Collective Espresso – Camberwell. 2nd Review

3 Cookson Street, Camberwell 3124

25 March 2010 @ 10.00am. Coffee Brand 5 Senses

The second time round at Collective Espresso showed us some good signs. They finally have their exhaust fan installed, so food is being served. For a two man operation, they seem to have a lot of bases covered. This time they were less busy (than last time), but the quality was ever-present.

Coffee – Espresso. Brazilian Blue

Score 17/20

By SimonL

The signature softness and smoothness of the Brazilian Blue blend made itself known here and I discovered some other characters not detected last time. Like the earthy tobacco box notes and fruity acidity (kindly pointed out as raspberry-like by ring-in GD, the Great Dane as he is known). There is something delectable and so easy to like that it is almost lost by not challenging the senses too much. But therein lays its strength.

Coffee – Short Macchiato. Brazilian Blue

Score 16.5/20

By SamW

Like cheese in a sandwich, the wisp of milk sat wonderfully atop the espresso and underneath the crema. Aesthetically, this coffee was magnificent!

The blend has changed slightly (apparently 5 Senses are always modifying), and there is a bigger flavour hit. It’s almost as if there is more pride in the Brazilian Blue. Collective Espresso has a profound effect on me, as I always regress to child-like consumption. In this case, I ate the remaining foam from my macchiato like a toddler gobbles Heinz purée.

Coffee – Cafe Latte. Brazilian Blue

Score 14/20

By SimonL

While this coffee presented well and seemed true to style it lost out in the flavour department. The hide and seek game with the espresso began. It was creamy and light in colour – always a give-away to a Cafe Latte’s strength, showing faint caramel and nut, the milk dominating. This was not nearly robust enough for the first coffee of the day or indeed for any sort of hangover.

Coffee – Doppio Ristretto. Brazilian Blue

Score 16/20

By SamW

Like a squash ball (compact, tight and well-rounded), the Brazilian Blue works well in shorter coffees. The acidity was much more noticeable than in the macchiato, and the overall balance was slightly skewed towards the front palate.

The extraction and length were spot-on but the crema appeared somewhat light.

Service 4/5

Ambiance 3/5

Busy 2/5

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Seven:am – Port Melbourne. 1st Review

155 Bay St, Port Melbourne VIC 3207
(03) 9078 5776
Google Map Link
Date: Thursday 18 March 2010
Time: 1030
Coffee Brand: Coffee Supreme

Seven:am is a warm and inviting little cafe, the name suggesting a great time for coffee, especially for those trudging their way to work and need a coffee fix to set the day right. The staff are informative and sprightly in their service. There were a few people floating in and out for take-aways, and a couple seated indoors.

Coffee – Cafe Latte

Score 15.5/20

By SimonL

The thing about coffee supreme is that it cuts through milk really well even if the coffee is under-strength..like this one.  While the overall experience was good, the coffee fell short in balance. The espresso flavour was strong enough to allow it to peek through the milk showing walnut and mild caramel. Fantastic milk texture and flavour, though it dominated.

Coffee – Short Macchiato

Score 16/20

By SamW

This coffee was straight down the line. A well crafted macchiato served in a cup, there was some oiliness to the crema and some depth to the flavour. The best way to describe this coffee is to say that it was soft, plush and strong…like a Jeff Buckley song. There was also a long, dry finish that acted a little like a mouth squeegee.

Coffee – Doppio Espresso

Score 14.5/20

By SimonL

Served in a latte style glass this was more of a petite long black than a double espresso. The coffee was pleasant enough but compared to some of the espresso’s experienced recently this is like going back a bit in time. Dark, bitter and rustic like the Italian coffees of old…..you know the ones…..teeth gritting shots of black, dark roasted, charry espresso…yeah! However what set this one apart from those was that it was smooth rather than teeth gritting with an uncomplicated and easy drinking swagger.

Coffee – Ristretto

Score 16.5/20

By SamW

Carrying on with the music analogies (from short macchiato review), this ristretto was more like an power ballad. It was heavy in its acidity, deep in its dark tones and almost completely absent of bitterness. The extraction was right on-point, although the crema was thinning with each sip.

Lastly, but not least it was served in a hot cup which always floats my boat.

Service 4/5

Ambiance 3.5/5

Busy 3/5

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Proud Mary – Collingwood. Overall Score 17.46

172 Oxford Street (corner Stanley Street) Collingwood, Vic 3066.
(03) 9836 9889
Google map link
Coffee Brand 5 Senses + In House Roasts.

This is the first cafe to break the overall median score of 17.

Question: Was the coffee really that good?

Answer: Hell, yes.

There is something inherently right about this place. It has a warm and inviting atmosphere, knowledgeable, approachable and friendly staff, plenty of different coffee options, plus experience, innovation and an owner willing to gently yet strongly educate. Such has been our experience here.

There are at least two blends on the menu that change regularly and several single origins are available, some as espresso and some as filter – (cold drip and syphon).

