Welcome to Sprudge.com’s complete recap of Day One, Round One at the 2013 World Barista Championship! This feature contains notes and info taken from our exhaustive @SprudgeLive Twitter feed, where we’ll be calling the WBC live from Melbourne throughout the weekend. These recaps give us a chance to synthesize together multiple Tweets; if you can’t get enough, feel free to scroll back through the Twitter feed for even more details from the maw of the madness.

Original photography by Sprudge co-founder Zachary Carlsen and Eileen P. Kenny (Birds of Unusual Vitality).

Sprudge.com’s coverage of the 2013 World Barista Championship is made possible by direct support from Nuova Simonelli and the St. Ali Family.

1. Roberto Pablo Caldas, Arabica Espresso Bar, Peru

8:35 #WBC2013 competitor Roberto Caldas hails from Arabica Espresso Bar, located in the Peruvian capital of Lima – learn more here. A Via accounts online, Arabica is one of the few quality focused espresso bars in Peru – great coffee grown there, but just a few bars.

8:36 “today i have a present for you – an amazing coffee from Peru” he tell us.  “This coffee is very special – it comes from the one and only biodynamic farm in Peru. this is very special work.”

8:38 Peruvian champ Roberto Caldas: “In central & south america,very many problems w/ rust leaf.” – first competitor, first rust mention.

8:42 Mr. Caldas’ sig drink: sparkling water, aeropress, espresso – talks about how these simple ingredients encompass all 4 elements of human taste.

2. William Hernandez, Viva Espresso, El Salvador

8:50 Viva Espresso is, of course, home to 2011 WBC Champ Alejandro Mendez and last year’s El Salvadoran WBC delegate Daniel Mendez – a proud competition history at this shop.

8:53 “this is a coffee that brings together everything we love about natural coffees & washed coffees” – he’s walking the judges through steps of processing using a series of handheld props.

8:56 a layered and multifaceted routine – he’s presenting the judges with wine glasses place over their espresso shots to “trap the condensation, so that we may cup the aroma” – Mr. Hernandez competes with a Red Bourbon coffee from El Salvador, roasted and sourced by @vivaespresso1

9:13 cascara, lime juice, hot water, brown sugar caramel and espresso in William Hernandez’s signature drink – aroma, sensory experience, flipped wine glasses, freakin’ siphons…a great routine and we’re still so early here at WBC…

3. Maria Auxiliadora Bonila, Beneficio Don Mayo, Costa Rica

9:23 Ms. Bonila competes w/ washed bourbon: same farm, same roasting profile, but different drying process – “slow” vs. “conventional”

9:30 Beneficia Don Mayo, from whence #WBC2013 Costa Rica champ Maria Bonila hails, is a fascinating place:  — there are 100′s of species of animals living in the Don Mayo coffee plantation, and this informs Ms. Bonila’s sig drink

9:34 sig drink includes local flower nectar, gelled w/ sodium alganate – molecular gastronomy meets Costa Rica biodiversity! she then oxygenates the espresso to “enhance the finish”, and finishes with Costa Rican honey pollinated at Don Mayo

9:36 “Life is not measured by the years you live, it’s for the special moments like this that take your breath away” – Maria Bonila

4. Lucca Casadei, Segafredo Zanetti, France 

9:45 Mr. Casadei competes using a honey processed geisha variety coffee from Costa Rica’s Central Valley, yielding espresso flavors he describes as “floral, sweet, and very very delicate.’

9:50 “I fell in love with the people in this beautiful country”- Mr. Casadei has himself spent time in Costa Rica, and speaks quite highly of it.

9:45 Lucca Casadei may be your French delegate at the 2013 #WBC2013, but he’s Italian by birth. His competition victory in France was for Segafredo, the self-described “leading Espresso producer in Italy” - learn more!

5. Jefferson David Castillo, Nicaragua

Mr. Bermudez is the first Spanish-language competitor here at #WBC2013 performing via translator. The translation situation at WBC would get better throughout the day, but here, in the early morning of day one, it was pretttty much impossible to get notes out of this routine live. Watch the full video below!

6. Ron Harvey Valero Balaguera, Juan Valdez Cafe (PROCAFECOL), Colombia

10:30 Mr. Balaguera starts his routine with an interesting conceit – he gathers fruits from his judges, having them place individual pieces of fruit from their settings into a siphon. This includes jicama flower to “highlight floral notes in my coffee,” as well as blackberries and strawberries.

10:35 There might be a diverse group of Latin Americans here at #WBC2013 but they will all get down and dance when the music’s loud. it’s largely impossible not to you, yourself start doing the wiggle when salsa music plays this loud and bright. dear #wbc2013 i love you.

10:40 postcards with origin information, gorgeous wooden placeware, and great music! we’re familiar with Juan Valdez Cafe from our time spent in Colombia in recent years, they have many may cafes in Bogota and Medellin.

