Lindt Chocolat Café Darling Harbour

Scores:
Coffee: 12/20
Whole experience (cafe + coffee): 24/40
Bean: Lindt

Saturday: A pleasant Saturday finds Nerd 2 and I looking for an afternoon coffee fix (well a tea for Nerd 2). Having stuffed ourselves at Zilver in Haymarket, I suggested a walk around Darling Harbour as perhaps a good move to walk off my growing dumpling belly.

Darling Harbour like most tourist centres around the world is void of good coffee options and to be honest, if one opened up, it would surely still get kicked about by the Starbucks and McCafes of this world.

Thus unsurprisingly, our walk finished at Lindt & Sprüngli, Master Chocolatier, more commonly known as the Lindt Chocolat Café to Sydney locals. Lindt is found in the well-placed Cockle Bay Wharf complex, better known as the place with the bird fountain or if you’re a kid of the 90s the place near Wallaby Bar… You can see Lindt by spotting the filled seats of tourists and locals alike all craving an out of the box Lindt chocolate experience.

Walking in you’ll be hit by a few realisations. First the range of Lindt stuff here, who knew they did more then just those balls?! Second by the kind of classiness of the place, a tough feat remembering we are in Darling Harbour here. And third, the thought is this some kind of a shop or is it a café?

We walked in and lined up. The line was slow and this allowed Nerd 2 to creep off and sample some of the macrons. By the time I got to the counter, so convinced was she by this sampling, we ended up getting two to share.

Having had an unknown quantity of Chinese food just previously, I went with a long black option, while Nerd 2 went a tea. A warning, be ready for a price shock at the till here (coffee sits at around 4 to 5 bucks!). We grabbed our assigned number and took a seat inside.

The coffee took a little while to get to us, and this gave us time to analyse the people around us. As predicted, this coffee shop houses mostly tourists, however, many locals either with children, or on dates were scatted around. Perhaps more of interest (and conversation) was the huge number of bugs, including mosquitos flying about, Nerd 2 it seems was far better then I at killing them, she racked up a far higher count.

As the mozzies continued their attack, our coffees (tea) + macrons arrived.  On arrival the coffee was well put together and quite neat, the creama well formed and a pleasing colour.

The aroma of this coffee is unsurprisingly quite cocoa and milkly in nature. It’s clear that some thought has gone into the beans selection to make these flavours. However, in saying that there is little depth to the drink aside from these two prominent smells.

Tasting was as expected more of the same, which was good thing. Milk chocolate flavours tended to dominant the drinks flavour however, there were hints of something like caramel (but this could have been from the macron, I was busy eating!)  – interestingly there was also some nice acidity to this drink which did worked a treat. While nothing spectacular, it all worked well and compliment the main reason people come here –the chocolate.

Nerd 2, at this point, would like to point out that they used leaf tea here, a major plus for tea drinkers over the usual 5 dollar a tea bag crap you can get at many great places.    

And if you must know, the macrons were great, the salted caramel one in particular was a bit of a winner as it complimented the coffee very well and balanced some of the acidity of the drink. And perhaps more importantly Nerd 2 total tally of dead bugs was 12, beating my 5 quite resoundingly.

Overall, having been to all of the chocolate cafes franchises in Sydney with by nerd hat on, I have to say Lindt stands out as the best Chocolate café franchise. It hits both the classy and fun boxes you need in a café such as this. The coffee, while nothing to crave over, works well with the product and is a very viable choice for someone wanting a chocolate experience of just one Lindt ball, rather then a chocolate explosion.  The only down side was the nightmare quantity of mosquitos, which really killed the total class atmosphere! But I still liked it.

Scores:
1. Coffee score
Style (look and feel): 6/10
Experience (taste and smell): 6/10
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Coffee total: 12/20
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2. Cafe score 
Style (what’s it feel like): a classy, clean and net chocolate shop in a swamp (buzz)
Cool?: 6/10
Service: 6/10
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Cafe: 12/20
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Whole experience (coffee + cafe): 24/40

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South End Cafe

Scores:

Coffee: 13/20
Whole experience (cafe + coffee): 25/40
Bean: Grinders Organic

Saturday: A sunny morning finds me walking down King Street with nerd two in search of an amazing breakfast after a long week doing slightly less serious things then writing this blog (dam you employment!). We headed far further south this Saturday then we would usually, until we came to the well-named South End Café.

