Tag Archives: cafe

McCafe Long Black

McCafe Long black coffee
McCafe Long black coffee

Early on a Saturday morning I was on the way out of Brisbane with my sister to Warwick for a family function. She is a pharmaceutical rep, and consequently is used to living her work day from her car. She gets her breakfast on the run, buys coffees for her doctors from whatever chain is local to their surgery, and gets her morning coffee from a drive through. This Saturday, it was a McCafe drive through.

My sister and I ordered our long blacks. At this point my expectations were very low. McDonalds just does not exist in my mind as an option for coffee at all. After we had placed our orders at the drive through, we were then directed to park just off to the side. Once the vehicle had stopped we were set upon by a rabid surveyer intent on asking if we would buy more coffee from them at a location near where we live. Why they needed to know name, email address, phone number and blood type for this was beyond me. The coffees arrived before she had managed to climb into the car with her maps, pad and pens and we were on our way.

I actually did not mind the coffee. Maybe my expectations were set very low, or I just was not in the mood to be contrary, but it was OK. It was a little watery, and I suspect that even in a large cup they only use one shot, but it was not burnt and I did not regret having it without sugar. I have had worse in the past. For fast food coffee it was acceptable, and as long as you are not expecting a Sirianni’s or Illy coffee, it won’t disappoint.

Coffee from Cibo espresso, Chermside

Cibo Coffee
Cibo Coffee

Cibo Espresso is a small Adelaide-based cafe franchise with a number of stores around Brisbane. One of them is in Westfield Chermside, in the northern foodcourt near Woolworths. They do coffee and a variety of Italian pastries and gelati. As a cafe the coffee is OK, but for food court coffee it is exceptional – it all depends on your frame of reference.

There is nothing extrordinary about the price, so I can’t even recall it. I think it is fair to say that unless it is either very cheap or really expensive, it is hardly a factor like taste and location. It is the location that I like with Cibo Espresso. There are two food courts in Chermside currently – the large one with McDonalds, KFC and a dozen or so more shops, and this smaller one without the fast food giants.  Coffee-wise, the larger foodcourt has a Gloria Jeans and a Muffin Break, while the smaller one is where Cibo Espresso and a Starbucks is located.

Why a Cibo Espresso long black?

So if you’re stuck in a shopping centre and looking for a coffee Cibo Espresso works out fine, though the food is overpriced for what it is. But compared with the other foodcourt coffee options, it comes out on top.

Long black at Platform 6

Platform 6 breakfast
Platform 6 breakfast

So a series of events involving an early Saturday, a slip in technique at the gym the previous week and misjudged travel time left me in the trendy suburb of Teneriffe with over an hour to kill. Fortunately, I was able to find a cafe. After walking past one that had too many cyclists and cbd products that did not have comfortable looking seats, I found Platform 6, a small restaurant on Vernon Terrace.

And a toasted sandwich

It was a nice cafe, with inviting seating and convenient location. $3.50 for a long black did not seem that bad, and I went as far as ordering a toasted sandwich too. It eventually arrived sometime after the coffee. I did not pay attention to how long after, I was too busy reading.

And the point

It was nice, and all up, it came to $10 in total. They have their own 100% Arabic blend that has a strong flavor. Platform 6 is not just a cafe; it is more of a food and wine bar that just happens to be open in the morning too. For a weekend coffee in the morning, it does the job, and is a nice place to sit and kill time.

Long Black at Caffe Di Vita

The chicken sandwich
The chicken sandwich

Caffe Di Vita is my favourite cafe. It is a little place in Wilston at 1 Macgregor St (Cnr Kedron Brook Rd) that does an awesome sandwich with great service and nice coffee. I almost always order the same thing, and it is the chicken and avocado sandwich with a side of chips and extra bacon added.  My girlfriend and I have been going there for ages thanks to the service. Being recognised as a regular by the owners is definitly a factor too.


View Long Black in a larger map

They use Segafredo beans and do a decent coffee. It is not the best coffee I have ever had, but the quality is consitant, and the service and food make it a place to go.