Good coffee between Narrandera and the Gold Coast

[herbie]

We are soon to be driving up the Newell , Oxley ,Route 95, Gwydir, New England, Bruxner and Pacific Highways for a holiday up north where it will hopefully be bit warmer! 8-)
If any fellow coffee- snobbers know where good coffee is to be had along the way ,we would be grateful of them sharing their knowledge :-X.
Thanks
Herbie

[Andy]

Re: Good coffee between Narrandera and the Gold Co


I can see a point in time when CoffeeSnobs keeps a "GPS downloadable list of good coffee stops" just for this reason.

My GPS beeps and flashes a coffee bean as I pass a few spots, over time Im sure we could build a great TomTom list.

[fatboy_1999]

Re: Good coffee between Narrandera and the Gold Co

Hmmm..

Me also use TomTom.

I like the idea of this. What sound could we associate with this? First crack?

[herbie]

Re: Good coffee between Narrandera and the Gold Co

The missus tells me I should have listed the major towns we will be driving through, so here goes:
Parkes, Forbes, Dubbo, Coonabarabran,Gunnedah, Manilla, Inverell, Glen Innes, Tenterfield, Casino, Lismore, Bangalow, Byron Bay, Burleigh Heads, Brisbane and Sunshine Coast.
Returning via Biloela, Miles, Moonie, Goondawindi , Moree and Narrabri.
Thanks

Herbie

Me no use Tom Tom, co-pilot much more point to point!

[Lovey]

Re: Good coffee between Narrandera and the Gold Co

Gday Herbie,
I can give you a couple of suggestions:-
Dubbo - Scottys on Macquarie, great food as well as great (locally roasted) coffee.
Sunshine Coast - Pioneer Roastery of course.
Moree - Balo cafe ?? (diagonally across from the Shell servo).
Hope this helps and have a safe trip.

[scoota_gal]

Re: Good coffee between Narrandera and the Gold Co

Id say take a 40km detour for the best coffee west of the Newell hwy and go to Wee Waa but Im biased!! Actually, I wont be there, Ill be off visiting southern districts myself!

But my recommendations would be...

Only for Tamworth and Armidale and it appears that youre not going anywhere near them!!

Theres nothing of great note in Coona or Gunnedah, IMO but you could try the Red Gum Cafe in Gunnedah. Theyre doing coffee that you can drink, unlike McCafe across the road.

I agree with Loveys suggestion for Moree but I think the cafe is actually called Vision Cafe. It is on the main drag and on the corner of the truck by pass, opposite the Target store and there is a Shell servo across the road as well. They do serve some great food too. Last time I was there, I think they were serving Tobys Estate but I could be wrong.

Narrabri is and has been severly lacking in good coffee ever since the one and only decent cafe changed hands. In fact, I am now getting people from Narrabri coming for coffee. Were cheaper and better!

There was another place in Narrabri using Byron Bay coffee but it has also changed hands and the machine is only for show now, the girls have no idea on how to use it these days. Of course, if you are game and want to visit Wee Waa, it is 40km in from Narrabri and there is great coffee to be had at the bakery (which is where I work.) But if you are coming through on a Sunday, the bakery is shut.

One other place in Narrabri that has recently opened is beside the Tourist Hotel, I have not been there but it would be better than the bakery opposite, where they take no more care than Maccas with making coffee.

Are you coming back via Toowoomba? If so, go to Angel Cafe. Its a little off the highway but well worth the visit for both food and coffee. I believe theyve just invested in a new roaster and they have the gorgeous Synesso machine as well!

Hope this is of some help. If you change your mind and decide to go through Tamworth or Armidale, let me know and Ill give you the good word on going there.

My other pick for coffee on the Sunshine Coast is Costa Noosa at Sunshine Beach, near Noosa. Otherwise, the fellers out at Pioneer Roastery will look after you as well!

I guess if youre from Narrandera, then youll be well aware of country time! In that I mean that a lot of places dont open on Sundays and are shut Saturday arvos. So, theres a tip for you too!

Safe travels!

[herbie]

Re: Good coffee between Narrandera and the Gold Co

Thanks to Scoota Gal and Lovey for their suggestions for our much needed coffee indulgences as we headed north to Queensland. Before we headed off we roasted up beans in the G.C. from the C.S. Bean Bays and packed the grinder, mocha pot and plunger for those places we knew we would not get a great coffee at.
Superbly warming coffee in a very cold Gunnedah at Red Gum Cafe. At Byron Bay we topped up our dark chocolate coffee bean supply and had a delicious latte and pie at the Humble Pie. Then it was over the border and into Queensland and Burleigh Heads where we found more good coffee at the Globe Cafe in James Street.
As we stayed at Narangba we decided to go across to the next suburb of Burpengary (now well on the map of C.S. members). We had a great chat and coffee with Nigel at Shots. What a fantastic shop set up he has. We wish Nigel all the best for his venture. C.S. had recently been there for a coffee gathering.
On the way home we stopped off at Vision Cafe in Moree. Good coffee yet again. A fantastic cafe in Dubbo is Scottys on Macquarie. We could see the coffee was going to be ace when placed before us. At Coona barrabran we had another great coffee at Cardians Coffee Lounge but we thought of Chris (2mcm)who had taught us well in our ABC of Espresso course. The milk wand on the coffee machine had not been cleaned in ages. It was coverd with clinging froth. Oh dear!
Now our northern sojourn is over we are heading to Tassie on the SPOT in early January. We thank all C.S. for the great list of coffee places to visit in Tassie. We are doing the whole Island thing. Are there any good coffee places open for breakfast around Devonport, Wynyard or Burnie to have a good start to the holiday after exiting the SPOT?
Herbie.