Code Black Coffee Brunswick HQ — Restaurant in Melbourne

I live next door to the Code Black Coffee Roaster’s HQ, which situated in the upcoming and trendy area of Brunswick. The building is black with several white and one golden circle. On top of the entrance it says in capital letters “YOU HAVE ARRIVED”. That was the reason why I went there to drink my first coffee after my arrival in Melbourne. I enjoyed this first coffee in Australia, a washed Kenya from the Komothai Kirura washing station. The design of the building is minimalistic and raw; a great combination of black painted bricks, metal, natural polished stones.

This time I went for a full brunch, and ordered a filter coffee, to start with. When the coffee arrived, its aroma stroke me immediately. ETHIOPIA URAGA WINE PROCESS ANAEROBIC FILTER. Normally, I am not a big fan of experimental processing methods, but this coffee was clean, with an intense sweetness, a complex, well-integrated acidity, an oily, coated texture, bold body, and a lingering aftertaste, and intense flavors. That was an amazing start.

To eat I asked for the breakfast roll – bacon, fried egg, aged cheddar, house ketchup and aioli, tomato, lettuce on ciabatta. The presentation was beautiful, and it tasted great. All ingredients were well balanced, and the sauce gave it a magical touch.

In Europe, it is very rare to see blends in specialty cafés. Here in Melbourne, it seems to be more common to serve blends as a house espresso. Therefore, I went for a flat white with their house espresso blend: 3056 ESPRESSO BLEND. 3056 is the postcode for the Code Black Roastery. It is a medium roast. The flat white was super sweet and smooth. Again, the milk texturing skills of the barista were amazing. And the espresso cut well through the milk.

To round up my excellent experience, I ordered a Lemon, ginger, and mint fizz. I saw another client enjoying it and could not resist the tempting presentation. It was refreshing and mouthwatering, just perfect for a hot summer afternoon in Melbourne. All baristas and team members were friendly and served me with a great smile (under their masks). Thanks a lot. I am happy to come back and taste some more...

Code Black Coffee Roasters Cafe has to be the next trend here in Melbourne. The atmosphere was wonderful and unique with a warm and welcoming feel and some spectacularly creative lighting and seating, not to mention the enticing aroma of freshly roasted coffee. The service was impeccable with friendly wait staff who were genuine and prompt. The Soy Chai Latte was the best I've had in Melbourne with a good balance of creamy and spicy, the side of honey was also a nice touch. Now saving the best for last was the delicious Quinoa, chia and goji berry pudding, saffron poached pear, baked rhubarb, spiced nuts & coconut yoghurt. I have never had anything so delicately balanced in flavour and texture; every bite was sublime. However, as much as I tried I could not finish the pudding, so it's safe to say that the servings are more than enough! You really get your moneys worth here. I balanced out the sweet with a side of their thyme and potato hash brown, which I actually didn't feel guilty about eating. It wasn't oily like the ones you normally get elsewhere, and the thyme was a great addition. I finished off with a raspberry and peach smoothie which was nothing short of satisfying, it was refreshing and with every sip you forgot about the stressful day's work ahead of you. I would highly recommend paying this cafe a visit, I went there with five of my friends and every one of them left raving about the food and the...

Always, always busy I don’t think there’s a time where either myself or a guest have attended and it not been packed. Code Black is gorgeous, whoever designed the location has a good eye for detail and what makes a location memorable.

The place is huge. With two seperate eating areas, a visible kitchen area, the roasters partially visible- its big.

The downside to the sheer size and the popularity means that if you come here you’re probably going to have to shout at whoever you’re with. It can get very very loud.

The food is a touch too expensive, the prices feel a little exorbitant for what you receive in terms of quantity however the taste is there and for this reason you can’t complain too much.

The coffee is hit and miss. There’s two baristas here that do amazing coffee every time - serious bearded guy (manager?) and the young Asian female (Co-manager?) they make strong delicious coffee. Other coffees I’ve had from baristas there are iffy at best and downright weak at worst.

However I will keep coming here because when I get a good one it’s amazing- such a good blend that they use as their house. Have never tried their single O’s but am keen to.

Be prepared to hunt a waitress. Normally you’re looked after well but last two times I’ve had to sit for 5-10 minutes then go find someone. They’re so busy this is sort of understandable though. Great...