7. 10:15 – Godfrey Batte, Africa Coffee Academy, Uganda

8. Romeo Porello Jr., Eurocoffee, United Arab Emirates

10:50 Romeo Porello hails from EuroCoffee, a Lavazza distributor in the United Arab Emirates.

10:54 he’s whisking, he’s steaming…Romeo Porello with the first hot plate sig drink service at #WBC2013 – and can we talk about how great of a name Romeo Porello is? We’re pulling for this guy to win on headline possibilities alone

10:57 no shade intended here, but with each drink course Mr. Pomello is just re-starting Coldplay’s “Clocks” – we’ve heard it thrice now.

9. Daniel Andres Cifuentes Diaz, Caffe Lattente, Argentina

11:30 Mr. Diaz is the owner of Caffe Lattente – “if you ever make it to Buenos Aires, you are welcome to come in” – Caffe Lattente is, by multiple accounts online, the best cafe in Buenos Aires, and you can read more about them here.

11:40 mr. diaz’s signature drink is a play on traditional Argentinian mate – served in a little wooden mate gourd! Have a mate, mate!

10. Graciele Rodrigues, Lucca Cafes Especials, Brazil

11:53 Her name is Graciele Rodrigues but she goes by Grace – our 2nd translated routine of the day here at #WBC2013, this time from Portugese into English.

11:55 this routine focuses on the small producers of Brazil, the microproducers that some people don’t think of when they think of Brazilian coffee.

12:00 her coffee is a washed caturra variety, with a flavor profile that is “unique and exotic” – her signature drink includes agave syrup and green apples.

11. Rasmus Helgebostad, Java Espressobar & Kaffeforretning AS, Norway – @recaf

12: 15 Mr. Helgebostad competes using a coffee from Huila, Colombia – “medium body, savory mouthfeel, peach and star anise,” He’ll be steaming steaming star anise and macadamia nut milk as part of his impending sig drink.

12:20 trend watch here at #WBC2013 – simple settings. @recaf‘s sig drink zone is downright sparse, just a bit of glassware and an ice bucket.

12:22 this routine focuses on diacetyl, a naturally occurring byproduct of fermentation that produces a butter flavor.

12:24 Rasmus works for Java Espressobar, serving Kaffa.

12. Eniko Kantor, Hungary

12:40 Eniko Kantor of Hungary is a bit of a change of pace – in the last 4 previous years it’s been Attila Molnar. there’s evidently quite a cool and thriving cafe scene in Budapest, Hungary!

12:44 Enriko is one of several European WBC competitors with a culinary background – she’s worked in several fine dining restaurants as a barista over the last few years.

12:45 “would you be satisfied with a sub par taste when you leave a restaurant?” – that’s a rhetorical question, surely

12:48 Enriko competes using a coffee from the Konga Cooperative in the Yirgacheffe region – a nice acidity, “like cranberry – I think it’s a real special coffee, and the roasting profile is after the first crack”

12:50 dry strawberries that she rehydrates right on stage, and various “cooling stages” for her coffees and sig drink ingredients, so as to serve a fully chilled sig drink to the judges by her routine’s end

13. Mariarosa Gomez, Ristretto Cafe, Puerto Rico

1:15 Ms. Gomez is serving a single origin coffee comprised of multiple varieties, grown at low altitudes in her native Puerto Rico. Her coffee is washed and fermented, and has a low acidity but much sweetness, as per her tasting notes.

1:22 “the perfect balance that we’re always looking for” in her cappuccino course. a cosmic balance, almost. you get it, Mariarosa.

1:28 a relaxed, totally in control routine from Mariarosa Gomez, barista champ of Puerto Rico – very impressive and professional

14. Marian Plajdicko, Slovakia

1:45 Mr. Plajdicko competes using an Ethiopian coffee, a Yirgacheffe roasted by the internationally well-regarded cafe and roastery The Barn. He’s worked closely with the team at @THEBARNBERLIN – so in a way he’s repping Slovakia AND Berlin.

1:52 sig drink: red grape jam, fruit syrup, espresso brewed in an aeropress – then combined w/ Ethiopian espresso, yielding flavors of  “sour cherries and ripe plums that should remind you of the taste of wine.”

1:56 “Great quality coffee deserves special attention; it should be treated a bit different, and that’s up to the baristas.”

15. Christian Vera, Dach Coffee, Chile

2:05 Mr. Vera competes as a representative of Dach Coffee – here’s their Facebook.

2:10 quite a bit of mambo going on here in this routine… and I happen to be seated next to @petergiuliano who is a walking encyclopedia on this stuff. The music in @baristacristian‘s routine mostly comes to us from Perez Prado, the king of the mambo.

