League of Honest Coffee - Padre Excellence
One of the best coffee houses in Melbourne with a strong following. This is the crew from East Brunswick Project and Padre Coffee. They've really outdone themselves with this latest addition to the Padre family.
After 8am this place seriously hums. I should know - I've been coming here for months! Serious coffee devotees come here for their next fix! As a regular I am yet to receive a poor offering (or dishonest coffee) and always leave this place on a coffee high!
The League of Honest Coffee present great Pour Over and Cold Drip Options. I love the characteristics of the pour over and was able to get two amazing cups of coffee from the one pour over. The flavour was intense. Interesting to follow the blend through different coffee processes and compare.
The Chemex was great to share with a friend, once again intense flavours and a great alternative to the milk hit of an espresso.
However, I'm prone to a creamy latte which is a bit old school but these guys do it so well! Love the bowls of coffee! In life I reflect that sometimes bowls of latte lose their punch in the compromise of too much milk! But this is amazing. Here is an important point -The League of Honest Coffee use decent milk in their coffee unlike a lot of cafes. (My barista training taught me that milk quality is a major factor in a great coffee).
This café has a great ambience with a spacious well thought out design and functionality. Love the cool suspended mezzanine feature. Love the use of funky stools and tables. Love the massive communal table by the enormous window! You can spread out with a newspaper....
Love the use of green (is it jade?) and brown. Love the polished grungy concrete floor. Love the wood paneling. Staff are super friendly, skillful and knowledgeable! No-one here is condescending (have you seen the You Tube Coffee Snob clip?).
The League of Honest Coffee totally lives up to its name. It's about the coffee. Single origins are a great way to go and there's plenty of them! This morning I enjoyed Honduras single origin latte with nutty characteristics. The Padre Blend is also amazing and as the barista told me, is extremely flexible when making milk based coffee.
These guys do their own roasting. I took them up on the deal to get a coffee container for $14 then get your first beans for half price. So I took home some of the tantalising Padre blend.
More action behind the counter than finals at the MCG! A large counter/bar area is witness to a throng of baristas and staff passionate about all things coffee. And skilful! Their equipment is amazing and these baristas have more artillery than US Forces - in fact they could win a war with that machinery!
Food options are simple but gourmet. A recent addition of killer Quesadillas is welcome, notably the Otway Ham and Smoked Chicken varieties. The egg and bacon tart is a great breakfast – gourmet tart for only $3.50. I've had about 40 of these things by now - so addictive including the pastry!I also love the breakfast vegetarian tart and the almond croissants are sensational.
This place is massively impressive and has become my regular haunt.