There are cafes with good coffee, there are cafes with great coffee and then there are those cafes with such spectacularly exquisite coffee that you’d travel interstate just to be there, which is exactly what I did. I journeyed over land and sea through rain and wind on a particularly dodgy cheap airline (I don’t want to name names) but the coffee at the end of the tunnel was worth all the time and turbulence.

At Single Origin Roasters coffee is a lifestyle. They may take their coffee seriously but never take themselves seriously, which adds to the relaxed and good-humoured atmosphere. The helpful staff will be happy to go through all your coffee options with you and if you get talking to the barista he will discuss the world of coffee with as much enthusiasm as a tween at a Twilight convention.

They roast premium-plus grade sustainably grown coffees and the ‘house origins blend’ is described as medium body, vibrant with milk chocolate tones and fruity overtones. Plus there is always a single origin roast of the day if you're feeling like something more exotic from the hills of a far away continent. 

The waitress let me in on a little secret- each shot is a double ristretto, so you get more buzz for your buck. And if you find it as hard to leave as I did there is a range of take home packs of freshly roasted coffee so you can revisit the pleasure in the comfort of your own kitchen.

The food is sophisticated and well priced. The Bircher muesli is filled with nuts, seeds, stewed prunes and rhubarb, fresh banana and apple, with a hint of nutmeg. The housemade beans are a steamy bowl of wholesome happiness, perfect for a wintery day as the touch of chilli leaves a spicy afterglow on the tongue. And if that doesn’t make you warm enough there are some snugly blankets inside to wrap your cold little body in. 

The cafe has been around since 2003 and many of its loyal clientele date back to those humble beginnings when there was just a handful of staff and a very modest fit-out. These were the days of the affectionately named 'Big Boris'- a 15kg coffee roaster, which was too big to fit through the door and had to be forklifted through the window. Things have changed since then and the cafe is looking better than ever, the customers come in constant streams and the staff's passion and knowledge of coffee is ever-growing.