16. Natalia Kuranakova, Kredens Cafe, Ukraine

2:20 the onslaught continues! up now it’s Natalia Kuranakova, #WBC2013 delegate from the Ukraine, representing Kredens Cafe located in the Ukrainian city of Lviv – they’re on Twitter at @KREDENSCAFE

2:24 lemongrass and ginger, sparkling water, and espresso in her sig drink – “bright acidity of fruit, but mellowed into a sweet nectar.” this is a charming routine from Ms. Kuranakova!

17. Zjevuan Lemar Janga, Restaurant Ivy, Netherlands

Sometimes technology and fate conspire against you – Zjevuan Janga’s routine was marred by a network crash on the livestream that also felled our Official Media Partner wifi feed. It’s a shame because Mr. Janga’s routine was widely talked about amongst competitors and comp watchers, owing no doubt in part to the fact that Zjevuan Janga’s outfit was unbelievably cool. Just look at him: it’s like if they’d held a barista competition in the third act of The Fifth Element.

One note survives from the temporary felling of our Twitter:

2:30 red fruit, raspberry, and a deep sweetness – “a medium style espresso” from Mr. Janga here at #WBC2013

For what it’s worth, we really hope he makes semi-finals so we can appreciate this routine without dealing with a tech issue.

18. Torfi Torfason, Iceland

2:45 Mr. Torfason competes using yet another Huila, Colombia coffee – this time roasted by Tim Wendelboe

2:50 Torfi’s coffee was dried for an astonishing 60 days! In Torfi’s words, this (along with careful roasting) resulted in”a cleaner cup, with more complexity of flavor”

2:54 This is a light roast, with a thinner crema than the darker roasts: “A berry-like acidity with cane sugar sweetness.”

2:57 “Before I was in coffee, I was a chef – this had a big impact on how I think about coffee” -- Mr. Torfason exploring notions of mise en place, exhibiting more culinary influence here at WBC

19. Kapo Chiu, The Cupping Room, Hong Kong

3:03 This is yet another simple, sparse stage setting from the top competitors at #WBC2013 – Mr. Chiu of @TheCuppingRoom

3:05 Mr. Chiu’s cappuccinos with notes of “biscuit” – but which biscuit? triscuits? chicken in a biscuit? wheetabix?

3:07 “What you’re about to taste in the cup is the reason lot separation matters.” – Kapo Chiu, champion of Hong Kong.

20. Oskar Alverus, Drop Coffee, Sweden

3:15 Mr. Alverus is the head roaster at Drop Coffee in Sweden – “as a roaster, i am lucky enough to be in total control of how i want my coffee to taste.” The roaster as barista champion, awesome! Meticulous intentionality.

3:20 Yet another Huila coffee here from Oskar of @DropCoffee at #WBC2013 – these coffees dominated at #USBC as well – Huila is The *It* Region of WBC 2013. Mr. Alverus’ coffee is a catimor variety, hand picked, rinsed 3 times in a 24 hour fermentation, then dried for 15 days.

3:22 wild, gorgeous glassware for Oskar of @DropCoffee‘s sig drink – 3 tall shotglasses per judge, pipettes, blonde wood.

21. Alejandro Escobar Vazquez, Cafe Etrusca / Pare de Dormir, Mexico

3:26 conceit of Mexican champ Alejandro Vaquez’s routine: “use no smelling.” He’s removing a sense from the judges to focus their taste buds.

3:28 Again, more relative simplicity in the sig drinks from Mr. Vazquez – no wild meth lab drippers or steam punk pumps at #WBC2013 thus far, but we are seeing him employ water drip towers using still and carbonated waters. carbonated coffee!

3:30 Mr. Vazquez’ coffee hails from the Oaxaca region of Mexico.

22. Serkan Ipekli, Mambocino Coffee, Turkey

3:40 Not a lot of talking here from Turkish competitor Serkan Ipekli – he’s the strong, silent type. But you know what? You do you, that’s what I always say.

3:44 no apron? no problem! Er, well, points-wise there is a problem, but let Serkan be Serkan.

23. Matthew Perger, St. Ali, Australia

3:52 “if there’s one thing i’ve learned from filter coffee, it’s that the perfect grind size makes everything better.”

3:55  @mattperger‘s routine features a brand new tamping style – “Nutator”, in which he moves the tamper around the basket in circles.

3:57 Mr. Perger’s espresso is from Finca Santuario in Colombia, a red bourbon roasted by St. Ali and served in a frozen demitasse!

3:59 “The milk you’re drinking is from a cow named Freckles.”

4:05 Mr. Perger’s sig drink is called a “Coffee Shot” – it’s a luongo shot passed through a paper filter to remove crema its crema. And that’s just the start of it – watch Matt’s routine in its entirety here in the video archives.

