The world of coffee is moving in a new direction, the coffee geeks call it the Third Wave and here in Melbourne it is taking many forms. Proud Mary, Seven Seeds, Brother Baba Budan, Dead Man Espresso and St Ali all subscribe to the philosophy. This philosophy says that the coffee is king and it should be treated as such and that sourcing the beans is as important as roasting and brewing them. These “specialty coffee” (a shitty name as far as I’m concerned) shops each take an immense amount of pride in their coffee and staff at each of them will happily take time out of a busy service to explain the beauty of single-origin coffee or to help you understand the difference between brewing techniques.

But St Ali is taking it one step further. Their concept is called the Sensory Lab and they have partnered with David Jones to bring the 3rd Wave to the world. This new venture has taken over the Little Collins St entrance to the department store and is an amalgamation where perfume shop meets coffee shrine. As you walk into the store there is a large counter with the an impressive array of Hario siphon filters, pour over brewers and a much-touted Slayer espresso machine. The bright heat lamps of the siphons are an amazing drawcard. There is a constant stream of people stopping to look and learn about what exactly is going on.

It is pure genius. The theatre of the siphon stops the shoppers and the army of white lab coat wearing salespeople swoop to explain how it works or to find the perfect coffee blend for you with a simple 4 step process. This is specialty coffee for the masses and the shoppers are eating it up. On a Saturday morning there is a constant crowd of people around the counter and about 5 salespeople and 3 baristas run off their feet. These people seem to have a newfound desire for coffee. They are buying siphons, looking at the Rancilio espresso machines in the corner, leafing through the barista books and buying take-away beans.

This all overshadows the cafe that occupies the other half of the room. There are 2 large communal tables and a few little single seat booths along the wall. The fare is minimal, coffee and cake. The coffee is being made, not from the Slayer but from a giant La Marzocco machine and the baristas don’t have time to take a breather. There is a queue of people at the window ordering take-aways and an army of mothers with their prams trying to find seats at the communal table.

The atmosphere is positively buzzing but it isn’t all good. The space is too small and the number of people around is uncomfortable and quite noisy, not the best place for a quiet coffee, not that that’s the point. This place is like the gateway drug to a life of better caffeine.

I’m not itching to go back. The concept is great and it means that there is going to be more demand for good coffee but the pretty girls in the lab coats lack the passion of your favourite coffee shop and probably won’t remember your name. Luckily, we are spoilt for choice and I’m more than happy to sit wander down the road, grab the broadsheets and feed my addiction at the big spacious tables at the real St Ali.

Siphon Coffee is all the rage at the moment. Apparently it was developed in Japan and the coffee fiends at the “boutique” coffee houses around Melbourne are selling them like wildfire. It makes a great deal of sense to me. The coffee, served black, is more like the texture and consistency of tea rather than espresso. The brewing process is such that the individual flavours in the coffee are far more intense than in an espresso. Don’t get me wrong, if you want a caffeine hit, a short black certainly feels like it packs a harder punch, but when you want to enjoy a tempered coffee while you read or perhaps a gentler coffee to nurse your aching head, this stuff is the shit.

Here’s a video of the brewing process. Special thanks to St Ali.

Melbourne Blogger Drinks. Sista Bella. 4pm. Well, 4pm actually ended up being closer to 5 due to them “restocking the bar” A few people made their way over to Section 8 to start precedings, they let us in, they served me sangria and I only spilled a bit on my pants. The turnout was great, a few people from the last meetup and a few new faces. I apologise if I’ve missed anyone, but leave a comment and I’ll put you on the list.

• Jimmy Coleman
• Ned
• Ed
• Jess
• Karen
• Brian
• Vetti
• Andrea
• Bruce
• Annie
• Ben
• Tina
• Mark
• Rene (sp? Link?)
• And 3 guys whose names I’ve forgotten who are new to Melbourne and went off to eat dumplings (Leave a comment and I’ll drop you a link)

As the crowd dwindled, we left Sista Bella, and made our way up to the Lincoln Hotel for some food and, though I don’t think we actually needed it, more wine. The venison was great and the fact that they sell wine in sizes larger than a glass and smaller than a bottle is genius. I wish more places did it, in fact every place should do it.

I took a couple of photos, though probably not as many as I should have.

That’s right, it is on again. If you blog or tweet about anything in and around Melbourne then you are invited to come and join us for a quiet drink or 3 at Sister Bella on the 12th September. It doesn’t matter if you write about food, wine, op shopping, fashion, art, craft, design, jewellery, your suburb, startups, business or anything else, everyone is welcome.

