Coffee Perfection

I must confess – I’ve been unfaithful. Especially when I’m out of town. And we’ve had our rocky periods. But I always come back. I never thought I’d fall in love with a Newtown girl, but for ten years, we’ve been going steady.

I can’t remember who introduced us, but Campos has been my favourite coffee shop forever (or close enough to it, for time in a foodie relationship is counted liked dog years).

They now sell their beans widely, but there’s still nothing like having a coffee in the original Campos cafe (even their venues in Alexandria and Brisbane feel different, though they’re excellent too). It’s a small venue with limited seating, but even on the busiest days you can bat away customers loitering for take-aways to grab a bench.

What makes this coffee so good? Beyond the usual (beans, roasting, milk, staff), it’s their perfectionism. For example? The way they layer a macchiato – three perfect layers, it’s almost a shame to ruin by drinking. So much more interesting than the mac-come-piccolo you get around the world. Everything else – choice of food, music, etc – is carefully controlled to maximise the coffee experience above all else.

One more confession? I sometimes sneak in a tiny bit of dark chocolate to dip in the coffee. Shhhhh, don’t tell them.