The cafe: Driving down High St in Northcote, it's easy to see the gentrification that has occured in this 'hood. A peek down some of the streets that run off High St will reveal some housing which would not be out of place in Malvern or Armadale. Fortunately, it still has character...and in spades too... Penny Farthing Espresso is a cheerful little place surrounded by some interesting shops in a very eclectic part of the street. There are a handful of small tables out the front, a few larger ones inside and a decent sized communal table too. Extremely friendly staff, nice little menu, cool vibe and barista's working overtime. There seemed to be quite a few people on their own reading books or using laptops...this is always a good sign of a relaxed and chilled environment. Lots of take-aways going out the door too. Yes, this is the north end of town and the cafe title has the word 'espresso' in it...but there were plenty of people drinking white coffee so the black coffee nazi's won't scoff at you if you order a latte!
The coffee: You know these guys are serious when you get a card with your coffee that details the town your coffee beans came from, shows a map of where it's located and describes the terroir too! A delicate nose that didn't give too much away. My guess is that the decent sized dollop of froth just probably didn't allow the coffee to oxidise enough. But just like many a good chardonnay, the subdued aroma did not lead to an equally subdued palate. Quite bitter on the tip of your tongue but this quickly blended into a nice round mid-palate. The finish was extremely interesting; very racy and citrus flavoured with a nice acidic lift. The after taste was moccha dominant with hints of licorice. Medium viscosity and palate weight. A very pleasing coffee. As already mentioned, there was a good whack of froth in this...but I think it's just their style and it was definitely a well balanced short mac. $3.50. Score 8.5+/10.
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