So apparently there’s a rumour going around that I’m multiple people, I *think* this might be because if you follow me on instagram I’m all over the place lately. Fear not, chums, I am the one and only Lauren Quinn of Corridor Kitchen, I’m just *ahem* between projects right now, and that gives me ample time to drink coffee all over. In the last two months I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Newcastle and surrounds, Canberra, Bendigo/Castlemaine/Daylesford, the Great Ocean Road, and even good old Melbourne town. And I bet you wanna know my go-to for espresso magic (and no, I don’t mean that bullshit flat white concoction) in Melbourne. ‘Cause good coffee in melbs is so hard to find.
The last couple of times I was in the Melbourne CBD, I made a beeline for Naked Espresso, a cute and well known place on Little Bourke Street. These guys use naked portafilters for their espresso (hence their name) but they also tick the specialty coffee box with their selection of ‘new brew’ techniques such as aeropress and pourover.
This place is a coffee nerd’s paradise; their blackboards list the day’s brews complete with tasting notes, and they sell enough different beans, gadgets and paraphernalia to keep the caffeine-obsessed happy for yonks. The coffee menu changes often, with appearances from the likes of Market Lane, Axil Coffee Roasters and even Naked’s own house blend. On my most recent visit, there were couple of Market lane single O’s on offer for syphon/pourover/aeropress, the house blend for espresso-based coffees and an Axil single origin as their guest coffee.
I sample the market lane Juan Ticona brewed as an Aeropress, it has a lovely chocolatey flavour, mild and delicious. My companion and I also go macch-wild on the house blend – vibrant, vivid, deep and bittersweet, it is an absolute pleasure to savour. Even the aftertaste is sublime.
The menu is a simple affair. There are a a few brekky things- toast and its cousins, baked eggs, porridge and an array of jaffles. They charge 50 cents for swapping/changing ingredients, which I think is fair enough. But this place is really about the coffee. Our house of worship, we are devotees at the caffeine alter. Freshly ground beans are our processional incense. I could sit here forever.
Naked Espresso
390 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
03 9670 3569
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Oh man, I was hoping to see a selfie. Magic coffee in one hand, peace/victory sign with your other hand and an ingenuous smirk on your face. On a serious note, I’ll be checking out Naked when I’m next in Melbs.
Fuck I hate made up coffees. But if you do want a ‘magic’ in Sydney I think Joe Black on Commonwealth St serves them…
Yes, go to Naked. I’d love to know what you think. I can’t stop raving about it…
Do you think the coffee is better in Sydney or Melbourne. I always hear Melbournites living in Sydney complain that our coffee is the worst – but I think it’s OK (but then what do I know about coffee)?
Miss Piggy recently posted…Matterhorn, Wellington (NZ)
Of course I’m biased because I live in Sydney. But I don’t think coffee in Melbourne is neccesarily ‘better’ than in Sydney. Things drive me nuts about both ‘scenes’.
People from Melbourne often complain about lack of care/consisteny in Sydney cafes, and say that Melbourne coffee is better. But I think in many cases, it comes down to what you are used to and also knowing where to look. If you live in Melbourne, you know where the good coffee is in Melbourne. Same goes for Sydney.
I will say that I find it pretty easy to find exceptional coffee in the Melbourne CBD as opposed to the Sydney CBD.
But it is also the case that Melbourne is easy to get around as opposed to Sydney, so this means if there’s some great coffee in Footscray, I can check that out on a weekend trip to Melbs via a quick train ride. If I’m in Sydney for the weekend however, it is pretty unlikely I’ll get to Ashfield or Crow’s Nest or Marrickville.
As a Sydney coffee drinker, I have my pet hates about Melbourne coffee. When I order a macch, they ask ‘short or long’. No. There is a macch, and a long macch. There is no short macch. Melbourne roasts often also tend to be lighter. That’s fine, but if you drink your coffee with even a smidgen of milk, that can drown the flavour.
Black coffee, specialty coffee – yeah, it is more common in Melbourne than Sydney. But I’m not sure it is any better.
In Sydney, you just gotta know where to look. And that’s why I’m here.
Hmmm… I think I’ll visit them in my next trip to Melbourne but for coffee only… I wouldn’t like to pay extra for changing ingredients in a dish (specially if they want to charge me for removing the toast from my egg order!).
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I’ve been working in the Melbourne CBD for the past few weeks and I agree with you said, it’s easier to find good coffee in the CBD compared to CBD. In saying that, there are plenty of “Donut King” style coffee places in Melbourne as well, same as Sydney. If you want good coffee, you’ll find it no matter where you are.
As with Naked Espresso, I’ll have to try dining in because my takeaway wasn’t all the flash, preferred Brother Baba Budan across the road! In saying that the banana and nutella jaffle was awesome.
So far I’ve tried coffee at BBB, Naked Espresso, League of Honest Coffee and Patricia Coffee Brewers (very good.
Ah, see, I don’t ‘do’ takeaways, maybe I should for research purposes.
BBB is a good choice to, but, macch for macch (and picollo for picollo) I got a lot more out of Naked.
I agree, it is all about knowing where to look. I’ll be adding your suggestions to my wishlist. : )