Cartel Coffee Roasters Melbourne (Review)

I found these photos in my computer from back in November 2019, and I couldn’t help but thinking that I should still put it on the blog. This coffee shop is quite a hidden gem for me, personally. I’ve had one of the best coffees in here, and if you are a coffee lover, a.k.a a snob, I would definitely suggest you to come here.

From the information that I gathered, Cartel Coffee Roasters is originally from Geelong. They’ve decided to opened a new outpost in Melbourne on April 2019, specifically located at Somerset Place, just a little off from Lt Bourke Street.

I had a few things in mind when it comes to what makes me in awe of this business. First is none other than their specialty selection! Not only they serve at least two seasonal blends and four different single origin specialty beans in house, they also serve specialty teas and natural wines too! I’ve read from their very own website that they sourced their coffees and teas from all over the world, it’s amazing!

Our journey for coffee excellence has taken us all over Australia and the world; We are directly working on coffee projects in: Ethiopia,Uganda Burundi, Kenya,Colombia,India & Indonesia

www.coffeecartel.com.au

I remembered when I first visited Cartel Coffee Roasters, it was also the first time for me to get to choose which blend that I wanted for my coffee. Most coffee shops, even the specialty ones, usually would only have one house blend for their milky based coffee.

The barista explained the notes in each blend to me, and I remembered choosing the one that has a chocolaty finish. I wasn’t really expecting anything out of it, but you know what? I could actually taste the hint of chocolate in my coffee and my whole palate was like, ‘*explodes in coffee*’ 🤯☕️

The next time I was at Cartel Coffee Roasters, I was looking at some filter coffee to drink. I saw that they have a very interesting beans from Kenya, with a price point of $17. You know you’re up for an adventure with this, and indeed I felt bougie.

They served the filter coffee in a wine glass, that’s definitely the first for me too. Although a glass is just a vessel, but it sort of count, right? 😉 And of course, it tasted amazing. I just love it when I could taste all the tasting notes in my coffee. If I paid more than $5 for my coffee, if it says ‘bubblegum’ on the menu, I better taste that bubblegum, make all my money worth, please!

Another thing that separates Cartel Coffee Roasters with any other coffee shops in Melbourne is their gears. As a barista myself, I’m always curious with anything that people use to turn coffee beans into a delicious cup of coffee, in this case Cartel Coffee uses Kees van der Westen Slim Jim espresso machine.

The Slim Jim is a versatile machine made in Waalre, Netherlands that can be customized to fit the needs of different users. It features 20 different customization points and it can be selected during the ordering process. It’s beautiful, powerful, and very expensive too. For the three group handle machine, it can reach to $30k Australian dollars a piece.

While to brew their specialty teas, they use BKON craft brewer. This $14k brewer is built with RAIN (Reverse Atmospheric Infusion) technology, a revolutionary process that controls the natural extraction of air and gases from organic materials. It does so by removing the air and gases from the organic material and allowing the liquid to enter it. This process is carried out naturally as part of the Earth’s gravitational field to extract flavors and improve the quality of beverages.

Cartel Coffee Roasters also serves food in their joint, mostly sandwiches. But frankly speaking, I wouldn’t say it’s as good as their beverages. I have ordered a sandwich once, but it wasn’t as great as what I expected a $22 sandwich would be. It was a bit of a let down, but in hospo industry, there’s always a hit and miss, that time might be a miss for me.

Overall, I would give Cartel Coffee Roasters a 9/10. Exceptional coffee, comfy site, massive range of selections, cool brewers, professional baristas. Truly, a hidden gem. I would definitely recommend anyone who has never been here, to at least give them a visit once when you’re in Melbourne CBD. I haven’t got to visit these days, but I hope they remain the same 🙂

Thank you so much for reading the post, I appreciate you all! Let me know in the comment what you think of this place, and I’ll see you on my next one! xoxo

CARTEL COFFEE ROASTERS MELBOURNE SUMMARY

• Business Hours :
  • Sunday – Thursday : 8 AM – 4PM
  • Friday – Saturday : 8 AM – 9 PM
  • Closed on Public Holiday
• Coffee : Yes
• Food : Yes (Sandwiches)
• Brunch : No
• Dessert : Yes (Pastry)
• Indoor Capacity : +- 30
• Outdoor Capacity : +- 12
• Total Capacity : +- 42
• RSVP / Walk-In : Walk-In Only
• Waiting Time : 5-10 minutes
• Range Price : $5-$35/person
• Ambiance : Industrial
• Toilet : Yes
• WiFi : Not Sure
• Vegan / Vegetarian Options : Vegetarian