65 Degrees

There was great excitement around town when the venerable coffee gurus from 7 Grams, reappeared up the end of Exhibition St. in their new incarnation, 65 Degrees.

It’s taken me far too long to try their latest café offering but while I was tardy, I wasn’t disappointed.

Located in the city block between Little Lonsdale and Latrobe Sts, they’ve brought their superb roasting and award winning barista skills* to a coffee wasteland.

News travels fast and confirming the motto ‘if you build it they will come’, foot traffic and visitation in the area, has gone up noticeably.

Named after the optimum temperature of espresso machine heated milk, 65 Degrees offers customers the chance to try a variety of coffees of different blends and origins.

Apart from their house blend, there are always three other choices available, the blends of which continue to change.

It’s part of the ongoing evolution of coffee in Melbourne and the public coffee education that many of our better baristas are providing.

All the beans used are handroasted and soon you’ll be able to watch the process being done on site and surround yourself with the intoxicating aroma of freshly roasted coffee.

65 Degrees is a very social place, where lots of regulars visit and pop in for their coffee fix, a warm welcome and the chance to catch up with Haralambopoulos boys.

Arriving almost at closing time on the day I visited, they had finished serving their house Gridlock Blend, a combination of beans from South America, Central America and Bali.

While disappointed at missing out on what I have heard is a superb blend, wanting to sample it, gives me another legitimate reason to return in the near future.

Instead I went for a single origin Tanzanian coffee which was just excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed.

While 65 Degrees passion is for all things coffee , it’s also a cafe serving simple, tasty and popular homecooked meals from early in the morning through to late afternoon, with Mum in the kitchen providing lots of favourites.

There’s no lack in choices, with breakfast offerings including: Parisian scrambled eggs with oven roasted tomatoes,  mushrooms and caramelised onion jam on sour dough toast, poached organic eggs with thyme mushrooms and wilted baby spinach,  a corn fritter stack, ricotta hotcakes, egg, bacon and cheese muffins, omelettes, frittata, croissants, porridge with grated apple and cinnamon, pear compote, fruit toast, bircher muesli and a few more.

There’s also a small but tempting lunch selection with a soup of the day, antipasto plate, spanakopita, grilled sandwiches, a BLT, tandoori chicken wrap, Moroccan chicken focaccia, spaghetti and meatballs and more.

65 Degrees: A small cafe with a big heart and an established coffee heritage. It mightn’t yet be on your coffee radar, but worth making the effort to get there.

65 Degrees: 309 Exhibition St, Melbourne 3000 VIC

Phone: (03) 9662 1080

http://www.gridlockcoffee.com.au/65-degrees

http://yourrestaurants.com.au/guide/65_degrees/

http://www.melbournecoffeereview.com/2010/02/65-degrees.html

http://www.beanhunter.com/cafes/review/65-degrees

*2008 World Barista Champion and 2008 World Latte Art Champion (Freepour section)