24. 3:55 – Rhoda Kamau, Nairobi Serena Hotel, Kenya

25. Shem Lupin, Stoll Kaffe, Switzerland

4:15 Mr. Lupin tried bringing in Swiss milk, but was denied – he’s still happy with the milk he found here in Oz though. Mr. Lupin is here repping Stoll Kaffe, a cafe and roastery in Zurich – learn more: http://stoll-kaffee.ch/ 

4:20 Great classic soul here during @shemspresso‘s run on stage – a kind of stax records / motown thing happening

4:29 Mr. Lupin’s sig drink includes apple juice, rhubarb juice, and carob. Here’s hoping this routine wasn’t lost in the shuffle – the Swiss champ @shemspresso was great, if subtle.

26. Tomas Rudys, Lithuania

4:40 #WBC2013 is a ravenous beast that must be fed, and it eats competitors. Next is Tomas Rudys, champ of Lithuania!

4:42 Yes! The “Rocky” theme! thank you, Tomas Rudys of Lithuania, for playing the “Rocky” theme.

4:48 Cool filter coffee component to Mr. Rudys’ sig drink – long paper cones, sort of like a french fry cone or something, which he pours over a vessel containing fresh flowers, mixed with espresso – yum, fresh flowers, sounds great.

27. Nick Clark, Flight Coffee, New Zealand

4:52 Mr. Clark competes using a Cafe Imports French Mission bourbon, sun dried, from Kenya’s Thiriku region

4:55 Mr. Clark’s espressos: raspberry acidity, dry husky cocoa note at the end – “a quite refreshing linger”

5:00 His opening interaction with the judges is almost like an interactive board game – a really fun set of instructions.

5:05 “As baristas, it’s very much our job to act as an ambassador for what’s in the cup.”

28. Dmitry Boroday, North-West Coffee Company, Russia

5:15 “Clear, sweet taste of plum and cherry, and a light, great acidity – a dark tobacco aftertaste” – Mr. Boroday on his espressos.

5:22 ooh! Last competitor of the day, but the BEST capp notes of the day – Dmitry’s taste like “creamy cookies.” What exactly IS a creamy cookie? Did I maybe hear that wrong? It’s been a really long day and I want a creamy cookie dammit.

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At the Collingwood district’s wildly innovative Proud Mary Coffee Roasters, owner Nolan Hirte has collaborated with Virmax to bring a very special sort of cupping to the WBC crowds invading Melbourne for MICE, featuring the rare coffee variety HR61. This coffee is believed to grow exclusively at the renowned coffee gardens of Haciena El Roble in Colombia, and Proud Mary is the first roaster in the world to commercial roast and offer it.

We’re well-versed in the astonishing work being done out at El Roble due to our presence at #Slurparama, the inaugural Cupping Extravaganza event in 2011 that brought together expert cuppers from around the world to taste their way through the El Roble’s unique and rare garden varietals. The story of how this experimental garden came to be is a fascinating one – please click here for more detailed information – but long have many leading coffee buyers dreamed of being able to offer microlots of these rare and exotic coffees. It appears as though Proud Mary has actually done it first, and with HR61, the coffee whose cupping scores have garnered the highest rating of any on El Roble, consistently ranking in the low 90s by some of the best cuppers on the planet.

The entire 2013 production of HR61 – just 18kg – was acquired by Nolan Hirte for the third-most expensive price in auction history, an astonishing $130 / lb. Mr. Hirte is offering this coffee to the public at MICE in a series of exclusive cupping sessions, hosted once each day throughout the weekend for an admission price of $100. Guests will have a chance to learn about HR61 directly from the experts at Virmax, and they’ll be sent home with an 150g jar of HR61, one of the rarest commercially available coffees in the world. This event is happening on the showfloor of MICE itself, which adds a bit to the air of intrigue and rarity, doesn’t it?

Reservations are being taken via email, with 10 reserve and 5 walk-up spots available each day. Email here for reservation inquiries.Will we get to slurp it ourselves while we’re in town? Friends, who knows. Only time will tell…but that would be pretty sweet.

Photos and additional reporting for this feature by Harald Johnsen Voyle.

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Coffee: So delicious, and yet so mysterious. Is it a naturally occurring earth-bound substance? Just more proof of a just and generous God? Or could it perhaps be the work of ancient aliens? Void your mind of all preconceived notions, as our new Paranormal Theories columnist Bixby Klendathu delves deep into the mysteries that surround coffee’s origin.

Coffee is a mysteriously delicious and neuro-active substance, which people across the globe use daily. Given what we know about the history of our species, is it possible that such a perfect beverage happened by accident?

