Hump Day

I generally love Wednesdays - the middle of the week and only one more working day for me to go before the weekend! Yay! And I managed to knock one off my list today! Double Yay!
I started the day off with a coffee from Elevenses, they never seem to disappoint.....


Only an hour later I  had to make a last minute doctors appointment in the city so I made sure that I squeezed in enough time to grab a coffee nearby from my list! Lucky for me, there was such a place only a few doors down called Switchboard cafe! I found it a little tricky to find, a blink and you  miss it kind of cafe, well not really even a cafe. A hole in the wall would more accurately describe it! 
Switchboard use Supreme Coffee, an old favorite of mine, so I was already impressed. It was a little intimate waiting for my Soy Cap, basically standing inside their coffee making space but the staff were super friendly and super quick. The coffee was also of very high standards and if I worked closer to the city I would be coming here often!!!

Switchboard Cafe

Tuesday on my mind

I officially bid farewell to my beloved Nissan Tiida today (sob sob) for 4 weeks. How am I going to live without a car for that long !??!?
I think this is where my 'Incidental activity' New years Resolution will come into play! I'm hoping this will make me fitter, stronger and maybe a little more patient (or should that be impatient) with Melbourne's Public Transport system.
Aside from my grief over my car, I was in good need of a coffee this morning, - the late nights watching trashy DVDs has taken its toll, I think its back to 8.30pm bedtime for a while, although the tiredness does really fuel the need for caffeine, so Ill get back to you about that ...

This morning my coffee of fancy was at Elevenes, fast becoming a work favorite. The staff are fantastic and friendly, its kinda quirky having the coffee machine on a snooker table and the 5 minute walk is also refreshing.  Elevenses use Toby's estate beans which are fantastic and sooo smooth. They are happy to try different blends and as a customer you get the benefit of it!
Oh and today they were super happy as they had made the front cover of The Epicure in the Age, featuring their "Ugly Duckling" sandwich... Well done...They were ecstatic!  Not sure Duck is my fancy for lunch, but if they put as much love into their food as they do their coffee it must be pretty special.

No places off my list today!! 325 days left and 89 places to go!  I'm chugging along slowly...... Oh and my vote will be on Elevenses for next year!



The Ugly Duckling Sandwich from Elevenes



Just down to the corner shop

Its a Monday morning and the search for good coffee is on! I decide to go local today and visit the Corner Shop in Yarraville - this is only a short walk away from home and is always worth it!
First off Darby and I stop off in the children's bookstore next door, (the only downfall for going to this place is this darn bookstore, I tried the "its not open on Monday line" but that failed when he noticed the door was wide open and a happy child walked out with a book under his arm! Damn!!
 My coffee trip to the Corner shop often costs me a book as a trade off, normally I try to resist but today I was not in the mood for bargaining with a 3 year old, or for any tantrums that would surely follow.
My coffee time is my zen, so I didn't want to have Darby screaming or running around.. and today as a result of the Maisy book, he was very well behaved ... on most occasions he is fantastic but I had a feeling today could have turned the other way!
Here he is engrossed in his Maisy books! Bless!!

We sat at the bench seats overlooking Ballarat St and I ordered my Soy Cappuccino! The thing I enjoy almost more than the coffee itself is the  Real chocolate sprinkle on top.. the gorgeous dark chocolate sprinkles melt in your mouth and tastes heavenly when mixed with  the coffee froth on top.. This is my real treat of the day! If I'm lucky some  sprinkles will sink to the bottom of the cup and I have them in my last sip! I really am a child at heart!  Bliss!  I think that's why I keep coming back.......

Here it is a few minutes later... and I'm one satisfied customer!

Before I go, I also better clear up a contentious issue I'm having with my ex partner! Its not really the kind of problem you think we would be having  but it is an issue we cannot agree on.. What is the difference between a Latte and Cappuccino????????


Well to solve it I took to Google to seek their advice.... and found this definition on Wikipedia!


