Tuesday 5 April 2011

Coffee love

It's no secret that I love a good cup of coffee.
I will even go as far as admit that I am probably a bit of a coffee snob.
I usually only have one cup a day, so I might as well make it a good one...


I have a great little coffee machine at home that has served many a flat white over the years. It's a Sunbeam Cafe Series and I recently bought the grinder too - I can thoroughly recommended both. Easy to use, pretty robust and generally makes a decent cup of coffee. (husband needs some more practise though!)
So, as this machine makes such good coffee I don't have cause to frequent coffee shops that much. When it's time to stock up on some beans I drive to a local roasting house, grab a bag, thank you very much for my complimentary coffee and off I go.

I'm pretty loyal when it comes to buying something and I'll usually stick to what I know, so I have been buying the same coffee beans for years. Nothing wrong with these coffee beans...but recently I got the chance to try something different...

There is a new kid on the block in coffee shop town!

If you are a local Brisbanite, you have to sample the coffee at  Stella rossa


They have shops in the city, one in Fortitude Valley and one in Milton (details here).

I have visited the Milton shop a few times and love the space that they have created there. It's a bit industrial looking and manages to also be inviting and comfortable. They have sofas and comfy chairs as well as the space to hold small meetings around larger tables. The decor is casual with framed coffee sacks on the wall and flyers for local shows and theatre, - there is a bit of a buzz to the place. It's a popular spot with commuters on the way to the train station to grab a drink or even some lunch to take to work.
If you have the luxury of sitting in to enjoy your coffee they serve some yummy stuff to go with it.

The staff are really pleasant and knowledgeable and have an obvious passion for their coffee. The first time that I went they had two, maybe three different blends of beans that you could buy and this has now increased to about five or six, including an organic blend and a de-caf. They worked with Di Bella to come up with some coffee blends  and each one is described like you would expect on a wine list!
I currently have the 5 star beans described as "a full bodied blend possessing spicy, chocolate  characteristics with a rich, lingering, berry-like, velvet finish". Mmmmm, makes me want another cup!
I've been impressed with the fact that my coffee still tastes good weeks after I bought the beans.

Unfortunately for the Railway Terrace shop in Milton it was a victim of the terrible January floods...they hadn't been open for very long before they were flooded.
They have thankfully fully recovered and were quickly back to business. So if you are in the area, pop in to sample for yourself and give some support to a new business - I don't think you'll be disappointed.




linking up with Sarah at
a beach cottage

Good Life Wednesdays

8 Comments and thoughts:

  1. I feel like a coffee after reading this. Hmmm..your machine looks great. There is nothing nicer than freshly ground beans when making coffee. Thanks for the tip on the coffee too. xx

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  2. You are right there is nothing better than a proper cup of coffee.

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  3. Great story and I am seriously impressed by the heart. I am thinking about buying a new machine, ours is just a really old clunker.

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  4. Loved your post Beth. I think I am a coffee snob too. When I was a kid my mum drank coffee, which in the 60's and 70's in Northern Ireland, was very unusual, she liked it really weak though and made using all milk. I developed a taste for it early on, but as the years have gone on I like mine stronger and stronger. I think you are very restrained to limit yourself to 1 cup a day. I have a little stove top mocha maker which I love, but I am quite tempted by one of those vintage looking machines that uses the pods of coffee. Oh dear all this talk of coffee makes me want one! Have a lovely day, Linda x

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  5. Beth, I miss a good coffee....a bit hard to find here in U.K....I've had some shockers...a mocha latte always end up like a weak hot chocolate, a flat white (Americano) is well..crap...need I go on. I have a 10 year old Krups machine under the kitchen bench which needs new seals etc...just haven't gotten around to ordering off the net. However, I just love the expresso bars in Italy...a decent shot of expresso just about puts hair on my chest! Robx

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  6. Coffee snob? Me too... G x

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  7. Funny, I've got
    a post in the hopper
    about my dream job
    of visiting coffee
    and tea shops across
    the USA ~ and the
    world!!! I love a
    good cuppa, too. These
    sound wonderful, as
    does your "home brew!"
    xx Suzanne

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  8. I love a really good cup of coffee too, competition is fierce here in Sydney!

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