Let’s evaluate the evidence:

The examination of ancient texts gives us ample evidence of a group called the “Anunnaki” in Sumerian. The Anunnaki – whose name means “people who came from the heavens” in the language of Sumer – splashed down in the middle East 435,000 years ago on a search for gold. It was the Anunnaki who created the human race to mine gold for them in present-day Ethiopia, site of what would be passed on through legend as King Solomon’s Mine (Solomon was actually an Annnnaki chief officer). It was the Anunnaki who likely built the pyramids of Egypt, Central America, and the Cydonia region of Mars. It was the Annunaki who gave us legends of “watchers”; what the Hebrews called “Nephilim” or “Elohim” (angels), and the Egyptians called “Neteru” (cosmic gods). It was the Anunnaki who left behind Out Of Place Artifacts (OOPArts) such as the Antithykera Mechanism, the ancient batteries of Baghdad, and the Desert Lines of Nazca (landing strips). These are the space travelers who created the human race through genetic engineering for the purpose of working the mines, as has been proven and documented by the works of Zechariah Sitchin and Erich von Daaniken.

And so of course it was the Anunnaki who created coffee, originally intending it to serve as fuel for their mine workers (who were, in fact, proto-genetic hybrid humans). And this creation was their undoing.

Puzzling evidence that proves my case:

-Coffea arabica is a hybrid, which appeared in Ethiopia. It’s supposed “parents” (Coffea canephora or “Robusta” and Coffea eugenioides) are not even from Ethiopia. Are we supposed to believe that a west African coffee species flew by itself across a continent to mate with another species? Or was it flown there? And if then, by who? And why?

-Arabica is an allotetraploid. According to Biology Online, “Allotetraploids are created as a result of both chromosome sets of both parents being present in gametes.” To put it in layman’s terms, this means arabica must be some kind of genetic mutant created by an intelligent plant breeder.

-Coffee is uniquely suited to make humans better, more productive workers. It stimulates the intellect and makes drinkers more alert while promoting stamina. Coffee is an ancient, high technology performance enhancer.

Ancient aliens: what did they know?

The coffee drug, known as KHWH to the ancient aliens, was administered to the Anunnaki’s proto-genetic human mine workers in a variety of ways. All evidence points to milk from genetically engineered bovine herds (cows) as well as purified powdered carbs (sugar) to provide energy and protein to the workers’ systems. It was, in many ways, the perfect system for maximizing labor for the construction of ancient temples and landing strips, and you know what? COFFEE IS STILL CONSUMED THE SAME WAY TODAY.

Coffee is impossibly complex. Professional tasters detect flavor notes as disparate as Meyer Lemon, Night Blooming Jasmine, and Prosecco. This is super-natural, nearly psychedelic flavor complexity, designed to lure humans into a daily dosing ritual, just as it did for the lost tribes of Sumer. It is impossible for flavor scientists to duplicate coffee flavor by any process, and today we go to far ends of the world to find the most complex and enchanting flavor expressions. But our journeys to origin today pale in comparison to the galactic road walked by the Anunnaki, whom, should they ever choose to return, I for one would welcome as our new overlords.

In conclusion, there are a great many more secrets to tell, including the deconstruction of the myth of Kaldi the goat herd. Researchers are now pointing towards Sumerian tablets that tell tale of KAAL-D, a kind of mythic GMO engineer of the Anunnaki who may have first combined canephora and eugenioides. KAAL-D was both feared and revered amongst the great tribes of Sumer, where he was worshipped as a God, just as many worship coffee today.

This is important research that’s being conducted, and it will of course inform my future writings for this publication. Until then, keep watching the skies.

Bixby Klendathu is a coffee enthusiast, Akkadian language scholar, and ardent UFO disclosure advocate. He contributes to a number of publications from his home in Pahrump, Nevada.

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The prizes are well worth the investment – $300 year-long whole bean subscription, $25 limited edition t-shirt, a prize package that include a weekly free cup of coffee and waffle for a year, and much much more.

Linea Caffe’s space at 3417 18th Street, at San Carlos.

Support the scene over here at Kickstarter.

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Here are your three finalists:

Now go vote on Facebook and pick the winner! And LIKE us on Facebook! Like us!

LIKE US!

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On the evening of May 21st, 2013, Melbourne’s absolutely stunning Code Black Coffee Roasters played host to a microlot cupping put on by Your Sprudge Editors plus two esteemed delegates from the team at Cafe Imports, Noah Namowicz and Gabe Dunn. A wildly diverse international crowd of around 75 folks joined us as we cupped our way through a plethora of coffees from roasters across the United States.

As Noah Namowicz led the crowd in a brief overview of Cafe Imports’ microlot sourcing methodology, we took a moment to take stock of the scene around us. It included national champions from across Europe and Asia (including Finnish champ Kalle Freese), roasters and representatives from a wide swath of Melbourne cafes (Everyday Coffee, Top Paddock) and roasters (Sensory Lab, Proud Mary), plus long distance friends from North America like Wille Yli-Luoma (Heart Roasters) and Brent Fortune. The coffees were fabulous, of course, but the company? Top notch.

