Sydney Coffee Crawl - December 15 2007

[Paolo]

Re: Sydney Coffee Crawl - December 15 2007

My partner Mary and I aim to be there for breakfast and then do the crawl. We will be taking a train from the Central Coast nice and early...

[Dennis]

Re: Sydney Coffee Crawl - December 15 2007

Hey Paolo - you should talk to Michelle (mwatt)...you might all be able to share a compartment on the train

[sanch]

Re: Sydney Coffee Crawl - December 15 2007

Ok. assignment done, holidays begun, im back on coffeesnobs!

Its lovely to see some more people have joined; itll be great to coffee-crawl with you all!

Im not good with Sydney geography but Identity suggest the route:
Cordial > Campos > Tobys Estate > Central/Surry Hills > Town Hall/Kent St > Bondi Junction

So that would mean:
1) Cordial arriving at 8am-8:30am (or when you can make it if thats too early) for breakfast. I aim to be there at 8am.
2) Campos
3) Tobys Estate
4) Mecca, Elixr (?), Baci (?), Koko espresso (?), Supreme Grind (?)
5) Bondi Junction
I dont think ive forgotton any of the places posted (let me know if ive missed out any)

So what do people think of the places listed in 4 are there any we should skip? are there too many and some need to be culled? what do people think? Luca did you check out Baci? What do you reckon? What should the route through these places be?

And just to double check, ill PM my phone number to Brett, Michelle, Dennis, Identity, luca, Viviane, Paolo and mwatt (mwatt; Dennis kinda mentioned youre coming, is that right?). Let me know if ive missed you and ill PM you too.

Cheers
-S

[sanch]

Re: Sydney Coffee Crawl - December 15 2007

Oh...mwatt=michelle. Got it!

[Dennis]

Re: Sydney Coffee Crawl - December 15 2007

If it were me Id dump Campos but if youve never been there its worth a shot, and it is just around the corner from Cordial

Ill probably only do the brekkie thing and might even hang back at Cordial for another latte or six

[mwatt]

Re: Sydney Coffee Crawl - December 15 2007

Im not a definite, Ive got to check on my sister-in-laws availability to toddler-sit

Hoping to make it though...

[hazchem]

Re: Sydney Coffee Crawl - December 15 2007

Ill be at Cordial for breakfast, probably with Kathryn as well.

I havent had a chance to call back in yet and talk to Sonny, but will be able to by the end of the week.

[luca]

Re: Sydney Coffee Crawl - December 15 2007

So what do people think of the places listed in 4 are there any we should skip? are there too many and some need to be culled? what do people think? Luca did you check out Baci? What do you reckon? What should the route through these places be?

Yep, checked out Baci. I grabbed a takeaway coffee and deemed it bin worthy. Maybe an eat in espresso would be better, but I think that we have to ask what our goal is. If it is excellent espresso, I would be very happy not to chance Baci again with eight people - better just to send a few envoys to try it out on their own time. On the other hand, if it is to discover new places, then I would think that we should jettison the old favourites. Catch 22.

If it were me Id dump Campos but if youve never been there its worth a shot, and it is just around the corner from Cordial

You know, I have never liked the Superior blend, but over the past few years I have always made a point of going to Campos for espresso. Year in and year out, it has maintained a consistent flavour profile, which I think is an absolutely phenomenal achievement. After they put in the GB5s, the espresso still tasted very similar, but there was a bit more to it. Perhaps a hint of marmelade. Then on Saturday I turned up with some friends from Melbourne and, for the first time in years, had a shot that was a disappointment - watery and acidic beyond what I would have expected from the blend. This actually makes me all the more keen to get back there. What will the next trip yield? If nothing else, standing by and watching what must be one of the best barista teams on earth is, IMHO, worth the price of admission. Plus theres the fact that the Superior blend ought to actually stand out a bit from everything else that were likely to try.

