Cafes in Tasmania

[Lovey]

Hi all,
my beautiful bride and I will be in Tasmania in early September for our honeymoon. Well be flying in and out of Launceston, but well have a car and are planning on going on a road trip to Hobart, gotta go on the Cascade tour  8-).
Can anybody help me out with some cafe recommendations please? Ill definitely be heading to Oomph in Hobart, and Razurhed has previously suggested Coffee Republic in Launceston.
Any assistance would be warmly welcomed.
Thanks in advance.

[dsgfh]

Re: Cafes in Tasmania

In hobart, pop into Island Espresso on Elizabeth St. Dane the owner judges in the Aus BC & is a top bloke to boot The veneziano boys will attest to that We were in there a half dozen times during our stay & were well looked after. He & one of his sisters definitely knows how to work the machine. His other sister was struggling a little with her milk, but then the lineas steam wand did have a severe leak at the time, so Im sure shes not entirely to blame (just hadnt adapted as well).

Otherwise, Im afraid we found it pretty slim pickings when we were down there a few months back. There was one cafe in Port Arthur across the road from the entrance to the historical site. Cant remember its name, but they had bits of art floating around in there. The coffee was OK in comparison to anything else in the region, but when I went up & asked if my second one could be made a certain way, the woman behind the machine invited me back there to make it myself She was happy to talk me through it, although as soon as I did a cooling flush she figured I must have known what I was up to, even though Id told her Id never been behind a commercial machine before.

Thats one thing about Tassie... very friendly ppl. The whole state is like visiting a small country town.

[luca]

Re: Cafes in Tasmania

Yep, Island Espresso are a great bunch. Every time I speak to anyone from Island theyre always so humble, keen to listen, experiment and improve. I think that its time for them to start tooting their own horns a bit more. When pressed, Dane (the e is pronounced "ay") will tell you that he is one of the top ranked judges on the WBC sensory test in the world. I understand that they have been experimenting with new roasters and such, so please do ask them about it and report back.

Villino Espresso is another place to check out. Richard came up to Melbourne and worked for Andrew at Maling Room to get more experience in running cafes. Its pretty funny that in the photo in his webpage he appears to be using the exact same cube shaped bookshelf things that the guys use to organise stuff in the kitchen at Maling Room. The cafe hasnt been open long, so Im sure that Richard will eagerly devour any feedback or ideas that you would like to pass on to him.

Please also post up and let us know how Oomph went.

Cheers,

Luca

[Bullitt]

Re: Cafes in Tasmania

Hi Lovey,

I have talked to Rayzurhed about Coffee Republic in Launceston,
a long time ago I got quite a decent Latte from there,....and would have agreed with him, but...
last time I went there, couple of months ago, they had gone to the bucket sized drinks,
sorry LUNGO? and the latte I had was not as good as I expected, (and too big) .

They do roast their own, and short black might be OK,
like many places I think it will depend on who is working the machine at the time you are there.
Unfortunately I havent had much luck finding good coffee in Launceston, since I started roasting my own .

However I can also recommend Island Espresso in Hobart, no more needs to be said about them, its a must destination .

Incidentally, would also suggest book for the Cadbury factory tour, unless of course you are allergic to chocolate.

In Burnie, Shelleys in the Centro Complex, use Oomph beans,
can do good coffee, again depends a bit who makes it,
but generally seem to be making the effort to get the milk foamed right.
Last time my wife and I had a latte there, she commented how it was closest to my microfoam compared to any weve bought for a long time.

Havent heard about Villino Espresso till this post, will make a point of going there next time Im in the area.

Regards
Bullitt

[robusto]

Re: Cafes in Tasmania

We have coffees in Tasmania not so much for the taste/quality.... but for the pleasure of being there.

The Boardwalk in Launceston for breakfast after the overnight ship from Melbourne....

By the waterside at Wrestpoint casino....

Salamanca Place for breakfast in Hobart...

Ill live with any deficiencies in the brew just to be there.

-Robusto

[tasadam]

Re: Cafes in Tasmania

Coffee...
When our office was based in Launceston, we used to go for coffee regularly, and take the temperature gun - an infared laser guided temperature sensing device.
We had a chart of temperatures served... Some were very poor.
Things have changed there a bit, but one of the most consistent coffees we got in Launceston was under the old Post Office clock. It was called Postreos, then Azure, then GPO. I think it is still called GPO but am not sure. Not just consistency of temperature, but a good quality coffee.
As for the general cafes around town, well correct me if Im wrong but FORGET IT!

