalade.

"It's quite fruity," he says. "When compared to the strength and bitterness of even the best-made espresso, this is a much finer, delicate coffee that brings out the flavour of the bean."

"You wouldn't want to dilute it with milk," he adds, eyeing off a little milk jug nearby. "Although a little sugar would enhance its sweetness."

I can barely contain an eye roll. It's this type of coffee and wine talk that can drive a woman to drink – tea, that is – and start thinking about Husband No. 2.

"Does it smell of struck match?" I ask. "What about burnt leather?"

We are at Sample Coffee's Pro Shop in St Peters, a small cafe and roastery​ that is home to a restored 1957 Probat roasting machine, fired up every two weeks to supply Sample's original Surry Hills cafe and its Brew Crew subscription club.

The Pro Shop is a delightful airy space on Mary Street, a thoroughfare that has never had much going for it apart from a sofa factory. This being Sydney, the factory, now stuffed, has been taken over by Sample Coffee, while the adjoining warehouses have morphed into a potentially lethal combination: an axe-throwing saloon and a craft brewery.

With its large windows, high ceiling and concrete floor, the Pro Shop's warehouse origins are evident. In the middle sits a tiled oval bar, where staff dispense coffee and food.

We are here for lunch, but it's clear coffee is the main event. The front page of the small menu lists six varieties: milk, espresso, batch brew filter, manual brew filter, cold brew and iced coffee.

Caffeine extends to the brief food menu, too, with a coffee-rubbed beef brisket sandwich with chimichurri and mayonnaise. H1 is sold – it's the batch brew filter and brisket for him, while I go the masala​ chai latte and spiced pumpkin, sweet potato and red onion sandwich with garlic tahini. The roast winter salad has just sold out, and the ploughman's plate doesn't catch my attention until it lands on the table next to us.

Hot drinks arrive quickly, giving H1 time to sermonise about the coffee, while the chai is a little lukewarm for my tastes (though I should point out, H1 claims I have a throat lined with asbestos due to my ability to down scalding hot drinks quickly and with ease).

When the sandwiches arrive, H1 waxes lyrical again. "Glorious," he says. "It's got a wonderful smoky flavour and the dryness of the coffee rub almost caught me by surprise."

No whiff of saddle? Aroma of straw-filled barn?

My roast pumpkin is soft and sweet, on seeded bread that almost steals the show. The presentation is neat, too, with three little pickles adorning the plate.

In the name of research, we give the small sweets display the once over. H1 goes for a double choc muffin with a Pacemaker blend latte, while I grab the salted chocolate biscuit and a Tea Craft Red Mystic.

The biscuit is quite marvellous, while the muffin is declared "chewy and substantial".

Does it taste of Nigerian cacao leaf? With a delicate scent of sea-faring trunk?

No. It's just good, he declares. Simple and sweet, just like the Pro Shop.

THE LOW-DOWN
THE PICKS Coffee-rubbed beef brisket sandwich; salted chocolate biscuit
THE COFFEE Exceptional range, from espresso to a variety of filter brews
THE LOOK Natural light with simple furniture and coffee and accessories for sale
THE SERVICE Friendly and low-key