This Side Of Paradise

This used to be my favourite cafe. However, coffee quality seems to have degraded since my last couple of visits - not sure if their barista has changed or it's because of the Sunday rush. There is no fixed menu of pastries. The list of pastries seems to change completely every time. Moreover, they are very reluctant to let us know about the available pastries - overall, quite disappointed at the service.

On my coffee tour through the Melbourne CBD, we made our second stop at Brother Baba Budan. I was surprised by the queue in front of the little coffee shop. We generally do not see that where I am coming from (Switzerland). I especially liked the interior design and the music, totally my style. On the wall you could watch a video from a coffee farm. On the opposite wall you could also ready about the sustainability program their roaster put in place. It is great to see how specialty coffee is pushing this factor of the coffee value chain. We then, of course, also tasted an espresso. I was curious how the baristas could keep up with a straight black espresso during such a busy time: they did a fantastic job. The washed coffee from Ethiopia 🇪🇹 was very clean, sweet, with a lingering finish. Thank you very much for this experience.

One of the most delicious cups of chai latte I’ve had in a long while. Ordered a soy chai with a hint of honey thanks to a previous reviewer and I was in awe. It didn’t make it too sweet, but rlly complemented the spices from the chai. Everything just worked well, not too much spice, could do less sweetness but the creaminess was surreal. Normally the camera eats first but I sneakily had a sip and it was gone in moments. I’ve had plenty of chai around Melbourne and this deserves all the hype. They use the Fly High chai brew. Stumbled across this place 8 years ago and quality is still the absolute best. Hidden in the outskirts of the busy city, is this small shopfront that attracts you with just the aroma of their beans. Their coffee is amazing, but their chai is just as good.