We drink coffee. We can’t help it, we live in Melbourne.
Our car washes have cafes. Our hairdressers are frothing the cappuccinos out the back as they’re mixing up our hair dyes. There’s a cafe on every corner, almost. Especially in the city. We’re so picky, if a cafe’s chosen or preferred brand to use in store isn’t to our taste, we we tend to move along until we find another.
I remember when I was still a staunch NSW-er and we had a Melbournian flatmate move in, I remember him stopping dead in front of one coffee place and stare at the ‘Grinders Coffee’ sticker on the door.
“They have GRINDERS here!”
[Insert several words of relief and praise.]
Now, I’m not much of a Grinders girl myself, but I do now rather see his point. Which is sad, yes, I know.
This is where my husband comes in. You see, his favourite cafe shut down as of Friday, and from his belly-aching on the subject on the weekend you’d think his best friend had died.
His appreciation for caffeine is really more as an amateur aficionado than a true foodie, I think. He doesn’t stand in the kitchen and lovingly grind the beans in a state of ecstatic (erotic?) distraction, rather the masculine equivalent to any given moment in Like Water for Chocolate.
No, he is the pure consumer. From what I gather epic debates occur between he and his workmates, who altogether must be the coffee cabal of Melbourne, as to what makes a place special. On the weekend, I was deemed privileged enough to be explained just what made his cafe so special.
“Consistently good brew; never burned, never too hot, full flavour. Excellent waitresses, competent; good looking but friendly. The chairs actually had backs, not like those stupid ottomans they are cropping up everywhere now. The raisin toast was perfect. It was in a hideaway spot, so no crowds.”
Very acute observing.
Interesting.
Now, on any given day, I’d bet that if I walked up to him, put my hands over his eyes and asked, “What am I wearing?” he’d be stumped.
“Er. Er, um – ”
Never mind.
11:31 am
A new reader signing on to say hi.
Karen’s last blog post..She’s back
12:29 pm
I took a ten minute bus trip this morning because I couldn’t bare to drink instant coffee at home. So I know what he means, I have about three or four places where I can stand the coffee.
It’s especially important thanks to my drink of choice: Soy Flat White Grande.
The coffee people shouldn’t know your name
Lee’s last blog post..What I’m reading: The Road
1:58 pm
Hah! Yours and mine! Twins. Sometimes I wonder if I put myself in a room with 100 other women wearing jeans and a T-shirt, if he’s manage to pick me out!
Cheers
Maddy’s last blog post..Double Trouble
4:14 pm
You live in Melbourne, you love the coffee. My favourite current story is that of Starbucks, who dared to assume that their particular brand of bland, boring and mostly-covered-by-syrups coffee could ever compete in Melbourne’s coffee culture. Someone in market research over there is packing up their desk as we speak.
Love the blog, plan to visit more often!
Trace
Tracey’s last blog post..Laugh of the week
12:38 am
Melbourne sounds like heaven on earth. Oh, sweet coffee! The only place to really grab a cuppa where I live is this dreadful place that tends to give you food poisoning, at no extra cost.
And I can’t fault Adam for not noticing what you wear…I couldn’t tell you from day to day what my girlfriend is wearing, either. Sigh. Must be a Y-chromosome defect. Though I do like to blame it on the fact that she changes outfits at least three times a day, no joke.
D.Paul’s last blog post..WORD
12:47 am
Oh, that’s funny. I had no idea coffee was such a big thing in Australia! I’m mighty picky about my brew, too, but more so because its become EXPENSIVE to buy it here (everything’s too fancy! = $$) so I’ve been making it at home. I must say, as much as it frustrates you, hubby at least has good criteria for what makes a good cafe!
Colleen – Mommy Always Wins’s last blog post..Wowsers. I’ve got WHAT in my closet?
12:52 am
We get fair trade coffee from our “local” coop 3 hours away. So we have to stock up. This is what hubby drinks on the weekends. At work he drinks whatever cheap crap they bought for the office coffeemaker.
It is strange what they pay attention to though.
Janet’s last blog post..Janet 101
6:38 am
I suppose your hubby doubts he can get quality coffee anywhere else. Most charge a lot for inferior coffee.
Jean-Luc Picard’s last blog post..Shopping For Karena’s Wedding Dress (Part Two)
12:29 pm
I’ve been buying fair-trade rainforest-friendly coffee from a local roaster at our Saturday morning Farmer’s Market. We have an espresso machine at home (a gift from my favourite mother in law in the world) and I love the coffee in my kitchen as much as anything I can buy in a cafe (and we have some good cafes here in Canberra). In fact, I’m going to go and make myself a cup right now. Best thing about home-made coffee is the price… I don’t know exactly how much I pay per cup but it’s probably only about 50c.
Trish’s last blog post..In a parallel universe I’m desperate and dateless.
1:41 pm
Well done to you, Trish and Janet, environmental stars! The coffee we make here is the infernal Nescafe capuccinos sachets (oh, don’t start me, there’s a confessional post all on its own). We should do more here, save money!
1:42 pm
And Lee, I wonder if you often get soy orders mixed up for dairy? If that happens, do you get real crook?
2:22 pm
http://www.coffeesnobs.com.au/
they can tell you where to get a decent coffee just about anywhere
shish’s last blog post..This is typical