From protein milk lattes to cracking cold brews and co-fermented beans, coffee culture is always innovating. Online, drink trends move faster than you can pull a shot of espresso, but the evolution is equally evident on the streets of Melbourne. Here are seven new coffee shops shaping the city’s caffeine scene today.
Cafe Tomi
11 Wreckyn Street, North Melbourne
Cafe Tomi brings all the charm of a Tokyo cafe to the backstreets of North Melbourne. With tall, vaulted ceilings and a custom sound system for spinning vinyl, the split-level venue is an easy place to spend the day. Klim coffee is offered in all the usual ways as well as in playful drinks like the coco cloud, which sees soda topped with espresso cream and coconut caramel. There are panna cottas in flavours including wattleseed and coffee, and matcha, mango, and lime. Little Cardigan pastries round out the offering. Keep an eye out for occasional drinks menu takeovers from hospo friends like Gaea’s Charles Duan.
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SIGN UPIndonesia is a major coffee producer, but its beans often go underappreciated in Australia. Foremost Coffee, a sibling venue to South Yarra’s Warung, aims to change that. Spotlighting beans from across the Indonesian archipelago, the cafe celebrates the diversity of Indonesian coffee. The coconut island – a cold brew topped with pandan-infused coconut cream – is excellent, but those who prefer more standard coffees can select from a long lineup of specialty brews. To eat, find Indonesian-inspired toasties including a spin on a Reuben made with pulled beef rendang.
Project Zero Coffee
Hidden beneath the Meriton Suites on King Street, Project Zero serves an impressive line-up of coffees in a breezy, open-air space. It specialises in fruity house blends made using beans that have been co-fermented with ingredients like strawberries or peaches. The daily selection of espresso, filter, batch brew and cold brew changes regularly, but the malty home blend is always the default for milk coffee orders. There are also matcha kaya croissants and there’s no surcharge for alternative milks.
Naau Cafe
Pint-sized Naau Cafe is easy to miss, but just look for the cafe’s matcha drinks – you can spot them a mile away. The vibrant green is often marbled with raspberry syrup or topped with peanut cream. Naau is primarily built for takeaway, but there’s also a small retail area with ceramic matcha bowls and whisks. Along the bar, you’ll find croissants including a pistachio-filled number that’s best-paired with the pistachio matcha latte. There’s also coffee, with options ranging from chocolate pistachio lattes to iced lattes with peanut cream.
Palace Coffee
Palace – tucked down a mostly residential laneway off of Little Collins Street – is in good company, with local favourites Raya, Warkop and Hector’s Deli just around the corner. At the heart of the cafe is a sleek burgundy wraparound bar built for perching with a Seven Seeds coffee and complimentary sparkling water. Inside, it’s standing-room-only, but outdoor seating offers a relaxed spot to enjoy canelés, croissants, and Söt cardamom buns.
Secondipity Roasters
88 Langridge Street, Collingwood
Secondipity, a bakery-cafe on Langridge Street, has eight daily pour-overs made using beans from Central and South America and Africa. Meanwhile, the baked goods focus on sogeum ppang (salt bread), a buttery Korean and Japanese speciality not unlike a dinner roll. Here, the buns are sliced and stuffed with fillings including vanilla cream and spring onion cream cheese. There are also seasonal specials including decorated choux pastries and red velvet cream cheese cookies.
Market Lane Coffee at Mitchell House
356 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Since starting in 2009, Market Lane has become one of Melbourne most loved and respected specialty coffee roasters and retailers. Its newest location is in the 1930s Harry-Norris-designed Mitchell House on the corner of Lonsdale Street and Elizabeth Street. The cosy shop has espresso and filter coffees served hot and iced. It’s mostly a grab-and-go spot, but there’s some bar seating overlooking the street and a small bench to perch on out the front.
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