Looking at the blends that people use is probably a good way to work out what the crawl should contain:

Cordial - Golden Cobra
Campos - Campos
TE - TE
Mecca - Rio
Di Bartoli - Hazel

That looks like a pretty good lineup. I dont think that we really need to add more - we can always just have more coffee at one of the places!

Supreme Grind was OK, but they are using Campos, so I dont think that going there would add much to the crawl. However, if people want to axe Campos, we could go to Supreme Grind instead so as to give another cafe a look-in. I have absolutely zero interest in Elixir. Frankly, if you told me that I could only have two espressos at any of Mecca, Baci or Elixir, Id have both at Mecca ;P Koko is something that I have never heard of. If its in the CBD, LMK where and Ill check it out before work.

Cheers,

Luca

[Identity]

Re: Sydney Coffee Crawl - December 15 2007

My wife agrees about Baci - my fantastic latte there mustve been a complete one-off

I had an awful espresso about 6 weeks ago at Campos, and a fantastic latte last week - lets skip Baci, agree to start at Cordial and finish at Di Bartoli - I know Renzo and Ofra will certainly provide more fun (time dependant) than most.

Anything in the middle we can make up as we go along maybe? I have to admit I find Tobys Estate really one-dimensional, but then again, the group will have people who love different things about their coffee in it, and Im happy to go anywhere.

[Shannon]

Re: Sydney Coffee Crawl - December 15 2007

OK so Ive been following this with interest knowing that I have a family do on this day and cant enjoy some great coffees - but I have worked out that a lunch time get together on the central coast, could possibly mean a city diversion for brekky. Im working on the wife at the moment, well see how it pans out.
I figure if we have to be driving a couple of hours anyway, whats an extra hour over the course of the day!!
Ill let you guys know a bit later in the week how it pans out. We would be like Dennis though, brekkie at cordial only, then slip off to the central coast for lunch.

[Dennis]

Re: Sydney Coffee Crawl - December 15 2007

If it were me Id dump Campos but if youve never been there its worth a shot, and it is just around the corner from Cordial

You know, I have never liked the Superior blend, but over the past few years I have always made a point of going to Campos for espresso.

Their espresso is why I make a point of not going there.

If nothing else, standing by and watching what must be one of the best barista teams on earth is, IMHO, worth the price of admission.

Hmm....have seen similar teams at McDonalds - they dont excite me either.

[Identity]

Re: Sydney Coffee Crawl - December 15 2007

While for me, campos put me off espresso for a month with a bad one, and cordial put me back on - generally I can only drink latte at campos.

Weve just added another to the crowd - my brother-in-law will be joining us

[mattyj]

Re: Sydney Coffee Crawl - December 15 2007

Their espresso is why I make a point of not going there.

...

Hmm....have seen similar teams at McDonalds - they dont excite me either.

wow, why the negativity?

[Dennis]

Re: Sydney Coffee Crawl - December 15 2007

Hi Matty, I have only been there the once, directly after being at Cordial where the staff were friendly and the coffee was 5 star. They seemed to take pride in what they were doing. More often than not, I think it natural to measure one experience against another - and Campos was distinctly different to Cordial.

I arrived at Campos with high expectations, as they do have a great reputation and going by the amount of people there also have a huge following. Im sorry to say that I can only describe the espresso I had at Campos as very bitter.

If being busy and having service working like clockwork with lots of hussle makes for flair then they have that in aces. But dont McDonalds do this too? I suppose I was looking for something more than a production line and less perfunctory - the baristas didnt seem to be enjoying themselves and thought that a pity.

On the plus side they were able to find and serve me with my coffee in a crowded environment without any waving of arms or prompting.

[hazchem]

Re: Sydney Coffee Crawl - December 15 2007

Hi all, just got an email from the Golden Cobra guys and Sonny will be at Cordial on Saturday morning to serve us!

They very much appreciate our support and although its his day off, he is more than happy to come in that morning and make coffees for us.

See you all on Saturday!