The proceedings will get started at 4pm and continue on until everyone leaves or we decide to move the proceedings somewhere else (can anyone say Shanghai Dumpling?) If last time is anything to go by it will definitely just be casual chats with the opportunity to meet some interesting people that you might know or like to say hi to.

If you think you are going to come, please leave a comment so that we have an idea of numbers and can forewarn the bar.

Details

Venue: Sister Bella
Address: Snider Lane (off Drewery Lane)
Time: 4pm
Date: 12th September

Before a recent concert at the East Brunswick club we walked over the road for a quick beverage at Mr Wilkinson, the not so recently opened, super-cool Lygon St bar. Our visit was short, just a quick beer and a glass of wine from their well established wine list. As is more and more the case, the wine list is a great showcase for Victorian wine and I certainly wish we could have spent more time sampling the entries.

Sadly, the problem was the temperature of the bar itself. It was freezing. The heating was being provided by a couple of small 4 bar oil heaters, and 1 overhead airconditioner blowing warm air near the end of the bar. The bar was reasonably full, but each group was huddling for warmth around their heaters and as all the seats at the front were taken, we sat in the small indoor area past the toilets. There was no heating and we were forced to cuddle up to each other for warmth.

We didn’t however let this little problem enjoying the bar for what it was. The interior is amazing, described to intricate detaul at the Design Files. However, their photos are taken in full light and don’t quite show it in all its night time glory. The long hallway and back area are filled with amazing shadows cast by candles, green and red lights which sets the mood and makes for a really interesting setting. I’ll let the results of the impromptu photo shoot speak for themselves.

This is one of Melbourne’s suburban gems and would have been much better had the designer taken heating into account. I suppose I’ll be back in the summer.

Double Happiness is the quintessential Melbourne bar. Small, out of the way and quirky, this is the sort of place that you would walk past without batting an eye lid, but just try that asian inspired door at the top end of Chinatown and you are in for a surprise.

Presided over by a statuette of chairman Mao and state sponsored propaganda, the space consists of an open arrangement of low couches and the obligatory stools at the bar. Forget about boothes and intimate tables for 2, this open community style arrangement forces you into conversing with your fellow drinkers or provides for a jovial place for a larger group. Even the toilets take the community feel with 1 door between seat and smoking area, unisex toilets and one old laundry sink for your hands.

The asian theme permeates throughout the establishment, the cocktail list consists of contemporary cocktails with asian herbs and flavours. Coriander and ginger, lychee and cardamom mixed deliciously in a combination of smashes, sidecars and martinis. Apart from the strange question of  “How would you like your manhattan, sweet, dry or perfect?” the barman constructed a perfectly balanced cocktail with a perfect dose of sweet vermouth, the requested matuselum 12 year old and a healthy dose of maraschino juice (in the absence of liqueur) topped of with 2 cherries.

Subsequent visits have been met by nothing short of happiness from the barstaff to experiment. Reza (sp?) is the man that always seems to be there and most recently was happy to concoct a libation involving a secret Double Happiness recipe spice syrup, coriander, rye whiskey and vermouth which resulted in a very eastern style mint julep. Dangerously easy to suck down, but perhaps not quite ballsy enough. This collaborative effort with yours truly is what sets this bar apart and seems to be a regular occurence.

It seems that the personalised service isn’t restricted to me alone. Behind the bar there are a number of lockers, storing regular customer’s specially ordered bottles of this and that. I’m told they can and will get just about anything and keep it there just for you when you stumble in late at night for a rare single-malt tipple.

Everything about this bar is friendly, the staff don’t necessarily have the orthodox customer service manner yet it is friendly and welcoming. Their attitude is great, capping off what isn’t necessarily the most popular or trendiest bar in Melbourne. It is more like an old favourite, a comfortable place to go for a late night drink on your own or with friends. A place to sip on a great drink that’s not out of your price range but still made with all the care you deserve. Perhaps this is the communist way.

A recent article in the New York Times talks about the recent phenomenon of hidden restaurants in Berlin. These are often small underground restaurants that are either invite only or not advertised, hidden through unmarked doors and courtyards. Often people whisper about the existence of speakeasy bars in Melbourne which I can’t confirm or deny, although a good majority of our bars aren’t particularly conspicuos. Aside from these pseudo hidden venues, we do however have one “hidden restaurant” that I know of. This belongs to the Global Gobbler. He cooks themed meals for random people who have discovered him through his website. I haven’t been to one of the meals, but I’m told he does a great job and a good time is all but guaranteed.

Does anyone know of any other hidden restaurants in Australia?