Here’s a complete list of the coffees served at our event at Code Black:

Coava Coffee Roasters, PDX – Santa Sofia Colombia, Kochere Yirga Cheffe, Honduras David Mancia

Flight Coffee Roasters, Wellington – Kenya French Mission Natural (currently unavailable, part of NZ Champion Nick Clark’s WBC routine)

Roseline Coffee, PDX – Colombia Los Naranjos, Costa Rica

Halfwit Coffee Roasters, Chicago – Colombia Santana

Sightglass Coffee, San Francisco  – Colombia Finca Los Florestales, Rwanda Tomba Cocatu

Stumptown Coffee Roasters, PDX – Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Chelbessa, Costa Rica Montes De Oro

Central City Coffee, PDX – Rwanda Burmera, Velocity Blend

The Red E, PDX – Rwanda Burmera, Colombia Las Margaritas

Intelligentsia Coffee, Los Angeles - Costa Rica Flecha Roja

Cafe Imports – Costa Rica Los Lobos, Colombia Trujillo, El Salvador Plan de la Batea

Verve Coffee Roasters, Santa Cruz – Peru Benjamin Peralta

Water Avenue Coffee Company – El Salvador Buena Vista, El Salvador San Luis

Beansmith Coffee, Omaha - Colombia Primavera

Heart Coffee Roasters, PDX – Colombia Desarrollo, Guatemala Pulcal

The conviviality of the evening was greatly buttressed by beers from Fat Yak and Mountain Goat, plus a few bottles of absolutely delicious Coonawarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. It was our pleasure to present these coffees to our friends in Melbourne both old and new, alongside our longtime partners at Cafe Imports. A great many thanks to all who attended, our gracious hosts at Code Black, and of course to the roasters back home who generously supplied their coffees for this event.

We’ve got another cupping party scheduled for our time in Melbourne, happening on Tuesday, May 28th at Everyday Coffee. Do join us!

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We’re in Melbourne for the 2013 World Barista Championship, our first visit to this splendid city. How do you write a guide for a city if you’ve never been? Easy. We polled a dozen Melbourne residents and frequent visitors with excellent taste on their very favorite places to eat, drink, and have a coffee around town. Read more features like this one in our Melbourne Sprudge Guides hub!

Melbourne is one heck of a classy town, with world class restaurants, gorgeously fitted cafes and brunch palaces, and no shortage of classy establishments at which to enjoy classic cocktails and sublime wines. But you know what? Sometimes you just need a pub. Sometimes jeans and hoodie need to be okay. Sometimes you want a burger and a beer, and you don’t want to break the bank.

You do you, that’s what we always say. So here’s a list of some of Melbourne’s finest pubs and local haunts, where the air is never fussy, and if you hang ’round long enough everyone will know your name.

The Standard – One of Melbourne’s classic laneway pubs, The Standard was home to a very hip record label in the 1990′s, and today sports authentic mid-century ephemera decor and a by-all-accounts gorgeous outdoor garden. Beer, wine, pub grub til late (sausage rolls!), and not an ounce of nonsense. (293 Fitzroy St, Fitzroy)

The Beaufort – We visited the Beaufort on our first night out in Melbourne, on the overwhelming recommendation of several poll responders. She’s a charmer, alright, situated on the corner of a long, palm tree studded boulevard you could easily mistake for Dolores Street in San Francisco. The vibe feels like the Mission District, too, or maybe SE Portland, or Bushwick, or you get the picture. A dive by presentation but not by menu, as the Beaufort sports a deep, well-considered Scotch selection (!) plus inventive beer cocktails and loads of American bourbons. This is clearly one of Melbourne’s young, hip after-work shared spaces, and quite popular with baristas. We loved it! (421 Rathdowne St, Carlton)

Huxtaburger / Bill’s Bar – Melbourne is, improbably, something of a hamburger town, and several people mentioned Huxtaburger as being home to one of the city’s best. They have gluten free buns, a jalapeno and sriracha mayo option, and a fun pub ’round back where every last pour of liquor – from fancy Scotch to cheap hooch – goes for $9 a pour. Lots of bar snacks, too, and we could go on and on, but this place sounds awesome. (106 Smith Street, Collingwood)

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We’re in Melbourne for the 2013 World Barista Championship, our first visit to this splendid city. How do you write a guide for a city if you’ve never been? Easy. We polled a dozen Melbourne residents and frequent visitors with excellent taste on their very favorite places to eat, drink, and have a coffee in the city. Read more features like this one in our Melbourne Sprudge Guides hub!

Because drinking and coffee events go perilously hand in hand, there may be no more important guide than this one. Like our dining, coffee, breaky and pub guides, it was an exercise in controlled impossibility to narrow down this city’s choices of great bars into 10 recommended spots. But fortunately the folks we polled all seemed to be in agreement on the basics – wine here is awesome, cocktails are great, and the great beer options abound. Be sure to consult our other guides in addition to this, as there’s quite a bit of crossover between restaurants and bars in this fair city.