One key factor that makes this place work well is that Proud Mary hasn’t forgotten to offer choice, service and hospitality. By no means should one believe that this place is perfect, because they do have their off-days (see our second review where the only thing faster than the coffee arriving was the paint drying). However, on that particular occasion they could not have been any busier. Every table was full inside and out and there were people queuing up at the door. To be able to still produce good quality coffee shows the capability of the staff and systems.

So try this place at a less busy time and don’t be afraid to badger the baristas, or even Nolan himself…our experience has been that they are ever willing to share knowledge.

Score Summary.

Cafe Latte: 18, 15.5, 19

Macchiato: 18, 15.5, 18.5

Espresso: 17, 17, 17.5

Ristretto: 18, 16.5, 19

Overall Mean Score: 17.46. Highly Recommended.

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Proud Mary – Collingwood. 3rd Review.

172 Oxford Street (corner Stanley Street) Collingwood, Vic 3066.

March 2010 @ 11am. Coffee Brand 5 Senses + In House Roasts.

Proud Mary have shown us what they are truly capable of storming home in this third review sweeping all before it like Kiwi in the 1983 Melbourne Cup. The only thing different is that Proud Mary hasn’t come from nowhere. Years of experience in running cafes and producing top-notch coffee has culminated in this remarkable place. Two coffees achieved 19/20 scores on this visit alone.

Coffee – Espresso. Costa Rican Terrazu Estate

Score 17.5/20

By SamW

Highly concentrated syrup swirled in the warmed espresso cup, providing rich chocolate ganache flavours. The acidity was much more present than the bitterness, and the taste became sweeter as the flavour lingered. Aficionados of all things chocolate would bathe themselves in such a coffee.

Coffee – Short Macchiato. Costa Rican Terrazu Estate
Score 18.5/20

By SamW

Building on the espresso review, this coffee had more refined flavours of chocolate. As the protagonist from the popular Cathy Cartoon (Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate—AACK), this macchiato would have suited her to a tee. Perhaps it was the milk that helped shuffle the flavour through, because it was brilliant and super delicious. Silky, smooth, chocolate….milky, creamy, chocolate…it was a truly favourable coffee.

Furthermore, this coffee was served with speed and deliberation which assuaged my concerns from last visit (when the timing was poor).

Coffee – Cafe Latte. House Blend No. 2 Moka Java.

Score 19/20

By SimonL

Quite simply, this was an amazing cafe latte. The roast was in the darker flavoured spectrum and while it flirted with the strong side, it was balanced – albeit on a knife edge. The milk, an Oscar contender for best supporting role, sat just under the beautiful rich, caramel, chocolate and spiced nut espresso providing a sweet, deliciously  smooth, creamy flavour. There was strength, balance and texture, and no playing hide and seek with the espresso. Yum factor…….stratospheric.

Coffee – Ristretto.

Score 19/20

By SimonL

There was just not enough of this coffee. My palate pleaded for more, but like .05 Blood Alcohol I was mindful of my caffeine intake with a planned syphon on the horizon (just for the pleasure of it).

This was a benchmark ristretto:

Pour – spot on

Cup temperature – hot side of warm but comfortable to hold

Crema – infinite

Taste – gorgeous

Seriously rich and oily, this looked like a Rotorua mud pool just taking a rest – dark and swirly. Pushing the crema aside with the spoon it seemed to reach right to the bottom of the cup. The aroma was fresh showing high fruity peach and raisin that translated to the palate with a base of honey and earth. In the middle was a delectable smoothness, low acidity and a cleansing and refreshing hop-like bitterness that lingered with intent.

Service 4/5

Ambiance 5/5

Busy 2/5

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The Maling Room – Canterbury. Overall Score 15.33

206 Canterbury Rd, Canterbury VIC 3126
(03) 9836 9889
Google map link
Coffee Brand In-House Roasters

The Maling Room is a shining light in the otherwise quality coffee starved, private-school concentrated zone of Melbourne. Installation of a roaster less than a year ago has taken this place from an above average place for coffee to a pretty bloody decent one. While our coffee scores show a bit of a decline over the three visits there is plenty to like about The Maling Room. Once some consistency issues are overcome this place could very well be considered among the elite in Melbourne. The house blend is one of the nicest we have come across and it is currently SimonL’s choice for home.

The Maling Room is a large space inside with many outdoor tables. It has two Synesso machines, a 3 group and 2 group, and is very busy, especially on the weekends with a huge amount of coffees being pumped out.

We have observed commitment behind the machine and good knowledge from the baristas (there seem to be many), however that doesn’t appear to translate through to the majority of the wait staff. Apart from the house blend there are two to three origins and/or a specialty blend all available as espresso. There are no filter options.

Score Summary.

Cafe Latte: 18, 15, 14.5

Macchiato: 12.5, 12.5, 15.5

Espresso: 18, 16, 15

Ristretto: 15.5, 15, 16.5

Overall Mean Score: 15.33. Recommended

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