The League of Honest Coffee - (Melbourne)

  Sometimes when people ask me for advice as to where they should go for Coffee in Melbourne,  I need to ask them which type of coffee they’re after?   With so many styles of cafes here ranging from old school Italian to modern commercial and all the way to the extreme end of Artisanal 3rd wave roasters -  not every café is suitable for everyone’s tastes.   One of the strangest things I discovered drinking coffee around Melbourne is that the more commercialized cafes usually carry coffee blends which perform better than many artisanal roasters’ when drank as Caffe Lattes or Cappuccini.    Whereas Artisanal Roasters win hands down in black coffees and single origins as expected.    This phenomenon is not so difficult to understand,  since commercial coffees are blended and roasted specially for the mass Latte-drinking market,  whereas many newer artisanal roasters tries to be somewhere in between -  with an espresso base which is lighter and to be appreciated on its own,  but also have the dual responsibility of being able to work in milk coffees.    The League of Honest Coffee is part of the famous Brunswick East Project and Padre branded cafes,  which is striving to hit that middle-spot -   it is still geeky,  but tries to make coffee accessible to everyone !

 

 

 

Coffee Bean and Equipment Counter -

 

 

They claim they’re not Hardcore or carry an Attitude when it comes to coffee -
But that doesn’t mean they’re not super professional.

 

 

Modified Slayers -
Yes,  even the machines are hardcore,  but are becoming more common in Melbourne,  even more so than in Sydney.   Is the cost justified?  I think it can be actually,  some shots from these machines are amazing.  *they don’t use the laser perforated baskets they also sell to pull shots here,  due to tuning inconsistencies on the sensitive Slayers.

 

 

Caffe Latte ‘Padre Blend’ -
This is one of a few house blends they carry,  but today’s version is the Padre Café’s default blend.   This coffee is to me quite malty and slightly savoury sweaty and almond like, it is definitely a ‘generic’ blend geared towards the CBD coffee crowd wanting a daily fix of Caffe Lattes!   For me this was definitely a good coffee but as mentioned,  sometimes a even more commercialised blending can spring some surprises.   ~   7/10

 

Piccolo Latte -

 

 

 

Slayer Espresso ‘Padre Blend’ -
A slayer espresso is more like a double-ristretto (volume not time based) by default,  but with an espresso grind setting.   This was surprisingly sweet and chocolaty but not bitter,  and another surprise is that it only carried a medium-body for a Slayer-pulled shot and also for this blend!       ~  8/10

 

Take Away Coffee Beans -

 

Settings seems a bit colder than other cafes,
This is a café with all the new 3rd Wave equipment,
but just doesn’t try too hard to be one.  Interesting concept!
However they do carry other interesting Single Origins when ordered.

 

 

Price: AUD $3.5 to $7 person
Coffee:  ♕♕♕♕♕

Opening Hours -
Mon–Fri  7am–4pm
Sat 8am–2pm
Address:  8 Exploration Lane, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Ph: 03 9654 0169