During my last few visits to Melbourne, my work colleagues and I have noticed a general decline in the quality of coffee from your average Melbourne coffee shop.
Is this just CBD focused or across the board?
I am not referring to the premium quality cafes such as Brother Baba Budan and the like, but to your average cafe that serves your basic espresso beverage using fresh roasted commercial grade beans.
In the past we would visit numerous cafes close to our client's offices and enjoy a brew or two while we discussed business and other pleasantries. The coffee was consistent and it was hard to find a place that did not produce what most consider a reasonable cup of coffee. Properly extracted espresso, microfoam and latte art. Beans used were usually your commercial blenders roasted for espresso. Most would have a house blend with chocolate, toffee notes and a hint of fruit. Pleasant and drinkable.
Choice of venue was and still is up to the client we visit.
The most recent visits (post covid lockdown) were a bit of an eye opener, with many a shop gone. The coffees served were distinctly below average. The coffee was properly prepared, but the taste was definitely not up to standard. Bland espresso, excessive roast notes, baked, you name it, it was prevalent. This was the norm, not the odd one out.
There are a number of reasons for this, with bean quality and roast quality the main culprits. With bean prices increasing, roasters are using whatever cheap coffee they can score to produce coffee at X$/kg. Few cafes are raising their prices by a reasonable level to counter cost increases. Using cheaper quality products to counter price rises is clearly evident. The massive increase in the number of roasting businesses has flooded the market with choice (not quality) and it was evident. Our clients were helping out local businesses with their patronage, but for how much longer? We did not go out of our way to visit a "good" cafe as it is hard enough to drag people into the office. All were happy to mingle for a coffee. Next trips we may have to target a few of the better establishments, if they are in the vicinity.
I am curious if this is widespread, and many cafes are cutting costs to survive, or are just happy to use whatever beans they can and make some money?
One thing that was prevalent was the abysmal batch brew on offer. Astringent and full of roast notes. Not one was drinkable. Culprit was obvious. Crap beans, crap roast and crap preparation. Hard to order a V60 if the wait time is 15min and you are lucky to have 20-30 minutes of cafe time. It too would most likely have been crap.
Is this the norm, or were we just unlucky?
Is this just CBD focused or across the board?
I am not referring to the premium quality cafes such as Brother Baba Budan and the like, but to your average cafe that serves your basic espresso beverage using fresh roasted commercial grade beans.
In the past we would visit numerous cafes close to our client's offices and enjoy a brew or two while we discussed business and other pleasantries. The coffee was consistent and it was hard to find a place that did not produce what most consider a reasonable cup of coffee. Properly extracted espresso, microfoam and latte art. Beans used were usually your commercial blenders roasted for espresso. Most would have a house blend with chocolate, toffee notes and a hint of fruit. Pleasant and drinkable.
Choice of venue was and still is up to the client we visit.
The most recent visits (post covid lockdown) were a bit of an eye opener, with many a shop gone. The coffees served were distinctly below average. The coffee was properly prepared, but the taste was definitely not up to standard. Bland espresso, excessive roast notes, baked, you name it, it was prevalent. This was the norm, not the odd one out.
There are a number of reasons for this, with bean quality and roast quality the main culprits. With bean prices increasing, roasters are using whatever cheap coffee they can score to produce coffee at X$/kg. Few cafes are raising their prices by a reasonable level to counter cost increases. Using cheaper quality products to counter price rises is clearly evident. The massive increase in the number of roasting businesses has flooded the market with choice (not quality) and it was evident. Our clients were helping out local businesses with their patronage, but for how much longer? We did not go out of our way to visit a "good" cafe as it is hard enough to drag people into the office. All were happy to mingle for a coffee. Next trips we may have to target a few of the better establishments, if they are in the vicinity.
I am curious if this is widespread, and many cafes are cutting costs to survive, or are just happy to use whatever beans they can and make some money?
One thing that was prevalent was the abysmal batch brew on offer. Astringent and full of roast notes. Not one was drinkable. Culprit was obvious. Crap beans, crap roast and crap preparation. Hard to order a V60 if the wait time is 15min and you are lucky to have 20-30 minutes of cafe time. It too would most likely have been crap.
Is this the norm, or were we just unlucky?





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