Willim Espresso – Malvern. Overall Score 16.33

90 Union St, Malvern VIC 3144
(03) 9509 8506
Google map link
Coffee Brand: 5 Senses

Willim Espresso does a few good things from its little nook on Union street. Try as they might, Willim espresso has attempted to introduce a different slant to coffee to a neighbourhood that may not be ready to embrace it. Beginning with single origins, they now have two blends that sit well with the mother-and-child drinking latte crowd, prominent in the Malvern area.

The service has been a bit varied across our three visits. Sometimes it’s table service and other times it is not. Sometimes the staff will discuss their coffee and other times they merely drop it and run. Regardless of their service, they have been fairly consistent with their coffee production, having a few baristas on the coffee-box.

We feel that their overall score is reflective of a cafe that is meeting the needs of their suburb and surrounding clientele. Could it do more? Perhaps not here…..although we can’t help but wonder how much they could achieve if able to push the envelope a little more.

Score Summary.

Cafe Latte: 16, 15.5, 17

Macchiato: 17.5, 16.5, 15.5

Espresso: 17, 15, 16.5, 17 *

Ristretto: 17, 15.5

Overall Mean Score: 16.33 Highly Recommended.

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* We both reviewed an espresso on the third visit.

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Willim Espresso – Malvern. 3rd Review.

90 Union St, Malvern VIC 3144
(03) 9509 8506
Google map link
Date: Thursday 3 September 2010
Time: 0945
Coffee Brand: 5 Senses

It seems that Willim Espresso has been tinkering with their offerings while also abandoning the single origin option because of the lack of customer participation. What is available now, which should work well within the demographic is two blends; one for milk based coffee and one for espresso.

Coffee: Cafe Latte – Milk Blend.
Reviewed by: SimonL
Score: 17/20

I don’t recall the make up of this blend which is the milk based blend. Thought that I had written it somewhere but it seems no. A minor fail on my part. However the blend works well. Rich and full with dark edges, roasted backbone and creamy depth. A fairly complete cafe latte that is highly pleasing and enjoyable.

Coffee: Short Macchiato – Milk Blend.
Reviewed by: SamW
Score: 15.5/20

It was first bitey, then highly acidic, then smooth. The acidic fruit flavour lingered longer and made my mouth water. A pleasant 3 sip journey.

As for presentation & extraction it was a bit lacking.

Coffee: Espresso – Espresso Blend. Ethopian Harrar, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Costa Rica Tarrazu
Reviewed by: SimonL
Score: 16.5/20

So the espresso blend. Blended with a deft touch it is at once light and reasonably clean with fruity red berries and peach some light nutty roasted notes. Low to medium acidity and some darker punch through to the end. Very little bitterness. With a lot of focus on single origins, this is an easy going espresso and reasonably complex coffee that shows how good blends really can be. Thought that the pour was a little light on though.

Coffee: Espresso – Espresso Blend. Ethopian Harrar, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Costa Rica Tarrazu
Reviewed by: SamW
Score: 17/20

Red berry fruitiness was the first thing to explode onto my palate. As the acidity dropped, different fruits came to the fore, like a fruit salad with more kiwi than other fruits. There was a lovely back-palate bitterness that was more soothing than cleansing. It was slightly similar to the Nekisse (my favourite SO at the moment), which tastes like lemon and sour plumb on miracle fruit*.

*If you don’t know miracle fruit, a video on flavour tripping can be found here (video) and miracle fruit can be purchased here (link).

Service 3/5
Ambiance 3/5
Busy 3/5

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Willim Espresso – Malvern. 2nd Review.

90 Union St, Malvern VIC 3144
(03) 9509 8506
Google map link
Date: Thursday 15 July 2010
Time: 0900
Coffee Brand: 5 Senses

Coffee: Cafe Latte – Milk Blend.
Reviewed by: SimonL
Score: 15.5/20

There wasn’t much colour difference between this and GD’s ‘strong’ cafe latte. A rich tan hue that suggested what was to come. The taste wasn’t as overpowering as I expected but it would have been a little too strong for some. However it was lovely in spite of that, the espresso backed up well by a creamy backbone. There was sweetness and depth and a touch of chocolate, and smooth throughout. A good finish too, the flavour driving true and long. Overall a very nice coffee and suited to my palate, but judging it on its true to style though meant it was a little too strong for a standard cafe latte.