Scoping out the place as we entered, it is clear that this café is a local’s local café. Couples, singles and what not all walk in, most with a knowing nod at the barista moving to their usual tables.

The worrying thing about cafes like this is that they can make you feel like a serious outsider if you don’t know the score.

South End sadly, did initially fit this bill. As we secured a table nerd 2 and myself were found we left alone for a long while, as people and tables were served around us. I scoped out a few menus myself and the whole experience started to get better.

Having made up our minds on food and importantly coffee, we flagged down a girl and made our orders. My long black and our food orders (x2) were on their way.

The coffee came quickly and had an interesting, if not the coolest looking crema I have seen since I started blogging. It was an amazing multi coloured viscous, with dark and lighter veins of colour running though it. Nice job guys.

Smell wise it had a rich and dark aroma, something almost to an Italian roasted level. The coffee also carried flowery/ fruity smells, which were pleasant, but a little contracted with the dark roast.

Tasting it the coffee it was far milder then the smell would have let on. The flowery fruity smells really came though in the tasting flavours. I really enjoyed this taste and it’s unusual flavour set really worked well with the food (which I’ll talk about in a second). However, it’s contracting aroma served as a bit of a distraction and took away from the taste, I’m not sure if this is a better milk based coffee destination.

The food at the South End is kind of fabulous and most likely the reason you will stop by. It’s all inspired of Middle Eastern flavours and concepts, thus meaning haloumi, the god of cheese, fields a place of pride across the entire menu. While my breakfast was a great mix of poached eggs, olives and what not, Nerd 2’s pea and haloumi pancakes looked (and were from my picking) brilliant. And deserved the photo.       

Overall, while the service is questionable and the local vibe possibly overwhelming to some and lovely to others, the coffee here is an interesting (and free trade) experience that really fits the great food that it comes with. If you’re down this end of King really worth the breakfast stop!

Scores:
1. Coffee score
Style (look and feel): 6/10 (cool crema, fail on cup)
Experience (taste and smell): 7/10
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Coffee total: 13/20
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2. Cafe score 
Style (what’s it feel like): Local’s inner city hangout Middle Eastern flair
Cool?: 7/10
Service: 5/10
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Cafe: 12/20
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Whole experience (coffee + cafe): 25/40

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Not Just Coffee

Scores:

Coffee: 13/20
Whole experience (cafe + coffee): 28/40

Good Friday: In a suburb I truly feel lost in, Paddington to this nerd is one of the final coffee frontiers. Having, on a whir of the moment impulse driven to the end of Oxford I want to start an exploration into the suburbs great and unusual spots.

Paddington in many Sydneysiders minds is associated with coffee however, to many who love the drink, it is more of a memory of a once great place. Paddington’s coffee scene, much like it’s shopping strip is going though dramatic change and while there are still plenty of coffee options, is there quality amongst the quantity?

After a bit of a walk around some back streets (which have some of Sydney’s best pubs) I stopped at Not Just Coffee, found on Perry Lane a tiny road tucked behind Oxford Street. Not Just Coffee is a tricky one to find and easy to walk passed (well there are signs) - just keep your eyes on the look out for a door way on the right.

A bit of an inner city Oasis on this quiet Public Holiday I was one of only three customers in store when I entered. The café from first impressions is very chilled, the kitchen and counter are pushed out of the action down some stairs leaving a courtyard and upper deck space for the perfect morning brunch spot.

Having confirmed with the girls at the counter that a have in coffee were still on, I ordered a flat white and my coffee was quickly on its way.

The coffee on its arrival was presented superbly served in a small white cup with a bit of latte art in the form of a heart on top. Effort in its presentation to me was also made with the spoon on the saucer deliberately placed

As I sat for a while admiring the coffee and the café space, local came and went greeting one another with dogs, iPad and children in hand.   

The coffee blend was interesting, a nice, slightly acidic drink which carried though that smoky cocoa aroma into its tasting flavours. Letting it sit I found the cocoa flavours intensified and a third more fruity flavour which I could not decipher at the time became more evident and completed the drink well. Thinking on it - there was a bit of harshness to the drink, however this is not a negative reflection on the drink, just something a little different.

Overall, There are some really nice touches to this café, the two sorts of sugar presented beakers on each table. The local feel, as café regulars greet one another, the space and friendly staff. The coffee while unlikely to linger in my as one of Sydney’s best, is as the name of the café states not the main act of this café.

