Top Five Coffees In The Shire! Have Your Say...

Coffee is the new real estate. It's all anyone talks about, and it's the new social barometer. It seems that everyone I speak to wants to talk coffee, and everyone has their two cents on where the best coffee can be sourced locally. Let's face it - we're all coffee snobs. So I'm ready to ignite the debate officially and name my (very subjective) Top 5 in the Sutherland Shire.
Yes, I know it all depends on personal taste - I like my coffee pretty strong, and very hot. And yes, I know it is pretty hard to discern between all these veeerrrry good coffees. So I've taken into account a few variables to decide my order - ambience of the cafe, food, speediness of service and the like. And here's what I came up with...

No 5: My Caffeine Romance

165 Oak Rd Kirrawee
Great name, great coffee. This cafe has a lovely atmosphere, situated in the middle of the Kirrawee village. My latte was hot, creamy and delivered to the table promptly - along with a salted caramel macaron to sweeten the deal. Awesome selection of cakes and sweets, a small selection of savoury breakfast and lunch bites. Always a group of what looks like locals sitting on the chairs outside, and on the lounges inside - mums and pre schoolers, students and workers enjoying their lunch. A great little find in the burbs.

No 4: Grind

Shop 4/15 Surf Rd Cronulla
This Cronulla institution has recently moved across the road to bigger and brighter premises. The new laneway position has taken some of the conjestion away from the old premises - you previously had to battle through the hordes of lycra clad desperadoes waiting for their caffeine hit post jog or ride. My latte was quite hot, very creamy and nutty in flavour. Grind can be very busy but the shabby chic decor, and Chill Out soundtrack piped over the chatting mums and hipster 20 somethings clutching skateboards, soothes even the most impatient customer.

No 3: White Horse

2 / 137 Flora St Sutherland
White Horse might not have the most salubrious vista of a street off Sutherland railway station, but it's damn good coffee. And besides, the Sutherland strip has quite a nice village feel out of peak hour.  Plenty of staff behind the tall counter of White Horse means that your order is taken promptly, and the coffee is brought out piping hot. The day I had my latte on the footpath I was seated next to two Soprano style men huddled together chatting in Italian, eyes covered by Raybans. Yeah, I felt reassured that I was at a place valued by true coffee aficionados. Meanwhile, the coffee was fabulous - creamy, very nutty, slightly bitter. I've seen people lined up outside the door at White Horse so the people of Sutherland have spoken.

No 2: Ham

3 / 17 Gerrale St Cronulla
Ham is quiet at like 6am in the morning - from about ten minutes after that it's busy until closing time. The masses can't be wrong. Ham is known for its coffee but it's also a fabulous place to eat, and the selection of cheeses and deli style meats are unparalleled in the local area. The staff at Ham run a tight ship and just as well, given how busy Ham gets - the baristas know their coffee, and pump out more cappuccinos in ten minutes quicker than you can say macchiato. Great atmosphere but on Saturday or Sunday prepare to hover around tables like a vulture waiting to swoop on an unsuspecting departing party of thirty somethings and their razor scooter clutching kids. My latte was creamy, hot - slightly weaker than the other lattes- but still worth the wait. A litttle slice of inner city cool in the Shire.

No 1: 5th Season

Cronulla Mall, Cronulla
My number one coffee spot in the Shire. It has the buzz of the mall, but is self contained enough to feel cosy in the winter and bright and breezy in the open air during the summer. The staff at 5th Season have created a lovely ambience in their little patch of coffee happiness with shabby chic decor, and Cat Empire providing a welcome soundtrack against the screech of sea gulls and kids running through the mall. The coffee at 5th Season is outstanding, and the baristas' love of their coffee is demonstrated by their latte art lessons for any interested punters. 5th Season have also recently introduced a credit card system for their coffees where regulars can put money on an account, and rock up empty handed after a surf or a jog to rack up another espresso on their card.
My latte was hot, creamy, nutty in flavour and with enough bite. Brilliant.

So there is my Top 5 - have I got it right? Or is there a place that I've overlooked? Which coffee would you rate as number 1 in the Shire? Just click on the comment board below and share your thoughts....

PS. The Coffee@Peace festival is at Peace Park Sutherland on Sunday July 8 at 10am. Great festival, plenty of coffee to perk you up on a cold winter morning.

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