But seriously, on the wine thing, it’s almost as though Aussies take their plethora of delicious wines for granted. It’s gobsmacking how much great wine there is to drink here. Even if you aren’t a wine drinker by default, try it out. Take a chance and you may well be handsomely rewarded.

The Aylesbury (103 Lonsdale Street) – Melbourne is a wine town, and the Aylesbury is a great spot to dig in to that scene. Their wine list has what you’re expecting – carefully curated Shiraz choices from the Yarra Valley, Pinots from Yarra and elsewhere throughout Victoria – as well as some fun designations like “Textured Whites” and “Grenache and Friends”. It’s all about the rooftop seating here, a covered and heated situation where you’re welcome to enjoy a fine cigar, if so inclined.

Black Pearl (304 Brunswick Fitzroy) – A cocktail institution in the middle of Fitzroy that stays low key on weeknights, and becomes something of a suave madhouse on weekends. Order your favorite classic cocktail here and soak in the scenery.

Cumulus Up (45 Flinders Ln) – The upstairs wine bar at Cumulus Inc (featured in our dining guide), this is another top choice in Melbourne’s sprawling dossier of wine destinations. They’ve got a climate controlled cellar to keep their vintages tasting great, and a small plates menu to pair with all that good vino (one of our polling team gushed about the “foie gras waffles”). Esteemed and classy by all accounts.

The Everleigh (1/150-156 Gertrude St, Fitzroy) – Another option for great cocktails, with a beautiful interior, a deep selection of fine spirits, and an overall air of sophistication. This is the sister bar of Milk & Honey in New York City. If the enjoyment of fine cocktails is a component part of how you travel, place this spot high on your list.

Hihou (1 Flinders Ln) – Japanese in spirit and presentation, one must politely ring the bell and be chaperoned up to gain entry at Hihou. Winner of Time Out Melbourne’s “Best New Bar” award for 2012, this place features several Japanese inversions on classic cocktails, plus a deep selection of sake and shochu. And yes, of course there’s tsukemono and sashimi drinking snacks to go alongside your drinks. This is the cocktail arm of Izakaya Den, featured elsewhere in our Melbourne guides.

Lily Blacks (17 Meyers Pl) – A cosmopolitan Melbourne laneway bar, with classics and new creations sharing space on their sprawling, inventive cocktail menu. Expect to pay New York City prices, look for an armada of housemade bitters and tinctures, and geek out about the multifaceted rum and bourbon Old Fashion options. This is probably where we’d go first with our cocktail nerd friends back home.

The Long Play (318 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy) – A cocktail and wine bar in Fitzroy with a miniature cinema in its back room! The interior is all Danish minimalism, there are European apertifs aplenty, and reasonably priced small plates. Nothing too fancy, tastefully appointed, and did we mention the movie theater?

The Melbourne Supper Club (1st/161 Spring St) – Broadsheet Melbourne called this spot “arguably the city’s best bar”, and they’ve got hours til 6am on weekends. Huge wine list, spirits, oysters, and a cigar bar upstairs called Siglo…

Siglo (2/161 Spring St) – The aforementioned rooftop cigar bar above The Melbourne Supper Club. Did you know that Cuban cigars are totally legal in Australia? They’ve got ‘em here, with more detail than you knew imaginable and a humidor to make even the uninitiated curious. Worried about the cold? They’ve got heaters. Just want a drink? Spirits and wine are cheerfully available. Drinking on a budget? Maybe not here you aren’t. Friends with a wealthy coffee magnate? This would be a fine place to suggest.

Whisky & Alement (270 Russell St) – Melbourne might be 10,000 miles from Edinburgh, but that hasn’t slowed down this Scotch spot one bit. They’ve got drams and drams of the good stuff for you to enjoy, plus classes and and regularly scheduled events all year long. Yes, there is Scotch in Melbourne, and it’s here – you knew we’d find it, right?

Loop back ’round to our Melbourne info portal, why don’t you? Good on ya!

The post 10 Places To Drink Fancy In Melbourne: Sprudge Guides appeared first on Sprudge.com.

We’re in Melbourne for the World Barista Championship, our first visit to this splendid city. How do you write a guide for a city if you’ve never been? Easy. We polled a dozen Melbourne residents and frequent visitors with excellent taste on their very favorite places to eat, drink, and have a coffee in the city. Read more features like this one in our Melbourne Sprudge Guides hub!

With a total population of over 4 million, and a reputation as Australia’s cultural hub, you might expect that Melbourne would be home to some pretty awesome restaurants. And you would be right: this was an enormously tough list to whittle down into a top 10, based on the responses of the dozen or so Melbourne locals and frequent visitors we polled. From an incredibly diverse and exciting field of restaurants to choose from, here’s 10 restaurants with very little in common, save for promising you a nice time during your visit. For more choices, spend time with Broadsheet Melbourne, the city’s premiere dining and urban exploring guide.

