Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Sydney's Best (espresso) Coffee

Amazingly, there does not seem to be a place here to discuss the best place in the city to get a short black (aka espresso) or cappucino.

I'll list the rankings of an article in today's SMH foodie section, for both a black espresso and a cappucino:
I've bean to paradise (http://www.smh.com.au/news/good-living/ive-bean-to-paradise/2008/04/07/1207420282238.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1) [SMH Good Living, 8 April, 2008]
[Judges' comments for the top 3 and bottom two in this post (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9545920&postcount=7)]

Short black
Velluto Nero [259 Clarence St, Sydney]
Single Origin Roaster [Reservoir St, Surry Hills]
Clodelli Fine Foods [Clovelly Rd, Randwick]
Campos Coffee [Missenden Rd, Newtown]
Fratelli Paradiso [Challis Ave, Potts Pt]
Bar Colluzzi [Victoria St, Darlinghurst]
Barefoot Cafe [Sydney Rd, Manly]
Trovatino Cafe [Great Nth Rd, Wareemba]
Atomic Espresso [Wycombe Rd Neutral Bay]
Gloria Jeans & Starbucks (not 'top 10' etc, just read this as 'last')

Cappucino
Velluto Nero
Clodelli Fine Foods
Espresso Galleria [Ramsay St, Haberfield :)]
Single Origin Roaster
Barefoot Cafe
Fratelli Paradiso
Bar Colluzzi
Campos Coffee
Trovatino Cafe
Atomic Espresso
Gloria Jeans & Starbucks ('last')

More details if you want it.

Please add your own.

My favourite place is at the Bathers Pavilion Cafe, Balmoral Beach (http://www.eatability.com.au/au/sydney/bathers_pavilion_cafe.htm), for its position as much as its coffee.
For a quick visit and a coffee with a view, Cafe Sydney (http://www.cafesydney.com.au/cafesydney_Home.cfm)or downstairs at Customs House (http://www.cafesydney.com.au/cafesydney_Home.cfm)is a good Sydney harbour view.

Hidden gems:
Buena Vista Cafe Bar (http://www.yourrestaurants.com.au/guide/buena_vista_cafe_bar/), Phillip St (Supreme Court)

Hidden gems:
Buena Vista Cafe Bar (http://www.yourrestaurants.com.au/guide/buena_vista_cafe_bar/), Phillip St (Supreme Court)

All Sydneysiders who have not yet been up to the 14th floor of the courts building for the cafe: RUN, do not walk! Great coffee, great food, great view, great prices, nice staff. The Eggs Benedict for breaky is among the best I have ever had.

Big mahalos to JohnSydney2000 for bringing me up there. I'm sure that few Sydneysiders, and even fewer tourists have had the distinct pleasure of dining there!

Hi BiziBB!!!!!!!

How many of these places have wifi and a good view?.. just so i know where to go and have a coffee, surf and watch the world go by.

How many of these places have wifi and a good view?.. just so i know where to go and have a coffee, surf and watch the world go by.

Do you mean free wifi?

Great coffee and wifi could be mutually exclusive.
I can only associate the latter with the Starbucks of the world.

We can try to add to this list but at this stage my experience is:
Westin Sydney (good espresso and wifi, view is only of other office buildings)

If you can BYO wifi then you have a lot more options, in beachside suburbs especially. :)

Il Fagiano 95 Macley St Potts Point is fantastic for Espresso
Le Petit Crème in Darlinghurst is fantastic for both Espresso and Cappucino

Coffee is good almost everywhere in the major cities in Australia -- much better than comparable places in the US. Hence there has never really been a need for a "good espresso" list, any place you pick is reliably good, esp. in the CBD of SYD and MEL. Far better than Starbucks....but even Starbucks in SYD is superior to the US product, fwiw. One reason that cappucino is better in Australia is that milk is better tasting there than in much of Europe and US, also higher milk fat. Another tip, any place using Illy has had good coffee (I think their distributor will cut off sub-standard cafes as they want to protect the brand).

number_6 is right to note that the espresso culture (and quality) can be higher in Australia than in countries where coffee is predominantly brewed.

My list is just for the interest of anyone in Sydney seeking some coffee places with something better than average (though the average coffee here is fine).

The ranking of Starbucks and the local mega-franchise, Gloria Jeans, is to illustrate that these chains offer a far inferior product.

Please do not go there and base your coffee exoerience on the quality from these chains! :eek:

Some of the big-reputation coffee shops made fairly poor coffees, according to the article. The chains were much worse, though.