Coffee: Short Macchiato – Milk Blend.
Reviewed by: SamW
Score: 16.5/20

I couldn’t say there was much wrong with this coffee. It was creamy, deep and smooth like melted chocolate. The milk was a bit too heavy, and the draw was a bit light…so too much of one thing and not enough of another…like an elephant on stilts.

Coffee: Espresso – Espresso Blend.
Reviewed by: SimonL
Score: 15/20

A coffee of two halves. The pour size was about right with a deep oily crema and rich colour. Initially the coffee was smooth and sweet with some lemony acidity and honey notes but finishing a little rough around the edges with some faint harsh bitterness. A bit over extracted perhaps. Still a pleasant coffee that will satisfy plenty of folk.

Coffee: Ristretto – Espresso Blend
Reviewed by: SamW
Score: 15.5/20

This coffee was deft and light on the palate with a good oily residue. It was rough around the edges with some harsh bitterness popping through. Contrary to the macchiato there was no creaminess. This blend is suitable as an all-rounder, but seemed a bit bare on its own.

Service 3/5

Ambiance 3/5

Busy 3/5

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Willim Espresso – Malvern. 1st Review

90 Union St, Malvern VIC 3144
(03) 9509 8506
Google map link
Date: Thursday 20 May 2010
Time: 0930
Coffee Brand: 5 Senses

It is good to see more cafes serving specialty coffee opening up in the suburbs outside the city rim. Willim Espresso is one of these, and if our first visit is anything to go by, they will do well. While waiting for the ringins we brought along to pay before leaving, a brief conversation was had with a customer with little knowledge of coffee beyond the commercial roasts. Briefly covering topics such as coffee origins and the difference of these as opposed to the blends offered, filter options and how they can show coffee in a different light, and how this can provide a better coffee experience convinced this customer to see coffee from a different angle. Hopefully this person goes forth and explores good coffee like the sort offered by Willim Espresso.

Back to the cafe, it is s small space yet airy and situated just off Glenferrie road in the Malvern/Armadale border. A genuine effort is going on here to provide a quality coffee experience and the staff come across as enthusiastic and friendly. The coffee was pretty good so we look forward to subsequent visits. Accompanying us was GD and Mr R.

Coffee: Cafe Latte House Blend. Brazil Monte Alegra, Bali Subak, PNG Nambayufa
Reviewed by: SimonL
Score: 16/20

The house blend is well rounded and perfectly suited to milky coffee. This was highly enjoyable and would have scored higher if not for it being a little too strong for a standard strength version. This might seem contradictory to how I review cafe lattes as my tastes are to the stronger side and I am critical of weak insipid versions. There is a grey area here I know but in the end it’s about balance. Someone ordering a cafe latte with no specific requests to its strength may find this a little strong. GD ordered a strong one and the colour was almost exactly the same as mine. That all aside it only just fell into this grey area and I loved its velvety smooth texture, strong caramel earthy notes and a dry moreish finish.

Coffee: Short Macchiato House Blend. Brazil Monte Alegra, Bali Subak, PNG Nambayufa
Reviewed by: SamW
Score: 17.5/20

I was quite happy with this macchiato. It was short and surly, like a grumpy dwarf, but it delivered on the flavour front. The soft chocolate reminded me of a light Valrhona; and combined with the orange flavours it was like a deconstructed jaffa desert.

It was a bit short on the extraction, but otherwise it was a great experience.

Coffee: Espresso House Blend. Brazil Monte Alegra, Bali Subak, PNG Nambayufa
Reviewed by: SamW
Score: 17/20

Without the milk (as in the macchiato), the chocolate flavours were deeper and bolder. It was like diving into the abyss of cocoa. The crema was a bit thin.

Coffee: Ristretto Ethiopian Harrar
Reviewed by: SimonL
Score: 17/20

I have only come across this single origin a couple of times and for the life of me I can’t remember where or even if it was part of any reviews we have done. Regardless, I like it. This was light with red bush berry (I’m resisting the Masai Mara warrior analogy), was incredibly smooth and lightly oily freshened up by gentle acidity and a clean finish. Really quite lovely.

Service 4/5

Ambiance 4/5

Busy 4/5

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