Where to find the best coffee in Australia

The name Villino translates to 'small cottage' in Italian – a fitting reflection of the cosy, welcoming charm Villino Coffee has embodied since its beginnings in 2007. You’ll find their flagship Synergy blend in cafés all across Tasmania, and for good reason. Bright, sweet and velvety with chocolate and citrus notes, this blend has taken years of sustainable sourcing and refinement to perfect. At Villino’s Moonah roastery – one of Tasmania’s largest and longest-running – beans are roasted fresh daily and distributed across the state, including to their flagship café in Hobart’s CBD and sister cafés, Ecru Coffee and Wondr. From Honduras to Ethiopia and Ecuador, their coffee blends are also available to bring home by the bag.

If you love coffee and want to immerse yourself in the world of special brews, Toby Estate's massive flagship cafe warehouse in Chippendale, opposite Victoria Park, is the place to do that. The Toby's crew admits that the world of specialty coffee can be slightly overwhelming and intimidating – so they aim provide accessible experiences. Whether you're a coffee novice or advanced in your knowledge, their baristas will meet you at your level and guide you a step further in your coffee journey. While there's normally a barrier – an actual bench – between you and the baristas at other cafes, this place takes you kinda backstage. You can wander around, and learn from the passionate baristas as they brew drinks.

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. 

“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. 

Single O has been at the forefront of Australia’s coffee industry for more than 20 years. 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.

What began as a tiny espresso bar and coffee roaster in Curtin back in 2011 has grown into one of Canberra’s proudest specialty coffee spots, now boasting three locations across the city. At Redbrick’s roastery in Fyshwick, you can watch the roasting action through large glass windows, using beans sourced from sustainable farms in Central and South America and Africa. Their flagship café in Civic is our favourite spot for a cosy cuppa, offering four distinct blends – classic, sweet, rich and complex – plus a rotating selection of single origins, available as filter or espresso.

You know a café's packing something good when you show up at 10.30am on a Tuesday morning and there's a queue outside. Dukes is committed to ethical trading with coffee beans sourced from farms and small co-operatives that they bring home to roast in Richmond, Melbourne. Since 2008, their staple Dukes Blend has been perfect to deliver a sweet, versatile and complex cup that can be enjoyed black or with milk. You can get a bag delivered to your doorstep or savour a cuppa at their café in the beautiful old Ross House building on Flinders Lane. Filter and manual pour-over options are popular here too.

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.

After almost a decade in business, it’s safe to say that Elementary Coffee knows a thing or two about balanced beverages. An Adelaide city centre emporium along with a more recent Torrensville café serves up the good stuff, aka in-house roasted beans where the facilities are on show for a healthy dose of awe-inspiration. While both locations pour a mean cup of Joe, Elementary’s Torrensville home is one to admire. Corrugated high ceilings, exposed beams, an open floor plan and a central service bar are a pleasing concoction for the eyes – and meticulous filter coffees are equally as pleasing for the taste buds too, offering a cleaner, smoother and less acidic taste compared to espresso machine counterparts.

Brisbane is proudly home to the world’s only roastery, brewery and distillery under one roof, and it goes by the name Fonzie Abbott. This one-stop libation shop has been pumping out specialty coffee since 2011 and now boasts a café in New Farm, a drive-thru in Lutwyche and a flagship restaurant in Albion, where you sip on any of their high-quality brews (boozy or not). Fonzies ‘Farm to Palm’ initiative has allowed them to connect straight to the source of their rotating single origins and seasonal blends. The Highside signature blend, roasted in Newstead, offers a rich chocolatey base with a sweet, fruity body that’s perfect alongside your morning pastry.

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.

Community Coffee Co not only pours up sensational cups of Joe, but supplies cafés across Australia with its in-house roasted beans under the alias, Loot Coffee. Their single-origin Sunrise blend is a creamy dream, roasted specially for milk-based coffee, while the Sunset Decaf hits all the right notes with its milk chocolate and caramel flavours. Perth locals are spoiled for choice with four Community Coffee Co locations – two in the CBD, plus South Perth and Duncraig. The menu features all the favourites, from espresso to filter, alongside their stellar cold brew in a can.

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.

There’s something very Melbourne about Coffee in Common over in Adelaide – the warehouse-style layout screams back streets of a hip inner-city suburb – and perhaps it’s by virtue of the café’s 2015 Victorian beginnings. These days, the minimalist Bacon Street den serves mugs of brew from its streamlined, central bar and utilises beans from its on-site roastery – smells like perk-up spirit. Coffee In Common’s yield makes for pour-overs and batchies, spotlighting both single-origin and house blends. Meanwhile, the reserve pour-over menu highlights rare drops and the signatures list sees cups with the likes of a lychee cold brew. Wash it all down with a sweet or savoury brunch plate – a matcha strawberry bagel or creamy kimchi udon, respectively.

Twin Peaks is, dare we say, yet to reach its peak as one of Australia’s finest craft coffee roasters. Perth folk are likely familiar with this small WA roastery, given they supply beans to more than 30 cafés across the city, including Higher Grounds, Best Wishes and Howards Groove. Their secret weapon? A Portuguese-made Joper roaster crafted from cast iron that is indirectly heated to create a sweeter, evenly balanced coffee. Twin Peaks’ Profiler Blend, featuring beans from Brazil, is a rich, creamy dream with milk, while dedicated espresso and filter packs cater to every brewing style. And for a cheeky twist, their ready-to-drink cold brew pouches (think goon sack, but make it coffee) are here to keep you caffeinated on the go.

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? 

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.