I should have linked the article in my OP, so will do that now.
Just FYI, here are a few excerpts, in case you want more than my post as evidence. ;)

I've bean to paradise (http://www.smh.com.au/news/good-living/ive-bean-to-paradise/2008/04/07/1207420282238.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1) [SMH Good Living]

1. Velluto Nero Coffee Couture
"This is the one. Top of the list," Mannassis says. He approves of the colour, aroma and crema of his short black. "It's got some acid but not too much, a nice spicy sweet aroma, very nice lengthy texture."

Mavrikos, too, is happy. "This is so smooth, full bodied, full flavoured … there's a sweetness to the coffee, no bitterness. Superb. I could drink another one right now."


2. Single Origin Roaster
"It's quite mellow," she says approvingly. "Not sharp, not acidic, the perfect temperature. There's a lovely sweetness in the coffee." Mannassis likens the house blend to Galleria's: "It still has that heaviness, a big hit, but with a little more acid - not as much as Campos. Nice."

3. Clodeli Fine Foods
Mavrikos's cappuccino has "a lovely potency, lovely flavour to it. It's not too milky, you can really taste the coffee."

Mannassis's "good" short black has "got the body, a good texture". He has one slight reservation. "Everyone uses this heavier style because it works best with milk," he says. "But if you get the roasting right, you can have an espresso with flavour and integrity but also a soft sweetness. I think cafes will eventually start using two blends - one for white and one for black."

4. Campos Coffee
It smells wonderful and looks great but when we visit our judges aren't thrilled. "It has a good hit, good finish but there's not much in the middle," Mannassis says. Compared with her most recent Campos coffee, Mavrikos doesn't like her cappuccino. "It's very bitter, acidic," she says.

The difference could be down to the barista who made it but Mannassis says acidity is a characteristic of many quality African beans. "It gives you that hit but it's very acidic, as opposed to [the Galleria coffee] which was the hit with an earthiness. The ideal is somewhere in between."



..
Just for comparison - count these as last and second last rather than 10th & 11th:

10. Starbucks
Our judges are not happy.

"It's a fully automatic machine," Mannassis says, "which grinds, doses and brews the coffee. It's supposed to eliminate human error and keep the coffee fresh but you need a skilled operator to extract a good espresso." The coffee tastes carbonised. Mavrikos hates her cappuccino. "All I'm tasting is milk," she says, poking the foam in her 350ml (tall) cup (non-Starbucks standard cups are typically 220ml). "Starbucks buy really good beans," Mannassis says, "but they don't roast them properly."


11. Gloria Jeans
We order at the counter and a staff member brings the coffees to the table in paper cups, scooping a heap of sugar packets and stirrers off the tray with one hand.

"I could be dying for a coffee and still wouldn't drink this," Mannassis says, adding that the beans are over-roasted so the coffee is carbonised. It has a distinct burnt smell. Mavrikos is also underwhelmed by her cappuccino. "The milk's burnt," she says. "It's far too hot … you can't taste the coffee."

Bill & Toni Italian Restaurant, Stanley Street, East Sydney (surrounded by lots of italian restaurants) make a great coffee and have their own beans especially roasted for them. just another for the list, and they have good food upstairs with starters and mains costing about $23 (for both) and then after you finish eating you go downstairs for your coffee. Quite unique.

One reason that cappucino is better in Australia is that milk is better tasting there than in much of Europe and US, also higher milk fat.


That's cos we have contented cows. :)

How dare you leave off Toby's in Wolloomooloo, for both short black and cappucino?

Also, do Haberfield and Wareemba really count as Sydney?

Do you mean free wifi?

. :)

Free wifi would be a boon but not a necessity. A good view and a good cup of java is more important.

Not definately sure where I will be staying in the city but possibly Paddington or Darlinghurst.

I think Toby's is doing alright without the extra customers.
I read the communal table is back, so a Toby's espresso & eggs brekky Do is a possiblity. ;)

Free wifi would be a boon but not a necessity. A good view and a good cup of java is more important.

Not definately sure where I will be staying in the city but possibly Paddington or Darlinghurst.

Don't call it java here. :D
Short black, long black, flat white, cap, skinny cap is the kind of lingo you need. :)

If you are staying there, is your 'good view' a people watching position or a view of the harbour or ocean? ;) Both?

In Sydney, great food and great views are either mutually exclusive or a bit of a trade off, unless you pick a few places with great reps in these places.

I guess I am more of a people watcher ;-) I would be greedy and ask for both but people would be my first priority.

Some place to relax, write my postacrds, post online my pics and just have a good "flat white" ;)

Campos at Newtown would give you the coffee and the people watching.
Some of the Oxford St cafes would certainly be interesting from a people watching perspective as you might be surprised.

There's a thread in Travel Tech with a link to a map of cafes with wifi.
Did you see Wifi in Sydney (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=817199)?