In Hobart, a lot of the places around Salamanca pull a reasonable shot. In the mall, there is a cafe called Bojangles - their omlettes arent bad either.
Sunday evening I went into a bakery in Elizabeth St North Hobart in search of a coffee to prepare for the ~3 hour drive home. They had a cleaning solution through the machine - can you believe this? She said she could make me a coffee, but it might taste a bit funny. Shook head and left...

In Wynyard, there is a cafe called Ladybugs. Just west of the main drag, next to a reasonably iconic fish & chip shop called Bucanneers.
Kylie from Ladybugs makes a pretty darn good coffee. She uses Vittoria beans.

In Queenstown they will be discovering cofee in the year 2014 and in Zeehan they are still coming to terms with milk... ;D

[robusto]

Re: Cafes in Tasmania

I can hear duelling banjos in Zeehan from all the way here.

--Robusto

[AndyL]

Re: Cafes in Tasmania

Richard is really a top guy. Cafe im sure he is doing a great job.

[herbie]

Re: Cafes in Tasmania

In Devonport we found Cafe Inndulgence in the Cinema complex to have great food and their Oomph coffee is superb!
I second the comments about Queenstown as we had one of the worst coffees ever at an internet cafe there (Latte glass half full of weak brown stuff).
Herbie

[andrewT]

Re: Cafes in Tasmania

In Penguin (near Burnie) there is a Cafe called The Groovy Penguin and Ive had some very fine coffees there.

I have to admit I havent been there for many months though so no guarantees!

Its a retro styled cafe right on the shore so its very cool

[Baristacrat]

Re: Cafes in Tasmania

In Hobart, definately Island Espresso, Dane and the team are beyond friendly, and he is a wealth of good coffee knowledge and titbits from his various judging exploits. Villianos has become one of my newer haunts, they are using Islands blends and every coffee I have had from there has been on the mark.

At Salamanca, I go to Tricycle cafe, where the offerings are pretty consistent, and sometimes Machine, although when it is hectic there, its pot luck on service and taste.

In Launceston, I regularly go to Lucks, which has excellent food and a fantastic winelist, driven by an owner who doesnt think that coffee is a trivial add on at the end of a meal. They are open from 7am, so you can rely on a consistent brew on your way through to the North West. I have to say that regionally, I havent found much to rave about in my travels, but standards are improving, slowly but surely  

[Bullitt]

Re: Cafes in Tasmania

In Launceston, I regularly go to Lucks, which has excellent food and a fantastic winelist, driven by an owner who doesnt think that coffee is a trivial add on at the end of a meal. They are open from 7am, so you can rely on a consistent brew on your way through to the North West. I have to say that regionally, I havent found much to rave about in my travels, but standards are improving, slowly but surely

Hi Baristacrat,

Can you give location of Lucks pls,
as posted above I havent had much luck finding good coffee in Lton and would like to try this place next time Im up there.

Regards
Bullitt

[Richard]

Re: Cafes in Tasmania

Hi,

Im the owner of Villino Espresso down in Hobart. Ive been meaning to sign up for a while but have been frantic with the cafe - after seeing this topic I thought I should definitely get on and say hi.

We have been up and running for nearly two months now (time flies) and are settling in nicely. I have opened the cafe with my fiancé Melissa - we moved back to Tasmania after a 5 year stint in Melbourne.

We are running a 3 group La Marzocco GB5 and a couple of Mazzers. Dane at Island is our roaster and we have come up with a nice blend to get us up and running and we will continue to refine over the coming months...

I had the privilege of working and training under Andrew (and Marika) up at the Maling Room, so the bar has been set very high!

If you come in, please let is know who you are so we can have a chat - we welcome your feedback as we get up an running.

Cheers,

Richard

[tasadam]

Re: Cafes in Tasmania

With an invite like that and the comments from others, see you next time were at that end of the state Richard...

[Andy-Gadget]

Re: Cafes in Tasmania

Just had my first coffee in Villino Espresso (got home from 3 months away on Saturday), Had my "compare apples to apples" flat white, and it didnt disapoint in any way.

Good service, latte art and the coffee was excellent.
The blend is different from Island Espressos "Barristi" blend, as it should be.

With "Criterion Cafe" just down the lane, "Oomph" just around the corner one way, "Kafe Kara in the other direction and "Island Espresso" just up Elisabeth Street, the competition can only be good for coffee in Hobart, and Tasmania in general.

I will be a regular visitor now.

Well done Richard.