Coffee on the Road - Hobart, Australia (INeedCoffee.com)

Coffee on the Road - Hobart, Australia

It started as a simple idea.

Hobart is a city of around 180,000 people and a staggeringly large number of cafes, restaurants, take-aways and coffee lounges, as my grandmother called the one my parents once owned. But which of them was best?

One of the four great Southern Hemisphere capes, Tasmania's caffeine of choice is the cappuccino, though the latte is gaining in popularity. Mind you, we take it in a glass here and the day's first meeting of hot glass and cold fingers can be an unpleasant one. Less than half a century ago coffee here was a nasty coming together of boiling water and "coffee" syrup of unknown ingredients. Turpentine was one suggested to me by one of the city's espresso pioneers.

So to the competition. I came up with a vague set of guidelines and a similarly vague timeframe, our marketing whiz came up with a fabulous guest judge and, because she actually thought to put it all in a document, the 936 ABC Hobart Coffee Cup was off and running.

Tim hard at work.

Entries came from everywhere: places with which I was very familiar right through to places of which I'd never heard. There was even a vote cast for a place that's been gone for some years now. The problem arose, though, that someone had to try the coffees at ALL of these places and create a shortlist for final judging. That someone was me.

I start work at 6:30 each morning and like to be up around an hour before that, if only to get my sexiness together. I also like to get more than three hours sleep - something that proved fabulously difficult after drinking so much coffee, so late (and latte) in the day.

And I can honestly say there wasn't a single awful cup in amongst all those 150-odd nominations for 30 or so establishments. Temperatures were consistently solid, very few cups were too bitter, and there were a few surprises along the way, as well. One out-of-town takeaway issued its huge mugs of coffee with a sensational chocolate chip chocolate biscuit. Another place closer to the city had a coffee with fresh (still soft and warm) meringue on top; that place also made fiendish chocolate cake milkshakes.

I managed to shortlist five places - four cafes and one restaurant - and evening tastings were organised. We had to go the PM route as our special guest judge, restaurateur Stefano diPieri, couldn't arrive before 8:00pm; so a long and potentially arduous night was ahead for the four of us: broadcaster, food writer, coffee importer and Stefano.

One of the favourites, Retro, dropped out which made the dash for the line even more interesting. Our first stop, Cafe Kara had set a magnificent table, with fresh crostoli, almond bread, and fruit. Their coffee was excellent, too, and we were made to feel very welcome throughout our stay. Zest, a new cafe, was still open for business, though having a quiet night of it. Their coffee came unadorned but was very good.

Halfway through proceedings and discussions amongst the judges had run to why Australians like chocolate powder sprinkled on their cappuccinos and why so few take their coffee black. The talk continued as we walked to Cumquat on Criterion, a warm favourite amongst those allegedly in the know. The coffee there was very good and the dedication of their staff also made an impression on the judges.

Finally across the Derwent River to Seasons, the only restaurant to make the business end of proceedings, and a soothing end to the evening, watching the lights of the boats on Kangaroo Bay. And then home to hardly any sleep... tired, anxious about the special program from the winner, and, well, too damn much coffee!

Cumquat on Criterion was a unanimous and deserved winner of the Coffee Cup and the Morning Show from there was a great success. People are still stopping me in the street, offering suggestions or to buy me a coffee. But, just for the next little while, I'm sticking to herb tea.

About The Author

Tim Cox has presented a variety of national and local programs on Australia's national broadcaster. He takes his coffee black, his lattes strong, and his time coming up with ideas for competitions (now).

Coffee Topics

Contribute

Search

Coffee on the Road - Hobart, Australia

About The Author