espresso

‘There’s a coffee shop around the corner’ said the mechanic when we dropped our car in for a wheel alignment. Given we were in the light industrial wastelands of Mayne, I knew any coffee shop recommended was likely to be called Tuckerbox and serve fairly average coffee. Thankfully, I had done my due diligence and knew… Read more

To be honest, I didn’t know Republic Coffee Traders even existed until I saw a review in the newspaper. Amazingly, it’s less than 2km from home and I pass it on my daily commute but as it’s on a side street, it could have remained undiscovered. Thankfully, it did not. This is a Public Service… Read more

Local &/or General is the title of a song by The Models. It’s a song that’s always stuck in my mind and it seemed like an appropriate title for this occasional series of reviews about very local coffee shops that I can walk to from my house. And a walk to La Bomba I have done on… Read more

Local &/or General is the title of a song by The Models. Not when they were in their chart topping phase but earlier on, in their edgy, urban grit phase, prior to James Freud joining. It’s a song that’s always stuck in my mind and it seemed like an appropriate title for this occasional series of… Read more

This is a public service announcement for all Australians who are seeking a real cup of coffee in the USA. Make your way immediately to the town of West Yellowstone in Montana. There you will find the true secret of happiness. An elixir that you will recall with fondness for many months and bad coffees… Read more

Hypothetically, what would you do if you came home from a week away and discovered that due to a horrible oversight, you were down to two scoops of coffee for your three scoop plunger? Would you make a smaller plunger or say… be tempted to make up the third scoop using your husband’s decaf coffee… Read more

Step inside an unassuming door on busy Abbotsford Rd in Brisbane and you’ll find a pleasant surprise. What looks like the door to a business unit is in fact the entry to a bustling coffee shop. I had been invited* to see what goes on behind this modest door, which is the gateway to the realm… Read more

Though it’s been a while since I have written a Local &/or General post, there’s plenty of activity in the suburb. The set of shops at the local express bus stop is a day by day proposition for most businesses. Once upon a time it would have been a thriving terminus for trams travelling from… Read more

Gosh! I remember when the first Bar Merlo coffee shop opened up in lower Queen St in the CBD. Well before chain store coffee shops or even artisan single origin beans were on the scene, Merlo were producing fantastic coffee as well as feeding sweet and savoury Italian snacks to office workers. You had to queue… Read more

Coffee shops continue to spring up all over Newstead and Teneriffe as more apartments open and businesses move into the area.   If I feel like a bit of a leg stretch after a hard morning in the Service of the Public, I go a little further than my usual haunts and drop into Locale… Read more

Local &/or General is the title of a song by The Models.  Not when they were in their chart topping ‘Outta Mind, Outta Sight’ phase but earlier on, in their edgy, urban grit phase, prior to James Freud joining.  It’s a song that’s always stuck in my mind and it seemed like an appropriate title for… Read more

Regular readers will recall my Furious 5 series where I did five blog post in five days about the coffee shops within walking distance of my job in ‘Lower’ Fortitude Valley / Newstead ‘Heights’ / ‘Outer’ Bowen Hills.  That is, in the middle of nowhere.  One bonus of where I work (if you can it… Read more

*** THIS VENUE HAS NOW CLOSED *** Newstead’s a funny old place.  It’s past the Valley, not quite in Bowen Hills and just beside the newly minted suburb of Teneriffe.  Geographically, culturally and gastronomically, it’s a bit of a wasteland.  It’s striving for edgy, urban renewal chic but hasn’t quite made it yet.  That’s why… Read more

It’s been a very busy week so far.  Between visits to the vet, my computer giving up the ghost and tendering my resignation with my employer of 21 years, I haven’t had much spare time.  None the less, when I crossed paths in the Halls of Power with an interstate colleague, I had to make… Read more

Time for an Op Shop update.  So many great goodies out there and so little space to fit it in my cupboards.To start with, these cute espresso cups. Originally a set of 8, sadly there were only 4 pairs plus the leftover saucers, that stayed behind.  With a hint of 70’s and a whiff of… Read more