Single Origin RoastersReviewed by rob barac |
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Single Origin Roasters
60-64 Reservoir St, Surry Hills
NSW, Australia
Single Origin. Where to start?
OK, maybe I should preface my review by saying that I don’t particularly like this place BUT a lot of other people do…
Single Origin does a Fair Trade, single origin bean that is roasted on the premises. The smells are wonderful and watching the owner of the cafe toil over his beans is a pleasure. The decor in the cafe is all muted browns and lots of wood. This translates to an oasis within the streets of inner city Sydney. I haven’t tried the food but I am told the pies are excellent. What about the coffee? I find it a bit on the weak side and do not particularly like the blend they use, but it is definitely one of the best coffees in the area. I could be wrong but I heard that they use non-standard (Melbourne style) group heads.
So this all sounds pretty good, why are you not a huge fan I hear you saying?
While the staff are good, I do find the service slow. It surely shouldn’t take as long as it does to make a coffee?
The owner freaks me out. Some people find him quirky and passionate; others intrusive and obnoxious. I’m part of the latter group.
All in all my complaints are pretty minor for a place that is actually very good. However in an area like the inner city of Sydney where simply wonderful cafes are popping up like mushrooms on every corner there is too much good coffee and service to go somewhere that only satisfies 85% of my personal cafe requirements.
Coffee: 3.5/5
Ambiance: 4/5
Service: 3.5/5
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Overall: 3.5/5
September 12th, 2006 at 6:44 pm
Great looking place which smells good, but the coffee took a long time to make. And given that I usually get takeaway, the asthetics and smells dont mean a lot to me.
September 13th, 2006 at 10:31 pm
I really like Single Origin. The food is great, the coffee is the best and the service is really good. I think you have to understand the owner and what he’s trying to do. It’s not a quick in and out place. You walk in, you get greeted by everyone. The owner knows you and I’ve even seen him give back rubs to his regulars. OK, so that may freak out some… Anyway, think of it as the coffeehouse version of ‘Cheers’.
September 13th, 2006 at 10:43 pm
Rob,
You need to pull your head in. This place is different, if you want fast coffee with predictable service go back to starbucks and stop whining.
Coffee is very good, they brew it how you like if you’re polite enough to ask and when you’re in a hurry you can mention it and they jump the queue for you. The fact the place has a relaxed attitude to speed is becuase they assume you’re enjoying the break.
If you’re having trouble relaxing dude drink less coffee.
p.s. your shout.
September 13th, 2006 at 11:47 pm
I would try to relax but my boss rides me like a shetland pony.
I never said the coffee sucked, just that I’ve had better coffee served faster. AND as torps said, if I was there to hang out I wouldn’t care. I’m getting take away for a reason.
If I wanted to take the time to chat with people I’d bring friends with me.
September 14th, 2006 at 6:20 am
quirky, I’m with you on this one. I went only a couple of times with Rob and thought the coffee was very good, the decor interesting and the smell enticing. I did find the owner a bit strange and was a bit freaked by his invading my bubble (but I am rather anti social), he was also proud of his roasted beans and gave us a couple of freshly darkened ones to chew on. Sorry baby but I can’t agree with you here, I prefer quality over speedy service every time.
September 14th, 2006 at 5:14 pm
yeah fair enough. apparantly good coffee and good but prompt service are mutually exclusive?
September 17th, 2006 at 5:34 pm
Coffee is good.
Roaster is annoying.
Food is great.
Service is slow.
September 17th, 2006 at 9:57 pm
In a world of boring mc-cafes, where the staff either ignore you or greet you with falsely cheerful cries of “Have a great day!” Single Origin is an oasis of personality and flavour.
The staff are eccentric, but in sophisticated cities like New York and London, this is respected and encouraged. Thank God we have it here in our wonderful city too.
The coffee is as weak or strong as you like it, should you take the time to talk with the staff they will not only get you behind the machine and educate you, they will allow you to try different blends and discover which are more suited to your taste, or in your case, educated palette.
I can understand how the roaster may freak some people out. He is most definitely an “out there” kind of guy. But then, this was a man who put a roaster in his shop before it was popular or trendy and who is passionate not only about his coffee but about understanding and serving his customers. He doesnt have a sense of humour - he is just 100% focussed.
If he wasnt so intense, Single Origin would be just another bland cafe. More power to him and his beans. Other people have noted the same things in their replies.
You complain that you had to wait, but our office has a simple arrangement where we simply phone ahead with our order and then we take turns to go down and collect. No problems.
Perhaps in this day and age of “I WANT IT NOW!” you should invest some time in learning the virtues of patience and good manners. Phone ahead, if you turn up without doing so, inform your barista you are in a rush. Smile. leave a tip occassionally or give constructive feedback about the product. Otherwise people will begin to think youre a whiner, which would be horrible if it wasnt true.
best of luck,
Athlus De.
September 17th, 2006 at 10:09 pm
That’s a really well written and thought out comment Athlus.
March 12th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Dear Rob,
your review in this website is a little biased but thats forgiveable. What ISNT forgiveable is the review this page links through to, on another website, where you defame the owners of single origin. Calling someone a monkey (”simian features”)does not consitute a fair comment on their trade and you are definitely breaching internet defamation laws. You even boast that youre going to post a nasty comment about them on THIS website (unless you have others) and carry on about “dont piss off someone with a coffee review website” or something to that effect - how arrogant!!!
I personally hope you get your pants sued off since it is unguarded, vicious comment like the one on your other website that give bloggers every where a BAD name.
And please dont hide behind webmaster comments - we all know YOU are the webmaster. Answer for yourself.
The owners of single origin may well have their quirks, what offends me is the way you have have trashed their roaster on a personal level, as opposed to keeping it unemotional and “strictly business”
Shame on you for your cowardly reviewing on the other website, and if other people get a chance to read it, I am sure they will see through the little stunt of a review you have written here.
In the meantime, I suggest you actually learn how to write a review in language applicable to food and dining, otherwise step aside and leave reviewing to the experts.
Sincerely
Rose
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December 4th, 2007 at 2:26 am
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