Melbourne Café Diaries (Part 1/?): Good Measure, Wreckyn St Coffee

You know that whole cream-on-cold brew thing that’s been taking over the café scene? And when I say taking over, I mean, taking over. It seems like all a place has to do to be seen as “trendy” these days is balance some double cream on top of dark cold brew and charge $8 for it (I’m not exaggerating). Well, I tried some places with their own iterations of it (and yes, they all cost around $7-8, and yes, they are all beautiful and delicious in their own ways). I mean, it’s cream and coffee, how can you even go wrong?

Good Measure (@goodmeasuremelbourne)

Good Measure deserves the first mention because this is the OG café that started this whole thing with their Mont Blanc – unsweetened cream sitting on top of sweetened cold brew with orange zest and nutmeg finely grated over top.

“We’re honoured our creation has been so lovingly embraced by the community and inspired a wave of creamy coffee concoctions across the city.” – @goodmeasuremelbourne

You can get it either hot or iced, and while I’ve only ever tried it iced, I have to say, this is one of my favourite cream coffees in Melbourne. The smooth cold brew is sweetened nicely and you get the fragrance of the citrus and nutmeg as you drink it. My only gripe is that there’s not enough of it. In terms of the environment, the wooden countertops and sunlight filtering through the old-fashioned blinds make it such a cozy place that you almost don’t notice how crowded it gets at times. I can’t overstate how much I love the interior of this place; I wish I could live here forever.

They also happen to turn into a bar at night, and apparently there’s an alcoholic version of the Mont Blanc so that could be worth checking out if you’re a drinker. The food looks amazing as well, sadly, I haven’t been there for dinner yet but fingers crossed I get to go soon.

Wreckyn St Coffee (@wreckynstcoffee)

After going viral for their new creation, Wreckyn St Coffee (located on, you guessed it, Wreckyn St) now tout themselves as “the place with the iced tiramisu”. The iced tiramisu has indeed been making the rounds on social media, so I thought I would try it out. And I have to say, I think it’s pretty good – the cream is sweetened perfectly so you get a really nice first sip and it’s dusted with a thin layer of a cocoa powder and sugar mixture (to emulate that tiramisu flavour, assumedly). The cold brew is unsweetened so if you’re not into that I would recommend stirring the cream in sooner rather than later to balance the sweetness of the whole drink. For the price, I honestly don’t think this one would be my first choice, but it still tasted great so if you’re curious and in the area, why not?

It's also quite a small place so if you want to sit down and relax, try to come when it’s less crowded – they do have two large tables at the back if you don’t mind sharing with others. Otherwise, there are seats at the front but the tables there are basically stools so not the best if you’re eating anything or if you need to use a laptop. When it’s quiet though, it’s a great place to chill or study because while people do come in and out for takeaways, there’s less foot traffic in general compared to Baguette Studios next door since it’s set further in from the main road. I also love their logo because it’s shaped like a fancy teapot.

So that’s it for Part 1 of Melbourne Café Diaries. Part 2 should have less cream coffees, probably. They’re pretty and taste so good, but why do they have to be the same price as a bubble tea?