Caffè latte or caffè e latte is often called simply latte, which is Italian for "milk", in English-speaking countries; it is espresso with steamed milk, traditionally topped with froth created from steaming the milk. A latte comprises one-third espresso and nearly two-thirds steamed milk. More frothed milk makes it weaker than a cappuccino. A latte is also commonly served in a tall glass; if the espresso is slowly poured into the frothed milk from the rim of the glass, three layers of different shades will form, with the milk at the bottom, the froth on top and the espresso in between

Cappuccino comprises equal parts of espresso coffee and milk and froth^{[citation needed]}, sometimes sprinkled with cinnamon or powdered cocoa

I hope that sorts out our disagreement for now....


Looking forward to a work day tomorrow and trying a city establishment...
Until then x

The Premises and Proud Mary

Now Sundays in my world always call for lots and lots of coffee!! Must be the imminent sign that Monday is around the corner and the only thing to get me through is some good old caffeine! Its definitely my kick start to the day anyway. 
When I woke the first thing I did was try my St Ali beans... they were fantastic, although its just not the same flavour or experience you get when its made at home.. it was good, but I wont be doing it everyday. 


After that I tried a couple of places, one on my MCR list and another that I think should be on the list!


The Premises in Kensington (the one not on the list of 100) is becoming almost a local for me and it is only a hop, skip and jump away. This morning I went there with Sarah for a kid free coffee which is very rare, especially for Sarah. The place was busy, but we managed to get a good table tucked away at the back.
The coffee here is very tasty, they use beans from Seven Seeds, so they can hardly go wrong! The food is also delish. I ordered Fruit toast with jam,  the bread had squillions of apricots and figs- just yummy and kept me going all day (although maybe that was the caffeine!)
Ill be back here again and again and wont be at all surprised if this one makes the list in 2012! It certainly gets my vote!
Next off I trekked to Collingwood. (The thought of not having a car for 4 weeks has struck fear into me - how am I going to go for a month not being able to try new coffee with out a car???)
So I picked a "3 beaner" relatively close and made the journey over to Smith St!
Proud Mary is tucked down a side st off the main Collingwood strip and as it said in its review would be "pumping" with people on the weekend. I think that's the longest I have waited  for a takeaway coffee so I couldn't wait to taste! It was worth it, the single origin coffee was so smooth, I could drink it all day long!  It was out of this world and if that happens when you have a takeaway you are onto a winner.  I will come back here on a day off as I loved the feel of the place  (and the look of the menu). I especially loved the shiny sky blue cups they use for coffee, they were gorgeous! I'm going to have to try and find me some!

Plus the raspberry slice Darby had was very tasty, even with fruit in its name I don't think it was at all healthy, oh well it  helped him feel contented waiting FOREVER and helped me soak up some of that coffee buzz.....


By the afternoon I was having serious heart palpitations so I think I will stick to my usual one coffee tomorrow and not go overboard... 
I think without a car,  February will be my month of trying places locally and in the city.. there are heaps to try there and it will get me out on my lunch breaks and do some serious coffee hunting
Until next time  xxx 

Its Raining its Pouring!

Ahh well my coffee endeavours were very noble today! I visited a '3 beaner' from the coffee review and it was well worth it!
St Ali in South Melbourne is another one of these cafes that is soo hard to find, tucked down a side street alley, but is always bursting with people. Today was no exception, I managed to get myself a seat in the corner at a counter and salivated over every ones yummy looking breakfasts, mind you I had just put in an hours worth of hard core exercise at the Botanical Gardens, so I felt as though I earnt something tasty! Alas I resisted and ordered my usual coffee. Although I had to wait quite awhile for it, the coffee was faultless and it was gone in just a few sips. My guzzling of caffeine made me want to order another straight up but instead I made  my first coffee purchase for home. A bag of the House blend coffee ground for my percolator.... I cant wait to try it tomorrow morning! This resolution could turn out more expensive than I anticipated! Oh well, its all in the name of research!


Last night Melbourne saw sooo much rain, I was oblivious to most of this as I was on a date with Laura R at the movies. Before we went to the pics  we had dinner at the Corner Shop in Yarraville. I ordered a Soy  Mocha and as usual I could not fault there coffee, it was divine... I've never had a bad coffee experience here...

