The Australian coffee culture is second to none in terms of quality, though I just got a brief taste of it on my recent to trip to Sydney.
Best Coffee Sydney Australia
My problem was too much good coffee on planes and hotels made my coffee excursion into Sydney’s CBD a rather limited endeavor.
On my Qantas flight I enjoyed two cups with breakfast (and actively stopped myself because I knew there would be more to come).
Then at the Park Hyatt I again limited myself to two flat whites, even though I could have easily had my third and been done for the day. The coffee was marvelous there.
When I finally got out in Sydney’s CBD, I was almost coffee-ed out (my body can only take so much). I thought I’d get coffee late in the afternoon (around 4:30 pm) but quickly realized like any proper coffee shop at home, most shops closed around 3:00 pm.
I found one that was open till 4:00 pm called Gumption Coffee, located in the very beautiful Strand Arcade shopping center in Pitt Street Mall. I loved the classic arcade and that it was bustling with people.
Gumption by Coffee Alchemy
Shop 11, The Strand Arcade
412-414 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
+61 2 9516 1997
8:30 am – 4:00 pm (Monday – Friday)
10:00 am – 4:00 pm (Saturday)
11:00 am – 3:00 pm (Sunday)
Arriving at 3:45 pm, I was too late for a porcelain cup, but still enjoyed a flat white (though it was on the weaker side…next time I will order an extra shot). Great coffee, though.
The bustling café is usually a good sign you’ve found a good place and I look forward to returning.
The following morning I had more great coffee…in the Qantas Lounge at SYD Airport. Perfect flat whites…
….and more onboard my flight to LAX.
CONCLUSION
As I always do when I post about coffee, I invite your input and that is especially important here. Next time I travel to Sydney I will have to deliberately limit my hotel and lounge coffee so that I can have room to try more coffee in the city. Your suggestions are welcome!
Coffee out of a paper cup??? Sacre bleu, how uncivilized that such blasphemy should cross one’s lips.
I kid, kind of!
I highly recommend Workshop Espresso, off George Street just a few blocks south of Gumption (near the Hilton). I also found Gumption’s Flat White to be on the weak side, whereas Workshop’s was oh-so-perfect!
Great rec. Thanks!
Great coffee in Syndey, Australia
That’s like saying, “English spoken in Sydney, Australia.” I love coffee but am admittedly one of those that doctors it up with cream and sugar unless it’s a flat white or cold brew. But whenever I’m in Sydney I don’t have to do so. But I always laugh at the utter disdain Ozzies have for American coffee…and Starbucks in particular. Not that it’s not deserved, of course, but funny that it’s coming from a country that’s still fairly closely tied to its tea-drinking roots. At least closer than the US, I guess.
NZ is better.
FYI, Gumption has a couple of locations in NYC.
I actually prefer coffee in a paper cup to porcelain.
Low-class Mick! 😉
But seriously, why?!
Romolo, on the same level further along, is also good
There’s also an interesting hole in the wall Japanese run coffee place as you turn left from the Strand arcade on George St
Love the smell of Gumption as you wander through the Strand Arcade. Would also recommend checking out Marlowe’s Way, Dutch Smuggler and Native Foodways (try their wattleseed latte with macadamia milk for an alternative native ingredients Aussie coffee choice). Incidentally, we pass by all these cafes on our “Ultimate Sydney” walking tour, which I’d love to host you on next time you’re here Matthew.