206 High Street Northcote VIC 3070 . (03) 9482 2246
Northcote, the home of great pizza, good bars, an amazing cinema, the best function center* and AVERAGE COFFEE. Honestly the ‘third wave’ of everything BUT coffee has reached this going-through-gentrification-suburb. Don’t get me wrong, I love Northcote. I’ve lived there, worked there and would probably move back there. However a poor choice of coffee was definitely holding me back from that. The big talk around the burb was that the guys from the Brunswick flour mill and Poached were joining forces to create The Aquarium Bakery Café. They did. And their coffee is the same as it is in Brunswick. Good but nowhere near suburb defining. However amidst the chatter another little place opened, one that didn’t get the big fan-fare opening, it is called Penny Farthing Espresso. Well yesterday (after 5 caffeine free days) I finally ventured 3 doors down from *The Regal Ballroom, which I am currently re-branding, to Penny Farthing. From the moment I walked in, I knew this place was going to be different. Moustache-touting baristas? Check. Bikes? Check. Apple-laptop-using-mid-twenties-arty-looking-female-on-communal-table? Check. This is my type of place. The guys behind the counter were really friendly and whether or not they did, they LOOKED like they knew their shit. I ordered the H2SY standard double ristretto (DR). The rest of my crew ordered a piccolo and a cappuccino. Everything came out immaculately presented, with the DR accompanied by a slip with all the information I needed about the Single Origin I was about to consume, an Antigua Los Volcanes from Guatemala. A really nice touch. Well the coffee deserves all the info slips it can get. It was perfect. Golden syrup aroma introduced the approachable coffee, with low acidity and caramel sweetness(these info slips make my job easy). But just to be sure I ordered a latte to see how they dealt with milk, it was silky smooth, and the house blend cut through the milk amazingly.
So in the end, they not only looked like they knew their shit. They actually did! If you live in Northcote, you should not only tip them,
Coffee: 5 Senses
Machine: Synesso
Northcote, the home of great pizza, good bars, an amazing cinema, the best function center* and AVERAGE COFFEE. Honestly the ‘third wave’ of everything BUT coffee has reached this going-through-gentrification-suburb. Don’t get me wrong, I love Northcote. I’ve lived there, worked there and would probably move back there. However a poor choice of coffee was definitely holding me back from that. The big talk around the burb was that the guys from the Brunswick flour mill and Poached were joining forces to create The Aquarium Bakery Café. They did. And their coffee is the same as it is in Brunswick. Good but nowhere near suburb defining. However amidst the chatter another little place opened, one that didn’t get the big fan-fare opening, it is called Penny Farthing Espresso. Well yesterday (after 5 caffeine free days) I finally ventured 3 doors down from *The Regal Ballroom, which I am currently re-branding, to Penny Farthing. From the moment I walked in, I knew this place was going to be different. Moustache-touting baristas? Check. Bikes? Check. Apple-laptop-using-mid-twenties-arty-looking-female-on-communal-table? Check. This is my type of place. The guys behind the counter were really friendly and whether or not they did, they LOOKED like they knew their shit. I ordered the H2SY standard double ristretto (DR). The rest of my crew ordered a piccolo and a cappuccino. Everything came out immaculately presented, with the DR accompanied by a slip with all the information I needed about the Single Origin I was about to consume, an Antigua Los Volcanes from Guatemala. A really nice touch. Well the coffee deserves all the info slips it can get. It was perfect. Golden syrup aroma introduced the approachable coffee, with low acidity and caramel sweetness(these info slips make my job easy). But just to be sure I ordered a latte to see how they dealt with milk, it was silky smooth, and the house blend cut through the milk amazingly.
This really is the only cafe that is worthy of customers in Northcote. The coffee is 5 senses ( a trend?) and is sublimely prepared and served.
So in the end, they not only looked like they knew their shit. They actually did! If you live in Northcote, you should not only tip them,
you should kiss them on the lips for saving your little coffee starved neighbourhood.