The 12 best coffee shops and roasters in Australia

“Treat our coffee menu like a wine list”, reads the burgundy, leather-bound menu at Ona. This is no light reading, with sub-sections of milk-based, espresso and filter coffees that span multiple pages – plus a glossary. Founded in Canberra in 2008, former handball Olympian-turned-barista Saša Šestić has expanded beyond the ACT to Sydney and Melbourne. They offer one of the widest varieties of single-origin beans in the country, sourced through Project Origin. Ona’s baristas will happily take you through all the beans on offer, from mainstays like their Aspen blend (perfected for milk), or one from their ‘coffee cellar’ of small-batch, localised beans that go for up to $18 a cup. 

Ona also has flagship stores in Sydney and Melbourne.

Named after the story of Baba Budan who smuggled seven coffee seeds out of Arabia and cracked open the floodgates of global coffee. Seven Seeds honours its name by keeping its coffee to the highest standard, yet accessible. Seven Seeds has been sourcing, roasting and selling beans since 2007, and their airy, wood-accented Carlton café showcases their current selection of single-origin beans. Working on the lighter end of the roasting scale, they have nailed a trio of core blends: the sweet house blend (their Carlton café hero), the chocolatey Golden Gate and the F. Bomb, created for filter coffee. 

Celebrating its 21st birthday this year, Single O was, and still is, a leader in Australia’s coffee industry. They were one of the first on the scene to promote single-origin coffee beans and the distinctive flavour profiles they yield. Today, co-founders Emma and Dion Cohen have pioneered a self-serve batch brew bar, riffing on beer taps. Pour yourself an iced oat latte or a cold brew from their roster of single-origin beans. You will always be in safe hands with their Reservoir blend, though, which has a gentle, fruity acidity. Get to know their smaller batch, single-origin beans by ordering a filter flight.

Single O also has one café in Brisbane and two in Japan. 

No matter what city you’re in, you’ll always feel the calm familiarity of an Industry Beans by its sleek, white minimalist interiors. That is, if you haven’t already been put at ease by the smell of their nation-famous coffee. In more recent years, they have changed the game with their bubble coffee: their cold brew with coffee-soaked tapioca pearls and what they like to call ‘consoy’ (a blend of soy and condensed milk). Those looking for a creative cold brew that’s slightly more traditional will love their Fitzroy iced, which infuses wattleseed and panela.

Aside from its three Melbourne cafés, Industry Beans has three locations in Brisbane and two in Sydney.

It’s hard to avoid a Code Black in Melbourne, and why would you want to, anyway? This hot contender for Melbourne’s best coffee has opened six locations across the city since 2012, delivering gold-standard brews with their beans roasted at their flagship Brunswick store. Code Black’s coffee is sourced through sampling and cupping hundreds of coffees seasonally and on buying trips to the origin throughout the year. Taste the results of these trips with their flight, which showcases one single-origin espresso, one seasonal blend latte and one house batch brew.

There is no higher bliss than sitting in a sunny patch by Mecca’s giant windows at their roastery with a cup of coffee, be it one of their signature blends or a niche, single-origin brew. A Sydney stalwart since 2005, a trip to Alexandria is wasted unless you bring back a bag of their beans. Here, you will find rarer beans, such as the light and floral Geisha variety, or the explosive SL28. Their signature light and fruity house blend is on high rotation here, whilst their King Street outpost in Sydney’s CBD opts to serve their bold, rich Moonwalker blend.

Coffee lovers in Western Australia can gloat over having Micrology all to themselves. A key player in Perth’s coffee scene since 2013, the staff at Micrology’s passion for coffee is infectious. With a tight, well-rounded lineup of beans to order from, Micrology is all about keeping things as local as possible. They source and roast beans from microlots around the world, with Perth locals’ tastes at the forefront. You can even stock up big-time with their two-litre cold brew cask. 

Reuben Hills has been sourcing beans from small producers for 12 years, where they pay the highest price possible, as directly as possible to support farmers growing the best beans. Start with their smooth house blend with caramel and stone fruit notes, but also be sure to check out their single-origin espresso of the day – all of which are roasted upstairs in their leafy slice of Surry Hills. Mix things up by trying their almond honey cold brew or coffee cola.

This Brisbane-based coffee roaster boasts being the highest-awarded coffee roaster in Australia and with reason. After winning the espresso championship trophy at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Awards the year they were founded in 2009, Bellissimo has only improved and expanded. Now, they have three cafés across Brisbane, and supply beans (single-origin and blends), wholesale or via subscription, all over the country. The most underrated part is you can savour its flavour at Bellissimo’s Fortitude Valley café until it closes at 6pm. Be gone sad, post-3pm Macca’s coffee runs.

The priority at Axil Coffee Roasters is high-quality, ethical coffee. And with Axil's Anthony Douglas taking out the number one spot at the World Barista Championship in 2022, 2023 and 2024, it has solidified the business as one of the pre-eminent coffee purveyors in a city that takes its caffeine awfully seriously. In other words, if you haven't tried the coffee here yet – where the heck are ya?