Heading for the Hills, the coast, or even wine country? Here’s where to caffeinate when you get there.
This purpose-built timber-frame shed in Kangarilla could be your mate’s back porch. But venture inside and you’ll find a state-of-the-art coffee-roasting operation that’s turning out some of the best ethically traded coffee in the country. Dawn Patrol is a collaboration between former SAD Cafe owner Dom Ossa and barista Nick Suggitt. Here, taste coffee like you’d taste wine – a handful of fresh roasts are always available for side-to-side comparisons. When you’re done, slump into a worn-in lounge and hope a small dog nuzzles in next to you. The catch: it’s only open on Sundays.
65 Days Road, Kangarilla
Hours:
Sun 9.30am–4pm
You’ll find Dal Mare plonked right in the heart of wine country – on Main Road in McLaren Vale. It’s the perfect pre-wine-tasting pit stop. The tiny corrugated-iron shed is a boutique roastery during the week, but opens as a brew bar – serving coffee, and savoury and sweet bagels – on weekends. Owner Tyrone Curruthers has a simple ethos: traceable beans and a good, honest roast. Pull up a hessian-covered stool and enjoy a cup of the good stuff. If it leaves you feeling energised, there’s a colourful fleet of bicycles available for hire. Curruthers says the Vale is a great place to explore on two wheels.
189 Main Road, McLaren Vale
Hours:
Sat & Sun 8am–2pm
“Coffee-tasting” is gaining traction. Just ask Kostas Trakas. He modelled his Hahndorf cafe – Caffiend – on the cellar doors dotted about the surrounding Adelaide Hills wine region. How? One of its signature offerings is a coffee-tasting board showcasing the current single origin, served three ways: espresso, milk coffee and manual brew. Trakas also pours a seasonal blend that’s roasted in-house using a seven-kilogram Diedrich coffee roaster (nicknamed Marlene). With white tiles and sky-blue and timber detailing, the vibe is notably contemporary compared with the proudly old-fashioned town outside the door.
1/76 Mount Barker Road, Hahndorf
Hours:
Mon to Fri 8am–4pm
Sat 8.30am–4pm
Sun 9am–4pm
If anyone knows the Barossa Valley, it’s second-generation Whistler winemaker Josh Pfeiffer. Where’s his go-to for a morning pick-me-up? Darling’s Cafe. It’s “the best coffee in the valley”, he told Broadsheet last year. The quaint, family-run cafe on Murray Street in Tanunda ties together two generations of the Trotta family. Coffee comes from one of the state’s best roasters – The Coffee Barun, in Sefton Park. The menu, on the other hand, is as Barossa-centric as possible. One last tip from Pfeiffer: “The muffins are off the hook, so make sure you get in early while they are still warm from the oven.”
3/56 Murray Street, Tanunda
Hours:
Mon to Fri 6am–3pm
Sat & Sun 6am–12pm
After humble (and mobile) beginnings in the coffee biz, the owners of De Groot Coffee Co – Trevor and Bernie DeGroot – relocated to Port Elliott in 2013. They were lured by the sun, surf and (presumably) bakery. It’s a quintessentially Australian trifecta that, at least in part, is likely to lure most of us seaside this summer. The De Groots supply fair trade, organic and high-end micro-lot coffee to venues all over the city. But if you’re on the south coast, why not go straight to the source. Wrap your hands around a fresh brew before or after a dip. It’s only a few kilometres from the shore.
Shed 5, Factory 9, Corner Hill Street and Waterport Road, Port Elliot
Hours:
Daily 8am–2pm
This article first appeared on Broadsheet on December 17, 2018. Some details may have changed since publication.
