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Black coffee, Cafe Review

Cup Coffee Long Black

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Black coffee at Cup Coffee
Black coffee at Cup Coffee

It has taken me ages to get around to writing this. One of my friends has been telling me for ages to check out Cup Coffee. The cafe is in West End on Russell Street, just a short walk from Vulture Street. With a high roof and a large open roller door, the cafe looks like it was built out of an old workshop. A gentrified old workshop, with seats, coffee machines and some interesting robot themed artwork on one wall.

Cup Coffee roasts their own beans, and not just for their own use. According to their website they supply about nine other cafes. They produce blends and single origins, available through their own cafe and their business customers. Us normal people can buy their coffee either at the cafe or online via their site.

Cup Coffee Menu
Cup Coffee Menu

The cafe itself sells coffee, unsurprisingly, and a limited range of food. The coffee itself is good, some of the best I have had in Brisbane. They certainly didn’t do anything wrong when they made it, and the bean’s flavours were obvious. Though like a lot of other cafes, the single origins offered seemed to tend towards fruity.

TL;DR

  • Good Coffee
  • Not a lot of choice for food
  • Roast beans, and seem to do a good job

Cup Coffee
http://www.cupcoffee.com.au/
Phone: 07 3846 3746
85 Russell Street
West End 4101
Queensland

Black coffee, Cafe Review

Coffee At Cleanskin Coffee Co

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Coffee at Cleanskin
Coffee at Cleanskin

Brendale is a long way from Teneriffe. It is a long way from the CBD, from Park Road and from West End as well. Brendale is certainly an outer suburb. Brendale is not somewhere you would generally associate with good or interesting cafes. Cleanskin Coffee Co won’t help with this either, as it is actually a roaster. They just happen to also serve coffee.

South Pine Road runs through a light industrial area in Brendale. It is almost rural; you actually pass fields when you drive there. However, between the machine shops and mechanics lies Cleanskin. Originally they were based in Teneriffe, but apparently they moved to their new location just over twelve months ago now. They roast beans under their own label for sale and for a number of cafes.

Cleanskin's roasting room
Cleanskin’s roasting room

There is nothing about the building that stands out from its light industrial setting. Inside is a little different. The cafe is starkly white with a tiled floor and there is a large glass window separating you from the roasting room. There are a few long tables set up for customers, as well as a number of chairs and a bar set up across the window facing the roasting room. They also have an arcade machine.

Unsurprisingly I had a long black, and also not too astonishing considering who they supply coffee to, it was good. The blend they were using was smooth, with minimal bitterness and was prepared well. Cleanskin also makes and stocks cold press latte in a bottle which I bought as well as some of their Saint Espresso blend beans.

TL;DR

  • Long way from most of Brisbane
  • Another unexpected cafe in a light industrial area
  • Primarily a roaster, with many cafes stocking their beans
  • Good coffee, worth a visit

Clean Skin Coffee Co
Phone: 3889 8449
http://cleanskincoffeeco.com.au/
193-203 South Pine Rd
Brendale 4500
Queensland

Black coffee, Cafe Review

Matthew Thomas at Sandgate

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Long Black at Matthew Thomas in Sandgate
Long Black at Matthew Thomas in Sandgate

Not many cafes in Sandgate look out over the ocean. Matthew Thomas does. At least as far as the trees on the other side of Eagle Terrace allow. The cafe itself is in an old house and occupies the ground floor, along with a gift shop and a counter given over to selling fudge. The front of the cafe opens out onto the road and provides a great view of trees and some blue stuff between the branches.

Big Breakfast at Matthew Thomas
Big Breakfast at Matthew Thomas

The decor was interesting and seemed to feature a lot of clocks and they use Toby Estate beans and make a reasonable coffee. While not especially awesome Matthew Thomas does a good long black coffee. Their big breakfast however is more remarkable.

Swapping out eggs was not a problem, and the home made baked beans were really very nice. Their service also really stood out, with attentive and cheerful staff taking care of a reasonable late breakfast crowd.

Matthew Thomas is in a good location in Sandgate, with nice decor and a cute gift shop. The coffee is good and the food is better and the fudge is certainly worth trying. Matthew Thomas is certainly worth visiting if you are nearby and in the mood for a light meal.

TL;DR

  • Great service
  • Nice coffee
  • Interesting menu and good food
  • Kind of overlooking the ocean

Matthew Thomas, Sandgate
Phone: 3869 4807
http://www.matthewthomas.com.au/
50 Eagle Terrace, Sandgate
Brisbane
Queensland

Black coffee, Cafe Review, Reviews

Coffee from Ripples on the Creek

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Coffee at Ripples on the Creek
Coffee at Ripples on the Creek

40 kilometres outside of Kyogle is a long way to go for a coffee. It is also a very unlikely location for a decent cafe, let alone a restaurant. However there it was, just over the New South Wales and Queensland border by Lions Rd.

Ripples on the Creek restaurant
Ripples on the Creek restaurant

“Cafe 100m” painted onto the side of a building was not the most promising first impression. It got better once we got there however. The restaurant is a single storey building with a wrap around veranda set on a rise facing a hill across a few fields. We sat outside on the veranda, with a view of the occasional cow and the faint sound of bellbirds in the distance.

Mint and chocolate cheesecake
Mint and chocolate cheesecake

Ripples on the Creek’s menu is interesting, with most of the ingredients sourced locally and the coffee supplied by the Byron Bay Coffee Company. As attractive as the lunch menu was, I settled on a chocolate and mint cheesecake and a long black.

The coffee itself had a light flavour which seemed more fruit than chocolate. The cheesecake was exactly as described. Mint with chocolate base, and with a mint toffee garnish. Unfortunately I could not post any of this to Foursquare or Instagram, as it seems that just north of Kyogle has poor wireless coverage.

Just north of Kyogle
Just north of Kyogle

I was not expecting to find something like Ripples on the Creek in country New South Wales, or any other state. The quality of the food and coffee that I had was good, and the location picturesque. Just outside of Kyogle is certainly a long way to go for a coffee, but if you are in the area, at least it is there.

TL;DR

  • Suddenly, Restaurant!
  • Was not expecting a good coffee in country NSW
  • Interesting menu, with nice cake
  • Checking in on Foursquare is problematic

Ripples on the Creek
http://ripplesonthecreek.com.au/
Phone: 02 6636 6234
602 Grady’s Creek Road (also known as the Lions Road Tourist Drive)
Grady’s Creek via Kyogle
New South Wales