I sampled some of Melbourne’s finest roasted coffee at the Black Coffee pop up last weekend.
We passed the entrance to Somewhere Gallery 3 times before we spotted it. It was hidden in a black and white tiled Royal Arcade.
Following the staircase until a sign on the wall noted “only the best come this far”.
Wired baristas greeted us and welcomed us into the makeshift pop up café. Linear drawings by artists Super Cube and No Scribbles broke up the minimalist white walls.
It is strictly black coffee only, so forget additions like sugar or milk. Instead choose from pour over, french press, aeropress or the science lab syphon to brew your cuppa of choice, which is served in a glass hexagonal jam jar. The guys at Black Coffee went to great lengths suggesting the cities best cafes to frequent and the finer delicacies of producing a great cup of coffee.
We opted for the Rwandan & Ethiopian beans and the citrusy flavoured Le Fany from Market Lane coffee roasters in Prahan. The coffee’s were all bursting with varied rich flavours and subtle nuances. The caffine is so strong it hits you like a dart of pure insulin.
Each day you can sample different beans and brewing techniques to encourage you to call again. All the beans come from local Melbourne artisan coffee roasters such as; Market Lane, Seven Seeds, Small Batch Roasters, or Monk Bodhi Dharma.
For ambience a vintage record player spinned an eclectic mix of tunes to which the barista showed off his funky moves.
The pop up is only open for another few days until the 18th so make sure to visit before its gone for good.
How to get to the Black Coffee pop up:
Somewhere Store & Gallery
Level 2, 314 Little Collins St, Melbourne August
8-18. Mon-Thu 10am-6pm, Fri 10am-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 11am-5pm.