10 Hall Street Moonee Ponds VIC 3039 - 0400 937 418
Moonee Ponds. Hello, old friend, it seems we meet again. I have a love hate relationship with this suburb (and surrounding areas. that's you Essendon). I've schooled there. Worked there. Lived there. But for the last 24 years it has been exempt of quality coffee/cafes. EVERY CAFE. YES, EVERY CAFE THERE SERVES SHIT. And i don't want to hear any arguments, because you will lose. Trust me. I always had the vision of opening a cafe here to show them how coffee should be done. But i had a gut feeling that the area just wasn't quite ready for it yet. So as I was telling James ( from Brunswick east project fame) my point of view about the area, he mentioned a cafe that i had never heard of called Nabiha. So i took his advice and set out to discover this mythical cafe in the west. From the outside it looked promising. Custom designed stools and perforated design in the copper(if my memory serves me correct) window shades. The interior is just as nice with a modern architectural vibe about the place. It was rather quiet for a pre-lunch time (ill get to this in a second) and i ordered the Happy to serve you favourite the Double Ristretto. When i first saw it, i thought someone was playing a joke on me. It looked perfectly extracted with a dark caramel crema. But I was in Moonee Ponds? It can't be true.
But being the scientific man i am, i ordered another, to make sure it just wasn't dumb luck. The second came out to the same exacting standards as the first. I was left dumbfounded. The first good coffee in the area in 24 years. fuck me. as i walked out the barista asked me if i had noticed any difference between the two extractions, i said i wasn't really paying attention. She told me that the second was extracted through a naked group head. so not only great coffee, but coffee enthusiasts too. fuck me twice. To be honest the reason i wasn't paying attention was due to the fact i was left in shock from the first shot. but i didn't want to tell her that. On the way out i noticed the trademark Synesso/5Senses combo. This alone always says a lot about a cafe. except at t.m.c. back to the point where i said it was reasonably quiet. It was. However the coffee shop which must not be named (the coffee club) a few stores down was pumping. Which leads me back to my original thoughts about the area, is it ready for good coffee? Well i can't answer that just yet, but i do hope it is. All i can say is this:
Coffee: 5 Senses
Machine: Synesso
Moonee Ponds. Hello, old friend, it seems we meet again. I have a love hate relationship with this suburb (and surrounding areas. that's you Essendon). I've schooled there. Worked there. Lived there. But for the last 24 years it has been exempt of quality coffee/cafes. EVERY CAFE. YES, EVERY CAFE THERE SERVES SHIT. And i don't want to hear any arguments, because you will lose. Trust me. I always had the vision of opening a cafe here to show them how coffee should be done. But i had a gut feeling that the area just wasn't quite ready for it yet. So as I was telling James ( from Brunswick east project fame) my point of view about the area, he mentioned a cafe that i had never heard of called Nabiha. So i took his advice and set out to discover this mythical cafe in the west. From the outside it looked promising. Custom designed stools and perforated design in the copper(if my memory serves me correct) window shades. The interior is just as nice with a modern architectural vibe about the place. It was rather quiet for a pre-lunch time (ill get to this in a second) and i ordered the Happy to serve you favourite the Double Ristretto. When i first saw it, i thought someone was playing a joke on me. It looked perfectly extracted with a dark caramel crema. But I was in Moonee Ponds? It can't be true.
Then the real magic happened when the taste hit my palate. It was amazing. And not just for moonee ponds standards.
But being the scientific man i am, i ordered another, to make sure it just wasn't dumb luck. The second came out to the same exacting standards as the first. I was left dumbfounded. The first good coffee in the area in 24 years. fuck me. as i walked out the barista asked me if i had noticed any difference between the two extractions, i said i wasn't really paying attention. She told me that the second was extracted through a naked group head. so not only great coffee, but coffee enthusiasts too. fuck me twice. To be honest the reason i wasn't paying attention was due to the fact i was left in shock from the first shot. but i didn't want to tell her that. On the way out i noticed the trademark Synesso/5Senses combo. This alone always says a lot about a cafe. except at t.m.c. back to the point where i said it was reasonably quiet. It was. However the coffee shop which must not be named (the coffee club) a few stores down was pumping. Which leads me back to my original thoughts about the area, is it ready for good coffee? Well i can't answer that just yet, but i do hope it is. All i can say is this:
If you live in the moonee valley region and go anywhere else but to Nabiha for coffee. then F*** you.
P.S A personal thank-you to Nabiha and 5 Senses for finally bringing some good coffee to this area