The cafe: After recently receiving a runner-up award in 'The Coffee Army Handbook 2012' and a nice little spread in The Epicure (including a pic of my cousin Josh), The Final Step seemed a logical place to get the Short Mac Mark blog going. And I decided to give it the ultimate test - 11.15am on a Sunday morning! The place itself is tiny. 15 - 20 seats inside and maybe 5-6 outside. It has a regular crowd feel about it with many patrons congratulating the staff on the recent accolades. A very cool older couple sitting hand-in-hand in the corner, two single girls in their 30's who had just done some sporting activity, a few single guys on their own who each looked a little worse-for-wear after a big Saturday night and a few families with kids and/or dogs. The place is a bit of an oasis in the area; it doesn't have that pretentious Toorak Road feel about it. The food menu is small but made up of perfect accompaniments for a cup of coffee. What more could one ask for? The coffee board has an interesting item written on it - 'No Fake Aways'. Ask the staff what it means...it gives a clue as to how passionate The Final Step is about coffee.
The coffee: Admittedly, I was getting a little frustrated as the wait for my coffee was getting close to the 10 minute mark. But, it was peak hour and like I said, it had received a lot of recent press so the place was literally pumping... And the take away line was probably much longer than usual too.. But when it arrived, the wait was certainly worth it! Served in a perfect sized cup that allows the coffee to oxidise, it gives off that magical smell of amazing coffee. The serving has slightly more liquid than most other short mac's, but the flavour and body more than hold up to the extra liquid. Nice viscosity with smooth nutty flavours and light chocolate dominating the palate and a medium bodied, round finish. Perfect temperature, extremely pleasant after-taste and the balance is impeccable. And the right amout of milk too. At $4.00 a pop, its certainly at the pricey end of town but what's an extra 50c when it comes to good coffee?! Score 9/10.
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