Australian Coffee Bean Recommendations_Pricing Guide_How to Buy Coffee Beans in Australia

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

Melbourne: Australia's Coffee Capital

Melbourne is Australia's coffee capital. Beyond having extremely high-quality coffee beans, renowned cafes like Seven Seeds and Brother Baba Budan have also established themselves in this second-largest Australian city. With everything from specialty estate coffee to Italian coffee available, coffee enthusiasts planning a coffee tour during their Melbourne self-guided travels will find it well worth their while. Below are my frequently visited Australian coffee bean purchasing points and cafes.

Where to Buy Coffee Beans in Australia

McIvers @ Victoria Queen Market

Location: Enter through the entrance opposite McDonald's, and you'll find a Tea & Coffee shop – this is the one.

Coffee Beans: Sourced from Papua New Guinea (PNG), Africa, and Central and South America. If you're unsure which to buy initially, I recommend starting with PNG or Cuban beans. You can tell them what brewing equipment you're using when purchasing, and they'll help grind it for you.

Seven Seeds

A very famous cafe in Melbourne, many places use their beans. I've purchased their Colombian coffee – light roast, with gentle acidity and a silky smooth texture that's quite atypical for Colombian beans, living up to Seven Seeds' prestigious reputation.

Location: 106 – 114 Berkeley Street, Carlton. Take Tram 19/59 from Elizabeth St to Stop 9 Haymarket.

Official website: http://sevenseeds.com.au/

Coffee Beans: Approximately $15-25 for 250g. I don't visit here as often for purchases because it's farther away and more expensive.

The Difference Between Melbourne and Taiwanese Coffee Beans

Compared to specialty coffee beans that particularly emphasize individuality and flavor, Melbourne's coffee beans maintain elegance while preserving personality and flavor, reflecting this Australian cultural capital's Victorian style. If you've grown tired of beans in Taiwan that overly emphasize flavor, you can purchase similar coffee beans in Melbourne to experience the balance between individuality and elegance.

In other words, Taiwanese coffee beans follow the principle of adding icing to the cake, while Melbourne coffee bean style leans toward providing charcoal in snowy weather (mediocre Taiwanese beans would have more distinctive characteristics in Australia; Taiwanese beans with strong personalities would be more balanced in Melbourne).

Melbourne Cafe Tour

The following cafes are all renowned Melbourne establishments, each with different characteristics and well worth visiting. Unlike Taiwanese cafes that stay open until evening, these cafes all open early but close around 5 PM. I recommend checking their official websites for operating hours first, as there are very few options for evening coffee in Melbourne. I've also traveled to Melbourne with tour groups, and we would leave around 6 AM to visit cafes, enter at 7 AM, enjoy a comfortable cup of coffee, and return to the hotel before 8 AM.

Seven Seeds

All their coffee is excellent. If you must have Long Black, Cold Drip, or Ice Coffee, come here – these three types of coffee can easily be disappointing elsewhere. They often change the brewing method for single-origin coffee, but they only use one brewing method per day, whereas Campos offers 2-3 varieties.

Entrance on Berkeley Street

The counter area – Melbourne cafes generally have simple decor, and Seven Seeds' space is particularly spacious and bright.

Brother Baba Budan

Address: 359 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne

Specialty: This establishment belongs to the same group as Seven Seeds. It's my most frequently visited cafe because it's located downtown and the staff are extremely friendly. The shop is small and only offers simple desserts – no full meals – so everyone who comes here is specifically for coffee. You won't encounter large groups coming to dine. For those who just want to comfortably enjoy a cup of coffee without interference from others, this is an excellent choice. I particularly love their Cappuccino.

The entrance is quite unassuming

The ceiling decoration is quite interesting

The best cappuccino I've ever had – Australian cappuccinos are dusted with coffee powder on top.

Dead Man Espresso

Address: 35 Market Street, South Melbourne. Take Tram 112 to Stop 127 York St

Website: http://deadmanespresso.com.au/

Specialty: This cafe isn't large either and serves simple breakfast and lunch, but I mostly just drink coffee here. The South Melbourne area is quite leisurely, not as crowded and noisy as downtown. If you're looking for a quiet place to enjoy coffee, this is a good choice – they have excellent latte.

Campos Coffee

Address: 144 Elgin Street, Carlton. Take Tram 1/8 to Stop 112 Elgin St; or Tram 96 to Stop 15 Elgin St (longer walk required)

Website: http://www.camposcoffee.com/

Specialty: The cafe isn't large, but each seat is quite spacious, and it's never too crowded – it's a bright, clean, and quiet place. I've had Long Black, Cold Drip, and other regular coffees here – all were good, no disappointments. They also sell Central and South American and African beans, which are cheaper than Seven Seeds. I only bought Costa Rican honey-processed beans once, and compared to the mediocre Costa Rican beans in Taiwan, the flavor here was significantly more pronounced.

A typical Melbourne cafe entrance with outdoor seating

The shop is relatively smaller and darker

Single-origin Ethiopian coffee brewed with Aeropress

Zappa

Address: 206 Bank Street, South Melbourne. Take Tram 112 to Stop 128 Dorcas St

Specialty: The cafe isn't large and has many outdoor seats, but the wind in South Melbourne never stops, making it very cold to sit outside. They have good Long Black and other options are also decent.

Proud Mary

Address: 172 Oxford St, Collingwood. Take Tram 86 to Stop 18 Hodgson St

Website: http://www.proudmarycoffee.com.au/

Specialty: Spacious environment where you won't be disturbed even when visiting alone. They have good Long Black and many single-origin beans from Central and South America.

Auction Room

Address: 103-107 Errol Street, North Melbourne. Take Tram 57 to Stop 12 North Melbourne Town Hall

Website: http://www.auctionroomscafe.com.au/

Specialty: Both Long Black and Pour Over are excellent, but I don't like their food options. Sitting at the counter watching them brew coffee is quite interesting, and you won't be disturbed even when visiting alone.

FrontStreet Coffee: A roastery in Guangzhou with a small shop but diverse bean varieties, where you can find both famous and lesser-known beans. They also provide online store services. https://shop104210103.taobao.com

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473