Central Roasters, Sydney CBD

I just really dig the whole laneway cafe thang. It could be the hipster subculture vibe or the fact that it reminds me of Melbourne a lot. Either way, there's an undeniable cool factor to it. But it's not all about vibe. They gotta get the coffee part right. Central Roasters got those two things covered.

They have been operating on Central Lane (near corner Pitt Street) for around 5 months now.  They are both a roaster and specialty coffee shop. Their space has that Melbourne laneway cafe feel and the friendly service is felt as soon as you enter the premises. The coffee aroma in the air along with the display of pastries (including brewnuts from Brewtown) was more than enough to draw me in.

Glazed brewnut

I'm so predictable when it comes to brewnuts. Soon as I saw the pastry cabinet, my eyes were set on the glazed brewnuts ($4.50).

Piccolo latte

I tried their house blend as a piccolo latte ($3). It almost tasted like they used double ristretto when it was in actual fact only a single espresso shot. It started out with rich notes of chocolate then around midway to finish, it got fruity with balanced acidity. It's one of the best piccolo lattes I've had recently.

Filter coffee - Kenya 

I've got so much respect for baristas who can bring out the actual flavour profile of single origin beans. I had Kenya coffee roasted by Paramount Coffee Project for pour over filter ($4). It was straight up awesome! It had nice acidity with notes of cola and fruity black currant at the back of the palate.

I'm really glad to see more specialty roasters and coffee shops like Central Roasters making a solid Third Wave Coffee culture mark in the CBD. I also love the fact they are just a short walk from Town Hall station. Watch out for their second shop, which is opening in Haymarket/Ultimo area soon.

Central Roasters

Shop 4,

Central Lane (Near corner Pitt Street and Central Lane)

Sydney NSW 2000

Trading hours:

Monday to Friday 6:30am-4:00pm