This is a call for places like Atomica, Brunswick Street Melbourne to wake up and smell the coffee beans.

Campos is an ideal model to follow. After having read rave reviews about Campos on CoffeeGeek forums and the like, I decided it was time to make the voyage and see what all the fuss was about.

For some reason I pictured it would be this huge circular room, split level, with a high ceiling and massive windows, with the barista in the centre of it all.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised that it ended up being a cosy, Italian-style coffee bar that one could imagine the likes of Frank Sinatra sitting there, sipping a double short black, reading the newspaper in the late morning..

The baristas have the energy of a pro tennis player, with the precision of a marksman, and the passion of someone who is obsessed with their product. I think a good barista needs to have an obsessive quality in their personality, as they are constantly trying to achieve perfection with their shots of liquid gold.

From the moment I walked in I knew it was going to be a rewarding cup of coffee.. One good sign was the massive line at 11 O’clock in the morning.. A loyal customer pool is a good tell-tale sign of a decent place.
The place smelt delectably like freshly roasted and ground coffee… the smell is simply addictive.. There was a concentrated buzz around the coffee machine, with a few baristas co-ordinating somehow.

Being indecisive (and not wanting to miss out on anything on this one special trip) I ordered a short black (the only way I think to test if the barista/coffee is any good) and a latte, to see how they froth the milk (also a tell-tale sign).
I was very pleased with my latte that came complete with art in the form of a leaf on the top. My short black had nice and thick crema with a lovely golden colour.

Another test – if the short black can taste good with 1 1/2 sugars, it’s a good espresso shot. Normally I take 2 sugars.. often to cover the bad/burnt taste that is all too common in some cafes..

This officially was my ‘god shot’ – that elusive shot that the coffee-obsessed are constantly striving to find. The Holy grail of coffee experiences.. It was the best short black I’ve had outside of Rome.

www.camposcoffee.com

Just like Indiana Jones.. I decided I had to go back to my Holy Grail – I couldn’t let it rest.

On my next business trip to Sydney I purposely chose a hotel to stay at that would require me to go through Newtown to get to the airport.
I was not disappointed.

This time I decided to try their house specialty – the ice cold sparkling water with a ristretto shot on top. I must say I didn’t want to try this the first time I was there, just in case I was disappointed – thus trying the more conservative short black and latte.
The lovely barista delivered it to my table, and asked me if I had one of those before. I said no – so he said just shot it basically. The texture/taste sensation was something I hadn’t experienced before.
The cold on the bottom and the hot shot running over the top, both swirling together in my mouth, somewhat separately.. was most unusual and a bit exciting in a geeky coffee kind of way!

I must admit that I probably needed to add some sugar to it to appreciate it more (although the Barista advised me not to) – which probably means I’m not as hard core as the true coffee geeks.

I still have a long way to go!

But in the meantime, I will be making every effort to go to Campos on my next trip to Sydney, because it’s definitely worth the detour / reworking everything to fit it in!

Note to Atomica: You should lose the attitude and perhaps your coffee shop too will be filled with those that have travelled all the way across the city to taste your liquid gold, rather than for those that are too cool for school and barely notice your bad service.