Yay its Friday

A night where I  slept alllll night, Darby is with my mum and dad so I woke up disorientated, not knowing where I was and what Day it was. That's what a full nights sleep does after 3.5 years of disrupted sleep.
Haven't worked on my goal yet today,  but have had some fabulous coffee with Janine at our new favorite 'Go to ' place from work - Elevenses. They make a nice strong coffee and don't charge for Soy! Yay.... Plus it gets us out of the office for 15 minutes to achieve another goal... Get moving during the work day 2 times a week..... I better practice what I preach at work - Health and Wellbeing!!
Have a happy Friday .....

New Years Resolution!

Like most people I always make New Years Resolutions, most of the time they are to Lose Weight , Get fitter, spend less money , save more money, plan a trip etc etc etc etc
But after a tumultuous year.... one of the hardest of my life, I have decided to be kind to myself.. Yes I will try and lose weight and et al but this year I want to do something I can actually achieve, feel proud of and learn more about myself as I go.  This New Years Resolution sounds silly, but I think it has lots of  potential to be great and its already giving me some purpose (The buzz word for Resilient people) ... so here we go!
I took some inspiration from the a cute little movie 'Julie and Julia', but making my way through an exquisite cook book was a) going to be expensive, b) probably would not help with losing weight c) I wouldn't really be leaving my house.....

So instead I am going to go to all the places (plus more) in the Melbourne 2011 Coffee Review http://www.melbournecoffeereview.com/ -  all 100 of them to try their coffee and if it gets too easy I will seek out more places to go! I have downloaded the application and have started already!
So in  trying to practice what I preach from a Health Promotion and Psychology point of view (what I do everyday at work) I thought a SMARTER goal was more achievable for me. 
 S  - Specific goal- drink coffee from the 100 best places in Melbourne 
 M - Measurable - I will become a coffee expert, go to new places and may meet some handsome barrista's or two
 A-  Achievable - Anything is achievable when you are buzzing on caffeine
 R-  Realistic - well I love coffee to start with, so it should be easy
 T - Time Based - 12 months should be easy - 11 months to go
 E - Exciting - what is NOT exciting about drinking great coffee most days of the year
 R - Recorded - That's what this blog is for! No cheating here!
As I go along I will give my own description of the experience and of course the most important part - the coffee. I plan to make some excursions from the West to the North, East and South all in the name of my resolution!
So here we go...........
Straight up I better clear up how I take my coffee - Soy Cappuccino (with 2 equal .. I know I'm trying to quit..), but I am open to trying lots of different beans, milks and styles... see its already liberating!


A month into 2011 and I have already been to 11 places (plus a couple of extras that I think should be on the list)
- Cafenatics (near my work so very easy!)
- Eclipse ( just discovered and also near work .. so I don't have to try too hard either)
- Brother Baba Budan - stopped on the way back from a meeting - understand why it gets 3 beans! It was amazing... will be making another trip back there before February is gone
- Di Bella Coffee Roasting - another yummy coffee experience... near my sisters and was feeling a little hungover so need to go back again! Food was delish too
- The Corner Shop - Home Territory ... love the way they use Real Choc on top....mmmmmm
- Le Chien - Well this has been my place for coffee for sooo long, six years I have been going here and probably for a long time to come, I love the familiarity, I know the staff and I love how the place makes me feel. Reminds me of good times (and some sad). It helped me get through last year with a smile on my face.
- Pope Joan - Need to come back here again, the coffee and food were gorgeous, but I had a grumpy and squealing Darby with me so the 'experience' could have been better, service was lovely, they wrapped up the uneaten fruit toast in foil so I could make a quick exit! Bless! Ill be back again, I wish it was here when I lived in Glenlyon Rd... would have been my place to go.
- Duchess of Spotswood. - A new find and very close to home... need to come back again to try the food.. Coffee was yummy, using Bonsoi milk makes a difference... just have to watch I don't get a thyroid problem! Will be back.
- I shouldnt Forget Seven Seeds... which took me on a wild goose chase to find, but was completely worth it. I have been looking forward to this experience for so long I hoped it didn't let me down as my expectations were very high. Thank goodness it didn't. The coffee was so delicate but intense and strong at the same time (now I sound like a coffee snob!) I will be back here no doubt... 3 beans from me as well
Until next time ......