Coffee Number 17

Shanti Bhagwan
Alice Hoy Building
The University of Melbourne

Dark Chocolate Mocha - $4

I had to go to uni last week, and took the opportunity to have an awesome coffee. Castro’s was my fave café while I was studying, and I wanted to try their new Shanti Bhagwan branch. It was cute, service was friendly. My dark chocolate mocha was fantastic, rich and strong. After I googled it, I realised Castro’s “is no longer involved with Shanti Bhagwan in any meaningful way”… Oops. I still liked it! It was nice to be warm and indoors. I have memories of freezing my fingers off, sitting at Castro’s outdoor tables in between lectures. Good times.

Coffee Number 16

***Getting through the backlog***

Tea Leaves
380 Mt Dandenong Tourist Road
Sassafras VIC
3787

Cinnamon Frangelico coffee beans (ground for plunger) - $9.35 for 200g


Whilst in Germany, one thing I fell in love with (apart from giant supermarkets, kuchen, Christmas Markets, barbecues…) was SheepWorld. He’s so frikkin cute! I love his motto: "Ohne dich ist alles doof". (Without you, everything is stupid). Adorable! I got a Sheepworld Espressoset for a gift, containing 2 Tassen und 2 Unterteller, and these baby-cups were perfect for sampling some new Cinnamon Frangelico flavoured coffee beans from Tea Leaves in Sassafrass we’d bought. Fabulous. The flavour was subtle, yet present, and without the sweetness you’d get from flavour syrups. A slightly more refined Christmas treat than a gingerbread frappucino.

Coffee Number 15

***Getting through the backlog***


Skinny latte - $3 (?)

Jasper Coffee
Stall 105, Prahran Market
163 Commercial Road
PRAHRAN VIC 3181
(03) 9827 8509

A hectic morning of market shopping requires caffeinated assistance. I used to spend a lot of time at Prahran Market, and would always get skinny lattes from Jasper Coffee (I’d go for super-expensive Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee when they had it). Last Saturday was just a quick visit, ordering my Christmas goose and picking up other supplies. I enjoyed visiting my old faves – Jasper’s, Lee’s Asian Grocery, and the amazing felafel stand. Have you had his hummus? Incredible. No Jamaican Blue available this time, but the normal blend is great too. Man, I miss having a Jasper’s near my work!

Coffee Number 14

***Getting through the backlog***

Starbucks
Shop 8
Midtown Plaza
194 Swanston St
Melbourne VIC 3000

Gingerbread frappucino, half coffee base, half cream base


Cold frappucinos (or frappucini?) on hot days always remind me of holidays in Malaysia. Aah, memories. It was hot on 26th of October, and I had an hour between work and meeting some lovely bloggers for dinner.

Me: A small decaf gingerbread frappucino please.
Starbucks girl: No worries… well it won’t really be decaf, we’ll do half coffee base, half cream base, ok?
Me: …blank look… Sure.

Oh man it was good! Loved the gingerbread flavour, not too sweet and super refreshing.
And for someone who officially hates Starbucks, I seem to be drinking quite a bit of it.

Coffee Number 13

Krispy Kreme
607 Collins Street,
cnr Collins and Spencer Street,
Melbourne, VIC 3000
(03) 9629 4902

Latte ($2.75) and Original Glazed Donut

In honour of Barack Obama’s election win, I was in the mood to celebrate all things American with a classic donut from Krispy Kreme. With my donut I ordered a plain ol’ latte. (I’d normally get skinny but that just seemed pointless). You can upsize to a coffee and 2 donut combo for 70c extra, but I wouldn’t recommend this unless you’re not scared of getting diabetes. The coffee was frikkin awesome! Strong and smooth, without any harsh bitterness. The milk was the perfect temperature. Who knew Krispy Kreme would make better coffee than the trendy cafes on the block?

Coffee Number 12

Instant Coffee, with Milk and Sugar

I love instant coffee. My secret shame. I had one 2 months ago when I was falling asleep during an awful accounting course. Out of pure desperation I made a coffee with the instant coffee and full-fat UHT milk they provided. To my surprise, it tasted just like the coffee-in-a-can that I enjoyed so much in Japan! This discovery couldn’t have been more timely. Café coffee is expensive, and inconsistent in quality. Now my Monday-morning treat is my homespun coffee-in-a-can (or should that be “workspun”?). 1 teaspoon instant coffee, 1 teaspoon sugar, ¾ water, ¼ full-fat milk. Stir and enjoy.

Coffee Number 11

City Wine Shop
159 Spring St
Melbourne 3000
(03) 9654 6657

Cappuccino

I just spent a lovely afternoon at the City Wine Shop with some fellow Melbourne food bloggers and associated people from the ieatidrinkiwork website, enjoying relaxed nibbles, beer, and general food related conversation. Mid-arvo I found myself hankering for a coffee and ordered a cappuccino, (served in the same funky romcaffé cups that they use at D.O.C.s!) The cappuccino was smooth and strong, totally drinkable. The weather was warm and the coffee was lovely. I can’t remember the last time I had coffee just to enjoy it, rather than to shock myself into consciousness in the cold mornings before work.