Cumulus Inc (45 Flinders Ln) – A top pick for the vast majority of people we polled, this destination restaurant on Melbourne’s trendy Flinders Lane has been well-regarded since opening in 2008. Their menu is chockablock Cupidian arrows aimed directly at our Pacific Northwestern hearts: think regional Aussie oysters, epic charcuterie, whole roasted lamb shoulders to share, grilled octopus…we’ll meet you there.

Chin Chin (125 Flinders Ln) – Very busy and not too fancy, with a menu “modeled on the hawker dining halls of Asia”, according to their menu-less website. Broadsheet’s listing for them mentions items like suckling pig pancake rolls, a plethora of Thai-style soups, and a focused wine program. They’re open til late, so consider this a post-party “let’s take a cab, I’m starving” option.

Izakaya Den (114 Russell St) – Located mere blocks from Sensory Lab on the corner of Russel & Little Collins, this is a big city modern Izakaya befitting the bustle and hustle of the CBD. Modeled on the chic urban drink-and-eateries of Tokyo, our responders highlighted the service and sake list here as being especially noteworthy. Be aware: Izakaya Den is located in a basement, and their door is pretty much unmarked, so look closely at the ol’ iPhone. It’s there, promise.

The Town Mouse (312 Drummond St, Carlton) – We’re tempted to call this place “New American”, but that would be blindingly empiricist of us. The Town Mouse has smart wine and food options – “Blackened pork jowl, smoked carrot kimchi, cos, green apple & peanut” FTW – with a focus on local, seasonal goodies. Lots of vegetarian options and delicious sounding meaty entrees, plus its in a hip and fun part of Carlton.

Cookie (First Floor/252 Swanston St) – Contemporary Thai food plus lots and lots of beer. Deep fried shrimp cocktail! Soft shell crab! Seriously, they have like 200 beers. This place sounds awesome and we’re going, that’s final.

Anada (197 Gertrude St, Fitzroy) – Spanish tapas and raciones, with a super-affordable tasting menu that sounds like a lot of fun. There’s a really deep cheese list here too, if you’re into that, and a well-curated not-too-intimidating list of Spanish sherries, ciders, and wines. Sounds like a fun spot for that big group dinner you’re tagging along with. Lucky you.

Dainty Sichuan (176 Toorak Rd, South Yarra) – No foolies, this place is home for real-deal Sichuan spice euphoria. Everything you order here will be hot and spicy and of plentiful portion, cooked directly in front of you on table-top burners. Careful though, because this stuff will get you spice-stoned.

Estelle Bar & Kitchen (243 High St, Northcote) – “A modest local eatery” as per the front page of its website, and there’s something rather classy about the whole scene here at Estelle. There’s a courtyard and quaint dining room, multiple prix fixe options on the menu, and individual selections that don’t outnumber the guests. If somehow, within the madness of MICE and WBC, you’ve managed to meet someone nice and plan to take him or her on a date, this place looks pretty much perfect.

Builders Arms (211 Gertrude St, Fitzroy) – Housed in an 150 year old pub, Builders Arms is absolutely one of the most intriguing entries on this list. The bar and bistro area offers a contemporary update on the classic public house it once was, with fine beers and wines on tap but also standards like Coopers and Carlton. There’s a beer garden, and an awesome wine list, and a separate dining room called Moon Under Water, offering a nightly 4 course menu for $75. This spot intrigues because, to a visitor’s eye, there’s something about it that seems to encompass modern Melbourne while nodding to its past. Fun and not too fussy, but by no means dingy, it’s the kind of bar every cool neighborhood should have.

Stokehouse (30 Jacka Blvd, St Kilda) – You could spend a week in Melbourne and forget it’s a seaside town, or you could journey out to St. Kilda and really get a sense of where you are: a thriving coastal metropolis on the bottom of the world. Stokehouse has fine dining upstairs, a less formal cafe downstairs, and delicious food in both. Seafood, of course – Melbs is mad for seafood – as well as awesome sounding steaks and desserts. And you’ll be right on the beach...near the penguins!

Loop back ’round to our Melbourne info portal, why don’t you? Good on ya!

The post 10 Places For A Nice Dinner In Melbourne: Sprudge Guides appeared first on Sprudge.com.

You’re in Melbourne, mate! Modern and lively, sprawling and vast, this city of more than 4 million people boasts no shortage of delicious things to eat and drink, plus fun things to see and do. If you’re reading this, you’re probably here for the World Barista Championship, held in conjunction with the 2013 Melbourne International Coffee Expo. Visit our Melbourne Sprudge Guides hub for a king’s ransom of recommended food and drink, compiled from a series of informal polls we sent out to friends with an intimate knowledge of the Melbourne urban landscape. This particular feature is meant to orient you towards what you can expect out on the town in Melbs.

Getting Around:

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