If Not Just Coffee is the start of a new coffee movement in Paddo I think there is something to be excited about in future for this once great coffee centre. And if not, Not Just Coffee stands a good alternative to the plethora of standard affairs now littered throughout the suburb streets.

Scores:
1. Coffee score
Style (look and feel): 7/10
Experience (taste and smell): 6/10
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Coffee total: 13/20
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2. Cafe score 
Style (what’s it feel like): Like relaxing in a mates back yard.
Cool?: 6/10
Service: 7/10
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Cafe: 15/20
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Whole experience (coffee + cafe): 28/40

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Bean Drinking

Scores:

Coffee: 17/20
Whole experience (cafe + coffee): 31/40
Bean: Boots - 5 bean blend (Flat White), El Salvador – Salyer (Long Black)

Sunday: A sunny afternoon on the leafy Lower North Shore finds me in Crows Nest in search of a coffee worth blogging about. After the glimmer of hope Olio offered down the road (Pacific Highway) in the Forum, I figured a stop in what locals name the inner west of the lower north shore was a good option.

My first port of call is Bean Drinking, one of only a handful of cafes fellow twitter coffee nerds have recommended to me in the area. Found close to the end of Willoughby Road sitting on the park near the Crows Nest Hotel (Crowie), Bean Drinking ticks all the coffee shop boxes for an Inner city coffee hot spot:

• Outside tables maximising far too much of the footpath
•  Somewhat friendly staff dressed in shorts, ripped tees and vests
• Arcade Fire to jazz on the stereo
• And a coffee, rather than food focus

All big ticks!

I arrive finding a prime table outside, catching it just as some satisfied people had left. Saying hi to the staff guy nets me all the valuable info I need. “Order inside man… but what-do-ya-want”, “flat white” I reply and as I still went inside to pay, the whole coffee process already was on its way.

The people who seem to love this place are the usual Lower North shore types. Couples, families and coffee nerds all using phones, iPads and what not, while chatting away. There were couple of dogs floating around as well.

A flat white comes out some time later, with an apology about the wait (I did not really notice it took that long). The aroma of the coffee was a rich fruity and balanced chocolate smell crafted around a medium roast.

Tasting it, the coffee had a very delicate nature to it but yet it was quite complex in its taste, you could tell this was one hell of a blend! Far from having a wonderful coffee punch that so many love right now, the coffee here resembles Campos (Newtown), in that the blend attempts to use the flavours of the milk to enhance the drink rather then overwhelm the drinker with a pure coffee experience. In comparing smell to taste, that chocolate aroma, twisted to more of a cocoa one, the stronger fruity smell turned to more of a pleasant fruity sweetness. It lent a little more on the acidic side then I would have predicted, but balanced well to my tastes.

Letting the flat white sit allowed the coffee to take on more of a woody to nutty taste. This was quite unexpected, but I reckon this was a nice taste progression for that chocolate to cocoa flavour to take.

    

Not everyone is going to love the house blend (given it’s milk creaminess use), but then again, if you like more of a punch, be brave and talk to the barista and I’m sure between the two of you, you’ll find the right bean.

Overall, it’s a café that does make me eat my words a bit. The Lower North Shore can serve up a good coffee. The coffee shop was an exciting find as it is a café that uses locally roasted (organic as well?) beans. Great find, I reckon it’s up there was Sydney’s best. Do check it out!

Final words: I should also note that Bean Drinking hosts a Slayer, which in my eyes makes it a true café of class. Coffees made on such a machine can be wonderful. I could not resist a long black once I saw this. The bean which is used on the machine is a single origin from El Salvador, which, as many great El Salvador beans do have some great acidity, refinement and depth to it. My tasting was totally off for this drink but I reckon there were some interesting flavours. The bean carried a passion fruit to an apricot kind of taste which was balanced against an underriding toffee flavour, it was quite a wonderful drink which, if you like syrupy coffee makes it an instant winner.

Scores:
1. Coffee score
Style (look and feel): 9/10
Experience (taste and smell): 8/10
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Coffee total: 17/20
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2. Cafe score 
Style (what’s it feel like): Coffee roaster meets North Shore sidewalk.
Cool?: 7/10
Service: 7/10
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Cafe: 14/20
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Whole experience (coffee + cafe): 31/40

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